Chapter 9
Lena
I didn’t realize that when Storm said soon it would be the very next morning, when I walked out the door to head to work it was to see Storm loading up my truck.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing Storm? Where are you taking my truck? I have to be at work in thirty minutes.”
What the hell was he up to?
He knew I worked three twelve-hour shifts and then off for three days, the same as Raine.
“Chill, Precious. Your truck needs new tires on it. We’ve got a giant snowstorm coming in. I’m taking you to work and then picking you up. So go grab your leather jacket and your helmet. Yeah?”
“I know this may be hard to do, but anyway we can swing by McDonalds so I can grab a coffee?” This was my morning routine. I always made sure I had enough time to swing by and get a caramel iced coffee with extra cream and sugar, it was my bad habit.
“Already planned on it, Precious. Raine is grabbing it for you. It would be hard trying to carry that shit on the bike.” Well doesn’t he think of everything?
We arrived at the hospital twenty minutes later. Storm pulled up to the side entrance and helped me get off the bike. My face felt frozen.
“Thanks for bringing me to work, and thanks for the tires, Storm.” I was pretty sure of that anyway. Daddy wouldn’t know about my coffee, but I suspected Storm did, he knew where my medicine cabinet was after all.
“How’d you figure it out, Precious?” He was smirking, god I loved his smirks. They were rare and few were far in between.
“Oh, I have my ways. You better watch out Storm.” I said with a hand on my hip.
He chuckled, then shook his head, “Soon as I see you're safely inside, I gotta go buy a truck.”
I lifted a brow, “Why?”
“Cause’, can’t have you getting cold all the time on my bike. And when I plant my baby in you, it won’t be safe for you to ride the bike.”
I felt all the air in my lungs, seize.
Did... did... did I just hear what I think I heard?
I opened my mouth to shriek out my thoughts, but before I could come up with a response, I caught sight of Raine walking up.
She handed me my coffee and winked at Storm, uh huh.
I opened my mouth again to question what he meant, but the man beat me to it, “I’ll be here to pick you up from your shift and bring you home, your truck will be back in your driveway.”
And again, before I could say a word, he started his bike back up and then looked at me and jerked his chin to the door.
Again, I opened my mouth, but Raine tagged my hand and started pulling me into the hospital.
If she hadn’t told me she was pregnant a few days ago, I would have slapped her.
Because the words I thought I heard come from Strom’s mouth definitely warranted being written up for being late.
Name one woman who would disagree with me, and I’ll drop to my knees and kiss her feet.
With his words rattling around in my brain, we both headed inside and started our day.
***
Halfway through my shift came one of the codes that no one wanted to hear, “Code Pink.”
Code Pink meant that a baby was missing from the birthing center.
Automatically the floor was locked down.
That meant the elevators would bypass the fourth floor and the doors wouldn’t open so you could leave the floor.
Also, for every single emergency exit that led to stairs, the doors locked automatically.
Kelsey and Ginger remained in the NICU once we verified that all the babies were present and accounted for and locked the door.
With that done, we began the search.
The birthing center took up the entire fourth floor of the hospital. Anything you can imagine you would require while giving birth and the post-partum process, we have you covered.
Unfortunately, with that many rooms and that many places where a baby could be hidden, it meant that we had a lot of work to do.
At once we began checking and rechecking all the hospital bracelets.
It took two hours, and twelve nurses and two doctors to search every single nook and cranny.
Everyone was looking around as Hannah, the charge nurse, came out of her office and said, “A woman ran up to me and said her baby was missing. I’ve never seen her before. Now that I think about it, she didn’t look like she just had a baby.”
Security and the police had been called to look at the security tapes, but nothing was determined as of yet. We all went back to work with our eyes peeled.
As soon as the next shift of nurses showed up, we handed off our notes and charts.
“That was a long shift, my feet are killing me. I’m going to have Tank give me a massage.” Raine said while wiggling her eyebrows.
I laughed at her knowing what she really meant, “TMI, girl.”
Sometimes my best friend from another mother was way too damn much.
Then here came Storm and Tank. Raine and I both busted out laughing.
I looked at Raine and asked, “Wouldn’t it be easier to bring one vehicle?”
We both watched as Tank pulled his black Chevrolet Colorado to a stop in front of us and then we watched as Storm’s new truck pulled to a stop beside him.
I knew it was Storm’s new truck because he had sent me a picture of it.
It was a twenty-twenty-four Chevrolet Silverado Z28, crew cab. And man, it was pretty. All blacked out.
I didn’t have time to admire his truck like I wanted to, because in the next second, he was opening his door, hopping out and rounding his hood, heading to the passenger side.
I watched as he opened the door, then looked at me, “Your chariot awaits milady.”
I busted out laughing again.
Once I was safely inside Storm’s truck, he closed the door just in time for me to see Raine get into Tank’s truck.
I smiled as I cupped my hands in front of the heat, tilting my head to watch Storm climb in. I said, “Okay, you have until the time it takes to take me home to explain your words to me.”
