Tempest's Paradise (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Amanda Kay

  Tempest looked up at her with pleading eyes. “Do you promise?”

  “I promise, honey. You’re a strong woman. You will get over this. You will get over him.”

  “O–o–okay,” Tempest said in a shaky voice.

  “Now let’s get you in the shower. It’s times like this that call for comfort food,” Elaine said with a warm smile.

  Tempest gave her a watery chuckle. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  Tempest climbed out of the bed and trudged into the shower. She didn’t want to admit it, but she did feel better. She walked into her living room and had to smile. Elaine had raided her kitchen and found every comfort food available and spread it out on the coffee table. They spent the rest of the weekend man-hating and bashing. When Elaine finally headed home two days later, Tempest was feeling better.

  * * * *

  Tempest felt like shit. She was once again sitting outside the general’s office waiting.

  “Sergeant, the general will see you now,” the secretary said.

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  Tempest stepped into General Westin’s office and saluted. “Sergeant Westfield reporting as ordered, sir.”

  “At ease, soldier, take a seat please,” Westin said and studied her closely. He could feel that something was wrong. She didn’t have her usual fire, and she looked sickly pale.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “I was informed the other day that you were no longer needed at Maddox Inc.,” he said and watched as a pained expression moved across her face.

  “Yes, sir. I was informed on Friday by Mr. Maddox of the same thing, sir,” Tempest said and tried to keep her voice neutral, but she was pretty sure she didn’t succeed.

  “I see. Is there anything you need to tell me, soldier?” Westin asked suspiciously.

  “Yes, sir.” She handed him some papers. “If you would see to it that this gets back to Mr. Maddox. I found the malicious coding in his mainframe. I removed the malicious code and set up safety protocols to prevent another attack. Those are the protocols I put into place and how they work, sir,” Tempest said, but all of a sudden things started getting blurry and she got very hot and started sweating profusely.

  “Of course, Sergeant. Is there anything else?” Westin said, trying to pry out what had happened, but he figured he had a good idea. It probably meant he was going to have to kill Devin.

  Tempest went to stand, and the room started spinning. “Yes, sir, I don’t feel so well. I think I’m going to…” She never finished as the world went black.

  Westin stared stunned for a second and then rushed around his desk. He barely caught Tempest before she hit the floor.

  “Medic! Get me a medic in here now!” he bellowed.

  His office was in chaos for what seemed like forever as they got Tempest ready and headed to the hospital. Her next of kin was a woman named Elaine. General Westin made the call personally. The woman was at the hospital in less than ten minutes. They both waited anxiously for a report from the doctor.

  A tall man in his mid-forties came toward them, and Elaine jumped to her feet, anxious for news.

  “Are you Elaine Freshwater?” the doctor said.

  “Yes! What’s happened?” she asked, desperate.

  “I’m Dr. Jhong, and your friend is going to be okay. She seems to have just had a drop in her blood pressure, but it isn’t unheard of in her condition. Has she been under any stress lately?” he asked.

  It took Elaine a minute to register what he was saying. “Hold on a second. What do you mean in her condition?” she asked, dreading the answer.

  “She’s pregnant. Just at four weeks. Has she been under any stress lately?” he asked again.

  “You could say that,” Elaine answered sharply as her anger started to rise. “When can I see her?”

  “You can see her now. She is awake and I’ve already talked to her about what she needs to do,” he finished and gave them both a little nod as he left to see his next patient.

  Elaine turned to look at Westin. “Thank you, sir, for calling me. The doctor said she was fine, just had a drop in blood pressure,” she informed him but left out the vital information.

  He looked at Elaine with suspicion. “What is going on, Miss Freshwater? I’m missing something in all of this, and I would like to know what it is.”

  “I’m sorry, sir, but it isn’t up to me to tell you.”

  “I understand and respect that, but I would like the chance to speak with Sergeant Westfield before I leave.”

  “I’ll let her know,” Elaine said and headed to Tempest’s room with Westin following her.

