“And what brings you to Albuquerque? Or more
specifically my bar? Is something wrong with James?”
Xaria shook her head. “No. Mav’s fine. I wanted to meet
you and give you my number in case you needed anything.”
“Thank you…I think.” Tempest didn’t understand why
this stranger would do this.
Xaria laughed. “You’re wondering what the hell I’m
doing.” She reached out and set her hand on Tempest’s arm.
“We’re family and we are there to support one another,
especially when the men are deployed.”
“That’s great, but I’m not married to him. So I’m
wondering.”
“You mean the world to Mav, so you are our family.”
Xaria’s green eyes held hers unwaveringly. Her words
were said with such conviction, Tempest realized she meant
every word.
“Look, I know you are working, but I’d love to get to
know you better.”
Tempest felt drawn to Xaria. She didn’t have many
female friends. Never had. This woman, however, seemed very
likable, so Tempest acted on that.
“We close in two hours. If you don’t have a place to
stay, I have an empty room you can use.”
A brilliant smile crossed Xaria’s face. “Wonderful. I’d
love to take you up on that.”
“Great.”
Xaria sat at the end of the bar, nursing her drink. A man
next to Xaria began hitting on her. Tempest got back to work as
the man was rebuffed gently but firmly. In fact, Tempest
watched her turn down numerous offers without blinking.
When they closed up, Dakota chatted with Xaria while
Tempest went through her nightly routine.
“Do you have a car?” Tempest asked.
“No, I took a taxi.”
Tempest arched a brow as she waved goodnight to Mili.
“So, you have a hotel room.”
“No.” She gestured to her bag. “I have my stuff right
here.”
“Okay. Let’s get going.” Tempest double-checked the
lock on the front door.
Together, everyone headed out the back. Tempest set the
alarm and then unlocked her vehicle.
“I’ll see you later, Mom. I’m going to Shelia’s.” He
kissed her. “A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. O’Shea.”
“Likewise, young man.” Xaria opened the door and
climbed in Tempest’s ride.
“Night, Dak,” Tempest said as she opened her door and
got in. “So tell me about you,” she said to Xaria as she started
her vehicle and headed for home.
“I lead ice expeditions.”
Tempest coughed and looked to her passenger. “What?”
A husky chuckle filled the interior of her Envoy. “Yes. I
do ice trekking and lead expeditions. Mostly in Antarctica.
That’s how I met Aidrian. He came to get tips.”
“That’s very cool. And way romantic.”
Another round of laughter. “Well, it didn’t start off that
way, but I must say it all turned out for the best.”
“I didn’t get to talk to him much, but he seemed very
nice.”
“I like to think so,” Xaria said lightly.
Tempest pulled into her drive and once inside showed
Xaria the guest room. “If you need anything, please, let me
know.”
“I will. Thank you for your wonderful hospitality.”
“My pleasure. Can I get you something to eat or are you
seeking bed?”
“I’d love to chat some more.”
The sun was coming up before they knew it. Tempest
felt like she’d found a sister at last. “Guess I should make
breakfast.”
Xaria yawned. “Wow. I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to keep
you up so late.”
“No problem. I had a great time.”
It was true. Xaria was a lot of fun to be around. She’d
answered questions that Tempest had wondered about. She’d
filled her in on the other wives, telling her they’d really wished
they could have made it out to meet her.
“If you’re tried get some rest, I can make something to
eat later.”
Xaria yawned again. “That sounds like a plan.”
They slept until afternoon. Tempest made brunch and
at The Owl.
Xaria left Monday afternoon and had given Tempest the
number of all the wives on the Team, telling her they were all
available to her. Tempest had given Xaria her numbers as well
and hugged her as she dropped her off at the airport.
_
Maverick felt a wave of sadness as the other members of
his Team were welcomed home with their wives’ open arms.
Tempest.
His entire body longed to be with her. He waved his
hand at his friends and climbed on his bike. He rode to his
apartment and lit a cigarette as he dropped his bag on the floor.
He grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down on his
couch. It bothered him that Tempest wasn’t with him, more
than he’d ever thought it would.
He needed her like he needed air to live. How would he
convince her of that? Without another thought, he picked up
his phone and called the other half of his soul.
“Hello?” Tempest’s voice came across the line loud and
clear.
“Hello, mitawin.”
“James,” she said on a sigh. “Back safe?”
“Every part in working order,” he responded.
She chuckled. “That’s always a good thing.”
“Could be even better if you were with me,” he said,
testing the water.
“Is that a fact?”
“That most definitely is a fact. I miss you, Tempest.” He
took a long drag of his cigarette.
