by Amanda Kay
The nurse had gone to get a couple of bottles when her door opened. The entire command team of Fort Hood crowded into her room along with Elaine and Grace. She stared wide-eyed at the group of men and pulled the sheet up to her chin.
“I told you men that she would be overwhelmed,” Grace scolded the group softly and walked to the bedside with a smile. “How do you feel, dear?”
“Like I’ve been split in two,” Tempest answered honestly.
“I’m sure it’ll pass,” she said and patted Tempest’s hand. She looked over into the little rolling bed that held the sleeping twins. “Aren’t they just beautiful?” she said with a small smile.
“Not really,” Tempest blurted out and slapped her hand over her mouth. She must still be feeling the effects of the anesthesia.
All eyes were turned on her. Elaine and the CSM both snorted with laughter. Clark and Grace looked at her in utter horror.
“What? Look at them. They look like they’ve gone through hell and back,” Tempest said defensively as she gestured to the bed.
Clark and Grace took another good look and had to admit they looked like they had a bad day. Clark barked a laugh, and Grace snickered.
“Fine, dear, but I don’t think that is something you should say out loud. It might cause them psychological harm later in life,” Grace said with a wink as she tried to snuff out her laugh.
Tempest just shrugged her shoulders. The nurse then came back to the room and elbowed her way through the throngs of people. She huffed in frustration as she finally made it to the bed. She handed the warm bottles to Tempest and gave her instructions. The nurse had barely gotten out of the room when Tempest’s son started fussing.
She lifted him gently out of the bed and held him close. He started rooting around looking for something to eat. He finally found the bottle teat and latched on. He sucked hard and greedily. He had barely polished off the first bottle before he was asleep again and his sister started fussing. She laid down her son and reached for her daughter. The small infant nuzzled into her breasts and gave a soft contented sigh as she daintily started feeding. They might be twins, but they fed so differently.
When they were both fed and back to sleep, the men were shooed out of the room by the women and the nurses. Tempest sat and listened to the nurse as she discussed the importance of breast feeding, especially since the babies were small. They weren’t premature. They had just been small due to space issues. They tried to talk her into trying to get the babies to latch on to her, but she just couldn’t seem to bring herself to do it. She opted instead to pump her breasts.
They stayed in the room with her as she tried to get the damn machine to work. There was a lot of laughing at some of Tempest’s wildly inappropriate comments about feeling like a jersey cow. There were also a few curse words when it proved more difficult than she thought it would.
By the time she had figured out how to do it, she was utterly exhausted and her son had woken up again to be fed. Grace jumped at the opportunity to hold and feed the little man. Tempest just smiled at the scene in front of her. Grace was sitting in one of the chairs next to the bed. She was cradling the small infant and cooing at him as he ate. Her daughter started to fuss, and Elaine pounced on her like a cat on a mouse. She scooped her up and sat down next to Grace.
It warmed her heart to see the little family she had found blossoming into something wonderful. With both babies fed, they slipped back into sleep, followed not long after by Tempest. She was utterly exhausted but happy despite the circumstances. Her dreams were only slightly upsetting even though they were of Devin.
* * * *
Two months later
“I might have something, sir,” Wayne said, not intimidated at all by his boss’s emotional outburst. He had been a veritable bear ever since he had forced Tempest away. He had snapped, growled, and snarled at everyone and anyone around him.
“Well!” he barked.
“We found the one responsible for the electronic security breach. It was Scott.”
Devin looked confused for a moment as he tried to remember. “You mean Scott that I had to fire? That Scott? Why?”
“He felt he was wrongly terminated and was looking to ruin Maddox Inc. We back traced his hacking to his base of operations and had Homeland Security pick him up. He had some grade-A equipment, too. It was way more than he could afford. Our IT guys estimated it to be tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment.”
“So who was his financial backer?”
“We haven’t been able to figure that out, sir. He isn’t talking…yet,” Wayne said with a malicious grin.
“So we have the brains behind the breach but not the financial backer,” Devin said to no one in particular and scrubbed his hand down his face. “I want the money behind this found, and I want them found eleven months ago,” he yelled at Wayne.
“Yes sir,” Wayne said and turned to leave.
“Wayne,” Devin said softly.
“Sir?”
“I want you to locate Tempest for me,” he said.
“She could still be in danger, sir,” Wayne said, ever the voice of reason.
“I’ve got the immediate threat of the hacker dealt with. I have to find her. I can’t take this anymore,” he said as he tried to blink back tears.
I don’t think it is wise, sir. We do have the hacker but we don’t have the second party. If he or she figures out that we found the ‘muscle,’ they could just hire someone else.”
“I know but I just feel like something is wrong.”
“Other than the obvious.”
“Something with her is wrong and I need to find her.”
“Sir, I don’t think…” Wayne started.
“Please Wayne. It’s been a year. I need to see her,” Devin said with desperation clinging to the edge of his words.
Wayne let out a sigh. “I don’t think it’s a good idea but if you want to find her maybe you should talk to your general friend. I think he is currently stationed at Fort Hood, Texas,” he said with a grim expression.
