Taken by Storm

by Rochelle Alers

A soft gasp escaped Faith’s parted lips. “You know?”

  “Know what?” Tessa queried. “What am I missing?” she asked, continuing with her questioning as Faith and Simone were engaged in what appeared to be a stare-down.

  “Tell her, cousin.”

  Faith took a deep breath, held it and then let it out slowly. “I’m pregnant.”

  Tessa and Simone threw their arms around each other, jumping up and down as they’d done when little girls. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

  “Simone! Tessa! Please tone it down,” Faith pleaded. The sisters stopped their impromptu happy dance. Excitement shimmered in their jewel-like eyes. “Ethan and I promised each other that we wouldn’t tell anyone until we all sat down together tonight.”

  Simone sobered quickly. “So, it’s supposed to be a surprise?”

  Faith nodded. “We have a wager that the first one to break the promise will forfeit the right to name the baby.”

  “No!” the sisters chorused.

  “Yes,” Faith countered. “I’d suspected I was pregnant a couple of weeks before we had the church ceremony, but I didn’t want to say anything.”

  Simone walked over to Faith and wrapped her arms around her waist. “So when I mentioned that your gown did wonders for your cleavage, you knew then that you were having a baby.”

  Faith giggled like a little girl. “And remember me telling you that I had enough, because I was spilling out of my bras.” She motioned for Tessa to come closer. “Pinky swears that you won’t say anything about the baby before Ethan and I make the announcement.” The three linked pinkies.

  A slight frown furrowed Tessa’s smooth forehead. “Have you told your parents?”

  “Not yet. We’re meeting them for early mass tomorrow, so we’ll tell them then.”

  “But I thought you were coming with us to Franklin Lakes,” Simone said.

  “We are coming,” Faith confirmed. “Ethan said he wants to get there in time for the football game. Of course, yours truly will most happily sit on the sidelines.”

  Tessa rolled her eyes. “I don’t have an excuse for not playing.”

  “Yes, you do,” Simone insisted. “Just don’t play.”

  “Not with one Whitfield sitting out. After all, we Whitfields have to represent.”

  “Hel-lo,” Faith crooned.

  Simone went back to the counter to put the finishing touches on her flower arrangement. “Faith, do you mind if I set the table?”

  “Of, course not. Come with me and I’ll show you where we keep the china and silver.”

  * * *

  “Wow! Everything looks incredible!” Ethan announced as he entered the dining room, Micah and Tessa following.

  Faith, standing behind a chair at one end of the table, smiled at her husband. “Simone can take the credit for setting the table.”

  Rafe’s amused gaze locked with Simone’s for several seconds before he gave her a wink. Their host was right. Fragile bone china, silver and crystal stemware on a white lace cloth over a matching liner shimmered under the glow of an overhead chandelier. Lighted tapers in crystal holders and the exquisite bouquet of flowers in a leaded crystal vase set the stage for exquisite dining. The McMillans had a beautiful home designed for comfortable living and ultimate relaxation.

  As if choreographed in advance, the men pulled back chairs for their women, seated them, then took their seats, Ethan sitting at the opposite end of the table from Faith. They shared a look before she nodded.

  “I’d like to say a few words before we begin eating.” All gazes were directed at Ethan. “Faith and I invited you to our home tonight because we wanted you to be the first to hear what we believe is wonderful news. We are expecting our first child.”

  Reaching for his water goblet, Micah pushed back his chair and came to his feet, the others following his lead. “Congratulations.”

  Faith, blinking back tears, whispered, “Thank you.”

  Simone extended her glass to Faith, then Ethan. “Many blessings as you await your special gift. I’m here to let you know that Auntie Simi is available whenever you need a babysitter.”

  Tessa nodded. “I second that.”

  All eyes were trained on Rafe. They expected him to say something. “When Simone isn’t available I’ll be more than happy to stand in as her backup.”

  “I hope you know what you just committed to,” Simone said, laughing.

  “Here, here!” Micah and Ethan chanted.

