Riding the Storm (58 page)

Read Riding the Storm Online

Authors: Brenda Jackson

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Contemporary, #Arts&Photography

He
then
turned
and
walked
out
the
door.

When
Storm
left,
Jayla
moved
around
the
house
trying
to
convince
herself
that
she
was
glad
they
would
no
longer
be
seeing
each
other.
The
last
thing
she
needed
was
a
man
trying
to
control
her
life.

After
closing
things
up
and
turning
off
the
lights,
she
slipped
back
into
bed,
and
tried
to
ignore
the
scent
of
Storm
that

still
lingered
there.
She
closed
her
eyes.

I
love
you,
Jayla…

She
opened
her
eyes,
flipped
on
her
back
and
stared
up
at
the
ceiling
as
she
tried
to
convince
herself
that
she
wasn’t
the
one
with
blinders
on,
he
was.
Couldn’t
he
see
that
what
he
was
feeling
wasn’t
really
love
but
lust?
Die-hard

bachelors
like
Storm
didn’t
fall
in
love
in
a
blink
of
an
eye
or
after
a
few
rolls
between
the
sheets.

She
turned
to
her
side
and
closed
her
eyes,
trying
to
force
thoughts
of
Storm
from
her
mind.
But
she
couldn’t.
Steeling
herself,
she
sighed,
knowing
the
memories
of
the
times

they’d
spent
together
were
too
deep,
too
ingrained
in
her
memory.

Getting
over
him
wouldn’t
be
easy,
but
dammit
she
would
try.
She
would
shift
her
focus
elsewhere
and
appreciate
the

good
things
that
were
happening
to
her.
Everything
she’d
wanted
was
falling
in
place.
Tomorrow,
she
would
go
to
the
fertility
clinic
for
her
physical
and
then
she
would
wait

eagerly
for
the
day
when
she
would
be
inseminated.

Storm
was
not
the
most
important
thing
to
her—having
a
baby
was.

“Hey,
Captain,
you
got
a
minute?”

Storm
glanced
up
from
the
stack
of
papers
on
his
desk.

After
having
a
sleepless
night,
he
had
gotten
up
at
the

crack
of
dawn
to
come
into
the
station.
Most
of
his
men

hadn’t
arrived
yet.
Although
it
wasn’t
a
requirement,
he
was
one
of
those
captains
who
preferred
working
the
same

hours
as
the
firefighters
he
supervised.

“Sure,
Cobb,
come
on
in.
What
can
I
do
for
you?”

Darryl
Cobb
had
recently
become
a
father
again.
Four

months
ago,
his
wife
Haley
had
given
birth
to
their
third

child.
Darryl
was
a
few
years
younger
than
Storm
and
they
had
known
each
other
since
their
high
school
days.
He’d

also
known
Darryl’s
wife,
Haley,
from
high
school,
as
well,
and
remembered
Darryl
and
Haley
dating
even
back
then.
Evidently,
Haley
hadn’t
had
a
problem
recognizing
Darryl

as
her
Mr.
Right
since
the
two
of
them
had
been
married
for
over
ten
years
now
and
always
seemed
happy
together.

“I
was
wondering
if
I
can
take
a
few
hours
off
today.
The

baby
has
a
doctor’s
appointment
and
Haley
just
called.
Her
boss
called
an
important
meeting
for
later
today.”

Storm
nodded.
Haley
was
a
computer
programmer
for
a

financial
management
company.
“That
shouldn’t
be
a

problem,”
Storm
said,
turning
to
check
the
activity
board.
“You’re
supposed
to
teach
a
class
on
fire
prevention
at
that
elementary
school
today.
Do
you
have
a
replacement?”

Darryl
smiled.
“Sure
do.
Reed
has
agreed
to
cover
for
me.”

Storm
nodded.
The
one
thing
he
liked
about
the
men
he
supervised
was
that
they
got
along
and
were
quick
to
help
each
other
out
when
something
unexpected
came
up.
“In
that
case,
your
taking
a
few
hours
off
won’t
be
a
problem,”
he
said
making
a
notation
on
the
activity
sheet.

He
glanced
back
over
at
Cobb.
“So
how
has
it
been
going
since
Haley
returned
to
work?”

Darryl
chuckled.
“Crazy.”

“Then
why
did
she
go
back?”
he
asked,
then
quickly
felt

he’d
been
out
of
line
for
asking
such
a
question.
But
from
the
laugh
Cobb
gave
him,
evidently
he
hadn’t
been

surprised
by
the
question.
From
Storm’s
early
days
as
a
firefighter,
it
had
been
a
joke
around
the
station
that
his

views
on
women
working
inside
the
home
were
unrealistic

and
so
outdated
they
were
pitiful.
He’d
been
told
that
it
would
be
hard
as
hell
to
find
a
woman
who’d
agree
to
do
nothing
but
stay
at
home,
barefoot
and
pregnant.

“Well,
that
humongous
house
we
just
bought
in
Stone

Mountain
was
one
good
reason
for
her
to
return
to
work,”

Darryl
said,
still
chuckling.
“But
another
reason
is
that
Haley
enjoys
what
she
does
and
I’m
not
going
to
ask
her
to
give
it
up.”
He
looked
pointedly
at
Storm
and
said,
“That’s
where
a
lot
of
men
make
their
mistakes.”

Storm
raised
a
brow.
“Where?”

Darryl
smiled.
“In
assuming
that
they
are
the
only
ones
who
have
it
together.
I
personally
think
it’s
women
who
really

have
it
together,
and
we’re
merely
bystanders
looking
in.

Besides,
with
Haley
and
me
both
sharing
equally
in
the

raising
of
our
kids,
I
feel
I’m
playing
just
as
an
important
role
in
their
lives
as
she
is,
and
that’s
important
to
me.
It
has

nothing
to
do
with
which
one
of
us
is
bringing
home
the

bacon,
but
mainly
how
the
both
of
us
are
serving
the
bacon.
Together,
we’re
forming
a
deep,
nurturing
attachment
to
our
children
and
are
giving
them
all
the
love
we
have,
which
is
a
lot.
And
to
me
that’s
the
most
important
thing.”

A
few
moments
later
after
Cobb
had
left,
Storm
stood
at
the
window
in
his
office
and
looked
out
as
he
thought
about

what
Darryl
had
said.
Was
one
of
the
reasons
Jayla
hadn’t
recognized
him
as
her
Mr.
Right
was
because
in
her
mind

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