Dangerous Ground

by Smith, Stephanie Jean

  “Why would she automatically assume that you were cheating on her?”

  “I don’t know where she got the idea that I was cheating on her from. The point I’m trying to make is that you can’t expect your woman to know what you’re feeling if you don’t tell her. Cookie and I have been married for four years, and sometimes we have communication problems.”

  Xavier exchanged a knowing look with John. “I know what you mean, Loretta was a difficult woman to try and establish a relationship with. I had to wait six months before she would go passed the friend stage.”

  “If I had to make a guess, I would say that Loretta loves you, but she’s too afraid of being hurt to make a total commitment. I like you Xavier, but if you ever do anything to hurt Loretta I’ll come after you with everything I’ve got.”

  Xavier couldn’t believe this John pulled him outside to warn him. “I consider myself warned.”

  Also, I think you should know that every time you get into a confrontation with Loretta, Cookie and I will know about the whole thing. That door swings both ways, and I wanted to meet the man who’s going to know more about my married life than I do.” John extended his hand for Xavier to shake.

  Xavier got off the bench and shook John’s hand. “John please tell me that Loretta doesn’t tell Cookie all the intimate details of her life.”

  John just laughed at Xavier and shook his head. “Tell me Xavier, has the hair on your chest grown back yet.”

  Xavier walked back to the hospital with John. Loretta was going to follow some new rules regarding the intimate details of their lives. Xavier understood the kinship that women have with each other, but some things need remain private.

  ***

  Cookie was still crying after John and Xavier left Loretta’s hospital room. “Why didn’t you tell me about all the problems you’d been having?”

  “Cookie I didn’t want to worry any of my friends unnecessarily.”

  Cookie wiped the tears off her face. “How long are you going to stay at Xavier’s house?”

  “Until I get back on my feet I don’t want to be a burden to Xavier.”

  “I’m so glad you’re all right, what would I do without my best friend.” Hurry up and get back on your feet, your godchild misses you.”

  “Where’s the baby?”

  “Oh, he’s having the time of his life being adored by his grandparents.”

  “I can’t wait to hold him. Has he changed much?”

  “He favors John, but he seems to have my personality. He’s such a good baby. He’s doesn’t sleep through the night yet, but when I walk in the room it’s like he senses my presence, and he smiles.”

  “I just hope John Junior doesn’t pick up all of his mother’s traits. Let’s hope that he inherits his father’s taste in clothing, or he’ll be the worst dressed kid at school.”

  “So, you think my child will be ashamed to call me his mother.”

  “I think your child will love you to death, but when you show up for the PTA meetings he’ll want you to keep your coat on.”

  Cookie hugged Loretta again. “It’s good to see you in such good spirits; I know that you’re trying to block out what has happened to you. I just want you to know that whenever you’re ready to talk about the kidnapping, I’ll be there for you.”

  “Thank you for not pushing me Cookie, I knew you would understand how I felt about the situation. When I’m ready to talk about it, I’ll let you know.”

  ***

  Chapter 15

  Loretta laid in bed staring at the ceiling. She was released from the hospital yesterday, and she was supposed to spend the next two weeks in Xavier’s house. Loretta was grateful for everything Xavier has done for her, but something was missing in the relationship.

  She didn’t know what to expect when Xavier asked her to stay with him until she was fully recovered. Loretta thought that they would be sharing a bedroom. Instead, Loretta was in one of the guestrooms around the corner from Xavier’s bedroom.

  Loretta crawled out of the bed looking for the robe she laid across the bed last night; it was nowhere to be seen. She opened the closet for something to put on. To her surprise her luggage was in the closet and her clothes were hanging up. She looked in the drawers of the bureau and found her underwear and nightclothes. Xavier must have moved her clothes while she was asleep.

  Loretta went into the bathroom and ran some water for a bath. She eased into the tub and sat there for about twenty minutes relaxing. After bathing, she got dressed in a yellow sweatshirt and some jeans. Loretta combed her hair and pulled it back into a hair clip. As Loretta approached the stairs, her thoughts went back to the house Marcus took her to.