“Another fact, James?” she asked.
“I’d never lie to you, mitawin,” he said frowning.
“If you say so.”
Pots clanged in his ear. “What are you doing?”
“Cooking.” More noise. “I’m sorry, James, but I have to
go. Glad you made it home safely.”
“Wait,” he blurted, unwillingly to let her go.
“Yes?”
“Do you miss me?”
She sighed. “We aren’t teenagers, James. I don’t have
time for this.”
“I know we’re not teens, even if I feel like one. I don’t
know how to handle this.”
Silence reigned.
Finally she spoke. “Handle what, James?”
What was he doing? What did he want? “Courting you.”
“Is that what you’re doing?”
“Yes. I mean…” He stumbled, overwhelmed, by the
feelings swarming him.
“James,” she spoke softly and he heard no censure in her
voice, only her gentle tone. “What are you talking about? You
live on the other side of the country. I have a hard enough time
having a relationship with Burl and we’re in the same state.
Same city, actually.”
“You are not having a relationship with him!” he
thundered.
He could almost hear her grind her teeth. “I’m not
arguing with you about this.”
“Good. That makes two
of us.” He ground out the butt
of his smoke. “I’m not sharing you.”
“Sharing me? You’re not sharing me?” Her words were
sharp and cold. “I’m not yours, James. You need to get that
through your thick skull.”
He made a fist and tried to relax it. “No, Tempest. You
do. You belong to me, just like I belong to you.”
A sharp, exasperated breath left her. “Don’t get all
Tarzan on me. I don’t do that.”
“If that’s what it takes to get you to realize what I
already know! By God, if carrying you off over my shoulder
and beating my chest gets the point across, then damn it, that’s
exactly what I’ll do!”
“That’s totally ridiculous behavior.”
“Damn it, Tempest! Why are you fighting destiny? You
are mine!” he growled into the receiver.
Click.
Tempest hung up on him. Amazed and speechless,
Maverick looked at the phone in shock.
“Fuck!” he yelled, tossing it across the room.
That hadn’t gone as intended. He’d expected her to just
agree like he longed her to do.
Putting his head in his hands, he groaned in dismay.
There was no way Harrier would let him leave again. A
situation was brewing in which they had to remain near. Very
near.
Muttering in Lakota, he went to his phone and called her
again. No answer. He growled deep in his throat and tried her
cell. His cell was immediately sent to voicemail.
Tossing the phone beside him he lit another smoke.
His phone rang and he scrambled to answer it.
“Tempest?”
“No,” a female’s voice bit off sharply. “Why would she
be calling?”
“No reason you need to concern yourself with why,
Mother. What do you want?” he retorted just as sharply.
Tempest was confused. Part of her longed for Maverick
to mean what he said. She wanted him to toss her over her
shoulder. She wished he would go “caveman” on her and take
her away.
It was so much easier to ignore his demands when he
was so far away. However, that didn’t stop the longing.
A few nights later, after cleaning up from her light
dinner, her doorbell rang.
Wiping her hands on the towel on her shoulder,
Tempest opened the door and froze. Out of all the people she
would have imagined showing up at her house, he was
nowhere on the list.
“Hello, Tempest. May I come in?”
At least he got my name right. She didn’t know what to
say. Tempest stepped back and silently waved him in.
Slow steps took him past her into her sanctuary.
Tempest remained silent as her visitor sat down on one end of
a couch.
His dark eyes stared at her, moving up and down her
body as if trying to memorize her.
“What do you want?” Tempest questioned, finally
finding her voice.
“Did you get my letter?” His voice was frail.
“Yes. James gave it to me. What. Do. You. Want?”
“I needed to see you again. The brief glimpse I got of
you in Little Creek wasn’t enough. You are my daughter.”
“No!” she snapped. “No, I’m not. You gave up your
parental rights. I’m nothing more than your niece at the very
least, one you’ve ignored for over twenty years.”
His face tightened with shame and pain. “It was the
biggest mistake I ever made.” His words were barely spoken
over a whisper. “I’d take it back in a second.”
“What was? Letting me go full term?” Her tone was
cutting.
“No, letting you go. Never about your birth.”
Tempest shrugged with as much nonchalance as she
could muster. “Well, you can’t take it back.” She was not going
to weaken before him. This was her home.
“You have no idea how sorry that makes me.”
“You’re right. I don’t. What do you want? Money?
What?”
He held up a wrinkled hand and waved it before him.
“No, nothing like that. Please, I wanted to apologize. Try to
mend fences. Make amends for my stupidity.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and raised her
brows. “And you think by showing up here…unannounced…is
going to further your cause?”
