Page 13 of Hurricane's House

“Wait,” she breathed into the phone, “did she lose her job because of me, Hurricane?” she asked. Shit—the kid was too smart for her own good. The question was, did he go with the truth, or lie to her? He decided to go with the truth because he’d expect the same from her.

“Yes, but don’t go freaking out, Chasity. Tina’s boss said that she was taking off too many personal days to take care of you,” he admitted. “But I’m betting that your aunt didn’t regret taking that time off. You’re her top priority. Hell, that’s why she won’t see me again. She said that she couldn’t hurt you by showing up here to see me, so she cut me out of her life.” He hated saying that last part because it still hurt like a bitch.

“Really?” Chasity asked. “She did that for me?”

“She did, and she wouldn’t want you feeling guilty over it either, kid,” he insisted.

“So, what can I do about it?” she asked.

“I think that the first thing you need to answer is, do you want to do anything about it?” he said. There was a long pause on the other end of the call, and he worried that she was going to tell him that she didn’t want to do anything about helping her aunt out. He planned on going over to Tina’s either way, but he wouldn’t tell Chasity that.

She sighed, “I do want to help her,” she breathed.

“Good,” Hurricane said. Her admission was going to make his life simpler, and right about now, he could use simple. “I’d like to ask Tina to move in with us,” he repeated.

“I got that from the first time that you said that, and I’m not sure how it’s going to work out, but I’m sure that we can find a way until Aunt Tina can get back on her feet.” He wasn’t going to rush Tina to find another job any time soon because frankly, he hoped that she’d end up staying forever.

“Good, because while we’ve been on the phone I’ve driven over to her house and I’m about to knock on the door,” he admitted.

“You didn’t waste any time, did you?” she asked.

“No, and I planned on asking her whether you were in or out, kid,” he admitted. “Now, get back to class and learn something.”

“About math?” she asked, “I seriously doubt it.” She ended the call, leaving him standing by his pickup truck, in front of Tina’s house, smiling like a fucking loon. He was going to ask Tina to move in with him, but he had to be delicate. If she thought that he was doing it out of pity, she’d never accept. He was going to have to come up with a better plan—and fast, because Tina was standing in front of her apartment building with her hands on her hips, staring him down. And from the scowl on her beautiful face, she wasn’t very happy to see him.

“Hey,” he said, waving at her. She didn’t wave back or respond, so Hurricane started in her direction, trying to think about his next move.

“Why are you here?” she asked, not exchanging any pleasantries.

“I’m here because I miss you, Tina,” he said. That part was the truest statement that he had ever made. He missed her so damn much that his body ached when he went to bed every night. Holding her during their one night together had him longing for more.

“You can’t just show up at my place just because you miss me,” she insisted. “How is Chasity?” she asked, trying to change the topic.

“She’s fine—just worried about you,” he admitted.

“Why would she be worried about me?” Tina asked. She wasn’t going to make any of this easy on him—not that he had expected it.

He shrugged, “I’m not sure, but she said that she spoke with you a couple of days ago and that you seemed off. I promised her that I’d stop by to check on you. Plus—I missed you.” Yeah, looping back to that was a good idea. She seemed to lose some of her fight, and he knew that she might break down and tell him what he already knew—that she had lost her job. But he wantedher to admit that to him on her own instead of forcing the truth out of her.

“That’s really sweet,” she admitted.

“The part about me showing up here to check in on you or the part about Chasity worrying about you?” he asked.

“I guess both,” she admitted. He crossed the distance between the two of them, taking the chance that his instincts were right and that she wasn’t as angry with him anymore.

“Why were you so upset that other day when you spoke with Chasity, honey?” he asked. She was standing so close to him that all he’d have to do was reach out and just touch her, but that might be something that Tina wasn’t ready for.

“It’s a long story, so you better come in,” she insisted. She led the way up two flights of steps and into her apartment. Her place was tiny but homey and it reminded him of Tina. He wondered if she’d feel at home at his place, but there was only one way to find out.

“I lost my job,” she said before he even got the front door closed. “And I know it looks like I’m living in the lap of luxury, but I’m not. I need that job to pay my rent and to take care of Chasity. She might be living with you, but I pay for all her needs out of pocket—including healthcare which is almost more than my rent.”

“Shit, Tina, I’m sorry,” he said.

“Thanks, and you can stop pretending that you didn’t know about me being fired before I told you. Chasity texted me to give me a heads-up that you stopped by my office and were on your way here. That’s how I knew to meet you outside,” she admitted.

“Are you mad?” he asked.

She shrugged, “Not really. I’m angrier with my boss than anyone. How could he fire me for taking care of my niece?” she asked. He didn’t have an answer to her question, but he did have a solution to her problem.

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