Blinding Rain, Season 2, Episode 7 (Rising Storm) Read online

  Long, silent seconds passed where all Ginny heard was the rush of blood in her ears. Finally, Celeste blinked and lifted her chin. With her purse hooked over her forearm, she continued walking toward the counter as if she owned the town, her daughter at her side. But as she drew close, Ginny couldn’t help but notice that Jacob’s mother looked terrible—thinner than she’d been the last time Ginny had seen her, pale, with dark circles under her eyes as if she’d barely slept in weeks.

  Celeste stopped a foot away from the counter. “Ginny. Kristin. Good afternoon.”

  The situation couldn’t be more awkward. Ginny swallowed the sickness threatening to consume her and tried to smile, but even she knew it came out looking more like a scowl. “Hi, Celeste. Sara Jane.”

  Ginny nodded at Jacob’s older sister. For her part, Sara Jane sent Ginny a pitying smile and shrugged, telling Ginny loud and clear that she not only hated this moment as much as Ginny, but that she felt sorry for her.

  “Kristin,” Celeste said, no longer looking at Ginny. “I need a bouquet for my sister, Payton. Something sunny and fun. She’s going through a difficult time and could use some cheering up.”

  At the mention of Senator Rush’s wife, a woman Ginny had betrayed by sleeping with her husband, Ginny’s stomach completely pitched. Especially when Celeste glanced Ginny’s way with a very disapproving glare.

  Dear God, she was never going to get away from the misery she’d caused. It was still spiraling, months after the fact. Closing her eyes briefly, Ginny said the same silent prayer she’d been reciting since the moment she’d found out she was pregnant: Please, please, please let this baby be Jacob’s. But in the bottom of her soul she knew she didn’t deserve to have that prayer answered. She deserved to suffer for all the lives she’d ruined because of her stupidity.

  “Uh, sure.” Kristin glanced from Celeste to Ginny and back again. “I can do something like that. Do you want me to have it delivered to Payton’s house?”

  “No, my house is fine,” Celeste answered.

  When she didn’t elaborate, Sara Jane added, “Aunt Payton, Brittany, and Jeffry are staying with my parents for the time being. At least until they can find their own place.”

  The Rushes were separating? Ginny’s eyes shot open, and she looked at Sara Jane, wondering immediately how Brittany was handling the news...if she was relieved or upset or worried or...

  Her heart picked up speed. Whether Brittany agreed or not, Ginny still considered Brittany a friend. The oldest friend she had in Storm now. They’d been friends since they were kids. No one understood Brittany’s conflicted feelings regarding her parents more than Ginny. Brittany would need someone to talk to about all this. She’d need someone on her side now who understood the—

  “Does that thrill you, Ginny Moreno?” Celeste’s icy eyes shifted Ginny’s way and narrowed. “Knowing the senator is free now? It makes your life and that of your baby’s much easier, doesn’t it?”

  Kristin gasped behind the counter.

  At Celeste’s side, Sara Jane said, “Mom, don’t.”

  But Celeste didn’t seem to be listening. She turned fully to face Ginny, her eyes like frigid daggers. “You can all be a happy little family now, can’t you?”

  Ginny’s mouth fell open, and her face flamed.

  “Mom,” Sara Jane said harshly. “This is not the time or place.”

  “No, it’s not.” Celeste’s eyes simmered with both pain and fury. “It’s never the time or place for lies.” Lifting her chin but not looking away from Ginny’s eyes, she said, “Kristin, put the order on my account. Travis will take care of it.”

  She turned for the door.

  Still standing near the counter, Sara Jane looked at Kristin, then at Ginny. “I’m sorry,” she said in a low voice. “She’s going through a really rough patch right now. I talked her into getting out of the house for a bit to get flowers for Aunt Payton. I-I didn’t know this was going to happen.”

  “It’s okay,” Kristin said softly.

  But it wasn’t okay. Anger flared inside Ginny as she watched Celeste walk toward the door. Anger and a sense of self-preservation she knew she needed to start listening to—if not for herself then for Little Bit.