“Didn’t think you’d agree to meet if I called first.”
Tempest sank heavily into her overstuffed recliner. “I
wouldn’t have. But why should I? You tossed me away like
garbage when you were supposed to protect me.”
He couldn’t hold her gaze. As if ashamed, he glanced
down and began wringing his hands together.
Pushing up, Tempest asked, “Can I get you something
to drink?” She wasn’t sure why the offer slipped from her
mouth, but it was out now.
“That would be lovely. Coffee, if you have it.”
“Sure, no prob.” Tempest got up and set two cups, a
plate of cookies, cream and sugar, and the coffee pot on a tray.
Once back in the living room, she set it on the table between
them. She poured him a cup and placed it before him. “Here.”
“Thank you.”
His hands trembled as he reached for the steaming mug
and added two cubes of sugar. She noticed the pallor of his
skin.
“Are you okay?”
He took a sip of the drink and nodded. “I’m fine. Just
getting old. That’s all.”
She doubted that but let it go. What business was it of
hers anyway? “So say what you need to say.”
“There’s so much. So much I want to say. I know he
warned us to leave you alone, but I can’t, not anymore. I have
to tell you.”
She believed she knew who he meant. Maverick. But
still, Tempest asked, “Who?”
“Mr. Lonetree.”
Warmth filled her. He was doing his best to protect her,
even when he wasn’t near. “Well then, get to saying it.”
“I wish there was a way I could make you understand.”
She ground her back teeth. “That makes two of us. I
would love to understand how you can toss your youngest
child off to the side.”
He licked thin lips. “I didn’t want to. Lord, help me, I
didn’t, but I honestly believed it was the safest thing I could do
for you.”
Tempest snorted. Right, and monkeys fly outta my ass!
“I didn’t think you’d believe that, but I swear by
everything I am, that’s the God’s honest truth.”
“Why should I believe you?”
He looked up at her and in that moment, Tempest saw
not the name who’d abandoned her, but an old, worn down
man who seemed desperate to get her to understand. His heart
was in his eyes, his soul bared.
She swallowed. “Why don’t you just finish telling me,”
she suggested, her tone much softer. Tempest sat there and
listened as Mitchell Whitehall did his best to explain his
position. She remained silent and her coffee grew cold, sitting
untouched beside her.
“Carol’s a narcissist. She had plans,” he paused and
&
nbsp; poured more coffee, “grand plans and grander delusions of
how you could make her life better. All of that was threatened
when you told us you were pregnant. And with your news, all
of her dreams vanished. In her mind the only way she could
save face was to eliminate the problem. That meant getting rid
of you and pretending you never even existed. You simply had
to vanish. So, when I knew all her anger and rage would be on
you, I did what I thought would save you. Carol has always
been unstable, but I knew she was really losing her grip on
reality.”
Plans. Everyone had plans and none of them had
included her. Not in the least.
Tempest licked her lips and kept her pain inside. She
would hear him out. She wasn’t a scared little girl anymore.
And the man before her didn’t seem as imposing anymore.
“So I’d hoped Bertha would provide you with a safe
home, even though we’d lost touch since I married Carol. I can
only hope you had a kind stay with her.”
“She was my mother,” Tempest insisted. “We were a
family.”
Mitchell worried his lower lip. “Bertha never spoke to
me again.”
“I see.” Tempest had done her best to forget about the
life she had left behind in South Dakota.
“I wish things could have been different.”
“Don’t we all,” she said absently, her mind drifting to
thoughts of the handsome Maverick.
“Were you…happy?” he asked quietly.
“Yes. We had a rough start; but like I said, we became a
family. Her adopting me only furthered our bond.”
“What about…about my gra…your son?”
“Dakota?” Her father nodded as he ate another
chocolate chip cookie. She continued. “He should be home
soon. You can wait and ask him if you wish.”
Eyes filled with hope. “You’d let me meet him?”
An eyebrow rose. “If James warned you away, then I’m
sure you’ve seen him.”
“That man is very protective of you. He always was.”
That intrigued her. “What do you mean?”
“Young Lonetree always stood up for you. Beat up
Mitchell Jr. once.”
This was news. “I didn’t know.”
“Carol hated him from the get go. Never got along with
his parents, especially Dawn.” A short chuckle burst from him.
“I don’t know why they despise each other. Just always have.”
The door opened and Dakota walked in. “Hi, Mom,” he
hollered before falling silent and frowning at the man in the
room. “You! What are you doing here?” Dakota bit out.