Page 5 of Eye of Her Storm

“I just want you guys to treat me normal,” she said. “Like you did two weeks ago, before I found out… Well, before. I need normal. Can you do that?”

Moon sniffled. “I’ll try.

River took a deep breath. “I think I’m okay, now. Let’s go back out there.”

“I’m not,” Moon muttered.

“Your hot man is probably waiting nearby to wrap you in his arms and make you all okay.”

Moon snorted. “Probably.” She pulled back and looked at River with watery, red-rimmed eyes. “Let your guys do the same thing for you. Please. You need it, and they’re going to need it, too.”

“I will,” River promised. Her sister was right. She’d dreaded telling her family, but she dreaded telling Seth and Tai even more. When she thought about Paisley’s words, River knew Paisley was right. River was theirs and they were hers. She had to tell them.

* * * *

Seth jumped as the doorbell rang at the front door. He glanced at Tai. “Expecting someone?”

It was late, almost ten, and they had to be up again in six hours. Normally, they would have bedded down by now, but they’d been caught up in dealing with a paperwork issue affecting one of their customers. It needed to be corrected and double checked before it went out the next day. Since they’d revamped the ranch from cattle to crops three years ago, they’d been were in a rebuilding phase, nurturing new business relationships. At this early, inaugural stage, they couldn’t afford any screw ups.

Tai shook his head. “No. I’ll go get it and see who it is.”

Seth scanned the document on the computer screen one last time and was about to shut everything down when he heard Tai.

“River,” Tai exclaimed in surprise.

Seth leapt to his feet and headed for the front hallway, where Tai was letting River inside. She wore a light-green jacket, belted at the waist with black pants and knee-high boots that showed off her long, lean legs. Her dark-brown hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail, and her hands were clasped together in front of her as if she were nervous. Why would she be nervous to be around them? More so, why was she here…this late at night? Her pensive expression proclaimed it wasn’t for any of the reasons Seth would have hoped.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded.

She visibly swallowed. “I just had dinner with my family, and I need to talk with you two about something.”

“Okay…”

“We should sit down,” she added, and he got the feeling she was delaying, nervous to go forward. Did she plan to tell them she’d found someone else after all this time. Seth knew, if she’d announced it at family dinner, Tai’s cousin, Brant, would have insisted she tell them.

“Sure,” Tai said. He put his arm around her waist and guided her toward the living room. Seth went ahead of them to clear the paperwork strewn across the coffee table and half the couch.

“Would you like something to drink?” he asked once she was seated on the large, brown-leather sofa with Tai seated in the wingchair to her right. “Beer?”

She shook her head. “I just need to…” She bowed her head and pressed her fingers to her forehead. “This is so hard. After all this time…” Her lips pressed together, and when she looked back up at them, her green eyes were watery.

“What is it?” Seth asked.

She drew her bottom lip between her teeth then released it. Her tongue darted out to soothe the abused flesh while her fingers twisted together on her lap. She took a deep breath.

“What is it?” Seth repeated on a whisper while Tai stared at her, his skin appearing paler than normal. “Frankly, you’re scaring the crap out of us. Is it…someone else?”

A harsh, hysterical bark of laughter burst from her. “God, I wish it was that. No,” she shook her head, “there’s been no one but you two for over four years. I mean…we haven’t been…but…”

Seth sat beside her. His fingers covered hers. “There’s been no one but you for us, too.” He gestured to Tai with his eyes and a barely perceptible tilt of his head, telling his partner to sit on the other side of their girl. Whatever she had to say, she needed their strength. If it wasn’t another man, what was it?

A knot of dread formed in his gut as his fingers tightened around River’s to stop her fidgeting. Tai’s hand covered his. Their eyes met, and he saw the same dread on Tai’s face.

“Riv, whatever it is, we’re here for you,” Tai assured her. “Just tell us.”

She stared at their joined hands, and Seth felt her trembling. “I’ve had some medical issues lately,” she confessed. “The night of the wedding, when I had such a bad headache that we couldn’t… Well, you know… When we couldn’t finally get together. That wasn’t just an anomaly. I’ve had a lot of headaches. Dizziness. Nausea. Some other stuff… Anyway, I had enough problems that I saw the doctor, and he sent me to a specialist for some tests—a team of specialists actually.”

“You’re sick?” Seth asked, a margin of relief filling him. This, they could deal with. He stroked her cool cheek with his free hand. “You know we’ll be here for you, love. We’ll take care of you.”

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