  “Celeste, wait.” She hustled—okay, waddled—after Celeste and reached Jacob’s mother just before the woman pulled the door open. Stepping in front of the door so Celeste couldn’t leave, she pinned the older woman with her eyes, not letting Celeste strike out and run away this time. “I know you don’t want to hear this but I’m going to say it again anyway. I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry I hurt everyone. I made a mistake. I’m human. Humans make mistakes. If I could go back and change what I did, I would. But I can’t. All I can do is try to be a better person now. No one feels worse about what happened than I do.”

  Celeste’s eyes narrowed. “I find that very hard to believe.”

  “It’s true.” Protectively, Ginny placed a hand on her belly to settle Little Bit, who was still flopping around like a Mexican jumping bean. “I know you don’t want to believe it, but I loved your son. He was my best friend. He looked out for me. He kept me grounded. Even when I made stupid choices or got myself in trouble, he was always there for me, lifting me back up and making sure I knew someone cared.”

  Tears burned Ginny’s eyes, and it took everything she had to blink them away instead of letting them fall down her cheeks as she forced herself to go on. “I wasn’t perfect, but neither was Jacob, and no one knew that better than he did. I don’t know what would have happened between me and Jacob if he hadn’t died, but I do know what he’d say to me now if he were here. He’d tell me I was a complete idiot for what I let happen with the senator but he wouldn’t want to crucify me for it. He’d want me to do exactly what I’m trying to do now—which is to pick up the pieces I let shatter and make things right for this baby. Jacob had the biggest heart I’ve ever known. Deep down I know he would have forgiven me eventually, especially knowing there’s a chance this baby could be his. And whether you want to believe it or not, there is still a chance this is his baby. One I’m holding on to with everything I have in me.”

  Celeste stared at her long minutes in silence. At the counter, Kristin and Sara Jane didn’t move. Ginny wasn’t even sure they breathed. She herself was having trouble breathing as she waited for Jacob’s mother to say something—anything.

  “And what if that child inside you is not Jacob’s?” Celeste finally said. “What then?”

  Ginny swallowed hard because she didn’t want to think about what would happen if this baby wasn’t Jacob’s. But she had to. She had to start thinking about the future and how she was going to protect Little Bit from the senator should the paternity test confirm her greatest fear.

  Reflexively, she smoothed her hand over her belly, trying to settle herself and Little Bit at the same time. “Then I’ll still love it because that’s what Jacob would want me to do. He’d want me to be the best mother I could be. Just like you were a great mother to him.”

  Celeste’s eyes filled with tears, and her lip quivered. Looking quickly away, she blinked rapidly and cleared her throat. In a raspy voice, she said, “Sara Jane, I’m ready to go. Kristin, thank you.”

  She looked back up at Ginny and for a moment, as their eyes held, Ginny thought she saw...understanding. If not that then at least acceptance. “I hope for your sake...” Celeste’s voice wavered again, and she cleared it once more. “I hope things turn out the way we both want.”

  Celeste reached around Ginny for the door handle. Heart still pounding, Ginny moved aside so Jacob’s mother could leave. Sara Jane headed for the door but paused when she reached Ginny.

  “For what it’s worth,” Sara Jane said softly, “Jacob would have liked what you just did. He would have liked it a lot.” She smiled sadly, then pulled the door open and hurried after her mother.

  As soon as the two were gone, Ginny’s adrenaline waned. She exhaled and leaned against the wall, but her big body swayed and
she nearly knocked a card display over in the process. Kristin hustled around the counter to right the display before it hit the ground.

  “Well,” Kristin said on a slightly hysterical laugh, sliding cards that had tipped back in their slots. “That was pretty impressive. You put Celeste Salt in her place. Too bad it didn’t happen at the Bluebonnet Cafe. It’d already be all over town if that were the case, which by the way, I think it should be. Good job standing up for yourself, little mama.”

  Ginny’s hands shook as she sagged against the wall. “I can’t believe I just did that.”

  “It’s about time you did.” Kristin placed her hands on her hips and pinned Ginny with a look. “I understand Celeste is grieving over her son, but that doesn’t make it okay for her to treat you like crap. People in this town give that woman way more leeway than they should.”

