Riding the Storm (64 page)

slow
smile
come
into
his
face
and
spread
from
corner
to

corner
on
his
lips.
And
those
lips
leaned
down
and
came

mere
inches
from
hers
and
whispered.
“I’m
glad
you
quickly
came
to
that
conclusion,
Jayla
Cole,
because
I
love
you
and
there
was
no
way
in
hell
I
intended
to
let
you
go.”

Before
she
could
say
anything,
he
captured
her
mouth
in
a
kiss.
It
was
a
kiss
that
was
so
powerful
and
tender
that
it

immediately
brought
tears
to
her
eyes.
Storm
loved
her
and
she
loved
him
and
she
believed
in
her
heart
that
everything
would
be
okay.
Together,
they
would
make
their
marriage
work
because
love
was
the
main
ingredient
and
she

believed
they
had
plenty
of
that.

He
reluctantly
broke
off
their
kiss.
“I
know
you
can’t
leave
until
everything
is
over,
but
I
have
to
get
you
alone.”

Jayla
grinned
and
glanced
around.
“We’re
alone
now,
Storm.”

He
chuckled.
“Yeah,
but
this
place
is
too
public
for
what
I
want
to
do
to
you.”
His
features
then
turned
serious.
“But
more
importantly,
Jayla,
we
need
to
talk
and
come
to
an
understanding
about
a
few
things,
all
right?”

She
nodded.
“All
right.
But
no
matter
what,
we’ll
work
things
out.”

He
pulled
her
back
into
his
arms.
“Most
definitely.”

It
was
well
after
midnight
when
Jayla
entered
Storm’s

home.
The
evening
had
been
perfect
and
a
lot
of
money

had
been
raised
for
Kids’
World,
which
meant
that
plenty
of
terminally
ill
children’s
dreams
would
be
coming
true.
It

wasn’t
hard
to
guess
that
the
calendars
would
sell
like

hotcakes.
Over
one
hundred
thousand
calendars
had
been
sold,
and
an
order
had
already
been
placed
for
that
many
more.

And
it
hadn’t
come
as
a
surprise
to
anyone
that
the
single
women
had
gone
wild
over
the
twelve
men
who
had
posed
for
the
calendar,
especially
Mr.
July,
Thorn
Westmoreland.
However,
any
women
who
might
have
given
thought
to
the
possibility
that
she
had
a
chance
with
Mr.
July,
married
or
not,
discovered
just
how
wrong
they
were
when,
after

receiving
the
plaque
that
had
been
presented
to
all
twelve
men,
Thorn
crossed
the
room
and
kissed
his
wife,

proclaiming
to
all
that
Tara
Westmoreland
was
all
the

woman
he
wanted
and
needed.

And,
Jayla
thought
as
she
inwardly
smiled,
Storm
had

made
a
number
of
declarations
himself
tonight.
That
single
woman
who’d
vowed
that
she
would
get
at
least
one
time

with
Storm
had
been
brazen
enough
to
approach
him
while
he
and
Jayla
had
stood
together
talking.
Storm
had

smoothly
introduced
Jayla
to
the
woman
as
his
fiancée.
The
woman
had
congratulated
them
and
walked
off,
thoroughly

disappointed.

He
had
also
introduced
her
to
his
parents
and
the
rest
of

his
family.
She
even
got
to
meet
the
newest
additions
to
the
Westmoreland
clan,
his
cousins
Clinton,
Cole
and
Casey.
She
had
quickly
decided
that
the
Westmoreland
family
was
a
very
special
one
and
they
all
stuck
together
like
glue.

“Would
you
like
something
to
drink,
Jayla?”

She
turned
and
watched
as
Storm
closed
the
door
and

locked
it.
“No,
thanks.”
She
nervously
glanced
around
and
stopped
when
her
gaze
came
to
rest
on
a
framed

photograph
that
sat
on
his
fireplace
mantle.
It
was
a
photo
that
the
two
of
them
had
taken
with
her
father
at
his
last

birthday
party,
the
one
the
men
at
the
fire
station
had
given
him.
Her
father
had
insisted
that
she
and
Storm
stand
next
to
each
other
while
he
stood
in
the
background.
Because
of
Adam
Cole’s
six-seven
height,
he
appeared
to
be
towering
over
them.
And
he
was
smiling
so
brightly
that
she
couldn’t
help
wondering
if
perhaps
he’d
known
about
her
feelings

for
Storm
and,
in
his
own
special
way,
had
given
them
his
blessings
that
night,
because
less
than
five
months
after

that
picture
was
taken,
he’d
died.

Storm
followed
her
gaze
and
after
a
few
moments
said,

“Whenever
I
look
at
that
picture
and
really
study
it,
I
think

that
your
father
was
a
lot
smarter
than
either
of
us
gave
him
credit
for
being.”