Lightning Strikes, Season 2, Episode 4 (Rising Storm) Read online

  Lightning Strikes

  By Lexi Blake

  Rising Storm

  Season 2

  Episode 4

  Story created by Julie Kenner and Dee Davis

  Lightning Strikes, Episode 4

  Rising Storm, Season 2

  Copyright 2016 Julie Kenner and Dee Davis Oberwetter

  ISBN: 978-1-942299-96-7

  Published by Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.

  Book Description

  Lightning Strikes

  By Lexi Blake

  Rising Storm, Season 2, Episode 4

  Secrets, Sex and Scandals …

  Welcome to Storm, Texas, where passion runs hot, desire runs deep, and secrets have the power to destroy… Get ready. The storm is coming.

  As Ian Briggs begins to fall for Marisol, Joanne and Dillon also grow closer. Joanne’s new confidence spreads to Dakota but Hector’s return upends everything. A public confrontation between Marcus and Hector endangers his relationship with Brittany, and Dakota reverts to form. Meanwhile, the Senator threatens Ginny and the baby…

  About Lexi Blake

  Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog in the world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance that she found success. She likes to find humor in the strangest places. Lexi believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome or foursome may seem. She also writes contemporary Western ménage as Sophie Oak.

  Connect with Lexi online:

  Facebook: Lexi Blake

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorlexiblake

  Website: www.LexiBlake.net

  Sign up for Lexi's newsletter here.

  Also From Lexi Blake

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  Thieves

  Steal the Light

  Steal the Day

  Steal the Moon

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  Sleeper, Coming Soon

  Foreword

  Dear reader –

  We have wanted to do a project together for over a decade, but nothing really jelled until we started to toy with a kernel of an idea that sprouted way back in 2012 … and ultimately grew into Rising Storm.

  We are both excited about and proud of this project—not only of the story itself, but also the incredible authors who have helped bring the world and characters we created to life.

  We hope you enjoy visiting Storm, Texas. Settle in and stay a while!

  Happy reading!

  Julie Kenner & Dee Davis

  Sign up for the Rising Storm/1001 Dark Nights Newsletter

  and be entered to win an exclusive lightning bolt necklace specially designed for Rising Storm by Janet Cadsawan of Cadsawan.com.

  Click here to subscribe.

  As a bonus, all subscribers will receive a free

  Rising Storm story

  Storm Season: Ginny & Jacob – the Prequel

  by Dee Davis

  Table of Contents

  Book Description

  About Lexi Blake

  Also from Lexi Blake

  Foreword

  Family Trees

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Rising Storm

  An excerpt from Fire and Rain, Rising Storm Season 2, Episode 5, by R.K. Lilley

  1001 Dark Nights

  Family Trees

  Allen Family

  Alvarez Family

  Douglas Family

  Grossman Family

  Johnson Family

  Moreno Family

  Murphy Family

  Prager Family

  Rush Family

  Salt Family

  Chapter One

  Marcus Alvarez looked at the chaos on the kitchen table and wondered where his mother thought they were going to eat.

  Joanne Alvarez rushed in, a harried smile on her face. “I’m sorry. I was up late last night folding those and I hadn’t moved them yet. Give me a sec and I’ll get this out of the way and we can set the table for breakfast.”

  He looked down at what had to be hundreds of pamphlets, all with Tate Johnson’s smiling face on the front. The dark-haired man beamed out as though attempting to convince the world that all would be safe with him at the helm. A Man You Can Trust. That was the campaign slogan. He was running for mayor and Joanne was running his campaign.

  Marcus quickly held a hand out, gesturing for his mother to stop. “I’ll get it, Mom. You go back to making breakfast. Or better yet, why don’t you grab some coffee and I’ll make it for you.”

  His mother gave him a smile that actually went all the way to her eyes. “Don’t be silly. I know Ian taught you a thing or two, but the kitchen is my domain. And thank you, sweetheart. If you could just box them up for me, I would appreciate it. I’m taking them all over town later today.”

  She was humming when she turned back into the kitchen.

  Marcus sighed and started boxing up the pamphlets he was sure notified voters of how righteous and upstanding Tate Johnson was and how they would be fools to not want him as mayor.

  He tried to think of what Sebastian Rush’s campaign booklets would say. A Man Who’ll Get Your Daughters Pregnant came to mind.

