Riding the Storm (16 page)

she
a
family
member
of
yours?”

Storm
smiled.
“Yes,
Tara
is
my
sister-in-law.
She
and
my
brother
Thorn
tied
the
knot
a
few
months
back.
Why
would
you
need
to
meet
with
Tara?
She’s
a
pediatrician
and
you
don’t
have
a
child.”

Not
yet,
Jayla
thought
to
herself.
“The
reason
I’m
meeting
with
Dr.
Westmoreland
is
for
business
reasons—in
fact,

we’re
doing
lunch.
The
company
I
work
for,
Sala
Industries,
is
picking
up
the
tab
for
the
caterers
the
night
that
the
Kids’
World
calendar
is
unveiled
at
a
charity
ball,
and
Dr.

Westmoreland
is
on
the
committee.
It
will
be
a
huge
event,
and
we
expect
well
over
a
thousand
people
to
attend.”

“I
understand
the
ball
will
be
next
month,”
he
said,
after
the
waiter
had
returned
with
their
drinks.

“Yes,
the
second
weekend
in
October,
in
fact.
And
I
understand
your
brother
Thorn
is
Mr.
July.”

“Yes,
he
is.”
Storm
couldn’t
forget
how
Tara
had
been
given
the
unlucky
task
of
persuading
Thorn
to
pose
as
Mr.
July.

Doing
so
hadn’t
been
easy,
but
things
had
worked
out
in

the
end,
including
Thorn’s
realizing
that
he
loved
Tara
and
the
two
of
them
getting
married.
Kids’
World
was
a

foundation
that
gave
terminally
ill
children
the
chance
to

make
their
ultimate
dream—a
visit
to
any
place
in
the
world
—come
true.
All
proceeds
for
the
foundation
came
from

money
raised
through
numerous
charity
events.

“I
understand
the
calendar
turned
out
wonderfully
and
the

sale
of
them
will
be
a
huge
success,”
Jayla
said
smiling,

interrupting
his
thoughts.
She
gazed
across
the
table
at
him
for
a
second,
then
said.
“Tell
me
about
your
family.”

Storm
raised
a
brow
after
taking
a
sip
of
his
water.
“Why?”

She
smiled.
“Because
I
was
an
only
child
and
whenever
you
mention
your
siblings
or
your
cousins
I
can
tell
you
all
share
a
special
closeness.
It
was
lonely
growing
up
without

sisters
or
brothers
and
I’ve
already
made
up
my
mind
to

have
a
large
family.”

Storm
chuckled.
“How
large?”

“At
least
two,
possibly
three,
maybe
even
four.”

Storm
nodded.
He
wanted
a
large
family
as
well.
“The

Westmoreland
family
is
a
big
one
and
we’re
all
very
close.
It
started
out
with
my
grandparents
who
had
three
sons,
one
of
which
was
my
father.
My
parents
had
six
kids,
all
boys

until
Delaney
came
along.
Dare
is
the
oldest,
then
Thorn,

Stone,
Chase
and
me.
As
you
know,
Chase
is
my
twin

brother.
My
father’s
twin
brother’s
name
is
James
and
he

and
his
wife
Sarah
also
had
six
kids,
but
all
of
them
were

boys—Jared,
Spencer,
Durango,
Ian,
Quade
and
Reggie.
My
father’s
youngest
brother,
Uncle
Corey,
never
married,
so
it
was
assumed
he’d
never
fathered
any
kids,
but
we

discovered
differently
a
few
months
ago.”

Jayla
placed
her
coffee
cup
down,
curious.
“Really?”

“His
sons,
who
never
knew
he
was
their
father,
just
like
he
never
knew
he
had
sons,
had
an
investigator
track
him

down.
Uncle
Corey
is
a
retired
park
ranger
in
Montana
and
that’s
where
they
found
him.”

Jayla
was
fascinated
with
the
story
Storm
was
sharing
with
her.
“But
how
did
he
not
know
that
he
was
a
father?”

“It
seems
a
former
girlfriend
found
out
she
was
pregnant

after
they’d
broken
up
and
never
bothered
telling
him.

Unknown
to
Uncle
Corey,
the
woman
gave
birth
to
triplets.”

“Triplets?”

“Yes,
triplets.
Multiple
births
are
common
in
our
family.
Like
me
and
Chase,
Ian
and
Quade,
and
my
father
and
Uncle

James
are
fraternal
twins.”

Jayla
inhaled,
trying
to
absorb
all
this.
“And
your
uncle’s
former
girlfriend
had
triplets?”

“Yes,
the
first
in
the
Westmoreland
family.
It
seems
that
she
told
them
their
father
had
died
when
they
were
born
and

only
revealed
the
truth
on
her
deathbed.
Although
Uncle

Corey
never
married
the
woman,
she
had
moved
out
west
to
Texas
and
had
taken
his
last
name,
so
fortunately,
her