  When her life was on the line, stairs posed no problem. Now that, Loretta was safe, stairs were the hardest obstacle in recovering. It took her about five minutes to get downstairs, however, her leg seemed to be loosening up.

  There was no sign of Xavier, but Loretta did hear a lot of racket coming from the kitchen. She saw a woman in the kitchen loading the dishwasher. The woman’s hair was coal black with a few strands of gray. She was probably in her mid-forties or a little younger. Just as Loretta was about to speak the woman looked up and smiled. “Well hello sleepy head, Xavier said you had a rough night, and would probably wake up later in the day. By the way, my name is Lorraine; I’m Xavier’s housekeeper and cook.”

  “Nice to meet you Lorraine, I’m Loretta Brown.” Loretta moved forward and shook her hand. Lorraine had high cheekbones and a frail looking face. Her eyes were dark brown and full of mischief.

  “Child, I already know you, my grandchildren go to you music appreciation class every Saturday. Not to mention that Xavier sings your praises all the time. Keep up the good work at the King Center. Those children need all the love and care they can get.”

  Lorraine had Loretta’s attention at the mention of her music appreciation class. “What are the names of your grandchildren?”

  “Joy and Leonard James.”

  Loretta smiled at Lorraine. “I know Joy and Leonard, they’re two of my best students.”

  “Their mother is my daughter.”

  “Yes, her name is Bernice. She comes to class with them sometimes.”

  “Bernice says that you’re the nucleus of the King Center, and most people don’t impress her. I noticed a tremendous difference in Joy and Leonard. They’re focusing on their homework from school a lot more than they used to.”

  “Joy told me that she wanted to be a teacher, and I told her that she had it in her to be anything she wanted to be. Leonard refused to be out done by his sister claimed he was going to open his own school.”

  “I don’t know what my grandbabies would do without the King Center.”

  “Joy and Leonard will do OK with or without the King Center. They have a family that loves and cares about them, and that makes all the difference in the world.”

  “I bet you’re hungry. What would you like to eat? I’ve fixed a variety of meals and put them in the freezer. I’ll be on vacation starting tomorrow, and Xavier won’t be able to say that I didn’t leave him something to eat. When he gets hungry, all he has to do is take a meal out of the freezer and pop it in the microwave. Even he should be able to do that.”

  Loretta liked Lorraine. She could tell that Lorraine was the kind of woman who is totally devoted to her family. “Yes I’m hungry and not too picky. What do you have to eat?”

  “I’ve got fried chicken, catfish, potato salad, corn on the cob, homemade rolls, and for desert I made a pineapple upside-down cake. Xavier said he was expecting company, so I made plenty of food.”

  “Where is Xavier?”

  “He’s been shut up in his office for the better part of the morning. I’ve been here since seven this morning, and I’ll be leaving in about thirty minutes. Is there anything I can get you?”

  “What you’re having is fine.” Loretta’s mouth watered as Lorraine opened the oven and brought out the chicken and fish. Loretta barely got
a plate off the shelf before Lorraine took the plate from her and told her to sit down. Obviously, Lorraine was used to being the boss of the kitchen. Lorraine put a little bit of everything on Loretta’s plate. If Loretta ate all the food on her plate, she’d have to go back to bed for another nap. Lorraine poured fruit juice for both of them, and sat down and talked to Loretta as she ate.

  “So, when are you and Xavier getting married?” Lorraine asked as if she were a mother looking out for the best interests of her compromised son.

  “We really haven’t talked about marriage yet.” Loretta saw the frown on Lorraine’s face. Oh great, why didn’t Xavier warn her about his substitute mother.

  “Are you saying that my boy is good enough to have sex with, but not good enough to marry?”

  “Actually, Xavier hasn’t asked me to marry him. I don’t think he’s quite ready yet.” Loretta liked Lorraine, but if she kept this up Loretta was going to have to set her straight.