“Get the plane ready. We’re going to Texas,” Devin said and gave a dismissive nod.
He walked back to his chair and sat down, releasing a heavy sigh. He spent every day for the past eleven months thinking about nothing and no one but Tempest. He finally had half of his problem solved, and he had to find her. He had to try and fix what he was forced to do to her. He knew he had hurt her beyond measure. He had gotten a very frightening phone call from Clark only a couple of days after he had told Tempest it was over. The man was truly menacing. Clark had told him in not so many words that if he ever saw his face again, he would rearrange it for him. It had broken his heart even more knowing that not only did Tempest hated him but a dear family friend hated him also.
His three closest friends had even pulled back from him. None of them knew exactly what was wrong, but they knew something had happened. He hadn’t talked to Mark in almost six months, and when he talked to Phillip and Samuel, it was short and clipped. He had fucked everything up. He simply had to find her.
Wayne walked into the office carrying a couple of suitcases and let him know it was time to leave.
“Sir, we need to go if we are going to make it to the tarmac on time,” he said and ushered Devin out of the office. “I had one of the guys pack up some of your things, and my bag is waiting in the car. Wheels up in forty-five minutes.”
“Hurry, Wayne,” he said almost desperately.
Chapter 7
“General, you have a visitor.”
Clark’s secretary’s voice came over the intercom. He hated getting unscheduled visitors, but he didn’t have an appointment, so it would hurt. “Fine,” he said with an irritated sigh. “Send them in.”
Clark looked up as his office door opened, and his vision went red. He barreled around his desk and grabbed the front of Devin’s shirt.
“Please, Clark! Please just give me a second! Please I’m begging you, Clark,” Devin said desperate
ly as he was hauled up on his tiptoes by the big angry man.
Clark practically dragged him into the office by his collar and threw him in one of his chairs. “You’ve got five minutes, Maddox, and it better be damn good.” He growled.
Devin took a deep breath and told his story.
By the time he was finished, Clark had an entirely new take on the situation. He ran his hand through his short hair and let out a heavy sigh.
“I hate that happened to you, and I hate that I was such an ass. I’m real sorry, son, but I don’t know what to tell you to do about Temp. She might not be as quick to forgive you as I am,” Clark said, and oh boy was it the understatement of the century. He honestly had no clue how the poor woman was going to react. She had been through hell and then some.
“I just need to find her, Clark. I will go to her on my knees begging like a pauper, but I have to find her,” Devin said in a strangled voice as tears gathered in his eyes. He blinked rapidly to keep them from falling. “Please,” he all but whispered.
Clark’s heart broke. These two young people had been through so much, and it wasn’t anywhere near being over. They had a long and bumpy road ahead of them.
“Give me a couple of days and let me see what I can do,” Clark said and felt bad about his deception, but he had to speak with Tempest before he went any further. It was ultimately her decision, and he wouldn’t take that away from her. She had other things to deal with now, and this might just be too much.
“Thank you, Clark,” Devin said with sincerity and stood, leaving the office.
Clark watched Devin leave and was saddened by the change that had taken place in the young man. He walked slower, and his posture was slumped in defeat. He looked older and worn. He didn’t look like the same young vibrant man he had known before.
He picked up the phone and called Grace. She would know what to do or at least have some insight into how to move forward. He was also very grateful that Temp was still on maternity leave. He didn’t even want to think about how that meeting would’ve gone. He waited as the phone rang.
“Clark, dear, how is your day?” Grace’s sweet voice came through the phone.
“Hello, angel. I’m afraid we have a bit of a situation and I need your help,” he said and tapped his fingers on his desk.
“Okay what seems to be the trouble? Oh, you little stinker! Stop squirming,” she scolded gently.
“I take it you have the two rug rats,” Clark said with a chuckle.
“Yes, Temp and El decided they wanted to go shopping, and I begged to babysit. These two are such dears, but Seth just won’t hold still so I can fasten up his clean diaper. I swear the kid should’ve been born a wiggle worm,” she said with a gentle laugh.
Clark didn’t even try to hide his smile when he heard his little grandson coo and gurgle at Grace. He outright laughed when Seth squealed with glee when Grace blew bubbles on his little tummy.
“So what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?” Grace asked.
Clark took a deep breath.
* * * *
Tempest had never been so glad to go out grocery shopping. She had been cooped up in the house with Seth and Serenity for two months. She was going to go crazy if she didn’t get some kind of grown-up time. She had called Elaine and begged her to come.
They were pushing their shopping cart through Walmart and having a fantastic time. It had been a while since they had been able to hang out together without the little rug rats.
She looked over just in time to see Elaine slip something into the cart. She sighed. “El, you had better not be getting those two anything else. I mean, what could they possibly need!” she said with exasperation.
Elaine turned and looked pitiful. “But what kind of auntie would I be if I didn’t get my niece and nephew something while I was in town,” she said and stuck her lip out in a pout.
“You’re a fine auntie, but stop buying them things. I don’t want them to be spoiled. I’m having a hard enough time trying to keep Grace and the general reigned in. I don’t need to be fighting you either,”
She laughed when Elaine put back the toys, grumbling, and stuck out her tongue. “Brat,” she said good-naturedly.
