When It Rains...

by Angie Daniels

  “This is very unprofessional,” she said, “but I wanted to talk with you privately about something.”

  Aha! I knew she was feelin’ my black ass. “Sure, dinnerwill be great.”

  “What?” She laughed at the absurdity. Chad was a mack daddy wannabe.

  “You think it’s unprofessional for us to date,” he said, misreading her. “Well ... it’s not a problem.”

  “Chad, this is serious. I’m not trying to come on to you.”

  Recovering, he said lightly, “I know. I was just playin’.” He then chuckled at his own joke. What was it about her that disturbed him so much? Shaking it off, he cleared his throat. “What did you want to talk about?”

  “Like I said before, this is unprofessional ... but a new patient came in today, an adorable little boy and his mother. What bothered me was that she said he was four weeks old, but there’s no way he could have been any more than four or five days old.”

  With a slow nod, Chad understood what she was implyingand shifted on the desk. “Did you ask her about it?”

  “Yes, and she swore he was born four weeks premature.”

  “How can you be sure she’s not tellin’ the truth?”

  Jocelyn pursed her lips. “I’m a pediatrician. We know the difference.” In one fluid motion, she rose and strolled to his file cabinet, where she found a picture of him embracing a beautiful light-skinned woman. She found herself wondering if the woman was his girlfriend.Turning to face him, she said, “I had a parent once who wanted me to lie and say her daughter was premature because she was already four weeks pregnantby another man when her husband returned home from basic training.”

  Chad laughed richly. “The lies women tell.”

  “We learn from the best,” Jocelyn retorted, wiping the smirk from his face. Secretly pleased, she shrugged and said with mock indifference, “Maybe this woman was trying to do the same thing. I don’t know. I might never know. It was an initial visit, and the way I questionedthe child’s age, I doubt she’ll ever come back.”

  Chad’s eyes had never left her. “You might have something there.”

  “Then again, it may be just a coincidence. That’s why I’d like you to check it out first to save us all from unnecessary embarrassment.” She reached into her purse, removed a card with the mother’s name scribbledon it, and handed it to Chad. “The baby seemed fine, and the mother seemed very affectionate toward him. However, if nothing develops soon with Jay’s baby, I’ll have to take my suspicions to the police.” Placing a fingertip against her lips, she murmured, “For now, remember ... you didn’t hear this from me.”

  “Mum’s the word,” Chad promised.

  “Good. See you around.” She exited the room.

  “You better believe it,” he whispered at her retreatingback.

  Twenty-four

  Jay stared out the window at the runway. He’d been at the airport waiting for almost an hour, and the tensionwas getting the best of him. It didn’t help that some of the city police officers had insisted on being there, too.

  Honey latched on to his arm. “Sweetheart, it’s gonna be okay.”

  “Thanks for being here with me,” he said, staring down into her loving eyes.

  “I have to be with the man I love.”

  Jay looked down at her tenderly. It was the first time she’d expressed her feeling in that way, but even though she had never told him, he had known all along how she felt.

  The past three days had been special. They came togetheras lovers, and talked through the nights as friends. When his son was safely in his arms again, he planned to ask her to marry him.

  The plane finally landed, and as soon as the double doors opened, Jay sprinted to the gate.

  “Jay, you need to stand back,” Officer Holman called to him.

  After half the passengers had departed the plane, a distinguished-looking couple came through the door. The woman was carrying a baby in her arms.

  Ignoring the officer, Jay rushed to the woman and barked, “Give me back my son!”

  “What?” The woman’s thick lips parted with surpriseas she clutched the baby protectively against her chest.

  Her husband moved between them. “Get the hell away from my wife!”

  “That’s my son,” Jay said angrily, standing in their way.

  Officer Holman and the other two officers caught up with Jay, and Holman said, “Excuse me. Jerome Adams, we’d like to ask you a few quick questions.”

  “What about?” Jerome said. Reaching for his wife’s arm, he tried to maneuver around them. “We’re in a hurry.”