  As Ginny studied her newest friend, she didn’t miss the bite in Kristin’s words. And even though she appreciated having someone on her side again, she couldn’t help but get the feeling there was something simmering beneath the surface between Kristin and Celeste—at least on Kristin’s side.

  The bell above the door jangled before Ginny could ask about it, and Kristin looked away, fixing a smile on her face. “Can I help you?”

  A slim, tall, twenty-something woman with dark hair pulled back into a neat tail, olive skin golden from the sun, and wide green eyes smiled as she stepped into the shop wearing jeans and a long-sleeved tee. “Hi, actually, yes you can. I saw the Help Wanted sign in the window. Are you still hiring?”

  Relief washed over Kristin’s face, and she crossed to shake the woman’s hand. “Yes, we are, Ms...?”

  “Phelps.” The woman returned the handshake. “I’m Delia.”

  “Delia Phelps...” Kristin’s eyes narrowed. “That name is very familiar.”

  “That’s because I grew up here. My last name used to be Bruce. I recently got divorced and need to change it back but...” She waved her hand. “Well, it’s a huge process and I just haven’t had time.”

  “Delia Bruce Phelps,” Kristin muttered. Her eyes flew wide. “Oh, I know why that name sounds so familiar.”

  So did Ginny. Unease rolled through Ginny’s gut as she pushed away from the wall and took a better look at the cute, athletic woman with perky breasts and a flat stomach who’d just breezed back into Storm. Delia Bruce had dated Logan Murphy back in high school, and Ginny suddenly remembered how ga-ga Logan had been for the star volleyball athlete before he’d graduated and gone off to the military.

  “Yeah.” Delia’s blush deepened. “I’m the girl who ran off with her teacher and got married. That was a major mistake, let me tell you. Thank God some things can be explained away by the stupidity of youth, right?” She smiled. “Anyway, I’m looking for a job, and I’d love to fill out an application if you have one.”

  “Sure.” Kristin headed for the counter and motioned for Delia to follow. “We’re only looking for someone part time to help out at the counter. If that interests you, you can fill this out and leave it for Hedda Garten, the owner.”

  “That sounds perfect. Thank you.” Delia took the pen Kristin handed her and looked down at the application on the counter. “It’s really great to be home, let me tell you. This town never changes. I can’t wait to catch up with all my old friends. I heard Marcus Alvarez and Logan Murphy are back in town too.”

  “That they are,” Kristin said. “Looks like you picked the perfect time to come back to Storm.”

  Ginny didn’t agree. Eying the woman’s slim back from where she stood near the door, Ginny couldn’t help but think this was the absolute worst time the perky, perfect Delia Bruce could roll back into Storm. Because Ginny had a feeling as soon as Logan took one look at his gorgeous ex-flame, any lingering thoughts he had about Ginny—assuming he even had any anymore—were going to fly right out of his head.

  And then any hope Ginny had for a reconciliation with the man she’d grown to love would be nothing but a fantasy.

  Chapter Two

  By eight o’clock, Murphy’s was hopping.

  Logan worked the bar with his dad, making drinks and refilling pints while his mom manned the kitchen. Every time she rang the bell and said “Order up,” he grabbed plates of steaming food from the high counter and delivered them to waiting customers. Tending bar at the family pub wasn’t a bad job—it sure as hell beat baking in full camo gear in one hundred and twenty degree heat in the desert—and he hoped to one day run the place when his folks finally retired, but lately any joy he’d found falling back into the familiar swing of Murphy life was gone. And he knew it was all thanks to one person he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about.

  “You’re an idiot,” he muttered to himself as he wiped his hands on his apron and reached for a pint glass under the counter then pulled on the tap to fill another order. So he was never going to work the bar with Ginny and their kids like his parents did with him and his brothers. He could let go of that little fantasy. He had to, right? God knew, holding on to it was only making him miserable.

  The bell over the door jangled, and Logan glanced over noisy patrons laughing and drinking to see Marcus pull Brittany into the bar after him. Marcus waved Logan’s way, and Logan lifted his chin in acknowledgment as he continued to pull the tap and fill another pint, but inside his stomach twisted with a familiar feeling of discomfort.