  “Sit down and stop teasing Rafe,” Faith ordered in a tone filled with laughter. “Don’t let these folks rope you into anything you don’t want to do.”

  Rafe retook his seat next to Simone. “I’ve never made a promise I didn’t keep.” The seriousness of his tone sobered everyone.

  Tessa stared across the table at her sister’s dining partner. “It’s a pleasure to know someone who can make and keep a promise.” Her fiancé didn’t believe in making promises.

  Micah recoiled as if Tessa had stuck him with a sharp object. “I did promise to marry you.”

  “That’s because you’re smart enough to recognize quality when you see it,” she said, giving him a saucy look.

  “I’m not going to lie about that,” Micah stated without a hint of guile.

  Ethan raised his goblet again. “I raise my glass in a toast to Faith, Tessa and Simone—the sexiest and the most beautiful Whitfield women on the planet.”

  Leaning over, Rafe touched his glass to Ethan’s, then Micah’s. “I’ll second that.”

  Simone placed a hand on his thigh under the table, feeling the warmth of his flesh through the fabric of his trousers. “Careful, darling, or you’ll have a problem differentiating between reality and make-believe.”

  Turning, Rafe gave her a long, penetrating stare. “Wrong, Simone.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “I’ve never had a problem with reality. The only decision I’ve had to make was whether to deal with it or walk away.”

  “And there’s going to come a time when you’re going to have to walk away from me. So, let’s make it easy on both of us. Keep it light.”

  Rafe kept his expression deceptively closed for fear of letting Simone see what he’d denied from the very beginning. He liked her—a little too much to remain professional and indifferent to her beauty and feminine lushness. She was like a gaily wrapped package under a Christmas tree that he had to wait to unwrap. He wanted to strip away the layers of her affected tough-girl exterior to find her soft core. Every once in a while he glimpsed her vulnerability before she replaced the shield to keep men at a distance. And once the shield was in place, it was virtually impenetrable.

  He pressed his shoulder to hers. “What are you afraid of, darlin’?” Much to his surprise, a sudden light came into her eyes.

  “Definitely not you, love.”

  “Are you challenging me to a throw-down?” he whispered.

  Simone detected alcohol on Rafe’s breath, so she attributed his teasing to his drinking and decided to play along. “Yes, I am.”

  She jumped slightly when the fingers of his right hand feathered down the length of her spine before splaying over her hips. His hand had lingered only seconds, leaving her body warm and tingling. “If you play, then you have to pay, Simone.”

  Had she, Simone mused, gotten in over her head? She’d admitted to Rafe that her experience with men was limited, and she wondered if he would use her inexperience against her if she didn’t use him first.

  Why not Rafe? a silent voice taunted her. There was no doubt that he’d be the perfect candidate on which to practice the art of seduction. He was single, transient and once he was reassigned, she never had to see him again.

  Her left hand came up, she resting it against the small of his back. He stiffened slightly before relaxing against her palm. They exchanged sidelong glances, smiling.

  “Are you asking to date me?”

  He nodded.

  “Then, let the games begin,” she mouthed.

  Rafe nodded again as an e
xpression of supreme male satisfaction crossed his face, a look that wasn’t lost on the others sitting at the table.

  Serving bowls filled with Southern-style greens, hopping John and a platter of garlicky crisp roast pork, were passed around the table, along with a garden salad tossed with herb-infused vinaigrette. The question whether Rafe would eat greens and black-eyed peas was answered when he had two helpings.

  Simone wanted to tell Faith that Kansas wasn’t the South, but it was close enough to Missouri for Southern influences to overlap state boundaries: Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, Bleeding Kansas and Quantrill’s Raiders. He’d managed to fit in without trying, Micah and Ethan interacting with him as if they’d known one another for years rather than a few hours. It was apparent the male bonding session had gone well.

  CHAPTER 9

  Rafe didn’t take his gaze off the taillights of Micah’s car as they turned off a side road and onto a private path leading up a steep hill. There were no lights along the path, and the towering copse of trees lining both sides of the unpaved surface concealed what little illumination there was from the windows of an occasional house off in the distance. It would’ve been completely dark if not for a near-full moon. Slowing, he came to a complete stop behind the roadster; iron gates, rising more than twenty feet, protected the Sanborn property from intruders.