  Honey moved to Jay’s side as he shouted, “You eithertalk to us or I’m gonna call the media and tell them how you paid a woman fifty thousand dollars for her unborn child!”

  Jerome stopped in his tracks, and the color drained from his high-yellow face. “What do you want?”

  “What do you think I want? I want my son back!” Jay could no longer control his temper. One of the officersseized his arm as he lunged forward.

  Jerome shook his head, confused, but then recognitionswept over his face. “If you mean Kendra Johnson’schild, we don’t have him. She changed her mind.”

  What? Could she have possibly been telling the truth? Jay pointed to the baby. “Then who’s that in your arms?”

  Mrs. Adams stepped forward and said, “This is our new son, Sanchez. We’re bringing him back from Mexico.See for yourself.” She lowered the bundle in her arm and removed the blanket, revealing his face.

  Jay gasped. The dark-haired boy with the almond-shapedeyes wasn’t J.J.

  Sitting in his office, Jay again pored over the nursing schedule from the morning of the abduction. Accordingto the report, J.J. had to have been taken during shift change. At that time, there had been eight nurses assigned: five to the floor, and three to the nursery.

  “No wonder one hand didn’t know what the other was doing, they were too damn busy trying to get off for the day,” he grumbled, then leaned back in the chair while he thought. The nurses all checked out, so Jay pretty much had to eliminate them as suspects. There had been fifteen patients on the floor and ten babies. Two patients had been discharged before shift change, and then two more shortly afterward. The police had already questioned the four patients, and their babies matched their footprints taken at birth. Same as the remainingeleven patients and their babies.

  “Think, Jay,” he muttered. “What the fuck are we missing?” He leaned forward and looked at the scheduleagain. It appeared that most of the nurses worked eight-hour shifts, while some worked ten. There were even nurses who worked strictly on the weekends.

  “I thought I was the only workaholic.”

  Jay looked up at Chad standing in his door and shrugged. “I’ve got to find him.”

  “I know.” Chad entered the room and held out his hand. “Maybe I can be of some help. Let me see what you got.” Chad looked down at the schedule, and his brow rose. “That’s her!” He pointed to the name scribbledat the bottom. “That’s the woman Jocelyn came to see me about. Ledora Hayes.”

  Jay’s head snapped back in alarm. “What about her?”

  “Jocelyn came by yesterday. I didn’t mention it becausewe were so certain the Adamses had your son. But some lady came into Jocelyn’s clinic, trying to pass off a newborn boy as a four-week-old baby. Her name was Ledora Hayes. The only thing I was able to find out was that her baby was born at a small hospital in Kansas.”

  Bits and pieces of Jay’s memory fit together and, springing to his feet, he practically knocked Chad to the floor. “Get Jocelyn on the phone and get a home address, then call me in the car.”

  He finally remembered where he had seen those eyes before.

  Twenty-five

  The preparations had been made to unveil the new addition. Decorations adorned the room, and two long tables had been borrowed from a nearby church and covered with long red tablecloths.

  Honey stood back and took everything in. Streamers were hanging fro
m the ceilings, as well as large red balloons. She’d ordered twelve bouquets of fresh-cut flowers, and had positioned them around the area herself.“You think this is too much?” she said.

  Candy looked up. “Hell no. It looks great.” She walked over and removed two punch bowls from their boxes. “What time are the caterers comin’?”

  “Around five.” Their last hair appointments were scheduled for two so that all of the stylists would be available to attend. All of their customers had been invited,and everyone was looking forward to seeing the addition. Her new staff was scheduled to begin on Tuesday.

  Honey left to take care of some last-minute items, and returned to the salon just in time for the caterers. The smell of barbecue, meatballs, and egg rolls met her at the door. There were also several different types of salads, meat and cheese trays, and fresh fruit.

  She was in the new ladies’ room changing her clothes when she realized she hadn’t heard from Jay yet. He’d promised he would call after he left his office, and would see her tonight at the grand opening. Honey felt almost guilty having a celebration when her man had nothing to celebrate. He was determined to find his son, and her heart went out to him. She loved him so much that she prayed nightly that he would find him soon.

