Open Your Heart

by Cheris Hodges

  Yolanda snorted. “You’ve met Alex. She thinks everyone answers to her.”

  “You can’t fault her for looking out for her family. I guess that’s why you haven’t told her the real deal about what’s going on.”

  She folded her arms across her chest and he couldn’t take his eyes off her amazing breasts. Less than twenty-four hours ago, he was . . . Stop it.

  “Had I known Nina was going pull this number on me, I should’ve just called a family meeting.” Yolanda stood up and wiped her palms on her thighs. He was glad she had on leggings and those thighs were covered from his wanton glance. Was he fooling himself thinking one taste of Yolanda Richardson was going to be enough? From the way his dick jumped in his pants, he was.

  “Your dad a coffee or tea guy?”

  “Water. But I’ll take some more coffee. And no offense, but you should let me make it.”

  He laughed as they headed for his kitchen. “I can’t tell, you drank it all.”

  “That’s because I was trying not be rude. It wasn’t bad, if you like hot water.”

  Charles grabbed his chest. “You just broke my heart.”

  She sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. “I’m sure a man like you has never had his heart broken.”

  He went still and watched her prepare the coffee. “You’d be surprised,” he said quietly. Yolanda either didn’t hear him or decided to ignore his comment. No one took coffee that seriously.

  As the brew percolated, she looked around the kitchen. “This is a pretty big kitchen for a guy who lives alone.”

  “What would I look like with a closet for a kitchen? Anyway, you know I love to cook.”

  She nodded toward the marble island. “What do you make with the laptop?” she quipped.

  “Work. I don’t eat in my office, so I do a lot of work out here.”

  Yolanda nodded. “Cute. You’re one of a kind, Chuck Morris.”

  “I don’t get Charles anymore?”

  She rolled her eyes and hid her grin. “Charles stayed in Charlotte,” Yolanda replied. “Hey, do you make banana bread?”

  “I can’t get it right.”

  Yolanda clasped her hands together. “We’re having banana bread for breakfast.”

  “You make it?”

  “No, but there are always cookies and banana bread at the bed-and-breakfast.”

  Charles dropped his head. “You know we’re here for you to lay low, right?”

  “We have to go out and get material and I know a back entrance into the kitchen. You can’t expect me to be this close to my family and not get my favorites from the B&B.”

  Before Charles could reply, the doorbell rang. “I’ll be right back,” he said. Looking at his watch, he knew it had to be Sheldon at the door. When Charles opened the front door he was right.

  Sheldon Richardson offered him a smile and held up a brown Richardson Bed and Breakfast bag. “Knowing Yolanda, she was planning to come by and get banana bread and cookies. I threw in some coffee, too, because you don’t want to deal with my daughter if she doesn’t have coffee in the morning or the middle of the night.”

  “Well, hello to you too, Daddy,” Yolanda said from behind Charles. Sheldon side-stepped Charles and gave Yolanda a tight hug.

  “I’ve been very concerned about you,” he said once he released her. Then he turned to Charles. “So, what’s going on?”

  “Let’s sit down and talk about it,” he said as he ushered Sheldon into the living room. The older man took a seat on the leather recliner near the sofa. Yolanda took a deep breath and sat on the end of the sofa closest to her father.

  “Mr. Richardson,” Charles said as he took a seat on the other end of the sofa. “There’s a really nasty guy after your daughter and he had someone watching her in Charlotte. I haven’t been able to identify him yet, but I have some people working on it for me. I wanted to bring her here because I don’t know if the man who wants her dead has put two and two together yet and knows about her roots being here.”

  “Why haven’t you all gone to the authorities about that man yet?”

  Charles gave Yolanda a quick glance. She cleared her throat and said, “That’s my fault. Daddy, as soon as this man finds out that I reported what I saw, we’re going to be in even more danger. And with Nina’s wedding coming up, I don’t want to be responsible for something happening to anyone else.”