  The gates opened smoothly. The gray BMW picked up speed, Rafe accelerating to keep pace with the low-slung sports car. They continued along a paved surface, maneuvering into a parking area behind the rear of a three-story manor-style house with a four-car garage.

  Rafe realized there wasn’t another house in sight. “I suppose the Sanborns don’t have to worry about nosy neighbors.”

  “You’re right,” Simone concurred. It was the first time she and Rafe had made an attempt at conversation since leaving Englewood Cliffs.

  She had said all she had to say when she’d agreed to date him for the duration of their forced cohabitation. She knew she’d shocked Rafe, but she’d also shocked herself with the realization that she hadn’t slept with a man in eight years. Eight long years where she’d denied her femininity because she’d chosen to hold on to a fantasy, a fairy tale where she and Tony would live happily ever after.

  Even to this day, she still hadn’t discerned what it was about Anthony Kendrick that’d made her turn a blind eye to his shortcomings. At first she’d thought it was his good looks, but once she was able to move beyond the superficiality, she’d concluded it was because he was the first man with whom she’d slept. Most people didn’t know that beneath her tomboy exterior beat the heart of an incurable romantic.

  Simone had grown up believing in only one true love in one’s lifetime. Tony had been that love until he disappointed her over and over. After a while, even she grew tired of his excuses and his promises to do better, but she hadn’t wanted to admit to her parents, her mother in particular, that she’d made a grievous mistake to marry the first man who’d shared her bed.

  So many times she prayed she could be more like her sister and cousin. Faith’s mantra of “if they’re not acting right, then kick them to the curb” never penetrated her consciousness. It was only when her parents, Tessa and Faith stopped nagging her about her on-again, off-again relationship with her ex that she was able to take a step back and see what she’d refused to see: she’d wasted more than half her life with a ne’er-do-well.

  Spoiled, pampered, indulged baby boy Anthony Kendrick would never become the man she wanted him to be, never be the supportive husband he should’ve been, and never be the man whom she could count on to take care of the children she’d hoped they would have together.

  She sat, staring out the windshield, while Rafe got out and came around to assist her. Her hands went to his shoulder when his fingers circled her waist, lifting her effortlessly off her feet.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” he said softly.

  “Just how am I looking at you?”

  “You make me feel like the wily alligator who’s contemplating eating the gingerbread man.”

  Simone tightened her grip around his neck. “Do you really think I’m afraid of you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well, I’m not,” she shot back.

  “Good,” he said, lowering her slowly until her shoes touched terra firma.

  There was enough light from strategically placed flood lamps for Simone to make out Rafe’s face when they shared a smile. The expression made her heart beat a little too quickly.

  “Are you guys ready to go inside?” Micah’s deep voice shattered the moment and the silence of the warm spring night.

  Rafe’s head came up. “I just have to get our bags.”

  * * *

  “Simone, are you awake?”

  Simone opened her eyes and smiled at Tessa as she got into the bed beside her. “Yes. Where were you?”

  “I was with Micah. We were talking about including jumping the broom in the ceremony.”

  Rosalind Sanborn had left a note for Micah outlining assigned bedrooms, because Bridget and her husband, Seth Cohen, had arrived earlier and were sleeping in Bridget’s old bedroom. Rafe was given a bedroom on the third floor, and Tessa and Simone were given the bedroom across the hall from Edgar and Rosalind Sanborn.

  “Are you sure that’s all you were doing?”

  “There’s no need for that now. Micah’s moved in with me last weekend.”

  “How is it living with a man?”

  “I like it,” Tessa confirmed. “We decided to live together to make for a smoother transition once we’re married.” Reaching over, she turned off the lamp on her side of the bed. “How are you getting along with your sexy lawman?”

  Simone smiled in the darkness. “We’re doing okay.”

