Suddenly, it hit Tempest. “Oh, no! My car! My purse! They’re still out on the street!”
“Naw, it’s all good.” Gold Tooth dangled Tempest’s keys in front of her face. “I drove your ride over here. I figured you wouldn’t mind.”
Tempest couldn’t believe it. They were so thoughtful. One of the others came forward and handed Tempest her purse.
“Your car is in the visitors’ lot, row B,” Gold Tooth added. “I gotta tell you, though. You’re gonna need one hell of a cleanup job on your backseat. It’s mad nasty.”
Tempest opened her purse to get her wallet. Everything was still intact.
“Let me give you fellas something for your trouble. I don’t have much cash on me, but if you give me your addresses—”
“Naw, sistah.” Gold Tooth shook his head dramatically. “We like to do a little community service e-ve-ry now and then.”
They all shared a good laugh, even Tempest.
“Besides, that girl Kensington—she could’ve been one of our baby sisters or sumptin’,” Ronnie said.
They began to walk off down the hall to the elevator. No sooner had they turned the corner than Geren appeared. Tempest was overjoyed to see him. She’d asked one of the nurses to contact him but didn’t think she’d succeeded.
Tempest ran into the safety of his arms. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Kensington?” Geren asked, holding Tempest snugly.
“She’s fine.”
“The baby?”
“She’s fine, too.”
“A girl, huh?” Geren let out a sigh of relief. “So what happened, sweetheart?”
“Baby, do I have one hell of a story to tell you.” Tempest pulled him toward the nursery. “First, I want to introduce you to the newest Nubian queen.”
CHAPTER 20
memories
geren reached over and pushed the handle on the passenger door until it was slightly ajar.
“Hop in!” he shouted out to Tempest. The heavy rainfall had already begun to invade the car in the span of a few seconds. “You’re getting soaked!”
Tempest swung the door open wider, hopped in, and slammed it quickly. She was indeed soaked, and she could have kicked herself for not tossing a compact umbrella in her briefcase that morning. It must have been all the butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. The day had started out stressful and gone downhill from there.
The mere sight of Geren immediately lifted her spirits. He always had that effect on her.
“Thanks for picking me up. I really appreciate it.”
“Don’t mention it.” Geren took Tempest’s briefcase out of her arms and tossed it in the backseat. “I’ll use any excuse I can find to see you.”
Damn, great minds really do think alike, Tempest thought to herself. She could have just as easily taken a cab home, but she chose to call Geren instead. She wanted to see him. No, scratch that. She needed to see him.
Tempest eyed Geren seductively, wishing he were inside her that very second. “The Toyota dealer said my car, rather my birth mobile on wheels, should be ready by seven.”
Geren chuckled. “Birth mobile on wheels. That’s funny.”
Tempest found nothing amusing. The incident with Kensington had been nothing short of traumatic for everyone involved. Fortunately, both Kensington and baby Sydney were healthy and unharmed.
She opted to change the subject. “Maybe we can kill a little time, and you can drop me by there before they close.”