Storm (Georgia Smoke #4)

• Eighteen •

“If this is going to become X-rated, I’m staying for the show.”

Briar

I listened as Dovie came down the stairs and took another drink of wine from my glass.

I’d decided to go ahead and tell Dovie tonight and not wait. I was afraid I’d forget and say something around her about it on accident with all these appointments and plans Storm had already made for her. When I’d told Storm that I was going to do it, he’d said he’d run to the stables for a while and give us privacy.

Part of me wanted him to be here with us, but the other was afraid of her reaction to her mother’s death. I didn’t want her to feel like she couldn’t react the way she needed to if Storm was here. I still couldn’t believe he’d done all this.

I had to stop worrying about this Lula Mae thing. The man loved me. He wasn’t supposed to be marrying some other woman. No man would do all this for a woman he didn’t want to keep.

I would not let Lula Mae get in my head again. Storm didn’t deserve that. He’d lied about one thing, and although it had been completely manipulative, I forgave him for it. I had to forget it.

Dovie walked into the living room and looked around, then back at me. “Where is Storm?” she signed.

“He had some things to do at the stables,” I told her.

She walked over to the sofa across from me and sat down, then curled her feet up beside her.

“My cobbler turned out really good. You want a piece?” I asked.

“I’ll get some later,” she signed.

This was it. Time to talk.

“I have some news. Big news,” I told her, setting my glass down on the coffee table. Then, I reached for the folder with all the guardianship documents. “I’m kinda nervous about telling you because it doesn’t start out with good news.”

She frowned. “Do we have to leave?” she signed.

The fact that she immediately thought that made my chest ache. She was so used to us running.

I shook my head. “Actually, we never have to leave somewhere again unless we just want an adventure.”

She didn’t respond, but studied me and the folder in my hand.

I took a deep breath. “Okay, this is the hard part,” I started. “Netta, well, she had an accident, and she’s gone.” I couldn’t even say the word dead. I had a knot in my stomach, waiting to see how Dovie would react.

She blew out a small breath. “She’s dead?” Dovie signed.

I nodded. I wanted to tell her I was sorry, but that would be a lie. I wasn’t sorry. All I was worried about here was Dovie’s emotions.

“Did Storm do it?” she signed.

I shook my head. “No! She fell down a flight of stairs.”

That she’d think Storm had done it surprised me. Sure, I’d asked that, too, but I hadn’t realized she thought he’d do something like that.

“What does this mean for us? I’m still a minor, and if someone looks into the location of her daughter …”

I held up the folder. “Well, that’s the good news.”

Her eyes fell to it, and I tried to gauge where her emotions were right now. She didn’t appear to be anything other than concerned. There was no sadness at the mention of Netta’s death. It was as if I had told her some random piece of information.

“Storm found out about it after it happened. He had been keeping tabs on her whereabouts for our protection, even before we ended up here, it seems.”

“Because he is madly in love with you,” she signed with a tug at the corner of her lips.

I smiled, unable not to. “And he used the high-power attorney these people have on standby to … well …” I opened up the folder as my eyes started to burn. I was going to cry again, and I was really trying to keep it together. “I’m your legal guardian now.”

Her eyes went wide, and she moved her feet off the sofa to the floor as she stared at the folder, then at me. “You are serious?” she signed.

I nodded and sniffled, then wiped a tear before it ran down my face.

Her hands went to her mouth, and she covered it, still wide-eyed, then jumped up and came around the table to sit beside me. She took the folder from me and opened it in her lap. I watched as she looked over it, needing to see this for herself. When she finally lifted her gaze to meet mine, a smile spread across her face.

“He really did this.”

I nodded and wiped at another tear. “It’s my birthday present.”

“He knew about tomorrow then.”

“Yes, he did. But I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“We don’t have to run? I don’t have to hide? I can …” She stopped signing, as if thinking about the things available to her now. “Can I go to school?” she asked.

“Yes, you can. And you are going in the fall. Storm already has that set up too. It’s a Catholic school that has classes for hearing-impaired students.”

She frowned then, and I worried that my pointing out that she would need to communicate there was bothering her.

“What if I’m too behind?”

She hadn’t been in school in four years. She would be behind. There was no question in that, but Storm had managed to make that problem vanish too.

“Storm has it all handled. You’ll get to go in classes for the grade you should be in, but you will also have a private instructor who will work with you throughout your day.”

Her eyes bugged out again, and I wanted to laugh and cry. There were so few things in her life that she had to be happy about. Storm had given her a life. A real life. She was going to get a diploma, and then there would be college. We could get her student loans, and she could get a degree!

“This is real?”

I nodded.

She shook her head in amazement.

I reached over and took her hand. “I know this is life-changing, but are you okay? About Netta?”

Her shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath, and I let her hand go so she could reply.

“I don’t have one good memory with her. I have a lot of bad. I don’t think I feel anything.” She paused, and her brow crinkled. “Should I feel something? All I feel is … happy.”

I shook my head and pulled her into a hug. “You deserve to be happy. You don’t have to feel anything for her. She doesn’t deserve it. She didn’t deserve you. Be happy. I’m completely giddy.”

Pulling back from her, I grabbed her shoulders. “Let’s go eat some cobbler. I have vanilla ice cream in the freezer. Then, we can make a list of all the things we want to do now.”

She nodded, and I gave her one more shoulder squeeze before standing up.

She followed me, but when I started to turn away, she touched my arm, and I looked back at her.

“Can we change my last name?” she signed.

