Danny's Main

“We will,” she said.

During the football game halftime, Julie, Lyla, and Janie went to the kitchen to grab drink refills. The sound of the television got louder. Quickly returning to the family room with her eyes glued to the large screen, Julie heard a forecast that would forever change her life and the lives of those around her.

Tropical Storm Leo is gaining strength in the Atlantic as we speak. We are expecting it to morph into a hurricane by Tuesday possibly hitting landfall as early as Wednesday night. Get ready, people. This is going to be a big one.

Many things happened in the seconds during and after the meteorologist spoke, yet for Julie, the world slowed to an impossible pace. Frame by frame, she watched as devastation hit, and the actual storm was still more than twenty-four hours away.

***

THEIR CAR WAS quiet on the way home from di

“Leo! Of all the fucking names in the world, the one hurricane to hit Charistown in decades had to be Leo? What are the goddamn chances?”

Just hearing the name hiss from Da

Leo had been Ashley’s brother and Ryan’s best friend. He died in a horrific car wreck during a hurricane when she was a senior in high school. His death brought about the end of Ryan and Ashley’s relationship.

“How much more can she take, Da

The muscles in her husband’s jaw bunched. “She’s a strong ass woman. She’ll take what she’s given and not just survive but thrive. Reminds me of you, Julie. She always has.”

His silken words touched her in a way she couldn’t express. It wasn’t sexy or slick but loving and truthful, words she felt straight down to the marrow of her bones.

“You told her tonight before she left that she wasn’t alone,” Da

“I believe that too.” And she did.

As soon as their car pulled into the garage, the couple started preparing the list of things they needed to purchase from the hardware store to safeguard the bar against hurricane damage and the super market in case they were without power for a day or two. The next couple of days were sure to be long, exhausting, and hopefully full of u

***

THE LATEST FORECAST said the hurricane would hit Charistown in less than twelve hours. While under normal circumstances, Da

“Fuck,” he mumbled when Kyle’s voice mail picked up once again.

Even with the chaos of the past two days, Da

Ryan, Max, and Max’s best friend since childhood, Sebastian Gage, all came to Da

“Go home, boys. Thanks for helping me handle stuff around here.” Da

No other words were said because none were needed. Ryan nodded and left the bar with Max. Da

###

“WOMAN, HOW MANY candles did you buy?” He couldn’t hide the humor in his voice even if he’d tried. The woman must have pulled forty jarred candles out of the shopping bags he’d helped her unload from the car.

“Dan, you’re lucky I could even find these.” She held up the white wax-filled jar. “The whole town has been emptied of batteries, but I got my hands on an eight-pack. Even that was tough. I thought some woman was going to throw a punch in order to take it from me.” She shook her head in the way she did when people’s actions confounded her. “Anyway, being the wife of a former firefighter, I knew better than to buy candle sticks—last thing I want to do is burn our house down if the power goes out—so I bought these candle jars instead. Figured if it came down to it, we could light them and place them away from the curtains and furniture. At least we’ll have some light.”

The way his wife’s mind worked forever amazed him. Some people multitasked; Julie multithought.

“I love you, honey,” he said, setting the jar on the table.

He cupped her head in his hands and crushed their mouths together. Her taste on his tongue as he slid it against hers, deepening the kiss, made him need more and want it all. His free hand moved to her breast, kneading it through the thermal shirt, finding her pebbled nipple and plucking it. He swallowed her moan while slowly grinding his hips against her. He loved the way her body melded into his, the ultimate trust she’d given him since the day they started their love affair.

“I want you now.” His command was uncompromising yet gentle. Heat roared through his body as every primal nerve awakened to play. Walking her backward from the dining room to the couch, he saw hunger enflame her sparkling gray eyes. “That bottom lip, baby, mmm, I need that fucking lip.” He took it, sucked it into his mouth, savored its smoothness, and pictured it around his throbbing cock.

“Da

Her throaty request had him stripping off her clothes before another word was spoken. His dick pulsed in his unbuttoned jeans.“Ahh, no panties. You were pla

“A girl can hope, can’t she?” Julie panted, her eyes closing when Da

The no-underwear rule had stayed in effect even when they’d lost the opportunity for adoption. If they were home, Julie was to be pantyless. At the bar, if she chose to wear undergarments, Da

“I need your skin, baby.” Her eyes narrowed, her voice a husky murmur as she slid Da