Johnny (Connelly Cousins #2) by Abbie Zanders Page A

pressure.
    Oh, no .
    A flash of bright light followed almost immediately by an ear-splitting crack of thunder made her jump and cry out.
    Johnny was there in a heartbeat. “What? Is everything okay?”
    “Yes, sorry. It just startled me, that’s all.” Stacey willed her heartbeat to slow. Where had he come from? Had he been hiding in the shadows, just out of sight?  Another flash and crack made her jump again.
    * * *
    J ohnny knew there was more to it than just a case of being startled. She was trembling all over.
    “Stacey...” He spoke her name softly and went to his knees beside her. For a moment he saw the terror in her eyes before she shuttered them, locking him out.
    “It’s okay. It’s just a thunderstorm. We’re safe here.”
    “I-I know. I’m fine. If you’ll excuse me.” She pulled on one wheel harder than necessary, spinning her chair in the opposite direction. Then she made for the far end of the room, disappearing in the shadows through the archway leading into his bedroom.
    Johnny flexed his hands at his sides, resisting the urge to go after her. She was spooked, he had seen that, felt it as keenly as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over his head. But why? Did it have anything to do with why she was in a wheelchair?
    He stalked upstairs, closing Michael’s door behind him. Whipping a cell phone out of his pocket, he pressed the number one on his speed dial, pacing impatiently as he heard, one ring, then two. Pick up , he willed, only a second or two before someone did.
    “Tell me what happened to her, Lina.”
    “Johnny?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Where are you?”
    “I’m up at the cabin.”
    “The cabin? What are you - ”
    “I crashed here last night,” he said, cutting her off.
    A pause, then, “Is Stacey still there?”
    “Yeah. Listen, I know this is going to sound weird, but we’re getting some big storms up here and she started acting strangely. Is there something I need to know?”
    Lina was silent for several long moments, the line cracking occasionally just before each crack of thunder. “Is she okay?”
    “I don’t know. She took off for the bedroom like a bat out of hell. What do I need to know, Lina?”
    “Stacey... doesn’t like storms.”
    No shit . “Yeah, got that,” he said impatiently.
    “They’re kind of a trigger for her,” Lina said hesitantly.
    “A trigger? For what?”
    “The accident. The one that put her in a wheelchair. It happened during a bad thunderstorm.”
    Son of a bitch. That was exactly what he’d been afraid of. Another loud crack sounded, rattling the windows. “I gotta go.  I’ll call you later.”
    “Johnny, wait. You shouldn’t - ”
    Johnny didn’t wait around to hear what he “shouldn’t” do. Disconnecting the call, his feet couldn’t carry him back down the stairs fast enough.
    He forced himself to knock on the bedroom door, but when he didn’t receive an immediate answer, he opened it himself and walked right in anyway. It took a minute to find her. Stacey was curled up in bed, nothing but a lump underneath the covers.
    Johnny peeled back the comforter, only to find she held the pillows tightly over her head. Her back heaved in sobs muffled beneath it all. He pulled the pillows away and drew her into his lap. She clung to him, burying her face in his chest. He stroked her hair, caressed her back. He might not know the details of what had happened, but he knew she needed him.
    “It’s all right, Stacey,” he murmured over and over. “You’re okay. I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
    She didn’t answer, but she did curl into the safety of his arms.
    The storm raged throughout the afternoon. Rain pounded relentlessly against the windows. Brilliant flashes of lightning lit up the room; the accompanying thunder rattled the ground beneath the cabin. He kept her close, his heart breaking a little more with each strike, wishing he could do something . At least the silent, racking sobs had