He didn’t say anything.
No, he buckled up, put the truck in gear, placed his hand on my seat, looked over his shoulder, and backed up out of the parking spot.
And then, again, mind you, without saying a word, he put the truck in drive and then drove out of the parking lot.
I didn’t say anything, even though I wanted to. Oh, how I wanted to, badly.
But if I’ve learned one thing about Storm, it was that he wouldn’t talk until he was good and ready to.
What that really meant, was that he wouldn’t talk until he had the time to give the conversation his full concentration.
As soon as we pulled into my driveway, I saw my truck sitting there, pretty as she pleased.
I looked at him and whispered, “Thank you, Storm.”
He nodded, “Welcome.”
I took in a breath and asked, “Wanna come in? I’m going to make a nice batch of hot chocolate; it’s so cold out tonight.”
Instead of answering me he nodded, shut the truck off, then looked at me and said, “Stay there.”
I listened and stayed where I was.
I watched through the windshield as he rounded the hood of the truck, then made it to my side, and opened my door.
“So, we don’t have to have this conversation every time you're with me, in whatever vehicle we find ourselves in, you never get in a vehicle unless I open the door. And you never get out of one if I don’t open the door. You with me?”
Was it possible to visibly swoon?
Because I’m pretty sure I did.
And I knew that Storm caught it because I watched as his eyes went soft.
And yes, he offered me his hand so I could climb out of his truck, and with that same hand still cradling mine, he led me to my front door.
“Keys,” he whispered softly.
I got them out of my bag and handed them to him.
Once he unlocked the door, and opened it, he placed my keys in the little bowl I had for them on a cute, whitewashed entryway table.
Skylar met us at the front door, her big body shaking, and her tail wagging.
I gave her the cuddles she needed and then before I could let her out, he said, “I’ll let her out, you go ahead and get changed.”
After I changed into sweatpants and a long-sleeved t-shirt, I walked out of my bedroom to see Storm already had his boots off and the TV on.
He had it on Swamp People, one of my favorite shows. I went into the kitchen and began the makings of the hot chocolate. I got out the kettle and poured in enough milk.
Next, I grabbed a can of cocoa mix and some sugar. I then poured the right amounts into two mugs.
Once the milk was just right, I poured it into the mugs. Then the second to last thing I did was put tiny marshmallows in the cups and out next, yes came my red and white swirly straws. I freaking loved them.
I carried them both into the living room, placed them on the coffee table then pulled out a blanket. I grabbed the remote control for the fireplace and cut it on. It was getting colder first of November here in the Carolina Mountains.
I cuddled up to him on the couch after he patted the area right next to him.
As soon as he saw the tiny marshmallows and the red and white swirly straws I had used, he smiled.
God his smile was one of the things I loved about him.
As badly as I wanted to bring things back up, I didn’t, I waited.
And as I waited, my dad’s words came to me. I can’t remember what we were talking about, but I recalled the words he had said, clear as day.
“Doll face, if you don’t go after your dreams then you’ll never learn to fly, and believe me, the flying is the best part.”
What I hadn’t realized was that I hadn’t just recalled the words, no, I had spoken them aloud.
I realized that when Storm put his mug on the coffee table, then he tagged mine and did the same thing.
I felt his finger under my chin pulling my face to his.
When I finally had my head turned around, he looked into my eyes and said, “I always want you to go after your dreams. And if I need to find a way to grow wings and carry you on my back to get you there, then I will. I’ll do anything for you, Lena.”
I didn’t say a word.
Because I didn’t know what to say.
I mean who would? Seriously.
He would find a way to grow wings to carry me so I could chase my dreams.
I felt a tear trickle down my cheek.
His eyes caught it, and then I felt his thumb brush the tear away.
“I know I’m older than you, I know I’ve done a lot more than you, but honestly, I don’t give a fuck. I know what I want. And I want you. I just hope you want me back.”
“If you want me, then why haven’t we had this conversation before now?”
“Because I got a story I need to tell you. Need to give you time with that story. I need you to take in every word that falls from my lips. I need you to inspect them, dissect them, all the things.”
A hundred different things about Storm and his past ran through my mind.
But nothing could have prepared me for the words that were about to fall from his mouth.
Because never in my wildest dreams could I have ever imagined a past like his.
Him. This amazing man.
The same man who held me when I cried, the same man who had new tires out on my truck, the same man who made sure I had my morning coffee, and the same man who has looked out for me all these years, including beating the shit out of my stepfather not once, but twice.
Knowing that there was a reason behind him taking his time with this conversation, I wrapped his hand in mine that was resting on the side of my neck and brought it to my lap.
I whispered, “You can tell me anything Storm, anything. Your past is not what defines who you are today. I’ll still be here no matter what.” I said that with all the sincerity I could muster because it was true, as long as he didn’t say that he was already married.
Because I wanted this man to be mine, with every single breath in my body.