“Find a job, as soon as I can.”
“Do you plan on staying down South?”
“Yes; it’s all I know.”
“That doesn’t mean you have to settle there.”
“Why, what do you have in mind, Little Sister?” Gail asked. Though they weren’t in close contact anymore, she was still able to tell when her sister had something up her sleeve.
“I was thinking, you can come out here.”
“Where, Cali?”
“No, Montana.”
“Montana!”
“Yes, Montana. Remember when I told you weeks ago I was going on vacation?”
“Yes, to watch your godson.”
“Well, I’m still out here?”
“What? That’s a mighty long vacation for you.”
“Actually, I’m staying.”
“What?”
“You heard me,” Cynthia said, tucking the cell phone under her ear and getting into the car.
“You mean in the little two-hick town you told me about, the one where you said there would probably be two hundred white people to every one black person?”
“Well, it’s not quite like that. I exaggerated.”
“Okay, what’s his name?” Gail asked.
Cynthia laughed. “Dex. Dexter Callahan.”
“Oh, sexy name,” Gail said.
“And he’s looks the part,” Cynthia chuckled.
“Come on, do tell. Give me the dirt!”
“Okay, let me call you right back okay? I’m at the gas station and want to pull over to the parking lot.
After moving the car, the sisters talked on the phone for a long time. Cynthia filled Gail in on the marriage proposal, the partnership fiasco, and her plan to open her own firm. She also asked her to consider working with her.
“I’m so happy for you, Cynthia. But just take it slow though. Sounds like you have a lot of changes on the horizon.”
“I know, but we’re not getting married right away, and I still have my condo. I’ll be back and forth as I make the transition.”
“But still, you’re uprooting yourself, giving up your life in San Francisco, sis,” Gail said, worry in her voice. “Are you sure about this?”
Cynthia couldn’t ignore the fact that her big sister was making a lot of sense. But she thought about her ‘life’ in San Francisco.
“Sis, if I had a life out there, you would be so right. But the fact is, I didn’t. All I did was work, work, work, and everything I thought I was working for was handed to someone else. I’ve lived more in these past few months than I have in a lifetime. And this beautiful man that God has graced me with, was there and willing to be there for a lifetime for a child that’s not even his on a dime. That says everything I need to know about Dexter Callahan. I’m sure.”
“Aren’t you nervous and scared, though, making a move like this?” Gail asked.
“I’m nervous, sure, but I am not afraid. And you know why?”
“Why?”
“Because I feel God all around me.” Happy tears sprang from Cynthia’s eyes.
“Well if you’ve got the good Lord in your corner, you’re good to go,” Gail said, getting emotional as she felt God’s presence, remembering his hand guiding her through her own plight.
“So what’s this about a job?” Gail asked.
“Not a job, a career.”
“What?”
“When you finish your undergraduate, you should go on to law school. You were always the smarter of the two of us, Gail.”
“I don’t know, Cynthia.”
“Sure, why not. Even if it takes you a few extra years, because you have the boys, that time is going to pass anyway. I’ll be growing the practice and you can work next to me in the meantime, learning everything I know.”
“You think I can do this?”
“I know you can,” Cynthia said. “It’s a long-range plan, but why on earth not?”
Gail thought about it.
“Well if there are fine men like Dexter Callahan running around out there on the open range, I will seriously consider it,” Gail laughed.
“Good, but he may just be that needle in the haystack,” Cynthia chuckled. “Seriously though, just back-burner it, graduate, do what you have to do, and if you’re still open to the idea when it’s time, I’ll help you choose a school and get settled out here. The cost of living is palatable, and though Cattlewood is a tiny town, Billings is a nice, thriving city. There are some good schools for my nephews, and I think the change would do you well.”
“It would be nice to be near each other again,” Gail said.
“Yes, it would. I love you, big sis,” Cynthia said. “And I’m so proud of you.”
“I love you, too,” Gail said.
After they hung up, Cynthia drove the Jeep on toward Cattlewood.
Chapter 26
Apple Callahan’s truck pulled up into the yard about the same time as Cynthia returned from Billings.
Dexter smiled when he saw his fiancé, but a daunting feeling crept in when he saw Apple get out of her truck. He could tell she’d been drinking.
She was wearing a wide-brim straw cowboy hat to cover her pale skin and a pair of tight-fitting jeans with a too-tight t-shirt.