  “You’re not responsible for what happened to begin with,” Sheldon said. “How did you know a murder was going to happen outside of your shop?”

  Yolanda dropped her head. “I didn’t, but I know now if I say something I’ll be responsible for something happening to the family.”

  “And I’m just supposed to sit back and let something happen to you?” Sheldon boomed.

  “Mr. Richardson, I’m not going to let anything happen to Yolanda,” Charles said. “And we’re going to the Richmond police after Nina’s wedding.”

  Sheldon nodded. “I wish you would go sooner,” he said.

  “I’m not going to ruin Nina’s wedding.”

  “Do you think I want to have a wedding and then a funeral?” Sheldon snapped.

  “Mr. Richardson, this is why Yolanda’s going to stay here with me until the wedding. We need to keep our story straight about why she’s not going to be able to be in touch with her sisters,” Charles said.

  “Whatever I need to do to keep my daughter safe. But how dangerous is this guy?”

  “Very.”

  Yolanda wasn’t ready to hear the full Danny Branch story. She’d heard of him a few times in Richmond. He was supposed to be a community jewel. She hadn’t recognized him in May because he didn’t look anything like the smiling guy who showed up on the news or on the cover of monthly magazines. And the fact that he was so connected made her wonder if it was even worth it to try to report him. He was a big donor to the Police Athletic League. He worked with inner-city kids, teaching them life and business skills.

  As Chuck told her father about why they hadn’t gone to the police, Yolanda shivered. This was worse than she thought.

  “This is a lot to take in,” Sheldon said as he rose to his feet.

  “I don’t want to scare you guys but this is serious and I have to do whatever it takes to make sure Yolanda isn’t hurt,” Chuck said.

  Her heart seemed to swell. She wanted to believe that he wanted to keep her safe for reasons other than just doing his job, but she knew better.

  “I’m going to get some coffee, Daddy. You want some?” she asked.

  “No, baby girl. I’m going to have a hard enough time sleeping tonight as it is,” he said, then stood up and crossed over to her. He pulled Yolanda into his arms. “Listen to what Chuck tells you. I’m not going to lose you.”

  She held on to her dad and cried silently. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”

  He stepped back from Yolanda and lifted her chin up. “You didn’t do anything wrong. And I’m actually glad you didn’t go running to the police, because they could’ve found you. I’m going to tell your sisters that you’re skipping Thanksgiving, but you’ll be here for Nina’s wedding. I sent you to Milan.”

  “You know Alex is going to flip her lid.”

  “Um, last time I checked, I was still the daddy. If I want to send you to Milan, I’m sending you to Milan. I’m an investor in your company, remember.”

  Yolanda smiled through her tears. “I love you, Daddy.”

  Sheldon kissed her on the forehead. “Love you too. And don’t try to sneak into the kitchen for food.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said. Though she knew at some point she was going to creep to the bed-and-breakfast to get other things that she wanted.

  “Chuck, walk me outside,” Sheldon said. Yolanda knew that was his way of telling her to stay inside. But he didn’t tell her not to follow them to the door. She leaned against the door to hear what they were talking about.

  “What do I have to do to help you keep my daughter safe?” Sheldon asked, with his arms folded across
his chest.

  “There’s not much we can do right now. I’m pretty sure that whoever was watching her didn’t follow us to Charleston last night. But I’m not willing to wait forever to turn this guy in. I have a source in Richmond who has been working with me to figure out who we can trust to nail this guy.”

  “Yeah, he needs to be nailed because if any harm comes to my daughter I’ll kill him with my bare hands.”

  “Mr. Richardson, I wish this was a lot simpler than it is. Because the last thing that I want is for something to happen to Yolanda.”

  “Good to know that we’re on the same page. Now, I love my daughter but she can be a handful. Are you sure it’s a good idea for the two of you to be hidden away in your home for the next month?”

  “There’s really not another option for us right now. We’re going to make it work.”

