After the Storm: Midseason Episode 1 (Rising Storm) Read online

  “I can’t believe Mom thinks we need to be here for him—”

  She broke off as their mother, Payton, came around the corner with a tray of finger sandwiches and a pitcher of lemonade. They hadn’t spoken much about any of this, and Brittany wasn’t sure how go about it. As far as she could tell, her mother hadn’t so much as shed a tear over the fact that her husband had knocked up a girl young enough to be his daughter and had probably slept with a dozen more.

  “I brought you something to eat,” Payton said, and if she’d heard Brittany talking, she was choosing to ignore it. “Your father and grandmother are finished with their meeting with Mr. Stayton, and they’re on their way up to talk to you.”

  “This should be good.” Jeffry reached for a sandwich as their mother put them on the coffee table. “I was wondering how long it would be before we got the circle-the-wagons lecture. Five bucks says he tries to convince us that everything Dakota said was a lie.”

  “I know you two are angry and confused and you have a lot of questions,” Payton said as she took a seat next to Brittany, looking all prim and proper in a subdued green dress and gray scarf. “But we’ll get through this. I promise.”

  Brittany wanted to believe her, but so much of her life was a lie, and right now she was having a hard time processing any of it. Her stomach growled, and she realized she hadn’t eaten since last night at dinner with Marcus. But even then, she’d only picked at her food, too upset by the unexpected confrontation with Ginny and Dakota to eat.

  The confrontation with Ginny had been bad enough, but she still couldn’t believe she’d actually struck Dakota. Brittany had punched her boyfriend’s sister. It was nearly enough to make her groan out loud.

  At least Marcus had been understanding, taking her side in public. In private…well, he’d shared a little more of his past and the abuse he and his mother had suffered at the hands of his father. Seeing his sister hit had been painful for him, even though he’d understood the situation.

  The fact that Brittany caused him pain in any way had been devastating, and she swore she’d never do that again.

  “Honey, you should eat something.”

  Her mother’s voice yanked her out of her memories and into more current and pressing problems. Like her cheating father and her empty stomach.

  She reached for a sandwich just as her dad and grandmother entered the room, and so much for her appetite. Marylee took a seat in the armchair near the door, while her father sank down in the recliner and proceeded to lay out a detailed plan for how they were going to handle the crisis.

  If Brit had taken Jeffry up on his bet, she’d have owed him five bucks, because sure enough, their father tried to convince them that Dakota made the whole thing up.

  Oh, but the best part of the whole charade and crisis mop-up plan had come when Marylee all but ordered Brittany to break up with Marcus.

  “I’m not agreeing to any of this,” Brittany said, looking her father directly in his lying eyes. “Do you realize how much this has disrupted our lives? I can’t go anywhere without being accosted by reporters or confronted by complete strangers, and I have to take a semester off college because I can’t drag this to school with me. So no, you don’t get to ask me to lose my boyfriend, too. I won’t talk to the press and I won’t confirm or deny anything, but I will not break up with Marcus. I’ll do my best to keep our relationship out of the public eye, but not out of consideration for you or your bullshit campaign.”

  1001 Dark Nights

  Welcome to 1001 Dark Nights… a collection of novellas that are breathtakingly sexy and magically romantic. Some are paranormal, some are erotic. Each and every one is compelling and page turning.

  Inspired by the exotic tales of The Arabian Nights, 1001 Dark Nights features New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors.

  In the original, Scheherazade desperately attempts to entertain her husband, the King of Persia, with nightly stories so that he will postpone her execution.

  In our version, month after month, each of our fabulous authors puts a unique spin on the premise and creates a tale that a new Scheherazade tells long into the dark, dark night.

  For more information about 1001 Dark Nights, visit www.1001DarkNights.com.

  On behalf of Rising Storm,

  Liz Berry, M.J. Rose, Julie Kenner & Dee Davis would like to thank ~

  Steve Berry

  Doug Scofield

  Melissa Rheinlander

  Kim Guidroz

  Jillian Stein

  InkSlinger PR

  Asha Hossain

  Chris Graham

  Pamela Jamison

  Fedora Chen

  Jessica Johns

  Dylan Stockton

  Richard Blake

  The Dinner Party Show

  and Simon Lipskar

  Table of Contents

  Book Description

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Table of Contents

  Book Description

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six