Chapter 9
Brandy practically shit herself when she saw his blue convertible pulling up behind them.
"Brandy, you want me to cut him off?" Nick asked over the CB. Brandy smirked, Nick was always protecting her like a big brother.
"No, I kinda want to know what the fuck he wants." she replied.
Kevin followed them for about five miles, Brandy was almost impressed. The three of them finally pulled over and Kevin followed suit.
"What do you want?" Brandy asked, storming over to him with her hands on her hips. Kevin had a camera crew with him, but they weren't filming....yet.
"I have a proposal for you. We'd like to do a story on your storm chasing team. We follow you around for a bit....and if you get the pack in the air, it could mean a lot of publicity, maybe even catch the eye of the grant committee?" Kevin smirked. Nick was shaking his head at him....if looks could kill, he might have breathed fire at him.
"Nick, back off." Brandy hissed, pushing him slightly. Nick calmed down and cracked his knuckles, watching the two talking.
"I still don't know who he is." Alex wondered, walking over to Nick.
"He's an asshole....Kevin Richardson. he works for the news station. Weatherman. Thinks his shit doesn't stink....If Brandy has any sense she'll tell him to fuck off." Nick scoffed.
"I've seen him on TV. He's supposed to be famous around here. Maybe this would be good for our work." Alex said as Nick made a face.
"You don't know how he operates. He doesn't want to help us. He wants something else."
Brandy and Kevin stood near his car, talking.
"Must be nice being able to afford a car like this, huh? The TV station paying you pretty good to stand and predict weather? Don't you miss being in the field?" she asked. Her blonde hair fell in her eyes, Kevin smiled at her. She was pretty even though she didn't give a damn.
"No, I prefer not to get myself killed. At least inside you don't need to worry about getting whacked by a two by four. And yes....I've seen Carter get hit in the head too many times to count. We could use him back at the station too. He was talented."
"He understands me, Kevin. I thought you did too. I belong in the field. Our work could help save so many lives. Maybe if things were different...." Brandy said, trailing off.
She and Nick had been working at the TV station for a few years until she had decided to start her own team. She remembered how Nick got into a fight with Kevin for leaving after she did, for withholding the information from him. Brandy had no desire to go back to her cubicle.
"I still love you, Brandy Johnson. You look great. I miss you a lot." Kevin said, his hand brushing against her cheek.
"Kevin....I'm not doing this....not here. So you just want to follow us around and film us, is that it? Like a documentary?" she said, pulling away. He saw her blushing and smiled, looked over her shoulder and saw Nick's expression. He was pissed and Kevin enjoyed every second.
Kevin- one. Nick- zero.
"Yes. Like a live documentary. We want to show our viewers what you storm chasers do out here." Kevin explained.
"You were one of us at one time, remember?" Brandy whispered, crossing her arms.
"That was the past. So what are you going to do? What's your answer?" Kevin retorted. He knew she was trying to intimidate him, but it wasn't going to work. He knew exactly how to work Brandy.
"Okay, you can follow us. But do not interfere in our work and do not start any drama, or you're DONE. You may be technically my husband but in my book you're as good as divorced." she snapped coldly.
Kevin headed back to his car and she to the truck, not speaking much after that.
"What just happened?" Alex asked.
"Shit is gonna hit the fan. Fucking Christ." Nick said, kicking the tire on his van. Alex got back into the red pickup and put on his seatbelt, facing Brandy.
"So what did that Kevin guy want?"
"He's following us with a camera crew, so no funny business, you hear me? This could be good for our team." Brandy said, looking out the window at the storm clouds that seemed so far away. Crackles of lightning and thunder echoed in the distance. Their day was far from over.....it was just beginning.
"You seem to know him." Alex said once they headed down the road once more, Brandy looking over a map and studying the sky.
"What makes you say that?"
"You guys were talking for a long time. Was he the one I saw you with back at the diner?"
"There you go again." Brandy hissed. She hated when Alex decided to be nosy. Especially when he smelled so good, she hated being angry and attracted to him at the same time. Her body wanted it but she knew he was off limits. Her husband was a few cars behind them....now was not the time to be foolish.
"What do you mean, there I go again? I'm so sorry I'm not Carter and you can't have a conversation with him." Alex shouted, rolling his eyes.
"That's not what I meant at all. I wasn't even talking to Nick about you. So don't even go there." Brandy replied.
"Oh, please. I don't know how to deal with you, Brandy. One minute there's all this fire and now we're back at square one. Did you fuck me just because you were bored, or what? What's really wrong with you? Are you that afraid to let someone in?" he asked. Brandy never answered him...she knew she couldn't keep things from him much longer....she just didn't know how to break it to him.
"Today's been a quiet day so far." Kevin said as they stopped to get gas.
"Yeah. Well we've had shitty luck since you slithered up." Nick snapped, slamming his gas tank closed and walking away, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"Don't mind him, he's just cranky in general. I'm Alex."
"Nice to meet you. I hear you're pretty bright when it comes to storms. Maybe I could interview you?" Kevin asked. He figured Alex was neutral, maybe he could help him persuade Brandy into coming back.
It was worth a shot, wasn't it?
Author's Chapter Notes:
Yes, I know it has been quite a while. I am still plugging along with this and I don't see this being a really long story...so I'm gonna try and see if inspiration holds out. Hope you're all still with me and thank you for being so patient.
