Brave the Storm, Season 2, Episode 3 (Rising Storm) (11 page)

With Patsy still in his arms, Chase walked down the porch steps and then made his way over to Anna Mae’s car.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. He didn’t really care what the reason was. He was just glad that Annie was standing in front of him.

“This afternoon when we were…earlier you said you weren’t going anywhere.”

“That’s right.”

“What did you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said.”

“Chase Johnson, are you telling me you’re back in Storm to stay? I want to know the truth.”

A smile tugged at his lips. “Is that important to you?”

“Yes, it is. You can’t just come back into my life after forty years and sweep me off my feet and then leave again. I won’t have it.”

“I’m not leaving, Annie. I’m looking forward to more days of dancing with you. And if you’ll have me, I’m really looking forward to loving you.”

Her eyes widened with hope and it nearly broke his heart. He didn’t know if it was fair to put her through what was surely to come if they gave their love another go of it. But he did know it wasn’t his call to make. He’d come home and in coming home, he’d opened his heart to everything he’d shut out of it years ago.

“Dammit, Chase, don’t play with me.”

He held the kitten in one hand and scooped Anna Mae up against his body with his other. “Are you sure you don’t want to play?”

She giggled and wrapped her arms around him. Her moist kisses on his cheek and mouth felt cold against the night breeze but made him feel alive. He’d once thought that being on stage, playing his music for people was the only way he could feel alive. But here in Anna Mae’s arms, he felt like a young man again and had never felt more alive in his life.

“I love you, Anna Mae Prager.”

“I’ve never stopped loving you, Chase Johnson. We have a lot of time to make up for.”

He wagged his eyebrows. “I’ve got a perfectly good truck sitting right there. We could make up for lost time right now.”

She giggled and kissed his mouth and the years melted away. Whatever the future held, he could handle it. He was home.

* * * *

Anticipation flowed through Hector Alvarez as he drove into the parking lot of Henry’s convenience store. The owner of the store was the brother of a man Hector had worked with briefly who ended up doing time for aggravated assault on a coworker. The man had a temper that fired with the slightest spark. He was an asshole. But he knew how to get the goods and there was no way that Hector was going back into Storm without reinforcement.

He walked into the convenience store and looked around. A young girl stood behind the counter ringing up someone else’s purchases. She wore a low-cut white shirt that showed off her dark-colored bra and all the assets God had given her. If one of his daughters ever dared to show herself in public like that, Hector would have chained her in her room. Men were pigs when it came to slutty women. There was no need to show off your goods unless you wanted to get fucked.

“Is Buddy here?” Hector asked the girl.

She didn’t look up at Hector, which annoyed the shit out of him. She continued to ring up the customer’s purchases.

Hector took a step toward the counter and pushed his way in front of the customer, who glared up at him with anger.

“Is he here?” Hector said louder.

The girl snapped her gum and sighed. “In the back of the store by the shed. He’s staying out there.”

“Thanks,” he said.

The bitch rang up the last item and then looked at him with disinterest. “He hates to be bothered.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Hector walked out of the convenience store, went around the building until he saw an old shed with a dusty sedan parked next to it. There was a small window high on the door of the shed, enough for him to peek inside and see that someone was there.

Instead of opening the door, Hector fisted his hand and knocked two times hard, then took a wide step back.

The door opened quickly. If he’d been standing closer, it would have knocked him over with the force of the man behind it.

The scowl on the man’s face quickly turned to a smile. “Hector. Long time.”

“Buddy. Have you got what I asked for?”

“Do you have the money?”

Hector pulled a stash out of his shirt pocket and showed the man.

“Come inside and I’ll show you something pretty,” Buddy said.

It took a second to adjust to the difference in light. The shed was small but it was lit with a bright yellow bulb in the middle of the rafters. At the far end of the shed, Buddy had a table set up with guns of every size and caliber spread out.

Buddy smiled as Hector studied the table. “I get a hard-on every time I look at these.”

Hector picked up a revolver. “Is it marked?”

“They’re all clean.”

After a quick check of the gun, Hector said, “This will do.” He handed Buddy the money and headed for the door.

“Nice doing business with you, Hector.”

Hector turned back. “Get yourself a woman, Buddy.”

He walked to his car, listening to Buddy’s harsh laugh at his back. He smiled as he climbed into the car. As long as Dakota kept his secret, his arrival in Storm would be a surprise. He couldn’t wait to see the look on Joanne’s face when she realized he was home.

* * * *

The story continues with Episode 4, Lightning Strikes by Lexi Blake. Click
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Rising Storm story

Storm Season: Ginny & Jacob – the Prequel

by Dee Davis

Rising Storm

Storm, Texas.

Where passion runs hot, desire runs deep, and secrets have the power to destroy…

Nestled among rolling hills and painted with vibrant wildflowers, the bucolic town of Storm, Texas, seems like nothing short of perfection.

But there are secrets beneath the facade. Dark secrets. Powerful secrets. The kind that can destroy lives and tear families apart. The kind that can cut through a town like a tempest, leaving jealousy and destruction in its wake, along with shattered hopes and broken dreams. All it takes is one little thing to shatter that polish.

Rising Storm
is a series conceived by Julie Kenner and Dee Davis to read like an on-going drama. Set in a small Texas town,
Rising Storm
is full of scandal, deceit, romance, passion, and secrets. Lots of secrets.