“Hey almost sister,” Apple chuckled at Cynthia as they walked toward the porch. “Congratulations. You’re getting a fine man in my brother,” she said.
“Thank you,” Cynthia said. “I know.”
“I hope you do honey because if it weren’t against the law to straddle kin, I would have taken advantage of Dex a long time ago.”
Apple’s joke startled Cynthia because part of her believed Apple meant what she said. “Well alrighty then,” was all Cynthia said, trying to make light of it.
Dexter just shot his big sister a disapproving glance while shaking his head. His heart dropped because he knew his sister pretty much had ‘a fuck the world’ outlook on life, and she more often than not did whatever she damn well pleased no matter what.
Apple waved a hand at him, dismissing his chastising. Her eyes zoomed in on Martin.
She’d missed him.
“Hey sugar,” she said to Martin,” ignoring Thelma sitting on the porch, too.
Martin shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
“Apple,” he nodded hello, feeling in his gut there was about to be some trouble.
“I thought you were dead. Why didn’t you contact me?” Apple said, laughing to keep from almost crying.
Apple cared for Thelma’s husband, because during their brief affair, he didn’t treat her like a piece of meat. He listened to her when she spoke about her childhood. She remembered everything that had been done to her and he really listened and tried to convince her she hadn’t done anything wrong.
“It was not her fault, you were a child,” he would say.
Thelma looked up at the woman addressing her husband as if they were still lovers.
Her eyes bored through Apple’s but her question was directed at her husband.
“Aren’t you going to answer the woman?”
Martin couldn’t speak. He couldn’t believe Apple was there, making a scene like that.
Apple stumbled past Thelma to sit in Martin’s lap. Before he could do anything, she planted an open mouthed kiss on his lips. “Why didn’t you call me?” she asked, cradling his head in her bosom.
Before Thelma could dive in their direction with her one leg, Dexter bolted out of his seat.
He put one hand on Thelma’s shoulder to keep her in her chair and the other he used to hoist his sister out of Martin’s lap.
“Come on, sis,” Dexter said, apologizing to Thelma with his eyes. “You’ve had enough, let’s get you home.”
Dexter decided then and there his sister was getting some help, whether she liked it or not. What their father had done to her and what their mother had chosen not to see was hurting her, eating her alive, and she didn’t even know it.
He thought about the comments h
e’d made to Cynthia. He was so caught up in his own hurt that he had neglected to be there, fully, for Apple. He didn’t realize it until that moment. He was her brother, and he would not abandon her. She was getting help, if he had to sit on her in every session.
Apple was a good person; she was just hurting, that’s all.
Thelma looked around as if she were looking for Carson. She didn’t want him to see the commotion.
“He’s playing in the side yard. I see him,” Cynthia said, coming to stand by her friend.
After Dexter drove off with Apple, Thelma began to talk. Martin sat in silence as his wife studied him.
The truth was, he hadn’t had any dealings with Apple that his wife didn’t already know about. And that was a long time ago.
“Thelma, you have to believe me,” he finally said. “I didn’t do anything.”
“I know,” she said. “I know that. But as God is my witness, I was planning to get rid of you on this trip,” Thelma admitted.
She felt lighter just saying the words out loud.
“What?” Martin finally spoke, staring at her in disbelief. “What do you mean?”
“I was considering killing you, Martin; you and eventually that woman, too. I had it all planned out, as God is my witness,” Thelma said, her voice low and achy, almost apologetic.
Cynthia thought about the Google cache.
“I don’t believe I would have gone through with it, but that crash was a blessing in disguise all the same.”
Martin was speechless for a long few seconds. “But I didn’t do anything,” he finally said.
“I know that now,” she said. “Not this time, but you did initially, and it still hurts.”
“I know,” he said.
“No, you don’t.” Her voice was filled with pain. “It’s still in there, and though we’ve moved on like everything is okay, I want you to know, it’s still in there, Martin,” she pressed her hand to her chest.
“I’m sorry, honey,” he said, reaching for her hand. “I’m not perfect.”
Thelma placed her hand in his. “I’m sorry, too,” she said looking at him. “You always remind me of that. Well I’m not perfect either. I’ve got some issues that I still struggle with.”
She thought about her mother and father.
Martin knew what she meant. His wife had long ago shared what she knew about her father hiring someone to kill her mother.
“Sweetheart, I’m not your father,” he pleaded for her to stop blaming him for her father’s mistakes.
“Well don’t act like him then.”