  “Loretta, don’t mind me, I’m just being a nosy old woman.”

  “You got the nosy part right, but you don’t look a day over forty-four, and you know it. So save that old woman stuff for somebody else.” Loretta said as she put a piece of fish in her mouth.”

  Lorraine started laughing. “Thank you for the compliment dear. I’ll have you know that I’ll be sixty next month.”

  “Sixty! Are you joking? What do you do to keep yourself looking so young?” Loretta stopped eating and stared at Lorraine.

  “You’re good for me child. I walk every day, eat the right foods, and I never touch alcohol. So, to get back on the subject, why are you so embarrassed about your relationship with Xavier? You two are already acting like married folks. If I were twenty years younger, I’d make a play for Xavier myself.

  Yeah, you and everybody else, Loretta thought to herself. “I’m not embarrassed by what Xavier and I have together. It’s still so new, and I want to savor every moment of it. I’ll only be staying in this house until I’m fully recovered from the accident.” Loretta didn’t know Lorraine well enough to talk about her personal relationship with Xavier.

  “You and Xavier will work it out. If I know my boy, I’ll be attending a wedding soon. For your information, you’re the only woman Xavier has brought into his home, and that should count for something.”

  Loretta watched Xavier as he led two men into the kitchen. As they got closer, Loretta recognized Huey immediately; she had never seen the other man before. The other man, a white guy, about an inch shorter than Xavier. He had dark hair, a small build, a narrow face, with large black eyes.

  “Loretta you’ve met everyone here except Leland. He’s my vice president, and my right hand man.”

  “It’s nice to meet you Loretta,” Leland said as he put his hand out for Loretta to shake. Xavier is one lucky man, Leland thought to himself. Loretta wiped her hand on her napkin and shook Leland’s hand. “Nice to meet you Leland.”

  Huey refused to be excluded. “Hi Miss Loretta, it’s good to see you again. I heard about your accident and the kidnapping. I hope you’re feeling okay.”

  “Thank you Huey. Everything should be back to normal pretty soon. I must say that I’m surprised to see you here.”

  “Xavier told us about what was going down. So I made a trip from Kansas City to see if I could help out.”

  “Thank you Huey, but at this point I don’t think it’s necessary.”

  “Okay fellas, Xavier chimed in, Lorraine has made us lunch. Why don’t you guys help yourselves, while I talk to Loretta? Honey, I’ll get your plate, and you can eat with me in the den.” Xavier fixed a plate for himself and led Loretta to his den. Xavier put both of their plates on his desk and pulled up a chair from the wall so Loretta could share the desk with him. “I’m going to get a coke do you need anything?”

  “Would you get my glass of juice, I left it on the kitchen table.” As Loretta walked into den, her eyes scanned every detail. It was a spacious room with a sofa and two chairs. The desk was a massive block of wood that had seen better days. Loretta knew she was seeing another side of Xavier once again. The den was decorated for comfort not to portray a corporate image. On the wall, directly opposite of Xavier’s desk hung a painting. It was so immense that it took up most of the wall. Whoever the artist was needed to be congratulated on the depth of feeling the painting inspired.

  The painting was of a black man and woman kissing in the nude. The man was guarding his woman against prying eyes as he kissed her. The man in the painting reminded Loretta of Xavier. He had a way of making a woman feel safe and protected. The only time Loretta experienced that feeling was in Xavier’s presence.

  “I had it commissioned the day after I met you,” Xavier said as he walked back into the den carrying two cans of Coke and Loretta’s juice.

  “It’s good. Who did it for you?”

  “Miles McCray painted it for me to my specifications.”

  “I thought I recognized the style, I saw his exhibit at Joslyn last year when it came through town. His work is in big demand, you were lucky he had the time to do this painting for you.”

  “Luck had nothing to do with it, I’ve known Miles since we were kids. He told me that he couldn’t wait to meet the woman who inspired this painting.”

  “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

  Xavier smiled at Loretta. No one could change the subject faster than his woman. After all the times they’ve made love, she still wasn’t comfortable talking about intimate details. “Nothing in particular, I just wanted to eat with you. We haven’t been alone all week.”