Look for other Rising Storm Season 2 titles, now available! (And if you missed Season 1 and the midseason episodes, you can find those titles here!)

Click to purchase.

Rising Storm, Season Two

Against the Wind
by Rebecca Zanetti

As Tate Johnson works to find a balance between his ambitions for political office and the fallout of his brother’s betrayal, Zeke is confronted with his brother Chase’s return home. And while Bryce and Tara Daniels try to hold onto their marriage, Kristin continues to entice Travis into breaking his vows…

Storm Warning
by Larissa Ione

As Joanne Alvarez settles into life without Hector, her children still struggle with the fallout.  Marcus confronts the differences between him and Brittany, while Dakota tries to find a new equilibrium.  Meanwhile, the Johnson’s grapple with war between two sets of brothers, and Ian Briggs rides into town…

Brave the Storm
by Lisa Mondello

As Senator Rush’s poll numbers free fall, Marylee tries to drive a wedge between Brittany and Marcus. Across town, Anna Mae and Chase dance toward reconciliation.  Ginny longs for Logan, while he fights against Sebastian’s maneuvering. And Hector, newly freed from prison, heads back to Storm…

Lightning Strikes
by Lexi Blake

As Ian Briggs begins to fall for Marisol, Joanne and Dillon also grow closer.  Joanne’s new confidence spreads to Dakota but Hector’s return upends everything. A public confrontation between Marcus and Hector endangers his relationship with Brittany, and Dakota reverts to form.  Meanwhile, the Senator threatens Ginny and the baby…

Fire and Rain
by R.K. Lilley

As Celeste Salt continues to unravel in the wake of Jacob’s death, Travis grows closer with Kristin.  Lacey realizes the error of her ways but is afraid it’s too late for reconciliation with her friends.  Marcus and Brittany struggle with the continued fallout of Hector’s return, while Chase and Anna Mae face some hard truths about their past…

Quiet Storm
by Julie Kenner

As Mallory Alvarez and Luis Moreno grow closer, Lacey longs for forgiveness. Brittany and Marcus have a true meeting of hearts.  Meanwhile, Jeffry grapples with his father’s failures and finds solace in unexpected arms.  When things take a dangerous turn, Jeffry’s mother and sister, as well as his friends, unite behind him as the Senator threatens his son…

Blinding Rain
by Elisabeth Naughton

As Tate Johnson struggles to deal with his brother’s relationship with Hannah, hope asserts itself in an unexpected way.  With the return of Delia Burke, Logan’s old flame, Brittany and Marcus see an opportunity to help their friend.  But when the evening takes an unexpected turn, Brittany finds herself doing the last thing she expected—coming face to face with Ginny…

Blue Skies
by Dee Davis

As Celeste Salt struggles to pull herself and her family together, Dillon is called to the scene of a domestic dispute where Dakota is forced to face the truth about her father. While the Johnson’s celebrate a big announcement, Ginny is rushed to the hospital where her baby’s father is finally revealed…

Rising Storm, Midseason

After the Storm
by Lexi Blake

In the wake of Dakota’s revelations, the whole town is reeling. Ginny Moreno has lost everything. Logan Murphy is devastated by her lies. Brittany Rush sees her family in a horrifying new light. And nothing will ever be the same…

Distant Thunder
by Larissa Ione

As Sebastian and Marylee plot to cover up Sebastian’s sexual escapade, Ginny and Dakota continue to reel from the fallout of Dakota’s announcement. But it is the Rush family that’s left to pick up the pieces as Payton, Brittany and Jeffry each cope with Sebastian’s betrayal in their own way…

Rising Storm, Season One

Tempest Rising
by Julie Kenner

Ginny Moreno didn’t mean to do it, but when she came home to Storm, she brought the tempest with her. And now everyone will be caught in its fury…

White Lightning
by Lexi Blake

As the citizens of Storm, Texas, sway in the wake of the death of one of their own, Daddy's girl Dakota Alvarez also reels from an unexpected family crisis ... and finds consolation in a most unexpected place.

Crosswinds
by Elisabeth Naughton

Lacey Salt's world shattered with the death of her brother, and now the usually sweet-tempered girl is determined to take back some control—even if that means sabotaging her best friend, Mallory, and Mallory's new boyfriend, Luis.

Dance in the Wind
by Jennifer Probst

During his time in Afghanistan, Logan Murphy has endured the unthinkable, but reentering civilian life in Storm is harder than he imagined. But when he is reacquainted with Ginny Moreno, a woman who has survived terrors of her own, he feels the first stirrings of hope.

Calm Before the Storm
by Larissa Ione

Marcus Alvarez fled Storm when his father’s drinking drove him over the edge. With his mother and sisters in crisis, Marcus is forced to return to the town he thought he’d left behind. But it is his attraction to a very grown up Brittany Rush that just might be enough to guarantee that he stays.

Take the Storm
by Rebecca Zanetti

Marisol Moreno has spent her youth taking care of her younger siblings. Now, with her sister, Ginny, in crisis, and her brother in the throes of his first real relationship, she doesn’t have time for anything else. Especially not the overtures of the incredibly compelling Patrick Murphy.

Weather the Storm
by Lisa Mondello

Bryce Douglas faces a crisis of faith when his idyllic view of his family is challenged with his son’s diagnosis of autism. Instead of accepting his wife and her tight-knit family’s comfort, he pushes them away, fears from his past threatening to undo the happiness he’s found in his present.