by Dyanne Davis
Indigo Love Spectrum
An imprint of Genesis Press, Inc.
Publishing Company
Genesis Press, Inc.
P.O. Box 101
Columbus, MS 39703
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, not known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without written permission of the publisher, Genesis Press, Inc. For information write Genesis Press, Inc., P.O. Box 101, Columbus, MS 39703.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author and all incidents are pure invention.
Copyright © 2006, 2010 by Dyanne Davis.
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-540-4
ISBN-10: 1-58571-540-9
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition 2006
Second Edition 2010
Visit us at www.genesis-press.com or call at 1-888-Indigo-1-4-0
Dedication
This book is dedicated to the two most important people in my life: my husband, William Davis and our son, William Davis, Jr.
Bill, thank you for making me laugh every single day and for being exactly what the Creator had in mind for my life. You love me, support me and give the best darn massages in the world. You are definitely the yen to my yang. I love you madly.
Billy, for being one person, you’ve given me the joy of a thousand children. I am so proud of you. Having you in my life has not only made me spiritually richer, it’s taught me so many facets about love and the bond between a mother and child. It goes without saying that I love you.
Acknowledgments
First and foremost all honor and glory go to God.
To my editor, Sidney Rickman, each time we work together I’m more convinced of the psychic connection.
To my family and friends, thank you for your continued love and support
To the readers, may Heaven’s and Hamid’s love spark renewed love in your life.
To Debbie Williams, the woman in my son’s life. You make him happy and that makes me happy.
To Michelle Grajkowski, thanks for being such a wonderful agent.
To Honey, you have enriched my life immeasurably. You are a source of spiritual enrichment and knowledge. You make me dig deeper and accept that which I might otherwise think of as my vivid imagination. You are extremely special to me.
To all the family that he passed away in the past few months. You are not forgotten. My aunts: Lula Lander, Johnnie Mae Pots, my brother-in-law, Terry Davis and my father-in-law, Henry. You all were important in my life and you are missed.
As always, I began my acknowledgements with God, the head of my life and end them with the two people who complete me. This doesn’t change because of the dedication. Bill and Billy are the ones who have to deal with papers all over the place and my just starting a conversation that has them thinking I’m talking about someone they know instead of the characters in a book. But, by the time the book is done, they are well acquainted with the characters! So for this and a thousand more reasons, my acknowledgements will always end with the two of you.
Chapter One
“That’s going to kill you.”
For the space of a breath, Heaven pretended that the voice was not talking to her.
“Excuse me, miss, perhaps you didn’t hear me?”
Oh, she’d heard him alright, and had hoped that perhaps he’d get the message and know she didn’t give a darn about his opinion of what she was eating.
“It will kill you,” the voice said again.
Heaven rolled her eyes and turned to answer. Her eyes traveled up, and up, and up, and her first thought was, Wow! The man talking to her was magnificent. More than seventy-two inches of long, beautiful male greeted her startled gaze. Masses of curly black hair reached past his shoulders in direct contrast to the neatly trimmed beard that covered his chin. His lips curved in a smile and his dark eyes were enough to fuel her fantasies and make her have wet dreams. She swallowed. “Why do you care what I eat? It’s my body, and I’m the one paying for it.”
“I care because you’re beautiful, and if it will prevent you from doing harm to your body, I will gladly treat you to breakfast.”
Heaven glanced behind her at the tray the man had his breakfast on. A box of raisins, a banana, and an apple. Yes, it was healthier than what she had on her tray, but so what? She was in the mood for bacon, eggs, and hash brown potatoes, and even if she wasn’t, she wasn’t in the mood to hear lectures.
She pushed her tray along the conveyer rail, ignoring the man behind her. Suddenly she felt a tug on her tray and stopped, startled. This was gall. He was trying physically to take her breakfast.
Heaven pulled back. “Stop that! What do you think you’re doing?”
“I offered to buy you a healthy breakfast.” Hamid looked down at the scowling black woman with the strange hair, wondering why he was getting involved. He’d stood in line behind many Americans in the hospital cafeteria and had always wanted to say something, but this was the first time the words had come out.