Martin pursed his lips in agreement.
“I’m so sorry, Thelma. I love you.”
“I know,” she said.
Martin came over and knelt beside her chair. “I’m glad you told me everything,” he chuckled nervously.
He still couldn’t believe it; his wife had planned to kill him. And he knew from the look in her eyes -- even if she didn’t -- she was capable. Note to self, Martin thought to himself. Get Thelma’s anxiety medication checked for possible prescription mix-up.
“But no matter what,” he continued. “I am not going anywhere. Our vows said for better or worse, and even though I feel like I have a bulls-eye on my back, I am not going anywhere.”
Thelma looked up at him with tears in her eyes.
“If you cheat on me again, you won’t have to leave, because I will … with Carson. I won’t stay with a man who disrespects me. I love Carson to death; more than you and more than my own self, and I will not teach my son that it’s okay to behave like you chose to as a man growing up in this world. And if I stay with you after infidelity again, that’s exactly what I would be doing. Do we understand each other Martin Hagen?”
“Yes,” he said. “And you have nothing to worry about. Tears rimmed his eyes. “I love you Thelma.” He pulled her into his arms.
“I love you, too.”
Cynthia knew it was time for her to ease off; she’d already heard too much.
As she stepped around to the back of the house to make sure Carson was not in earshot, she sighed. Boy, this marriage thing was a big deal, she decided. A bigger deal than she’d realized.
She heard Dexter’s truck pull back up into the yard. Within moments, he was around back, too.
“Hi,” he said, kissing her on the lips as he tousled Carson’s hair. “I can tell they needed a minute,” he whispered, motioning toward the front porch.
Cynthia smiled and shook her head in agreement.
“All okay with your sis?” Cynthia asked.
“About as good as it can be, for now,” he said.
“Are you ready for this?” Dexter asked, clasping Cynthia’s hand in his.
She felt him fingering her engagement ring.
“You’re not going to get off that easy,” she teased, leaning her body back into his. “Sure, I’m ready. More than I’ve ever been ready for anything in my life.”
“Good,” Dexter squeezed her in his arms before they took a seat on the back porch.
Cynthia filled him in on what had happened between Martin and Thelma and he told her about Apple and his plans to help her get into counseling.
He smiled as he was talking, knowing he was right when he sensed early on he and Cynthia needed each other.
After a little while, they left Carson in the backyard playing with his puppy as they filtered around to the front porch.
Chapter 27
“Are you guys okay?” Cynthia asked, looking back and forth between her friends. She was not able to just brush under the rug what had happened.
“No, but we will be,” Thelma said.
“I’m sorry about Apple …” Dex tried to apologize for his sister’s behavior.
Thelma put her hand up. “No, I’m sorry. Apple was drunk, and I knew that. So I should have tempered myself,” she sighed. “Besides, I know your sister’s story. Is she going to be okay?” Thelma asked with sincere concern.
“If I have anything to say about it, she will. Apple is as stubborn as a mule, but I love her, and I’m going to make sure she gets the help she needs.
Martin squeezed his wife’s hand, realizing he needed to do the same for the mother of his child.
“Marriage is not easy,” Thelma said, peering up at him. “But it’s worth it.”
“It sure is,” Martin said, looking at her with love in his eyes.
Dexter cradled Cynthia closer to him, just as Carson came from the side of the house to jump between them in in their laps, like he’d done countless times over the past several weeks.
They all laughed.
“You all make a fine couple,” Thelma said. “And you’ll be good parents, too, seeing how you took care of Carson.”
“Yes, you sure will,” Martin said. “We owe you both the world.”
“You don’t owe us a thing,” Dex said.” That’s what friends are for.”
Cynthia squeezed her fiancé’s strong hand, grateful to have him in her life. “Yes, that’s what friends are for,” she said.
Cynthia and Dex began planning their wedding for the following spring.
The End
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About the Author
Cassandra Black
Cassandra Black is a writer, publisher and entrepreneur. A resident of the Atlanta, Georgia area, she travels frequently to the tropics to enjoy the Caribbean Sea.
She has penned several romance novellas, a children's picture book, and a plethora of real estate and small business publications.
Her joy is reading and writing stories that delve into the often forgotten trials, tribulations, souls of women. She has autho
red several fiction books under her name and Amber Creek, a pen name. (See a full list of her books on the following pages.)
Montana Love: Multicultural Romance Page 9