  “I’m holding you to that, Chuck.” Sheldon shook Chuck’s hand then headed to his car. Yolanda dashed into the kitchen so that Chuck wouldn’t know she had been eavesdropping. Now, she was sure all she was to this man was another job and she didn’t like how that made her feel.

  Chapter 21

  Charles walked into the house, and when he saw Yolanda in the kitchen, he was pretty sure she’d been listening to his conversation with Sheldon.

  “Are you okay over there?” he asked as he crossed over to her.

  “Yes, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “I was born at night, but not last night. I’m pretty sure you heard my discussion with your dad.”

  Yolanda shrugged. “Maybe I did. Chuck, how are we going to do this for the next month? I know my dad is going to tell my sisters he sent me to Milan. But what about us?”

  “What do you mean?”

  She turned and faced him. “You’re too smart to play dumb. Just tell me what’s going on between us. If I don’t mean anything to you other than a job just let me know. But you can’t keep looking at me like there’s something more here and expect me not to respond.”

  “Then I’ll stop staring, because we have to remain focused on what’s important.”

  “And what’s important to you?”

  “What I just told your father, keeping you alive.”

  “Are you alive?”

  “What do you mean?”

  She tilted her head to the side. “Life is about much more than solving cases, protecting people, and putting the bad guy away. You need to live.”

  Charles sighed. “I have work to do.”

  “All work and occasional play, that isn’t living.” Yolanda dumped two teaspoons of sugar in her coffee mug and headed out of the kitchen.

  Why did her words sting like a swarm of bees?

  * * *

  Yolanda wasn’t in the mood to draw anymore. She felt stupid for trying to make something happen between her and Chuck. It was clear that he was doing his job and she just needed to accept that. But she couldn’t.

  Now she was making everything uncomfortable and pretending that she was some kind of free spirit who was all about living life and being happy. When really all she wanted was to have another day like they had in Charlotte.

  Oh, what the hell am I doing, she thought. I’m not this desperate. And just because that man gave me multiple orgasms does not mean he owes me anything else.

  Yolanda tossed her sketch pad across the room and tucked her legs underneath her. She had gone ahead and put her foot in her mouth and she still needed him to take her to get some material and she wanted him to pose for her boxers. Now he was going to think that she was trying to use this design to get in his pants. Okay, so that was the plan to begin with, but now she had to readjust.

  Days like this she wished she could just reach out to her sister Robin and talk to her. She rose to her feet and headed to the living room to see if she could find her cell phone. It had just hit her that she hadn’t seen her phone since she’d arrived at Chuck’s place. Yolanda dumped the contents of her purse on the floor and looked for her phone. It wasn’t there. Okay, this was strange. She knew that she kept her phone in her purse at all times.

  “Um, hey, Chuck?”

  He walked into the living room and she gave him a slow glance. “What’s up?”

  “Have you seen my phone?”

  “Your phone is in Charlotte. I wasn’t sure if you have been bugged or geotagged so I thought it was best that your phone stay behind.”

  “I can’t believe you did that shit! I need my phone. What if I need to . . .”

  “I have a landline and you can use it whenever you need to. But I don’t think you understand how you can be tracked through your electronic devices, so, believe me, I did it for you.”

  Yolanda stood in front of him and folded her arms across her chest. “You don’t get to make those kinds of decisions for me, because if I need my family, I need to get in touch with them and nobody is going to answer a number they don’t know.”

  “Your family is about to think that you’re in Milan. So, calling them from a Charleston area code is going to make them believe that, right?”

  She dropped her hands to her sides. “Oh, shut up.”

  “Do you want to go pick up your material now or are you still in the middle of your temper tantrum?”

  “What you’re not going to do is patronize me. But let me grab my shoes, then we can go.” Yolanda dashed down the hall to the sunroom and grabbed her sneakers. Why was she allowing this man to drive her crazy every five minutes? Because Yolanda had to admit something to herself: She really liked Chuck. And she had not felt this way about a man in years. It wasn’t fair that they were brought together only because somebody wanted to kill her.