“Spoilsport,” Elaine huffed.
They left the toys and headed to other parts of the store. They were talking and shopping as they went, and Tempest was constantly having to put stuff back on the shelf that Elaine would dump in for the kids.
“Elaine, I know I’m rich, but the kids don’t need all of this stuff! You’re worse than a two-year-old. Stop putting stuff in the damn shopping cart!” she said in mock anger and laughed when Elaine once again grumbled and growled when she put the stuff back on the shelf.
Her laugh was cut short when all the fine hairs on her body stood on end. She slowly looked around trying to find the source of the uneasy feeling. She didn’t have to look far. About fifty feet away stood Devin. He had a few toiletry supplies but hadn’t noticed her staring yet. She stopped dead in her tracks and more than likely turned white as sheet.
When she didn’t follow, Elaine turned to see what the holdup was, and once she saw Tempest’s face, she rushed to her side.
“What’s wrong?” she said, concern written all over her.
“H–h–h–he’s here!” Tempest stuttered in a whisper.
“Who?” Elaine asked and started looking around.
“D–D–Devin!” she answered in a broken voice as she raised her finger and pointed in his direction.
At that moment Devin turned, and his eyes immediately landed on Tempest. He dropped what was in his arms and made a beeline for them. Tempest and Elaine both turned and ran for the doors. They left the cart and everything they had meant to buy without a second thought. They ran like the hounds of hell were nipping at their heels.
She could hear his strained voice as he yelled at them from across the store. They both picked up their pace as his voice got closer. Tempest could see her car and thanked God she had auto start. They jumped into the car and tore out of the parking lot. She looked into the rearview mirror in time to see him fall to his knees on the pavement and clutch his head in his hands. She didn’t stop and made straight for the general’s house.
She pulled into the driveway and barely stopped the car before she jumped out and ran to the door. She pounded on it with a desperation that surprised her. The general immediately opened it, and he didn’t even have to ask what the problem was. He ushered them hurriedly into his home.
Tempest ran straight for the spare room that Grace had turned into a nursery for Seth and Serenity. She could finally breathe when she saw her two angels asleep in their crib. She sucked in lungful after lungful of oxygen as the tears started to fall. She felt gentle hands close around her shoulders. She turned to see Grace.
“Come on, sweetie. I think it’s time for a family meeting,” she said gently and ushered Tempest back into the living room.
“I saw Devin! He was in the store! What is he doing here? General, I don’t know what to do! I can’t lose my babies!” she wailed.
Clark wrapped his arm around her shoulder and tucked her into his side. He rested his chin on her head and gently rocked her side to side. “Temp, first of all I’ve asked you time and time again to call me Clark when we aren’t wearing the uniform. Second, Devin doesn’t even know about the babies. He isn’t here to take them from you. He wouldn’t stand a chance anyway,” he said soothingly.
Tempest took a deep breath and pushed the panic back. “So why is he here? What does he want?”
“He wants to talk to you,” Clark said softly.
Tempest sat up straight and bared her teeth. “I don’t want to talk to him!” she snarled.
“Sweetie,” Grace said gently, “I think you should.”
“But why!” Tempest said, sounding like a two-year-old, and didn’t give a damn.
Clark let out a heavy breath. “Because I think if you talk to him you’ll understand why he did what he did.”
Tempest narrowed her eyes at the general. “Why don’t you just tell me then since you seem to know?” she said harshly and immediately regretted her tone. “Sorry, sir.”
Clark laughed. “You’re family now, and outside the office feel free to disagree with me as much as you like,” he said and chuckled. “He did come by my office today desperate to find you, and when I say desperate I mean desperate. He actually begged a couple of times. He told me what happened, but I think it would be best if you heard it from him,”
Tempest worried her full bottom lip and looked across the room at Elaine, who had been unnaturally quiet.
“El?” she questioned.
“I was always a little suspicious of why he broke it off with you. Y’all were both so much in love. Anyone with eyes could see it. I think you should talk to him, but as always, the decision is yours.”
Tempest looked at Elaine. She was a wild one, but she was more often than not the voice of reason. She sat back on the sofa between Grace and Clark. So much had happened in the last year. She had fallen in love, had her heart broken, found out she was pregnant, given birth and to twins no less. Yep, a lot had happened in the last year. She had grown and matured a lot in the last year even if she was only twenty-three, or almost twenty-three. She had been angry at Devin for a hell of a long time. He owed her some answers, and she was going to damn well get them by hook or by crook.
“All right, but give me a couple of days. I just need to process it all,” she said and scrubbed her hand over her face.
“Not a problem. Now you go and get the kids packed up and back home. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Clark said as he hugged her and then Grace.
The three women headed back to the nursery and got the kids and all their stuff together. It never ceased to amaze Tempest how much stuff kids needed. She got them in the car and headed home with Elaine in tow. Luckily she had bought a house just one street over from the general and Grace. They were her family now, and she wanted to be close to them. Grace had been ecstatic when she had asked if it was okay.