After the Storm: Midseason Episode 1 (Rising Storm) Read Free

she’d done was cause him more. “I spent some time with her, that’s all. When I got home, I was at loose ends and she filled in the time. Now that time is done and I’ve got to move on.”
    “Or you could think about what really happened.”
    “What really happened?” Was his brother high? “What really happened was she lied to the whole town. She lied about the father of her baby. She actually moved into the Salt house when she knew damn well that baby wasn’t Jacob’s.”
    “Or she chose to be optimistic,” Patrick pointed out. “What exactly did you expect her to do? Should she have walked back into town and announced she was pregnant but didn’t know who the daddy was and hey, guys, it might be my best friend’s father. Actually she couldn’t have walked into town because she was carried here by an ambulance. I want you to think about that, Logan.”
    “What does the accident have to do with anything?” He didn’t want his brother’s words to make sense. It was so much easier to sit here and let his anger stir inside him.
    Patrick regarded him for a moment as though trying to figure out just how to get through to him. “She didn’t know she was pregnant until the doctors told her, Logan. I want you to imagine that. She woke up from a horrible accident and found out the boy she cared about, who’d been her closest friend for years, was dead and gone and she was carrying a baby. You expected her to be logical at that moment?”
    He really didn’t like to think about Ginny in that car. It could have been her. She could have easily been the one to bleed out and die on a lonely road with the rain falling all around her. He never would have really known her if that had happened. Somehow, even though he was aching inside, he was so grateful that hadn’t happened. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to agree with what Patrick was saying. “It’s been months. She knew what the odds were.”
    “I would bet my life she had no idea Jacob was impotent,” Patrick offered. “How could she have known? The records were private.”
    “She knew how many times she’d fucked him. And she knew she’d been with the senator way more. We all know he’s got no problem in the sperm area.” The thought of Ginny with that man made him sick. Sebastian Rush was slimy. He was twice her age. How could she have fallen for his act?
    Of course, the one thing the two previous men in her life had in common was money. Jacob came from the wealthy Salts and Sebastian Rush had more money and power than anyone in Storm. What the hell had she seen in a dumb grunt soldier like him?
    Patrick sighed. “I would think you of all people would understand the nature of PTSD.”
    He finally turned to his brother. “You’re actually going to try to tell me she has PTSD?”
    Patrick stepped back. “I don’t know, but she did go through something traumatic and she’s a very young girl. Neither one of us has any idea what it means to be unwed and pregnant, so cut her a little slack.”
    “You’re only saying this because you’re trying to get in her sister’s pants. Hey, you should have gone for the younger Moreno.” Even before his brother’s shoulders squared and his eyes heated, Logan knew he’d gone too far. He held up a hand. What the hell was he doing? “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that, Patrick. It was wrong of me.”
    “Yes, it was since Mari is a lovely lady who’s done nothing but attempt to raise her siblings.” Patrick took a deep breath. “Maybe you were right. Maybe you do need time alone to figure out if you’re going to handle this like a jealous asshole or a real man.”
    His brother turned and strode out and Logan was left alone and seriously wondering about the answer to his brother’s question.
     

Chapter Two
    Lacey Salt stared down at the phone and wished she could call her friend. The trouble was she didn’t know exactly where Jeffry had spent the night and who might be listening in. After