Thunder Rolls: Episode 8 (Rising Storm) Page 8

  The old man reached over to fill Tate’s glass, and like some kind of magic lodestone, it pulled Tate’s attention momentarily from his brother.

  “Marcus, you grab the keg and then you and Tucker get back to the booth. Tate and I will hold the fort here. Right, Tate?”

  Tate grabbed the glass and swallowed the contents in one gulp. “Yeah. So get out of here.”

  Tucker didn’t have to be asked twice. And neither did Marcus, who grabbed the keg and swung it up onto his shoulder, following Tucker out of the pub.

  “Jesus, you really fucked up, man,” Marcus said, considering what he’d do if someone tried to take Brittany from him. The idea didn’t sit pretty at all. And he wondered how in hell she’d come to mean so much to him in such a short time. If anyone even tried to touch her…

  “I know. Believe me, I know,” Tucker said, pulling the brim of his cowboy hat lower in the face of the morning sun. “But the funny thing is, despite the possibility that I’ve lost my brother forever—she’s worth it.”

  And damned if Marcus didn’t understand exactly what Tucker meant.

  * * * *

  “Everything is all set,” Payton Rush said, reaching out to straighten Sebastian’s tie. It was something she’d done a thousand times before, and yet for some reason this time felt different. As if something inside her were shifting. A ridiculous notion. Her sister’s life had been upended with Jacob’s death and Ginny’s pregnancy, not hers.

  She could see them sitting in the third row. Ginny was next to Logan Murphy—his arm around her protectively. Celeste sat on the other side, an empty chair, no doubt for Travis, next to her. Payton swallowed a rush of anger. She had the feeling Travis was seeing someone else. Even with everything that had happened she was certain he hadn’t put a stop to it.

  She was pretty sure she knew who it was, too. But it wasn’t her place to pry. And Sebastian would be the first to tell her to stand back. If she’d learned nothing else in becoming a Rush, it was that scandal was to be avoided at all cost.

  Pain rumbled deep inside her, but she pushed that away, too. It was all about the façade, and she’d worked too damn hard to let anything threaten to crumble it. Even concern for her sister. Although even if Travis pulled it together, there was still the matter of Ginny Moreno. And the miracle child. God, she hoped it was true. But she’d been around long enough to know that something about all this rang false.

  Ginny’s relationship with Logan being the first sign, Payton was certain. Even if everything worked out with the baby, Payton doubted that Ginny was going to be living with Celeste for much longer. She’d seen the look in Logan’s eyes. And somehow she knew he wasn’t a man who shared easily.

  “Payton, let go,” Sebastian’s voice cut into her worried thoughts. “You’ve only managed to make it worse.”

  She let go of the tie, watching as he adjusted the knot himself.

  “There. Perfect.”

  And perfect he was. Always. He’d been born to be a politician. Payton shot a look over at her mother-in-law. Marylee was deep in conversation with Zeke Johnson. She knew they had plans for grooming Zeke’s oldest, Tate. And she wondered if Tate had any idea that he’d just sold his soul to the devil.

  “Payton?” Sebastian was frowning. “Are you going to stand there gaping or come out with me to the dais?”

  “I think I’ll just watch you from here, if that’s okay.”

  “If that’s what you want.” He shrugged and walked away as she fumbled through her purse, looking for the little cloisonné pill box she carried. And more importantly, the Xanax inside. Her hand closed around the box just as someone touched her shoulder. And suddenly it was as if all the tension just drained out of her.

  “Everything okay?” Francine’s eyes held concern. When was the last time anyone had worried about Payton? It was her job to worry about everyone else.

  “Yes, I’m fine. I always get a little nervous when Sebastian is speaking.”

  “Seems like that would be old hat by now. You sure it isn’t something else?” Francine’s hand was warm against her skin and Payton shivered.

  “I’m just worried about my sister, that’s all. I can’t help but feel like we’re still waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

  Payton’s attention wandered for a moment as Dakota Alvarez walked past them, shuffling some papers in her hand. She stopped for a word with Marylee, who nodded and then walked over to the edge of the dais.

