Chayton's Tempest (41 page)

would all work out in the end.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to disappoint you, Mama.”

“You can’t ever disappoint me, Dakota Falcon. Not

ever.” She glanced up toward the entrance of the kitchen and

saw Mitchell standing there. Such sorrow on his face and she

knew he was remembering how he’d responded to her telling

him. He met her gaze briefly before slipping away silently,

leaving her and her son alone.

Tempest lost track of time. She merely allowed her son

to cry out his uncertainty. A small smile crossed her face as she

realized what she really wanted to do was to talk this through

with James.

She wanted to think of him as her partner, the one she

went to when she was confused, like now. She wanted to curl

up in his arms and cry over the fact her son, no
their
son, was

about to be a father. Hell, the fact
she
was about to be a

grandmother.

“Look,
Dak
. How is Shelia handling all this? Has she

told her family?”

“I don’t think so, Mom.” He pushed up and sat down in

a chair beside her.

I’m back to mom again. Guess he’s ready to grow up now.

“Well, you know I’m here to help. So if you, either of you, need

to talk, come find me, okay?”

A fierce look filled his face. “I’ll take care of her, Mom. I

promise. And, God willing, she’ll agree to marry me. She has to

know how much I love her.”

“I know you will,” she said solemnly. “Now, get some

rest.”

He licked his lips and nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I love you,

Mom.” Dakota stood and kissed her on the cheek before going

to his room.

Alone in the kitchen, she ran a tired hand over her eyes.

“A grandmother, damn.” With weary steps, she went to her

room and climbed into bed.

Noise woke her up in the morning. Grumbling, Tempest

rolled out of bed and stomped to the door. She was exhausted

and wanted more than three hours of sleep. Some days she

could operate on less sleep, but this…
this
wasn’t one of those

days.

Yanking her bedroom door open, she recognized Dakota

and Shelia yelling at each other in the living room.
And so it

begins.
Tempest rubbed her hand over her eyes and walked up

the hallway to stop in the living room’s entrance.

“Can anyone explain to me why I’ve been awakened

after three measly hours of sleep?” Tempest snapped.

Shelia spun to face her, shame and sorrow written all

over her face. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Ms.
Burnell
. So sorry; I’m

leaving right now.”

“The hell you are!” Dakota thundered. “We aren’t done

with this conversation!”

Shelia wiped her hand furiously across her tear-streaked

face. “I think we are.”

Tempest fought down the urge to intervene. Her son

stood toe to toe with the woman he loved and who carried his

baby. Her fingers touched her lips as she stared at them. Their

words ceased to have any meaning to her, but their expressions

drew her into a world where she wished she’d been years ago.

Dakota threw his hands up to the sky and shook his head.

When Shelia backed away from him, he scowled a familiar

scowl. Without missing a beat, he stepped closer, tossed Shelia

over his shoulder, and marched to his bedroom.

Tempest still stood in the same place after he slammed

his door. Her son had such passion in him and Shelia’s

matched his stride for stride.

It would work out. Tempest was certain of it. But this

was not her fight and she wouldn’t interfere. With difficulty,

she returned to her room instead of heading for her son’s that

contained furious shouting.

Crawling back into bed, Tempest closed her eyes and

waited impatiently for the sandman to stop by and dust her

eyes. Soon and thankfully she was back in a world of her

creation. This was the only place she allowed James
Chayton

Lonetree
be the man in her life. The only man. Her husband.

Her lover. Her friend.

Dakota and Shelia were gone when she awoke later.

Mitchell was outside weeding her rock path that wove around

her fruit trees. After she showered, dressed, and got something

to drink, Tempest picked up her phone and dialed a number.

“Hello?”

Tempest swallowed. “Hi,
Xaria
. It’s me, Tempest.”

“Hey, Tempest. How are you?” A short pause. “Is

everything okay?”

“I’m fine. I was just wondering if you could tell James to

call me when they get back?”

A chuckle reached her. “James? Absolutely. I love how

you are like the only one who calls him that, aside from

Aidrian’s
sister. Did you leave a message on his phone?”

Tempest swirled the ice in her glass around. “No. I

didn’t.”

“Is everything okay? You sound a bit tense,”
Xaria

noted.

“I’m good. Just a bit of a rough night. Well, I’m sure you

are busy and I have some things to get done as well. Thank you

so much for giving him the message for me.”

“Tempest, you do know I’m here if you want to talk,

right?”

“Thank you,
Xaria
. I won’t forget that.” Tempest hung

up and set the phone down on the table.

