Riding the Storm (59 page)

Read Riding the Storm Online

Authors: Brenda Jackson

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

he
was
all
wrong?

Had
what
Nicole
done
to
him
all
those
years
ago
driven
his
beliefs
that
a
husband
should
be
sole
provider
for
his
wife
and
family?
He
would
be
the
first
to
admit
that
because
of
Nicole’s
rejection,
he’d
always
wanted
to
prove
the
point
that
a
man,
highly
educated
or
not,
could
take
care
of
his
household.
His
father
had
done
it
and
had
raised
a
family
on
a
construction
worker’s
salary.

He
thought
of
his
brothers
and
their
wives.
Even
married
to
a
sheikh,
his
sister
Delaney
was
still
working
as
a

pediatrician
and
doing
one
hell
of
a
job
raising
their
son

Ari,
who
was
beginning
to
be
a
handful.
But
then
her

husband
Jamal
also
played
an
equally
important
role
in

raising
their
son.
Then
there
were
his
sisters-in-laws,

Shelly,
Tara
and
Madison.
Although
Shelly
and
Dare
were
the
only
ones
who
had
a
son,
eleven-year-old
AJ,
Storm

was
fairly
certain
that
if
Tara
and
Madison
were
to
get

pregnant,
they
wouldn’t
consider
giving
up
their
careers.

He
closed
his
eyes
and
remembered
the
scene
that
had

played
out
in
Jayla’s
living
room
last
night.
The
woman
he
loved
was
planning
to
let
another
man
get
her
pregnant
only
because
she
was
convinced
there
wasn’t
a
Mr.
Right
for

her.
She
actually
believed
there
wasn’t
a
man
who
could

and
would
understand
her
need
to
be
in
control
of
her
life.

He
opened
his
eyes
and
glanced
down
at
his
watch.

According
to
that
letter
he’d
read
last
night,
she
had
a

physical
at
nine
this
morning
at
that
fertility
clinic.
After
the
physical,
it
would
probably
be
two
to
three
weeks
before

the
actual
procedure
could
be
performed.
Hopefully
that

would
give
him
time
to
convince
Jayla
that
he
really
did
love
her,
and
that
he
would
satisfy
all
her
needs,
including
her

need
to
remain
independent…to
a
certain
degree.

Changing
his
conventional
views
wouldn’t
be
something
he
could
do
overnight,
but
it
was
something
he
could
definitely
work
on,
especially
for
Jayla.

The
most
important
thing
was
to
show
her
that
he
was
the
right
man
for
her.
The
only
man
for
her.
For
the
second
time
since
returning
from
New
Orleans,
the
old
fortune
teller’s

words
crept
into
his
thoughts.

You
should
keep
your
sights
high,
be
patient
and
let
destiny
take
its
course.

He
smiled.
Perhaps
the
old
woman
hadn’t
been
a
flake

after
all
and
had
known
exactly
what
she’d
been
talking

about.
Tomorrow
was
the
night
of
the
charity
benefit
and

because
of
her
involvement,
he
knew
Jayla
would
be
there.
He
would
start
wooing
her
with
the
intensity
of
a
man
who
had
one
single
goal
in
his
mind.

To
win
the
love
of
the
woman
he
intended
to
marry.

“You
can
go
ahead
and
get
dressed,
Ms.
Cole,”
the
nurse
said
smiling.
“The
doctor
will
return
in
a
few
minutes
to
go
over
the
results
of
your
tests.”

“Thanks.”

Jayla
sighed
deeply
as
she
began
putting
her
clothes
back
on.
She’d
had
a
sleepless
night
and
hadn’t
been
as
excited
about
the
appointment
this
morning
as
much
as
she’d

wanted
to
be
because
of
thoughts
of
Storm.
And
it
hadn’t
helped
matters
that
she’d
been
crying
most
of
the
morning.

She
walked
over
to
the
mirror
in
the
room
and
looked
at

herself.
She
looked
pathetic.
Her
reflection
revealed
a

woman
who
was
truly
drowning
in
her
own
misery.
And
it

was
a
misery
well
deserved.
Even
Lisa
hadn’t
given
her
any
slack
when
she’d
called
this
morning
and
she’d
told
her

about
the
argument
she’d
had
with
Storm.
And
when
she’d
mentioned
that
Storm
had
told
her
that
he
loved
her
and

wanted
to
marry
her,
her
best
friend
had
actually
gone
off

on
her.
But
then,
what
was
a
best
friend
for
if
she
couldn’t

give
you
hell
when
you
needed
it?

The
sad
thing
about
it
was
that
everything
both
Storm
and
Lisa
had
said
was
true.
She
wouldn’t
recognize
her
Mr.
Right
if
he
came
to
stand
right
in
front
of
her.

She
sighed
deeply
as
she
slipped
back
into
her
panty

hose.
So
what
if
Storm
was
one
of
those
men
who
wanted

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