  “Once the baby is born, everything will be fine,” Francine was saying. “You’ll see.”

  Payton shook her head, pulling her thoughts back to Francine. “I’m sure you’re right. I’m just tired. We’ve all been working so hard on Sebastian’s reelection. Which means I’ve been letting other things slide.”

  “You always put your family first,” Francine said, reaching out to squeeze Payton’s hand. “What you need is someone who puts you first. What do you say after the festival is over you and I find somewhere quiet and share a bottle of wine? Just let the world turn without us for a little while.”

  “Sounds like heaven.” Payton beamed. “It’s a date.”

  Francine squeezed her hand again and walked away. But Payton kept watching her as she walked down the stairs heading back to the first aid station.

  Her friend was right. She needed some down time. Alone. With someone she trusted.

  Just having the thought made her feel guilty. After all, she had her family. That should be enough, shouldn’t it? But then again, it wasn’t like it was truly a date. Those were just words. She and Francine were friends. And there was nothing wrong with that.

  Nothing at all.

  CHAPTER 9

  Dakota’s hands were sweaty, her heart beating a tattoo against her ribs. The pages from the medical records burned in her hand. She’d unfolded them and placed them with her mother’s announcement notes.

  It had given her a peculiar thrill to walk past Sebastian, knowing she alone held the power to bring him down. Only he didn’t believe she had the guts to do it. And maybe she didn’t. It was a lot easier to picture standing in front of the entire town revealing Sebastian’s indiscretions. But in order for people to take her seriously, she was going to have to admit the part she’d played in all of this.

  Maybe they’d all see her as a victim. Or maybe she’d be painted the whore.

  For some reason her gaze fell on Patrick Murphy, sitting in the third row. He was staring over at Marisol Moreno with what amounted to goo-goo eyes. What was it with the damn Morenos? Everyone went nuts over them. Even Luis had garnered attention from both Lacey and Mallory. So much so that her sister wasn’t even talking to Lacey and they’d been best friends for practically ever.

  Marisol wasn’t even looking at Patrick. She only had eyes for her sister. The blessed Ginny.

  Dakota snorted, and Marylee Rush frowned over at her. God forbid there was a moment of levity in this all-important political moment. For even she was smart enough to realize that the senator’s speech would be more about his reelection than about the illustrious founders of Storm. Of course one of those had been a Rush, so probably he would be applauding from his gold-lined coffin.

  From across the way, the senator sneered at her. Although in truth, he probably didn’t even see her. More the idea of her. And all the gullible girls who’d come before her. Including Ginny Moreno. Dakota chewed the side of her lip. Maybe she shouldn’t be doing this. Maybe Ginny had been screwed over as much as she had. But then Ginny had lied. And she’d taken everything Dakota had ever wanted.

  Besides, it wasn’t fair to Lacey and her family. They all believed that the kid inside Ginny was Jacob’s. And what about Brittany and Jeffry? Surely they deserved to know the truth about their father? Or then again, maybe they wouldn’t thank her for destroying their family.

  But what did she care anyway? They’d never given her the time of day. Particularly not Payton, with her fancy airs, and Marylee, with her down-her-nose stares. They deserved what they go
t. All of them. She’d show them who had the upper hand. No one dumped her and got away with it. She shuddered, remembering the last time Sebastian had taken her. Like she was nothing.

  Dakota watched as Marylee did a last search for her mother. And then, not seeing Joanne, sent Dakota a resigned nod. Dakota smiled, squared her shoulders and, clutching the medical report, stepped to the microphone.

  “Hi, everybody. I realize you were probably expecting my mother, but there was a little incident with pickles, so hopefully in her absence, I’ll do as a substitute.”

  The crowd settled down, and she waited a beat as Travis Salt made his way to his seat. “So as you know, it’s Founders’ Day, and before we move on to the speeches, I have a few announcements to make.” Her hands shook as she moved the report out from behind her mother’s notes.