I hadn’t expected her to ask that. “Yes. But what do you want to change it to?”

“Can I change it to Landry?” she asked. “I mean, is that legally your last name?”

I was going to cry again.

“Yes, it is, and abso-freaking-lutely, you can,” I told her.

“How did you do that? Change your name?”

She’d never asked me that before.

I raised my eyebrows and leaned toward her slightly. “How do you think?” I asked.

She shrugged.

“I dated a judge,” I replied with a wink.

Her face broke into a huge grin.

“I should have known,” she signed.

I took my time brushing Noor down after my birthday ride that Storm had taken me on, back to the lake where we’d had sex the first time. He’d made a big breakfast, and Dovie had joined us. Then, she left to go to the pool with Nailyah. Storm had set that up, I was sure, so he could have me alone. Not that I minded. Birthday sex in the sunshine and by the water had been pretty incredible.

Noor looked back toward me, and I went to her head and petted her.

“I’m sorry it’s been almost two weeks since I’ve been by to see you. I had fun on my ride today. I hope whoever you belong to has been taking care of you,” I told her.

“She’s taken out daily to get exercise and graze. We have stable hands who make sure she’s spoiled,” Storm said behind me as he slid his hands around me.

“She’d better be spoiled. She’s a good girl.”

She pushed against my hand, wanting me to pet her again.

“But she belongs to someone. Right?” I asked.

I didn’t want her to just be a horse they kept to be ridden by whoever.

“You.”

“Me what?” I asked, glancing back at him.

“She belongs to you,” he replied.

I stilled and dropped my hand from her to turn around and look up at him. “What do you mean?”

The corner of his lips crooked up. “She’s yours, Briar. You are her owner.”

I spun back around and gaped at Noor. “You’re mine? She’s mine?”

“Horses don’t speak, so she can’t respond,” he told me as if I expected her to.

“Storm, when did she become mine?” I asked, looking back at him.

“When I bought her.”

“You bought her for me?” I asked, pointing at myself.

He nodded, grinning at me now.

I let out a small squeal and jumped into his arms, then grabbed his face and kissed it. He held me up, cupping his hands on my bottom, and I wrapped my legs around his waist.

“You bought me Noor,” I said, breaking the kiss, then started pressing kisses all around his face.

“If this is going to become X-rated, I’m staying for the show.” Thatcher’s voice startled me, and I looked over Storm’s shoulder to see him leaning against a stall a few feet away. “Don’t let me stop you, little songbird.”

I loosened my grip on him, and he let me slide back down until my boots were on the ground.

“Damn, I shouldn’t have said anything,” Thatcher said.

“What do you need?” Storm asked, sounding annoyed.

“For someone who just had his woman climbing him like a pole, you sure are snarly,” Thatcher replied.

“Well, you interrupted us, so now, I’m annoyed.”

Thatcher straightened up. “Just thought you might want to know you got company.”

I glanced up at Storm, and he was scowling at Thatcher.

“Who?” he asked, his body tense.

“You sure you want me to answer that?” he asked, and when I turned my gaze back to him, he was looking at me.

“I didn’t invite anyone here, so who the fuck is it?” Storm demanded.

I got nervous when he talked to Thatcher like that. I took a step closer to him, not sure how that helped, but it made me feel better.

“Lula Mae,” Thatcher replied with a smug look on his face, then turned and sauntered away.

“Fuck,” Storm muttered.

I looked back up at him. His entire body was rigid; even his hands were fisted at his sides. He didn’t meet my gaze, but glared in the direction Thatcher had gone.

“Finish up with Noor. I’ll be back,” he said through clenched teeth and left without even glancing at me.

What was all that about? I wanted to believe that Lula Mae was not important. But then things like this happened, and that reminder that Storm had lied to me before taunted me. The suspicion that he might be keeping something from me was still hanging on.

I shouldn’t worry.

Turning back to Noor, I finished up brushing her and gave her some more kisses before leaving her stall and closing it. Glancing back toward where Storm had turned when he walked away, I debated on going to look for him. He had told me to stay here. But when had I ever done what I was told?

“I should probably stay here,” I told Noor.

She was watching me.

“But that’s not really me, is it?” I asked her, then looked back to where he’d gone.

“Yeah, I’m going looking for him.” I decided and started in that direction. I was almost to the turn when Storm came walking out.

His eyes locked on me, and he wrapped his fingers around my wrist and pulled me with him as he continued toward the exit.

I waited until we reached his Jeep before asking, “Are you gonna tell me what that was about?”

He jerked open the passenger door. “Nothing,” he replied, picking me up and putting me inside like I was a child.

“Clearly, it was. You are pissed off.”

He looked at me.

“She wanted to ride,” he said.

“You or a horse?”

He raised an eyebrow. “A horse, Briar.”

I shrugged. “So, why was she there to see you?”

Yes, I was being nosy. Storm was mine, dammit, and I didn’t like this woman acting like she had some claim on him.

He grabbed the side of my head and leaned close to me. “Do you want fucked right here?”

“I’m sure Thatcher would enjoy it, but no.”

His hand fisted in my hair. “Then, stop with the jealousy, or I will.”

I sighed. “I was being curious. You seem angry.”

He visibly eased. “Lula Mae can be annoying.”

“She’s a bitch.”

The corner of his mouth lifted, and he pressed a kiss to my lips before closing the door. I watched him walk around the front of the Jeep, wishing I didn’t have this dread in my stomach. Every time she was mentioned, I just felt uneasy. I wanted to feel secure about things with Storm, but she was making that hard.