  At the back of her mind, she wondered what types of changes little J.J. would bring to their relationship. How would she fit into that picture? She sighed. Was she prepared to deal with it? Being with Jay meant dealing with Kendra and a whole lotta baby’s mama drama. Did she really want to do that? Only time would tell ... and only if J.J. was found.

  Following the directions he’d mapped out, Jay made the drive to Dellwood and pulled onto Ledora’s street. He drove slowly past her house to make sure she was home and then parked down at the corner. Jay got out of the car and, after ensuring that no one was looking, walked around to the side of the house and listened. He could hear cooing sounds at one of the half-open windows,and when he heard water splash, realized it was bath time. Jay felt a pang at the thought that he’d never had the chance to bathe J.J.

  Ledora’s voice became faint, and Jay knew that she’d taken the baby to another part of the house, probably to get him dressed. He walked back to his car and waited a few minutes before he called Officer Holman. Then he walked up to her door and knocked. After several seconds, he heard someone move to the door and stop, probably looking through the peephole, before opening the door.

  Wearing a look of surprise, Ledora smiled. “Well, hello ... what are you doing here?”

  “I had a few questions I wanted to ask you.”

  “Well, uh ... now’s a bad time. I’m putting my baby down for a nap.”

  “This won’t take long.”

  Pursing her lips, she nodded. “All right.” Pulling her sweater around her, she stepped out of the door.

  “I was told you just moved here from Kansas. Is that why you work for an agency instead of having a regularjob with benefits?”

  She nodded stiffly. “I’m a single parent. I take what I can get.”

  Jay nodded. “That’s right, you have a newborn son. Congratulations.”

  “Thanks, but he’s already a month.”

  “Where’s the baby’s father?”

  “He ... he left me.”

  Jay tried to keep the rage from overcoming him while he stalled, waiting for the police to arrive. They were slow as usual.

  “Well, if there isn’t anything else, I’ve got a hundred things to do while Tyler is asleep,” she said, backing into the house.

  “Sure thing. Thank you for your time, Mrs. J.W. Price.”

  Jay saw her expression change, then she shrugged. “You know my name. So what? I’m just tryin’ to get on with my life.”

  “I almost didn’t recognize you with the weave.” When he last saw her, she was standing over her husband’sdead body sporting a short black bob.

  Cries came from inside, and they sounded so familiar they ripped at his heart. He placed a hand on the door before Ledora could shut it. “Why, Mrs. Price, that sounds just like my son, J.J.”

  “All babies sound the same. Now if you please, I’ve got to go—”

  Before she could say anything else, Jay pushed past her and raced into the tiny house, following the cries. Ledora was right behind him and, knowing which room the baby was in, she beat him there. Holding the baby close to her chest, she hissed, “Get out! Whatcha tryin’ to do, steal my son?”

  “I don’t believe he’s your son,” Jay challenged, fightingto stay calm.

  While she backed into a corner Jay quickly scanned the room, seeing toys and stenciled walls. The room smelled of baby powder—and something more. The smell reminded him of that too-brief time in the hospital,holding his son.

  For the first time in days, Jay felt a sense of relief that his prayers had been answered. He was still uncertainas to why she had taken him, but it was reassuring to know that his son had been well taken care of.

  “I’m calling the police,” she warned, eyes large, lips trembling.

  Jay lowered himself into a nearby rocking chair. “No need. They’re already on their way.”

  Several minutes later, Officer Holman was leaning against his car shaking his head. “Jay, you can’t go barging into people’s homes. You know that.”

  “That’s my son,” Jay said.

  He lifted a brow. “How can you be so sure?”

  Jay took a deep breath and said, “Because I know how my son sounds. I know how he smells.”

  The officer laughed. “All babies sound and smell alike.”