  Patrick Murphy winked at her, and for a moment she felt guilt rising again. But out of the corner of her eye she saw Sebastian’s smug look. He truly believed she’d never risk her own reputation to betray him. Of course he probably hadn’t counted on the fact that there was no reputation to ruin. Nobody cared about her in this Godforsaken town.

  She purposely looked away from Patrick and cleared her throat. “I know this event is important to a lot of us. After Jacob’s death, it seemed like maybe we wouldn’t even want to be here celebrating. But I know he’d be the first one to urge us to pull together. To be strong for our community.”

  God, she sounded like a politician. Just below the edge of the stage she could see a couple of cameramen. Which meant things were about to go viral.

  She swallowed, her mouth suddenly going dry. “I know that Jacob would also be the first one to insist that we embrace the truth.” Her gaze cut to Ginny. “All of it.” Ginny frowned and made to rise, but Logan’s arm slid around her shoulder and she settled back into his embrace.

  “All of you know that Ginny claims to be carrying Jacob’s child.” She could hear rustling behind her, and knew she only had a few more minutes before the senator realized where she was going and tried to stop her. “But what you don’t know is that Jacob was impotent. An accident from childhood.” She lifted the medical report into the air and heard a chair scrape behind her.

  “And what you also don’t know,” she said, her eyes locked on Ginny, “is that Senator Rush had an affair with Ginny. So it’s far more likely that the baby she’s carrying is his.” She only had seconds now; she could hear footsteps behind her. “I know this because he told me—the night he dumped me, bragging that I was only one in a long line of girls he’d fucked. Girls like Ginny Moreno.”

  A hand clamped around her shoulder and her eyes filled with tears. She’d shocked everyone with her declaration, but the only thing she saw in their gazes was loathing and pity.

  “I have proof,” she practically screamed into the microphone even as Zeke Johnson tried to pull it away. “And you all need to wake up to the sleaze bag that Sebastian Rush really is. He’s Ginny’s baby’s father and he’s too damned calculating to even support his own child. God forbid that his indiscretions get in the way of his political aspirations.”

  She could see him standing there in her periphery vision. His expression was masked, his mouth still curled in a smirk, but in his eyes she could see a spark of something. Fear maybe.

  The mayor grabbed the mic and shoved her back. She stumbled and would have fallen except that Patrick Murphy caught her. How the hell had he gotten on stage? She tried to break free, still determined to make everyone see the truth.

  “Hush,” Patrick said, his hold on her tightening. “This isn’t the time or place.”

  “But I’m telling the truth. And you all are letting him get away with it. What he did to Ginny. To me. To all of us.” Tears were streaming down her face now, anger mixing with anguish.

  “You’ve done enough damage, Dakota,” the mayor said. “Just get out of here. Go home.”

  “But I’m not the one who did anything wrong,” she sobbed, feeling as if she were breaking in two.

  “Come on,” Patrick said, his voice soothing. “I’ll drive you home.”

  “No. I want to stay. I want to face this head on. I meant what I said: I have proof.” She shook the medical report in his face.

  “Uncle Zeke is right. This isn’t the time.” He pulled her to the side of the stage, his touch firm but still gentle.

  Dakota’s anger beat out the anguish by a smidge. “But I’m telling the truth.” She’d been driven to repeating herself, but no one was listening.

  “I believe you,” Patrick said, his pale blue eyes full of regret. “But right now that doesn’t matter. What matters is getting you out of here.”

  “Before the mob turns on me?” Her words were so bitter she could almost taste them. “He’s the hero and I’m the villain? And what about Ginny? She lied to everyone. Doesn’t anyone care about that? What about Jacob? Doesn’t he deserve better?”

  “Jacob is dead, Dakota. And you’ve just managed to tear apart what’s left of his family.” He led her off the stage and out behind the gathering. She could hear people talking. Shouting, some of them.

  “I didn’t do that. Ginny Moreno did.”

  “And I’ve no doubt she’ll have to face her own demons. Senator Rush, too. But you’re the one who set this all in motion. And you know as well as I do that you didn’t do this out of the goodness of your heart.”