  Elaine walked into the hospital room, and the sight she found was one she would never forget. Tempest wasn’t a small woman, but she looked small, pale, and terrified as she lay in the hospital bed. Elaine went and sat on the bed next to her friend. Tempest clutched her hand so hard it actually hurt.

  “El, I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she said, her words tinged in desperation. “I’m never going to be able to get over him now. What am I supposed to do?”

  “It’s your decision, Temp, but I’m here with you. We can do this together. I promise,” Elaine said and squeezed her friend’s hand back. “The general is outside. He wants to speak with you.”

  “Okay, but I want you to stay,” she said, the desperation creeping back in.

  “I’m not going anywhere.” Elaine patted her hand and went back to open the door.

  Clark Westin walked into Tempest’s room, and he became angry. Not at her but at the fact that something had happened to her. He had grown quite fond of her and very protective of her over the last couple of months. He and his wife didn’t have any children, but he felt every fatherly instinct he had go on high alert. He was ready to pounce on whoever hurt her, and he had a pretty damn good idea of who it was.

  “Sergeant Westfield, I’m glad you’re okay, but I would like to know what is going on. You won’t be in any kind of trouble or face any kind of discipline, but I’m concerned and I’ll do what I can to help,” Clark said sincerely.

  A tear slid down Tempest’s cheek. She was touched by the general’s compassion. She knew he could order her to tell him what was going on, but he was giving her the option to tell him. It meant a lot coming from him.

  “I’m pregnant, sir,” she said, her voice cracking.

  “I see. You know in order for you to stay in the army you will need a childcare plan, long term and short term?”

  “Yes, sir, I know. I just need a little time…”

  “She has one, sir. I’m going to be helping out,” Elaine said, interrupting Tempest. She still hadn’t released her hand and gave Tempest’s a reassuring squeeze.

  “That is good to hear. Who is the father, Sergeant?” he asked, his posture rigid.

  Tempest looked down at her hands for a moment and then looked up at the general. Her expression was determined, and her eyes said she had made a decision.

  “The father is unknown, sir,” she said, her voice calm and steady.

  “I see.” Clark regarded her carefully. Oh yeah he knew who the father was without even having to ask. He was going to kill that man, and it wasn’t going to be a swift death either. Oh no, Devin Maddox was going to suffer before he died. “Are you sure?” he asked, his voice laced with concern.

  “Sir, the father told me to never contact him again. I’m simply respecting his wishes,” she said softly, her eyes downcast as she fought to keep her tears at bay.

  “Understood,” Clark said, his voice tight as he fought to stay in control of his emotions. He looked back and forth between Tempest and Elaine for what seemed like an eternity. “Is there anything tying you to this place?” he asked, looking at Elaine.

  “No, sir. None at all, sir,” she answered crisply.

  “Very good. Sergeant Westfield, you are going to be transferred to work in my office as my personal assistant.” He held up his hand as she started to argue. “You are going fo
r your promotions board in the next few months, and you need to be prepared. You will make staff sergeant, and you will continue working for me until you are notified otherwise.”

  “Yes, sir,” Tempest said, her voice barely heard in the room.

  “Pack your bags, ladies, my next command is III Corps Commanding General for Fort Hood, Texas,” he said with a smile. He turned with a precision that took years to perfect and left two stunned young women in his wake. He immediately headed back to his office to get the paperwork started. Yep, sometimes it was good to be the boss.

  * * * *

  Eight months later

  Good God her feet hurt. She looked like a beached whale. Everyone kept telling her how radiant she looked. It took everything she had not to roll her eyes at them. She was moody. Her back hurt. Her breasts were sensitive to the lightest touch and hurt like hell. She had near-constant indigestion. She had to pee what seemed like every five minutes. Her hands and ankles were swollen to the point of ridiculous. She rolled her eyes a lot at those people. There was nothing radiant about her.