  Yeah, he wasn’t too happy with the senator. It didn’t help that he knew for sure the senator and his indomitable mother wished Britta
ny would find another boyfriend. As he was her current boyfriend, he took offense.

  He was happy his mother seemed to enjoy her new job, but he’d definitely had his fill of politicians.

  “Let me help.” His youngest sister took a stack of booklets and started packing them into the box set aside for them. “We were up late last night getting these suckers ready. I helped Mom with the design. Well, Luis and I did. He’s pretty good with Photoshop.”

  His baby sister. It was so hard to figure out where the time had gone. He’d been away for so long and somehow Mallory had gone from a girl in pigtails to a young woman with a blossoming relationship and a confident smile.

  Why had he stayed away from his family for so long?

  Oh, yes. His rat bastard abusive father.

  Marcus felt his mood lift in an instant. His father wasn’t here and somehow that made the whole town a brighter place.

  “Do you need a ride to school?” He packed the last of his mother’s handiwork up and closed the box. The heavenly scent of bacon hit his nose.

  Mallory shook her head. “Nope. It’s a teacher in-service day. I’m free as a bird.”

  His mother’s head poked out of the kitchen. “Free?”

  Mallory’s eyes widened as she realized her mistake. “I meant I’m totally free to go to the library and study really hard for my algebra test. So hard.”

  Marcus had to chuckle because his mother had been dragging them all into her never-ending quest to see Tate set up as the next mayor of Storm. In the last week, he’d helped clean out the back room at the new campaign headquarters that had apparently at one time served as a home to a family of raccoons. He’d been pressed into service evicting the little suckers. He’d hung campaign posters and taught his mom how to set up a mailing list.

  Still, it was all worth it to see the energy she had now. His mother was lighter than before he’d left. He’d remembered a woman dulled by life. This Joanne Alvarez seemed to almost light up a room.

  “That’s such good news, honey.” His mother winked at Mallory. “You can take a couple of stacks of those and put them on the circulation desk. I’ve already talked to the librarian. She’s expecting them. Thank you. You’re such a big help.”

  She turned and practically bounced back into the kitchen.

  “Poor sister,” he whispered. “Now you actually have to go to the library.”

  She grinned. “I’ll make it a quick stop. You want some coffee?”

  “Sure,” he said. He glanced down at his cell and smiled at the text he’d received. His plans were going well.

  “Can I have some?” Dakota stood in the doorway, still in her robe and slippers.

  Dakota. His other sister. The one who’d gone from pigtails and asking for candy to ruining the lives of all around her by publicly outing the secrets of some of Storm’s most powerful residents.

  “Sure,” Mallory said, giving her sister a slight smile.

  Dakota moved to the table, slumping down in her chair. “Thanks.”

  Well, it was a start. There were days when getting any gratitude out of Dakota was like pulling teeth. “What are your plans for the day?”

  Dakota sighed. “Well, I thought I’d watch some TV and then maybe do my nails. I have to do them myself now. Maybe later on I’ll walk down the street and let people throw stuff at me.”

  He frowned. Despite what she’d done, she was still his sister. “Has someone done that to you?”

  Her blue eyes turned up and a weary-looking smile hit her face. “Ready to take someone down for me, big brother?”

  “Dakota, if someone’s physically assaulted you, then yes. I’m going to need a name.” He knew a lot of people were angry with her for what she’d done at the picnic. He’d hoped with a little time they would forgive and forget, but he feared the Rushes kept stoking the fire against his sister.

  His sister was out of a job and couldn’t find a place to live, but Senator Rush had just been reelected. By the skin of his teeth, but the nasty bastard still had his job even after he’d been caught sleeping with not one but two of the town’s young women. Ginny Moreno was very likely carrying the man’s child. But it was Dakota who was being punished the worst in his mind. Yes, she’d been involved with the senator, too, and that had been wrong. Yes, she’d been the one to out the situation in the worst possible way, but he wasn’t about to allow anyone to abuse her.

  Dakota held a hand up. “Thanks for the save, Sir Marcus, but my stoning is more figurative than literal. No one’s physically hurting me, but it’s still hard to walk into a room and have the whole place go silent. I know the minute I step outside everyone stares and talks behind their hands. It’s why I think I’m going to be a shut-in. I can live here for the rest of my miserable life. I’ll be that weird old lady who never goes outside. Maybe I should get a cat. Or twelve.”

