Riding the Storm - Brenda Jackson [57]
Storm glanced up from the stack of papers on his desk. After having a sleepless night, he had gotten up at the crack of dawn to come into the station. Most of his men hadn’t arrived yet. Although it wasn’t a requirement, he was one of those captains who preferred working the same hours as the firefighters he supervised.
“Sure, Cobb, come on in. What can I do for you?”
Darryl Cobb had recently become a father again. Four months ago, his wife Haley had given birth to their third child. Darryl was a few years younger than Storm and they had known each other since their high school days. He’d also known Darryl’s wife, Haley, from high school, as well, and remembered Darryl and Haley dating even back then. Evidently, Haley hadn’t had a problem recognizing Darryl as her Mr. Right since the two of them had been married for over ten years now and always seemed happy together.
“I was wondering if I can take a few hours off today. The baby has a doctor’s appointment and Haley just called. Her boss called an important meeting for later today.”
Storm nodded. Haley was a computer programmer for a financial management company. “That shouldn’t be a problem,” Storm said, turning to check the activity board. “You’re supposed to teach a class on fire prevention at that elementary school today. Do you have a replacement?”
Darryl smiled. “Sure do. Reed has agreed to cover for me.”
Storm nodded. The one thing he liked about the men he supervised was that they got along and were quick to help each other out when something unexpected came up. “In that case, your taking a few hours off won’t be a problem,” he said making a notation on the activity sheet.
He glanced back over at Cobb. “So how has it been going since Haley returned to work?”
Darryl chuckled. “Crazy.”
“Then why did she go back?” he asked, then quickly felt he’d been out of line for asking such a question. But from the laugh Cobb gave him, evidently he hadn’t been surprised by the question. From Storm’s early days as a firefighter, it had been a joke around the station that his views on women working inside the home were unrealistic and so outdated they were pitiful. He’d been told that it would be hard as hell to find a woman who’d agree to do nothing but stay at home, barefoot and pregnant.
“Well, that humongous house we just bought in Stone Mountain was one good reason for her to return to work,” Darryl said, still chuckling. “But another reason is that Haley enjoys what she does and I’m not going to ask her to give it up.” He looked pointedly at Storm and said, “That’s where a lot of men make their mistakes.”
Storm raised a brow. “Where?”
Darryl smiled. “In assuming that they are the only ones who have it together. I personally think it’s women who really have it together, and we’re merely bystanders looking in. Besides, with Haley and me both sharing equally in the raising of our kids, I feel I’m playing just as an important role in their lives as she is, and that’s important to me. It has nothing to do with which one of us is bringing home the bacon, but mainly how the both of us are serving the bacon. Together, we’re forming a deep, nurturing attachment to our children and are giving them all the love we have, which is a lot. And to me that’s the most important thing.”
A few moments later after Cobb had left, Storm stood at the window in his office and looked out as he thought about what Darryl had said. Was one of the reasons Jayla hadn’t recognized him as her Mr. Right was because in her mind he was all wrong?
Had what Nicole done to him all those years ago driven his beliefs that a husband should be sole provider for his wife and family? He would be the first to admit that because of Nicole’s rejection, he’d always wanted to prove the point that a man, highly educated or not, could take care of his household. His father had done it and had raised a family on a construction worker’s salary.
He thought of his brothers and their wives. Even married to a sheikh, his sister Delaney was still working as a pediatrician and doing one hell