  She got the coffee made and set up all the fixings to go with it. She was getting the conference table finished when the III Corps command team walked in for their weekly staff meeting. She was heading around the table to take her seat and make notes for General Westin. She got halfway there and she felt something strange and looked down. She was standing in a puddle of water, and it wasn’t raining.

  Shit!

  “Now, gentlemen, this meeting is to discuss…” Westin started.

  “Sir, I hate to interrupt you, but I’ve got a little bit of a problem,” Tempest said, her voice shaking.

  Most of the men on the command team looked at her disapprovingly, but she just couldn’t find it in herself to care.

  “What seems to be the problem, Staff Sergeant Westfield?” he said, his voice concerned.

  She looked at him with wide and terrified eyes. “My water just broke,” she said, clutching her stomach.

  The room was silent for agonizing seconds as the leaders of Fort Hood stared at her with their mouths hanging open. They had no clue what to do. A sharp pain moved through her stomach and up her back and tore a scream from her throat. She went to her knees, clutching her stomach, panting for air.

  The room broke out in utter chaos. Every man in the room took out his cell phone and started dialing. General Westin rushed to Tempest’s side and rubbed soothing circles on her back.

  “Report!” he barked at his team.

  Col. Robert’s reported first. “The ambulance is on its way, sir. They said it would be five minutes.”

  LTC Jackson was next. “I’ve called your wife and informed her. She is on the way to the hospital as we speak.”

  CMS Willis was last. “I’ve called Miss Freshwater and she is on her way to the hospital also.”

  “Good, now where in the hell is that damn ambulance!” he yelled as another scream was ripped from Tempest.

  He had never been so grateful that he and his wife hadn’t had children. He wasn’t sure if he could’ve watched her go through something like that. He felt utterly helpless.

  He couldn’t contain his sigh of relief when the medics rushed through the conference room doors and started getting her ready for transport. They were wheeling her out and the entire command of Fort Hood was hot on their heels. They jumped into vehicles and tore off after the ambulance.

  The waiting room of the maternity ward was packed. There were also a lot of nervous soldiers huddled in corners as the post bigwigs paced nervously around waiting for news about Tempest. Elaine couldn’t help but chuckle. She looked over at Mrs. Westin or Grace and smiled when the older woman tsked disapprovingly. The men were like a bunch of worried hens.

  “Clark, sit down and stop pacing. You’re making these young soldiers nervous as hell,” Grace chided softly and patted the seat next to her. She gave him a warm, loving smile as he dropped into the seat. His cohorts followed suit.

  Grace hadn’t been too sure when her husband had brought Tempest and Elaine with him. However, it didn’t take Tempest long to win her over quickly. She was a strong, capable woman who was making the best out of a bad situation. She had been shocked and worried about the young Tempest when she actually found out what was going on. She had found Tempest crying one day in the lady’s room at III Corp. The poor young thing had poured her broken heart out. Grace couldn’t help but take her in a motherly hug and just hold her. It hadn’t taken much more after that for Grace to adopt Tempest as a daughter.

  She and Clark never had children. Tempest had lost her parents at a very young age. They came together as a kind of family of mismatched puzzle pieces, and yet it worked for them. Grace smiled over at Clark. His brow was creased with worry, and he was gnawing on his thumbnail. He looked like a worried father.

  They all jumped to their feet when the doctor walked into the waiting room.

  “Well?” Clark barked at the doctor.

  The doctor took one look at the three stars on Clark’s chest and started rattling off the progress report.

  “She is going to be fine, sir. We had to do a C-section as the babies were breech. There was a little bit of bleeding, but it is under control. She is being closed up as we speak. She will be in recovery shortly. The babies are in the nursery if you’d like to see them,” he said, smiling nervously, and started to leave.

  Grace was the only one who seemed to catch on. “Wait, did you say babies?”

  The room was suddenly quiet.