  Mallory stepped back out and put a mug in front of Dakota. “Or you could try being nice to people.”

  Dakota’s eyes rolled. “Like that works. Thanks.”

  Mallory’s shoulders shrugged. “You’re welcome. But seriously, you have to get out there. You’ve been hiding in this house and it just makes it worse when you do go out.”

  His mother stepped out of the kitchen, a stack of plates in her hand. “Mallory’s right.”

  Dakota stared at her mother sullenly. “You always think Mallory’s right.”

  “Of course I don’t,” his mother replied patiently. “But in this case, she is. You have to get out and act like nothing’s wrong. Eventually people will get on board. If you don’t give them anything else to talk about, time will do the job of putting distance between you and the incident.”

  His mother knew how to do that. She smiled even when it hurt. She ignored the bruises on her body and the ache in her soul, and everyone eventually treated it like it was her normal state.

  Yeah, that was why he’d left.

  “It’s easy for you to say,” Dakota replied, but she stood up and took the plates from her mother’s hand and started to set the table.

  It was a true turnaround for her. Somehow the weeks of being stuck in the house and forced to look inward had brought about small but good changes in Dakota. It was precisely why he was willing to do what he was about to do.

  “What if I told you I got you a job interview?” Marcus asked.

  Dakota stopped, her hand still on a plate. “Where? Is it like janitorial? Because I’m not cleaning toilets. I don’t care. I’d rather be a cat lady.”

  “Then you have to clean out litter boxes,” Mallory said with a grin.

  “Fine. I’ll collect animals who don’t poop. That’ll be my thing.” Dakota set the plate down and faced him. “Do you seriously think you can get me a job interview? Because I’ve tried everywhere. No one will even talk to me.”

  He’d already taken care of that. “You’ve got an interview this morning at Pink. Ten o’clock.”

  Her eyes lit up. “The clothing store? The one on the square?”

  At least he was making someone happy this morning. “That one. Courtney Kline owns the shop and her father used to be my Boy Scout troop leader and he coached the Little League. She’s a nice lady and she’s willing to give you a shot. But you should probably shower.”

  Her normally lengthy beauty routine had been tossed aside in favor of staying in her robe almost all day.

  “I’ll be ready.” There was suddenly a bounce to Dakota’s step that had been missing for weeks. “No time for breakfast, Mom.”

  “You could have toast.” His mother sighed as Dakota strode back toward her bedroom. “I’ll take her some in a bit. That was a very nice thing you did for your sister.”

  “We do what we have to.” He was the man of the house now, and it didn’t feel as constricting as he’d thought it would. It was a revelation. He thought he’d be desperate to get back to Montana by now, but he’d settled back in. Without his father around, the bonds of responsibility didn’t chafe the way they used to.
r />   And then there was Brittany.

  She needed him, too. No matter what her family thought.

  There was a knock on the door. Mallory ran off to see who was there.

  “Well, you should know I’m very proud of the way you’re handling yourself, son.” His mother reached out and squeezed his arm. “I’ve been so happy to have you around to lean on.”

  “You haven’t been leaning much, Mom. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but you’re kind of bossy lately,” he teased.

  She flushed and her hand went to her cheek. “I’m certainly not, Marcus. I’m simply doing my job.”

  “Good morning, Joanne,” a deep voice said.

  His mother flushed a deeper pink as she turned and saw Sheriff Dillon Murphy standing in the room. He had his hat in hand and nodded their way.

  “Apparently he was patrolling the neighborhood, looking for bacon,” Mallory quipped.

  It was the sheriff’s turn to flush. “I was close by and I thought I would check up on you. But if you do have extra, I haven’t eaten.”

  “Of course, that would be lovely. We’re just about ready.” She hurried back into the kitchen.

  “Do you mind?” Dillon asked.

  “Of course not.” Marcus nodded Dillon’s way. The sheriff was practically family. Marcus always felt at home when he was with the Murphys. He wanted Dillon to feel the same.

  The fact that he was pretty sure his mother was falling for the sheriff probably should have bothered him, but Dillon was the one who made her smile, encouraged her to be independent. From what he could tell, the blooming friendship with Dillon was good for his mom.

  “But don’t think you’re eating all the bacon,” he warned.