  “From what I saw tonight I’d say you’re doing more than okay.”

  “What’s that suppose to mean?”

  “There’s no need to get defensive, Simone.”

  “I’m not, Tessa. I just don’t want you to read more into something that’s not happening.”

  “Do you want something to happen?”

  Simone pondered her sister’s question. “I don’t know.”

  “Why can’t you make up your mind?”

  “He’s a federal police officer assigned to protect a government witness, and I’m certain fraternizing is a no-no.”

  Tessa sucked her teeth. “It’s hard not to fraternize. After all, you’re living together. And how would they know? Do you plan to dime him out?”

  Turning on her side, Simone tried making out her sister’s expression in the moonlight coming through the window sheers. “Why are you throwing Rafe at me?”

  “Because I can see what you can’t or won’t. Rafe can’t keep his eyes off you and vice versa. If it’s that bad when you’re around other people, then it must be sizzling whenever you’re home together.”

  “It’s just the opposite. We’re only together during meals, when I have to go to the greenhouse, or if I have something business-related outside the house.”

  “Do you like him?” Tessa asked after a comfortable pause.

  “What’s not to like?” Simone countered.

  “I don’t know. You tell me.”

  Simone closed her eyes while she composed her thoughts. “Even if Rafe wasn’t carrying a gun, I’d still feel safe with him,” she said quietly. “He’s the only man other than Daddy who’s ever made me feel that way. He also has what Mama considers good home training.”

  “Rafe sounds like a keeper.”

  “That’s debatable,” Simone said. “Remember, we’re only going to be together for the duration of his assignment.”

  Shifting into a more comfortable position, Tessa rested her head on her arm. “Why can’t you just enjoy your time together?”

  If you play, then you have to pay. Simone replayed Rafe’s riposte. If she was going to play, then she knew she had to protect her heart. She would enjoy her time with Raphael Madison, a
nd when it ended she would move on with her life, and he with his.

  “I’m going to try, but it’s not going to be easy.”

  “Why not, Simone? He’s only a man.”

  “Yeah, right. He’s only a man who’s so potent that I feel as if I’m always holding my breath around him.” A beat passed. “What I don’t understand is that Rafe hasn’t even touched me intimately yet…” Her words trailed off as a surge of heat washed over her body when she thought about what she wanted him to do to her.

  Reaching for her sister’s hand, Tessa squeezed her fingers. “The problem is you’ve been alone for far too long.”

  Simone smiled. “I think you’re right, Tessa.”

  The two women talked quietly well into the night about the mistakes they’d made and hoped not to repeat. They talked about Faith, her pregnancy and Tessa’s upcoming wedding. After a while, the responses were slower in coming, then stopped altogether when both drifted off to sleep.

  * * *

  Rafe sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Walking on bare feet, he made his way over to the window. The rumpled blanket and twisted sheets evidenced his restlessness. He was tired, yet hadn’t been able to fall asleep. Every time he closed his eyes, his mind conjured up images of Simone Whitfield with her hair floating around her face, a single braid falling down her straight spine and her wide-eyed stare that seemed to look through him to see the real Raphael Madison and not the one he presented to the world.

  To the U.S. Marshals Service, he was Deputy Marshal Madison. He was son and rescuer for Esther Madison and Uncle Rafe to his sister Rachel’s twin boys. As for Gideon Madison, he was Judas, heathen and the devil’s spawn. It’d been years since he’d saved Gideon from himself, yet each time he went to see his father he’d been unresponsive because he’d been heavily sedated.

  Rafe knew he would’ve been better able to accept Gideon’s illness if his father’s body had been afflicted with a disease, because either he would recover or succumb to the malady, but science had yet to come up with a cure for paranoid schizophrenia.

  Bracing his hands at the sides of the window frame, he stared down at the flowers dotting Rosalind Sanborn’s garden. The flowers reminded him of the lush, colorful blooms growing in the controlled environment of Simone’s greenhouses. He knew he’d never look at flowers the same way since meeting her. And of all the blooms she cultivated, she was the most exotic of them all.