  That twisting intensified as Marcus and Brittany headed toward the bar. Logan was happy for his friend, happy Marcus and Brittany were doing well especially considering all the shit pulling at them from both sides of their families, but seeing them together only reminded Logan of everything he didn’t have. And even though he knew it made him an ass, lately Logan wanted to tell Marcus to find another bar for his dates with Brittany, just so he didn’t have to watch the two of them being so in love.

  “Hey.” Marcus stopped at the end of the bar and wrapped an arm around Brittany’s waist as she moved up at his side. “You workin’ all night?”

  Duh, what does it look like? Logan checked that response and filled a highball with ice. “We’re short staffed tonight.”

  Someone slipped money in the jukebox, and Keith Urban’s voice filled the bar, crooning about the heat of summer. Brittany turned to look over her shoulder.

  “Does that mean you don’t get a break?” Marcus asked.

  Logan tipped the vodka bottle upside down and eyeballed a shot into the glass. “Not until Patrick or Dillon get off work and get here to help.”

  “Bummer.” Marcus watched him drop the vodka bottle back on the counter with a clink and reach for a pitcher of fruit juice. “We were hoping we could tempt you into having dinner with us.”

  Be the third wheel on their date? No way in hell.

  Logan reached for a maraschino cherry and slid it into the glass. “Sorry. Not tonight.”

  Marcus frowned.

  At Marcus’s side, Brittany whispered, “I don’t see her yet.”

  A tingle rushed down Logan’s spine as he set the drink on a tray and went to work filling another glass with ice. He hoped like hell they weren’t talking about Ginny. Seeing her tonight when he was already feeling depressed was the last thing he needed. “You lookin’ for someone?”

  “No.” Brittany faced him and grinned. “No one special.”

  Logan could tell by the way she wouldn’t meet his eyes that she was full of crap. But before he could call her on it she looked at Marcus and said, “How about that booth in the back?”

  “That works. I’ll be over in a minute.”

  “Okay.” She pressed a quick kiss to Marcus’s cheek—one that turned Logan’s stomach—then smiled Logan’s way and said, “Try not to work too hard.”

  Unease rolled through Logan’s gut as he fixed another drink and watched her cross the bar. He looked back at Marcus, caught the nervousness in his friend’s eyes, and knew the two were up to something.

  After setting the second drink on the tray, he grabbed a pint glass
and moved to the taps. “Whatever you two are planning, knock it off.”

  “Who, us?” Marcus flashed a quick smile. “We’re not planning anything.”

  Logan huffed. “I might be screwed in the head from my time overseas, but I’m not dumb. I’m not in the mood for seeing Ginny.”

  “Brittany isn’t either.” Marcus’s expression sobered. “She wasn’t looking for Ginny.”

  “Then who was she looking for?” Logan topped off the beer and set it on the tray.

  “Don’t know.” That mischievous look filled Marcus’s dark eyes again. He tapped a hand on the bar. “Come over and join us when you get a break. And try to keep an open mind. That’s the only thing I ask.”

  Logan’s gaze followed his friend as he wove through the bar and joined Brittany at the booth in the back. He didn’t sit across from her as he normally did when they came in. He sat next to her, both facing the door as if waiting and watching for someone.

  Logan’s discomfort kicked up even more, but he barely had time to wonder what the two were up to. His mother called, “Order up” again just as he was about to deliver a tray full of drinks. He didn’t have time for romance and silliness. He had a job to do, even if that job was a helluva lot less enjoyable than it had ever been.

  An hour later, Logan was still having trouble getting his mind off Ginny. Marcus and Brittany hadn’t left. They sat in the same booth, their burgers now finished, nursing their drinks as they flirted and didn’t even try to keep their hands off each other. The sight was more than Logan could handle, and when his brother Patrick showed up and offered to relieve him at the bar so he could take a break, he untied his apron, desperate for fifteen minutes out back to clear his head and check his attitude. He was just about to turn for the kitchen when the bell above the door jingled again and a familiar face walked into the pub.