  “Well yes, ma’am. She had twins. It was a little bit of a surprise for us, too. There is a little boy and a little girl. They are small, but they are healthy. We’ll keep them all for observation just to make sure there are absolutely no problems. Then they should all be able to be released at the same time,” he said with a knowing smile at all their stunned expressions.

  “How is it that no one caught that?” Elaine choked out.

  “Well, they were positioned one directly behind the other. Whoever did the ultrasound didn’t see the little girl because of it and probably thought that the heartbeat was just an echo. It’s not as uncommon as you’d think.”

  “Twins. Dear God, twins,” Clark muttered with a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

  Grace grabbed his hand and squeezed. Clark had gotten very fond of Tempest. He was also fiercely protective of her. For him, it was like getting grandkids. It was the same for Grace, too. She was excited to be a grandma.

  They entire Fort Hood command along with Grace and Elaine followed the doctor to the nursery. They looked in the window and lo and behold there were two little bundles sleeping side by side in the same crib. They were both lying on their backs with their faces turned toward the other. They looked like they were holding hands. They were tiny. Their measurements read four pounds for the girl and four and a half pounds for the boy. Each of them was sixteen inches long. They were perfect.

  Elaine grasped Grace’s hand and held on. Grace squeezed her hand in answer. They were amazing. Grace heard a little sniffle to her right and looked over just in time to see Clark brush a tear off of his weathered cheek.

  “They’re beautiful,” he muttered as he watched the small sleeping twins.

  “Absolutely perfect,” Elaine said in utter awe of the little babies.

  “I’m going to kill him,” Clark muttered darkly as his mind drifted to Devin.

  “Get in line, sir,” Elaine muttered just as darkly.

  “You two will not discuss such things around Tempest. She isn’t going to need the added stress. Am I clear?” Grace scolded.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Clark and Elaine muttered sulkily.

  “I’m supposed to be the boss, ya know,” Clark said, pouting like a child.

  Grace patted his cheek affectionately. “You are the boss of Fort Hood, honey, but this is my domain,” she said with a sweet smile.

  Clark scrunched up his face at her in annoyance. Then he smiled warmly at her. He loved her w
ith all of his being, and nothing could make this moment more perfect for any of them. He pulled Grace into his side and let the wonder of the moment soak into his system. He had an amazing wife of forty years. He had gained two daughters and two grandkids in a matter of months. Yep, he was flying high.

  * * * *

  Tempest opened her eyes and wondered why she felt like she had been hit by a Mack truck…repeatedly. She looked around her but didn’t see anyone and wondered what the hell had happened. She pushed the button for the nurse, and all of a sudden it was like a S.W.A.T team descended on her room. Two doctors, three nurses, and an aide rushed into her room. She stared at them with wide eyes and her mouth hanging open.

  “Yes, ma’am. What can we do for you?” the older of the two doctors asked with a tight worried smile.

  “Uh, I just wanted to know what happened,” she said and gave them a tentative smile.

  “Well you gave birth today. We had to do a C-section because the first baby was trying to come out butt first…”

  “Wait, wait, wait,” Tempest croaked in a weak voice. “Did you say first!”

  “Yes, ma’am, you had twins. A boy and a girl, they’re small but they’re healthy and don’t seem to be having any complications.”

  “I had twins,” Tempest said to no one in particular as the world seemed to fade in and out of focus.

  “Yes and they are beautiful. Would you like to see them?” the older doctor asked quietly.

  “Yes please,” she whispered.

  The little rolling bed was wheeled into the room. She looked inside and saw two of the smallest forms in her life. They were sleeping soundly, and she just stared at them for a minute. She cocked her head and looked at them from a new angle. She tried to see it, but she really couldn’t. She had been hearing all her life that babies were beautiful. She had heard new mothers describe in great detail how their babies were beautiful from birth. She didn’t think they looked so great.

  They looked like little pink wrinkled people. They looked like they had been through the worst day of their new lives. There was nothing beautiful about them. They were cute because they were babies and small like little dolls, but they weren’t beautiful.