Twenty-Six

Maverick lit a cigarette as the phone rang and rang. He’d

wanted to call her the second they returned, and that feeling

only intensified when
Xaria
had delivered a message from

Tempest. She
wanted
him to call her. That made him nervous.

“I didn’t even know she and
Xaria
talked to each other.”

Before he’d left the base, Hondo had smiled and

reminded him that
all
the women liked Tempest. Maverick

knew what those words meant. He was seriously fucked if he

ever hurt her.

He frowned as he got her cell phone’s voice mail.

Snuffing out the barely smoked cigarette, he called her house. It

was answered on the first ring.

“
Burnell
residence.” Her velvety voice stretched out

across the country and caressed him like a lover.

“Good morning,
mitawin
.”

“James,” she said on a sigh that sent his body into

overdrive with wanting her. “I take it you got my message.

How are you?”

He walked outside to stand on his balcony. The late

summer day was almost perfect. If only there weren’t a country

between him and the woman on the other end of the phone.

“James?” she asked again. “Are you still there?”

He smiled like a fool. “I’m here, baby.” He’d been

daydreaming about her so often, hearing her voice sent him off

again. “Why didn’t you leave a message on my phone?” His

brows furrowed. “When did you meet the girls?”

“The girls?”

“All the wives.”

She laughed and his heart sped up. “
Xaria
came out to

meet me and stayed for a while. I guess it was two times ago

that you were gone. I called her because I didn’t know what I

could do if you were gone.”

“Baby, you can always call and leave me a message.

Always.”

“Okay. I…I just didn’t know.”

Her voice told him something was wrong. His eyes

narrowed and one hand curled into a fist. “What’s going on,

Tempest? What’s happening out there? Is it Mitchell?”

“No! No. Actually, we get along fairly well.”

“He’s still there?” He couldn’t mask his amazement.

“Yes. He’s out in the backyard. Building something or

another.”

“And you’re okay with it?”

“A lot more than I’d ever thought I would be.”

He went inside. “Then what’s wrong? I can hear it in

your voice, Tempest. There is something worrying you. Is it

Dakota?” Her silence gave him his answer. His stomach

heaved. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Physically, nothing. But I think he could use a
fatherson

kind of chat.”

Maverick poured himself some water. “Tempest,” he

growled, despising not knowing. “What is going on?”

“He and Shelia—”

“Oh, no,” he broke in. “Did they break up?” He knew

how much Dakota loved her.

“No. They’re going to be parents. You’re going to be a

grandfather.”

Oh, shit!
Maverick almost dropped the phone. “A

grandfather?” He wiped sweaty palms off on his jeans. “Are

you sure?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m sure. Look, I don’t know what to tell him.

He knows I’m behind them both and that I’m not disappointed

in them, but it’s not working. I think he needs to talk to you.”

Maverick sat down at his breakfast bar. “Do you really

think that would be for the best, Tempest, considering I didn’t

even do remotely the right thing with you?”

 
“Yes. Yes I do.”

Her response came without the slightest hesitation and

Maverick felt another wave of love for her flow through him.

“I don’t want to overstep—”

“Shut up, James. You are his father. And he needs one

right now.”

“You know I love you, right, Tempest?” he asked.

“Call your son, James,” she said softly before hanging

up.

Maverick sat there for a while and just stared at nothing.

A baby. His son was going to be a daddy.
He
was going to be a

grandfather.

That was the bundle of pink Tempest had been holding

in his dream. So then all that remained was the woman he

loved beside him.

Grabbing up the phone, Maverick placed another call.

The voice on the other end made him smile. “Hello, son,” he

said.

_

Tempest smiled as she served drinks. She loved her job.

Loved her patrons and her employees. But something was

missing.

And deep in her heart she knew what it was

James.

“You okay,
hon
?” Sparky asked from across the bar.

“You look a little lost in thought.”

“I’m good, Sparky. Just a bit off, I think.”

“Why don’t you quit pretending and go get that

handsome man who seems to taking up all your thoughts.” He

squeezed her arm. “You need to tell him the truth so y’all can

get married.”

She chuckled even as the truth rang in her ears. “What

truth is that?”

 
“That you love him. You’ve never stopped loving him,

and you want to spend the rest of your life at his side.”

“You know he’s only speaking the truth,”
Mili’s
sultry

voice popped in.

Tempest glared at her. “You too? What is this, Pick on

Tempest Day?”

“No,”
Mili
retorted, “it’s Get Stubborn Tempest to See