Page 26 of Chasing Storm

Swiping through the racks, I crowd behind her, put my mouth by her ear, and whisper, “Don’t ignore me, Tea. I’ll make a scene if you do.”

She turns to face me and says, “You’re already making a scene.” She says it louder than expected, so she glances at the other customers, whispering, “Why do you have to start a fight?”

“I’m not starting anything. I’m asking you to come with me. The store isn’t going anywhere.”

She crosses her arms in front of her. “The car isn’t far. Why can’t you bring them—”

I cut her off by saying, “I’m not leaving you alone, and that’s final.” She looks away and purses her lips. At the moment, she’s acting like a brat…but she’smybrat. “Tea.” Her eyes gradually meet mine. “Please. I don’t feel comfortable—”

Her arms fall to her sides, and she sighs. “All right.” I kiss the tip of her nose, thanking her, and I win one of her gorgeous smiles. Her fingers wiggle as she says, “Hand me a couple of bags.”

I swipe my nose across hers while shaking my head. “I’m good, especially since you’re coming along.”

Hours later, we’re back home, and I’ve never been so exhausted. Not even after a grueling workout or fight. If I left it up to Teagan, we’d be at the mall until it closed. The woman can shop. In our room, she hides the bags in the closet, as if Sean or my mom will come snooping, and she tosses herself on the bed, stretching out. I’m ripping off my clothes down to my boxer briefs.

In a tiny voice, she says, “Joey?” Shuffling through my clothes, I grunt, and she continues, “You’re the best husband.” I stop and smile. Well, I guess something good came out of it.

Party time. We cleaned the house, went grocery shopping, put up Christmas decorations, and my mom and Teagan are preparing food. Sean and I stock the liquor, empty the ice in buckets, and stack the glasses. I glance over at my favorite women, heartened by how well they get along. Quite often, Teagan cracks jokes or says something sarcastic, throwing my mom into a fit of laughter. The sound is music to my ears. I think about what James did to her, but I shake it away. There’s no room for him in my head.

The phone rings and Teagan runs to it like a little girl. “Hello?”

I hear Leo’s voice, although I can’t understand what he’s saying. First, she lets out a “Oh, that’s too bad,” quickly followed by a hoot and, “I’m so excited for you guys. Okay, give Isabella a hug from me and keep me updated.” He says something else, and she responds, “I love you, too.”

Teagan disconnects the call and says to all of us, “Well, Leo and Isabella can’t make it.” She squeals and jumps up and down. “Because Isabella is in labor. I’m going to be an aunt.”

We shout out our congratulations. My mom jumps around with Teagan, and the sight gets me choked up. I change positions, drawing my hand down my face. When I face them, Sean has joined in jumping and chanting, “Auntie Teagan.” I sweep her into my arms, twirl her around, and give her a kiss.

Her arms wrap around my neck, and she whispers in my ear, “Uncle Joey has a nice ring to it.”

I’d love to hear Daddy instead, but I’ll take Uncle Joey for now. We all fall back to work, head upstairs to dress, and come back down for the finishing touches. We’re only waiting on Erin. Teagan offered to have her come yesterday and sleep over, but Erin declined because of another party she had to attend. Something Malone related.

The doorbell rings, and Teagan rushes to the door and opens it without looking out the peephole, which I’ve yelled at her about many times.

“Elijah!”

I join her, wary of him showing up at my door. “Elijah.” He offers me his hand, and I take it. “What brings you here?”

His eyes gloss over the decorations, and my mom and Sean in the background, and he says, “It looks like I came at a bad time.”

“Yeah, we’re—”

Teagan takes Elijah’s hand and escorts him into the house, saying, “Not a bad time at all. Perfect timing, actually.” She checks outside. “Are you here alone?”

“Uh, well—”

She steps onto the front porch and signals to a guy to come over.

I move her inside, asking, “What are you doing?”

Teagan wraps her arms around my waist, kissing my chin. “I’m inviting him in.”

“We don’t even know him.”

“So? It’s the holidays. Lighten up, Mr. Curmudgeon.” The man takes hesitant steps until he’s next to Elijah. She waves them into the house. “Come in.”

They look at each other, and Elijah smiles at Teagan. “That’s kind of you, but I…we don’t want to intrude.”

She fans her hand in front of her face. “You’re not intruding. We have lots of food and drinks to celebrate the holidays. There’s no way I’ll have someone sitting in our driveway while the rest of us eat and drink. We have plenty to go around.”

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