Read Online The Storm (The Storm #4) by Samantha Towle - Free Book Online Page B

is.
    “It’s no trouble. And my wife would have my ass if she knew I hadn’t offered to clean up.” I stand, collecting the rest of the plates. I take them over to the sink.
    “Bob, why don’t you and Tiffany go sit in the living room, and Storm and I will do the dishes?”
    Storm’s eyes flash to mine. For a moment, he looks like he’s going to argue, and then he seems to relent.
    “Sure. You go rest, Mom.” He stands. Going over to the sink, he starts to fill it with water, adding dish washing liquid.
    “I’ll wash,” I tell him, rolling up my sleeves. I have no clue where the dishes need to go, so it’ll be easier this way.
    Storm brings the rest of the dishes over, and I start washing.
    After I place the washed plate on the dish drainer, he picks it up and starts to dry it with a dish towel.
    “Not very rock and roll,” he says. “Never thought I’d see the day when Jake Wethers was standing in my kitchen, washing the dishes. I almost feel like I should take a picture.” He chuckles.
    “Yeah, don’t.” I laugh. “Tom and Den would never let me live it down.”
    He chuckles again, and then silence descends between us as we wash the dishes.
    “What was he like?” His softly spoken words blindside me. There’s an ache to them, and it’s like a blade piercing my chest.
    I turn my eyes to him, to find him already watching me.
    “Jonny?” I’m careful not to call Jonny his dad. I don’t want to pour fuel on Storm’s kindling flame.
    “Yeah,” he utters, his eyes sweeping the floor.
    I stare down into the soapy water my hands are in. “He was wild, impulsive, and stubborn. But he was loyal, talented and smart as hell.” A smile plays on my lips. “He could play a guitar like you’d never seen before. And…he was my best friend.” A lump chokes my throat. I turn, pressing my back against the counter. “You look exactly like he did at your age.”
    “You knew him when he was young?”
    “Yeah.” I give him a sad smile.
    Storm turns away. Walking over to a cupboard, he puts a plate away and closes the cupboard door. Still facing away, he says, “I read some stuff on the Internet…about Jonny. It said…well, it said that…he killed himself.”
    My body tenses up.
    Storm turns to face me, leaning back against the counter.
    I look him in the eyes. “Jonny didn’t kill himself.” I try to keep my voice even. “He had too much to live for. He just…he made a really bad decision that night when he climbed into his car. It was an accident. A tragic accident.”
    I want to tell Storm that Jonny would never have even been in that situation if he’d known about Storm, but it’d sound like I was blaming Tiffany for the choices she’d made, and I don’t want to do that.
    Shifting on his feet, he glances down at them. “Look…I know there was a chance that you could have been my dad.” His eyes flick back up to mine.
    I can’t hide the surprise on my face.
    “I overheard Mom talking to Marie one day.”
    “Oh.”
    “I know Mom was wild back in the day.”
    I don’t know what to say. What does he want me to say?
    Fuck. I’m not prepared for this.
    He wraps his arms around his stomach. “I bet you were relieved when you found out that I wasn’t your kid,” he utters. “I know you have this perfect family. You wouldn’t want someone like me coming along and screwing it up.”
    I blow out a breath, gripping the edge of the counter with my hands. “Look, Storm, I can’t deny that if you’d been mine, it would have made things difficult for me for a while. But if you’d been my blood, there wouldn’t have been a second when I wouldn’t have wanted you.”
    I want to make him feel better. I know he’s hurting, and I want to take that away.
    And it’s not a lie. If he had been my son, no matter how much it would have hurt Tru, hurt us all, I would never have turned him away.
    “And I know, without a doubt, that Jonny would have been the same, if he were here,” I say,