  Loretta was surprised by Xavier’s admission, especially since he barely said more than a few words to her last night. “We haven’t been alone since the day of the accident. I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you. I never did ask you how your trip to Chicago went. I know you’re trying to get your branch in Chicago open before the end of the year.”

  “Leland will be in charge of any future details with the opening of the new branch. After all, he’ll be running the branch, it’s time for me to back off and let him take control.”

  “Did you call Huey and Leland and tell them about my accident and the kidnapping?”

  “Leland and Huey are my closest friends next to my brother. When I’m in a crisis, I’ve found that the more people you have looking into a situation, the better your chances are of finding out what’s going on. Leland actually helped me to find you. Huey just came up from Kansas City this morning to bring me some paper work. Does it make you uncomfortable, having my friends knowing the details of your kidnapping?”

  “It doesn’t make me uncomfortable; I’m just a private person, and I’m not used to so many people caring about me. I still haven’t told my friends about the details of my kidnapping. Cookie has enough to deal with at home without having to deal with my problems. I’m sure Cookie’s OK, it’s her husband that’s driving her crazy.”

  “Cut the poor man some slack, he’s excited about his child. Now if, he didn’t give a damn, Cookie would have something to be upset about.”

  “Somehow I knew you would take his side; you and John sure became fast friends. No one’s saying that John shouldn’t be excited about the baby, but he needs to realize that carrying a baby takes its toll on a woman. She doesn’t need her husband smothering her and creating stringent rules for her to follow. Cookie and John will just have to work something out. Cookie’s only going to take so much before she blows up in John’s face. So we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

  “How often do you have to go to rehab?”

  “Twice a week, until the doctor says I’m good as new. It will be gratifying to be in my own home again. That way I won’t have to impose on you any longer.”

  “How can you say that you’re an imposition?”

  “I would feel more comfortable in my own house.”

  “Fine, I’ll move in with you. Xavier cut Loretta off before she could speak. “One way or another we’ll be t
ogether.”

  “Has anyone ever told you that you’re cute when you pout,” Loretta said as she took a sip of fruit juice.

  Xavier’s eyes wondered up and down Loretta’s body. “Have you ever made love on a desk before?”

  Loretta stared into Xavier eyes. “No, I can honestly say that I haven’t made love on a desk before. Why are you offering?”

  Xavier was surprised at Loretta’s answer usually she shied away from any type of intimate discussions. “Baby if we were alone in this house I’d show you all the places I like to make love at.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that.”

  “I’m counting on it.”

  ***

  Xavier was in a strange mood, ever since he brought Loretta to his home two weeks ago he felt as if he were losing her. The only time he saw her was at dinner. Both of them were working way too much. Every time he tried to grab some time alone with Loretta she was too busy or vice versa.

  He had to admit that he liked having her in his house. What he genuinely wanted to do was get her into his bed. Xavier didn’t want to press Loretta into a physical relationship. He wanted to give her enough time to recover from her accident and the kidnapping. Hell isn’t that why he put her in the furthermost guestroom away from his own bedroom.

  Xavier had been living in paradise, and it was too soon to let Loretta go back to her home. Loretta told him that she loved him once; however, she hadn’t repeated since. What could be wrong? They couldn’t go on this way he would have to find a way to break the ice.

  ***

  Loretta was unable to focus on her job. She just finished a brief meeting with Myer Lang. Loretta couldn’t put her finger on it, but he seemed to be acting stranger than usual. He called her in his office because the Board wants to re-run the free checking add. As far as Loretta was concerned that didn’t require a meeting, he could have called her on the phone.

  Loretta found Myer to be a repulsive little man. What he lacked in stature he made up for in sheer arrogance. Loretta felt as if Myer Lang used any excuse to talk with her privately. In any other situation, Loretta would have thought he was hitting on her. But in Myer Lang’s case, she felt as if he to drive her away from the bank.