©
2025 Duleigh Lawrence-Townshend. All rights reserved. The author asserts the right to be identified as the author of this story for all portions. All characters are original. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental. This story or any part thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review or commentary.
This is an all new addition to the Stormwatch series. If you haven't read Stormwatch Chapter 1, through Stormwatch Chapter 5, please take this chance first. All chapters are listed in the correct reading order in the
Stormwatch Series List
.
Chapters one and two are updates to existing chapters with 50% new material in each, and a corrected timeline. Chapters 3, through 6, are all new and hopefully they rekindle the joy of the series and expand on the story.
Welcome to summer in small town Western New York, where patriotism is still in fashion and friends are just up the block. This is Josh and Veronica's first summer together. He's having some issues with his accomplishments and the recognition for them, but with Veronica's love, he's coming around.
For comments, questions, or merchandise, please contact the author.
STORMWATCH Chapter 6
Storm Clouds Rising
June faded into July, and Josh and Veronica's love continued to mature and swell. Josh's favorite day of the year arrived, and they sat on the porch of her beautiful Victorian house, watching the crowds leave the park across the street. Yesterday was spent setting up booths and tents and the kiddy rides in the park getting ready for today, the big day: Independence Day! In Springville, it's still a monumental event for a little town and folks come from all over, from towns that gave up on the celebration, just to remember what it was like to celebrate America.
It was exciting just to watch the preparations. Their friends, John, Paul, and Macy were going to play in the gazebo later, after the parade and the firemen's bucket brigade. They had been practicing all week and Josh had never heard them sound better.
As for him and Veronica, they were going to watch the parade on Main Street, then come back to the carnival. He was going to get an Italian sausage with onions and peppers and she was going to get a funnel cake and they were going to share bites as they walked back up to Main Street to watch the firemen's bucket brigade competition. After that, they head back to the park for John, Paul, and Macy's concert. His quartet was planning to walk around the park, occasionally singing before and after the Jareckis played. Macy pleaded with Josh to sing one song with them, and he practiced several times with them. He just might do it...
"This is the first weekend we spent at home in months," said Veronica as they got up to walk up to Main Street and watch the parade. "We're always in the cabin."
"I was at the cabin this morning," said Josh.
"Doing what?"
"Don't spread this around but we have a couple of campers spending the weekend there and," he whispered their names in her ear. "Don't tell anyone, they want this kept secret."
Veronica smiled happily and said, "My lips are sealed," and she drew an imaginary zipper across her lips.
"Are you complaining we're not out there with them?"
"No, I love the cabin, but I love my house too," said Veronica.
"Well, I'm gonna go cut the lawn at the cabin on Sunday then pick up some more rocks for our creek rock garden. You can stay home and relax if you'd like."
"I wish I could. Macy wants help deciding on what to do with her nursery. Andi, Lucy, Melissa Kraft and I are going to help. What do I know about nurseries?"
"You have wonderful taste," said Josh. "That baby will have the perfect Victorian nursery with your help."
"It's been so crazy," groaned Veronica. "And we have the county fair coming up, I want to show you everything there."
"Just as long as they have that gooooood eye-talian sausage," grinned Josh. He was becoming addicted to western New York's fair foods, and the Italian sausage with grilled onions and peppers was his favorite.
"Shoot, I forgot my phone," said Veronica. "You wait here. I'll be right back," and she left Josh standing in front of Paul and Andi's big house.
Josh studied the waist high wrought-iron fence that surrounded Paul's house and wondered what wrought really means. He also watched Veronica hurry back to their house. The beautiful blond was wearing tight shorts and a t-shirt with diagonal red, white, and blue stripes with "
My Man Is A Veteran
" in broad black letters across her breast. As perfect as her tits were, Josh could watch that beautiful round ass of hers all day long. She came back out of the house and turned on the sidewalk to hurry back to Josh, and a man in a green uniform stepped in front of her, blocking Josh's view of her luscious breasts that bobbled nicely as she jogged back to him.