  “Maybe I don’t have a heart.” The tears were falling again even as her words defied him. How the hell had she managed to get herself involved in any of this? She should have left Storm when her father did. There was certainly nothing here for her now.

  “Stop feeling sorry for yourself,” Patrick said, his voice taking on an edge. “You’re the only one who can pull yourself out of the morass you’ve managed to sink into. So grow up and do it. There is something worthwhile inside of you, Dakota. I’m sure of it. But you’ve got to tend it and care for it. Because if you don’t, no one else will.”

  They stood for a moment glaring at each other and then her mother’s soft voice intervened. “Thank you, Patrick,” she said, a quiet dignity in her tone. “I’ve got it from here.”

  Patrick stared at her for a moment longer and then turned and walked away.

  To Dakota’s surprise, her mother slipped an arm around her shoulder. “Let’s get you out of here, sweetie. Before the hyenas come calling.”

  She let her mother pull her away, her heart breaking and her gut churning, and surprisingly, just the tiniest glimmer of hope glistening in the memory of something she’d seen in Patrick Murphy’s ice blue eyes.

  * * * *

  “Surely you don’t believe anything that girl had to say.” Sebastian Rush followed in his wife’s wake as she strode across the stage.

  “I believe you fucked her. And sadly enough, I believe she was telling the truth about Ginny Moreno, too. You were too caught up in yourself to notice, but if you’d seen that poor girl’s face when Dakota accused her of lying…” She stopped and turned to face her husband. “I have put up with your indiscretions all these years. For my own selfish reasons. But the idea that you took advantage of those young women. God, Sebastian, they’re not much more than girls. And Ginny is your daughter’s best friend.”

  “It’s not like it wasn’t a two-way street.” He gritted his teeth, angry that his wife had him defending himself. He’d done nothing she hadn’t driven him to. “If you’d been a proper wife—”

  “Stop it this instant, both of you.” Marylee came to a halt in front of them, her body blocking them from the crowd’s view. “There are reporters here. We need to present a united front. We need to stop this before it takes root. Deny all of it. Everything.”

  “I don’t give a good goddamn what the press thinks,” Payton snapped. “I need to find my children.”

  “What will you tell them?” Sebastian felt a niggle of fear.

  “I won’t have to tell them anything. They’re here somewhere. So they’ll have already heard it.
I just need to be sure they’re okay.”

  “Fine,” he said, pulling his emotions into check. “You handle the children and Mother and I will handle the press.”

  “I’m not going to handle anything.” Payton’s expression, if possible, went more glacial. “I’m going to try and pick up the pieces of the family you broke.” She turned on her heels and strode from the stage.

  “Dear God, Mother, what are we going to do?” His stomach was roiling, his empire unraveling before him.

  “What we always do, Sebastian,” Marylee said, lifting her chin. “We find a way to survive.”

  *****

  “Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.” Brittany’s hands were shaking and she felt as if she might just dissolve into a puddle on the grass.

  “Come on, sweetheart, breathe,” Marcus said, his strong arms keeping her from falling. “Just breathe.”

  “I can’t. I can’t seem to pull the air in. All I can do is hear that bitch’s words rolling through my head like some kind of off-color public service announcement. My dad and Ginny. Jacob’s baby. No. My father’s baby. With my best friend.” She swallowed, hysteria threatening to overwhelm her. “My ex-best friend. Oh. My. God. Marcus, what am I going to do?”

  “You’re going to let me take you home.”

  “No. I can’t go there. I just can’t. I need to be somewhere away from all of them. Away from Ginny. From my grandmother. Oh God. What about Jeffry? Is he here? Does he know?”

  “Breathe, baby. Breathe. Jeffry is with the Waters. He was helping them cover the event for the paper. They’re good people. They’ll take care of him. Right now we need to concentrate on you.”

  “But my mom. We have to find my mom. She’ll be destroyed.” Brittany fought to hold back the cold clamor threatening to swallow her whole. “How could he have done this to us? How could Ginny do this?”