  At one time, Jay would have believed the same thing, but now that he’d had a chance to hold a life he had created in his hands, he knew better. “No, they don’t,” he told the officer. “When you have kids of your own, you’ll understand.” He then walked back to the house, where two officers were helping Ledora and the baby into a patrol car. She shot him an anger-filled glance just before her head disappeared into the back.

  One of the officers moved forward when he saw Jay approach. “Mrs. Price has agreed to bring the baby to the hospital so we can compare footprints and take some DNA samples.”

  Jay was surprised at her cooperation, and for a brief moment thought that maybe he could be wrong. But then he shook his head.

  Not a chance.

  Soft jazz poured from the speakers as Honey glanced around the room, pleased at the turnout for the grand opening of her new full-service salon. Thanks to MAJIC 105 announcing the event every couple of hours, the place was packed. There had to be just about every last one of their customers in attendance, as well as several potential new customers.

  Looking to her left, Honey watched Mrs. Doyle, who had arrived earlier with Collins, her new beau. Honey smiled. Apparently, the class reunion her favoritecustomer had been so nervous about was a success.Collins had his arm draped possessively across Mrs. Doyle’s shoulders, and Honey was pleased at his quite obvious affection.

  Out the corner of her eye, she saw Shaquil and Tequila at the buffet table sampling the buffalo wings, probably trying to find out if they were as good as theirs. She chuckled at Marcus, who was sitting in the corner eating his second piece of cake.

  Honey was dressed in gray wool slacks and a black turtleneck sweater, and she, as well as the rest of her staff, sported new burgundy smocks with their names embroidered on the left breast pockets. All the new staff members were in the back, already adding appointmentsto their schedules.

  She frowned when she saw Mercedes at the buffet table filling the half-empty punch bowl. Once again, she had dropped all the charges against Dean and had let him back in her apartment just yesterday. With a sigh, Honey wished there was something she could do, but knew nothing could be done other than continuing to be her friend. Hopefully, Mercedes would come to her senses before something unthinkable happened.

  “Everything looks great,” George said, strolling up from behind with Helen at his side. “It looks like Rashad knows his stuff.”

  Glancin
g over at her brother, who had his arm draped around Candy’s waist, Honey chuckled proudly. “Yes, he does.” What’s up with those two?

  Turning to her mom, she smiled. The couple had been inseparable since their trip to Las Vegas, and were even considering moving in together.

  Helen glanced around and then faced Honey. “This is beautiful. I’m so proud of you.” She clasped her daughter’s hands and leaned in to kiss her cheek.

  “Thanks, Mom,” Honey said when they pulled apart.

  Sasha, Terraine, and Roxaner, who was carrying Ciarra, moved over to join them. Honey reached up to stroke her goddaughter’s tender chin, then looked up at Terraine. “Have you heard anything yet?” she asked softly.

  Terraine studied her face and saw the crinkles of worry around her eyes, but had to shake his head. He’d been paging Jay for the past several hours without any answer. When it rains it pours, and the Andrews family had seen more than their fair share. He hoped to God all that was about to change.

  Honey nibbled nervously on her lips. The party had been underway for over an hour. “Maybe I should try his office again.”

  “I just did.” Terraine caught her fingers in his, then said, “He’ll show up. Jay knows how important today is for you.”

  “I’m more concerned about J.J. I pray that he found him.”

  Terraine gave her a lingering glance and held her hand tighter. “You really care about him?”

  Honey inclined her head and met his eyes. “I love him.” She sighed. “When he hurts, I hurt.”

  Terraine’s eyes sparkled with affection at the woman who had taught his brother a powerful lesson in love.

  “Speak of the devil!”

  At the sound of Roxaner’s voice, Honey’s head whipped around to find Jay walking through the door. She inhaled sharply. Still dressed as he was in faded jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, she knew he didn’t intend to stay. She stared wordlessly across at him, her heart pounding. His expression was so still she trembled,afraid of what it meant. As he moved through the crowd, she searched his brown eyes for a sign. To her relief, just as he neared, Jay’s lips curled upward. She reached out and grasped his hands, her eyes never leavinghis.