It was a Springville Park Patrol cop that was confronting Veronica. The park patrol was a tiny organization whose only job was to patrol the parks in the village. Nothing else. Outside of the boundaries of the parks, they had no jurisdiction. Inside the parks, their job was primarily ceremonial. To provide a semblance of law and order, answer questions, help visitors and if a fight breaks out or someone reports a crime, to contact the Town of Concord PD, who would come and take the complaint or make the arrest. However, the new mayor, Samael Windecker, changed their names to the Springville Police Department, armed them with night sticks and tasers, and let them patrol anywhere they want. None were trained law enforcement officers. They were thugs and a blight on the village.
As Josh grew closer, he recognized the cop. It was Patrolman Michael Brown. Brown was an overbearing idiot, who had a near terminal case of large fish in a tiny pond syndrome. Josh watched him day after day breaking up basketball games or soccer games in the park because he thought the kids were too loud. He drove the neighborhood kids away from the park with his loudmouth and his arrogant swagger, and he liked to use his night stick as a pointer and to make threats. John Jarecki occasionally said that he'd like the guy to skate up and play a little one-on-one hockey with him. John learned his hockey when he lived in Montreal and, being American, he was a target for each cheap-shot artist on the ice, so John learned to play dirty hockey very quickly.
Brown made Josh's 'shit list' by grabbing Veronica's wrist and he began yelling at her. Then Michael Brown signed his own death warrant when he grabbed her by the back of the neck and drew his night stick. He was accusing her of littering and was ordering her to pick something up. In his mind, he merely pulled his night stick to emphasize his order. That thought flew out the window when he felt himself in a choke hold and his right arm, which was brandishing his black baton, was twisted up painfully behind his back. Then he heard a voice that terrified him to the bone. "Ah have killed men that were more worthy than you and never shed a tear. Don't give me a reason to add your name to the list."
It's been a long time since Josh had been that angry and he wasn't enjoying it.
The terrified cop's eyes widened. He has never heard a voice more devoid of humanity than this. He tried to reply, but the choke hold tightened and he couldn't speak. Then came that cold, terrifying voice. "Let go with both hands if you want to live." Josh tightened the choke hold and twisted his right arm to the point where Michael Brown thought he was going to shatter his elbow. Michael let go of Veronica's neck, then he dropped his night stick, then shit his pants. "Now go tell your boss you refuse to work second street park, it's too boring," and with a painful jab to the tailbone with his knee, Josh sent the jerk sprawling.
Brown picked himself up and turned to see who had attacked him, but Josh had turned around and was walking away with the woman he was bullying. The man also had his truncheon tucked in his belt. For some odd reason, the woman was castigating the man.
"You can't go around beating people up for bullying me," said Veronica. "I'm a big girl; I can handle it."
"Ah stayed outta it, but then he grabbed you and pulled his Billy club," said Josh. "That's the same thing as leaving a suicide note."
"Thank you, you are my hero, but there's ways of dealing with it less violently."
"Ah wern't violent, ain't no blood splattered on either of us!" insisted Josh.
"Hey Joshua!" said a glowing Andi Jarecki as she and her twins walked out to the end of the driveway. Andi was the joyful picture of expectant motherhood; her baby bump was growing larger with every day, as was her smile. "I thought you were marching with the VFW today."
"Nah, we had a bit of a falling out," said Josh as he took the folding chair from the pregnant pixie and carried it for her. "First they wanted me to wear my dress blues, when ah refused, they wanted me to wear my medal, and ah told them ah was still comin' to terms with that and I weren't ready to strut around with it. So, the vice commander of the post said, 'A real American would be proud to wear that medal.' Ah then informed that feller that a real American would be proud to punch a tyrant in the mouth too, take your choice.'"
"So that's a no?" the tiny dark blond giggled.
"That's my man, spreading joy and friendship wherever he goes," said the voluptuous Veronica as she squeezed his ass through his jeans.
"Ah don't have no quarrel with Dale Lomis, the post commander, but that vice commander Don Hoobler has gotta go. Maybe ah will come to grips with it after an election at the VFW hall and we get some fresh blood in office." They walked two blocks to the corner of Howard and Main at the doorstep of Worzil's Bar and Grille, and they set up the folding chair for Andi. Then Josh went inside the bar and a few minutes later came out with drinks for Andi and her girls. He made a second trip inside for drinks for himself and Veronica, and they enjoyed the refreshing lemonade as the parade began. They were soon joined by Macy and John Jarecki, who brought a thermos of ice water and a folding chair, and Macy sat next to Andi.