  When Yolanda left the living room Charles was still smirking. He now knew who the troublemaker was in the Richardson family. He could only imagine the trouble that Yolanda got into as a kid. He was definitely intrigued, but he knew he couldn’t act on what he was feeling even if he wanted to.

  “All right, let’s go,” she said when she returned to the living room.

  “Where exactly are we going?” Charles asked as he stood up.

  “There’s this fabulous shop in Mount Pleasant.”

  “Is this where you normally shop?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Yeah, like three or four years ago. You do realize I haven’t lived here for years. There’s nothing routine that I do here other than go visit my family.”

  “No old flame that you hook up with occasionally?” Now, why in the hell did he ask her that?

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but no. Can we go now?” She rolled her eyes as she picked up her purse. “You didn’t take anything else out of here, did you?”

  “Let’s be perfectly clear: I never went in your purse. I removed your phone from the charger when you were sleeping. I grew up in a house full of Black women; I know better than to open the purse—with or without permission.”

  That made Yolanda smile. “Seems like you are as smart as you look.”

  They headed to his car. Charles opened the passenger door for Yolanda and their hands brushed against each other as she entered the car. Charles felt as if his body had caught fire and his need for Yolanda was like an ember that was going to burn him to a crisp.

  “You know, you don’t have be a gentleman every time we get in and out of the car. I can open the door for myself.”

  “Excuse me for acting like the man my mama raised me to be,” he said with a wink.

  “My apologies to your mom,” she said as he climbed into the driver’s seat.

  “I’ll accept your apology on her behalf.” Charles started the car and headed toward the interstate.

  When they arrived at the shop, Yolanda hopped out of the car like a kid heading into a toy store. He hadn’t expected to be in the store for three hours. Yolanda seemed to touch every piece of fabric in the store, asked questions about production of the cotton and where the silk came from and if there could be special orders for jersey material.

 
Charles felt as if he learned more about fabric today than he had ever wanted to know or care about. Who knew all of this went into making clothes? But what sent him over the edge was the fact that after three hours, Yolanda left the shop with two yards of fabric.

  “What?” she asked as they got into the car.

  “All that time and this is all you got?”

  “I placed an order for some other things,” Yolanda said. “Stop being so judgmental. This is a process and not a sprint.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, then started the car. “I know you said you were going to cook dinner, but since we’re out, do you want to pick up something?”

  Yolanda shrugged. “It doesn’t matter to me. To be honest with you, I was going to eat banana bread and sketch.”

  “That’s cold blooded. I was all ready for whatever delights you were going to make in the kitchen.”

  Is he serious? Yolanda thought. She remembered the last time they had been in the kitchen together, and cooking was the last thing that she’d done. He had jokes and she didn’t like it. Well, she was just wanting to feel him tasting her again and making her explode. But they weren’t doing that anymore, right?

  “I can still cook. How about some fried green tomatoes, salmon, and rice?”

  Chuck gave her a slow glance. “Seriously?”

  “Yes. What?”

  “I haven’t had fried green tomatoes in years.”

  “Then I’m sure we need to stop at the farmer’s market and get some.”

  “My mother made the best fried green tomatoes ever. You’ve got a lot to live up to,” he quipped.

  “You will not compare my food to that of your mama’s. That is an unfair fight that no woman can win,” she replied with a laugh.

  “True. And it isn’t a competition,” he said. “There’s a farmer’s market not too far from here and the Mount Pleasant Seafood Market is close by too.”

  “You know, this would be so much easier if we could go to the bed-and-breakfast and get whatever Roberta has on the menu for dinner tonight.”

  Chuck turned off the interstate. “I’m not even going to get into that with you again today.”

  Yolanda smiled as he drove to the parking lot of the market. When she and Chuck got out of the car, Yolanda wanted to pretend that she was with a regular man who’d earned a nice meal for spending all of that time with her in the fabric store. She wanted to live in a world where she was just a regular girl with a handsome man by her side because he wanted to be there and not because he was doing a job.