Now Hamid found himself doing battle with this diminutive female. He looked her over as she roughly pulled her tray from him. She was no more than five feet tall, if that, with dark chocolate skin, smooth and unblemished. Her hairstyle fascinated him. It must have been a thousand sectioned-off parts. Each section appeared to wrap around itself. From where he stood, she smelled deliciously of lemons. He’d meant it when he’d said she was beautiful. She was ravishing, but the scowl on her face had him wondering why he was taking the time to inventory her.
Hamid tried again. “I wish to buy your breakfast. Take my tray.”
“Leave me alone. I didn’t ask you to buy my breakfast, and evidently I’m happy with my choices, or I wouldn’t have put them on my tray.”
One last tug and Heaven had her tray in front of her. She positioned her body so that there was no denying she was serious. If the man touched her tray again, he would get a karate chop, or her heel ground into his foot.
Heaven angrily peeled off bills to pay for her breakfast, and then looked hurriedly around the room for an empty table. Finding one, she picked up her tray and walked in that direction. When she heard footsteps behind her, she stopped abruptly and turned.
She tilted her head skyward. Wanting to make sure the man knew she was not interested, she frowned for all she was worth. Though she felt as though fire were shooting from her eyes, the man merely gave her an amused look and walked ahead of her to the only empty table in the hospital cafeteria, the table she’d been heading for.
For a moment, Heaven stood and watched him as he wiped his apple with a napkin and bit into it. She blinked as apple juice squirted from the fruit and landed, glistening, on his beard. When his hand wiped it away, his eyes locked with hers.
“Are you going to stand there to eat?” he asked before returning his attention to his meal.
A low growl passed through her lips but she sat down at the opposite end of the table and began digging into her food. When she reached for the salt, a brown hand covered hers and she pulled back. “May I have the salt when you’re done, please?” She narrowed her eyes, knowing he was not putting salt on fruit.
“Salt is bad for you.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Hamid.”
“Okay, Hamid, why are you all up in my business?”
“I don’t know really,” he smiled. “I just fe
lt compelled to say these things to you.”
He stared at her, his head moving a little to the side, making Heaven feel as if she were some type of specimen he was examining.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Your hair.”
“What about my hair?”
“What do you call that style?” He started to point, then stopped. “Why do you wear it like that?”
Another growl came from Heaven’s throat, this one louder than the first. She deliberately picked up the bacon that had until this moment lain untouched on her plate. She bit into it with gusto before extending it in Hamid’s direction. “Excuse me, I forgot my manners. Would you care for some of my breakfast?” She shook the bacon, then brought it to her lips and bit down again. “It’s very good.”
“No, thank you. I don’t eat swine.”
“I know.”
“How do you know?”
Heaven rolled her eyes. “It’s obvious…you’re Muslim, right?”
“I am, but how did you know that? Are you making assumptions about me?” He smiled. “What are you basing them on?”
“Apparently you’ve done the same. You assumed I needed you to tell me what to eat.”
“It was apparent to me that you were unaware that your choices in food were bad for your body.”
“I’ve never met anyone like you. Where the heck are you from?”
“Pakistan. I’m Pakistani.”
“And Muslim.”
“Yes.”
“One more question, Hamid. How do you know I’m not Muslim?”
“You’re eating swine.”
“And it’s delicious,” Heaven said, taking a bite.
“Yes, and filled with worms.”
“So is your apple. Matter of fact, if I were you I would check that hole, it looks like it might contain live worms. At least mine are cooked.”
Heaven turned away, wanting to spit the bacon into a napkin, the thought of worms making her nauseous. She wanted to smack Hamid’s smug face, but apparently offering him the bacon had made him as ill as he’d made her. At least he’d stopped talking.
When Heaven dumped her breakfast tray, it still contained two uneaten slices of bacon, even though for the first time the hospital had gotten them crispy, just the way she liked.
* * *
Hamid sat at the table watching the woman walk away. He’d made her angry; actually, he couldn’t much blame her. He had no right to stick his nose in her affairs. If she wanted to kill herself, it was her right. He finished the last bite of the banana and pocketed the raisins for later, smiling to himself, pleased that she’d not been able to finish eating the bacon. At least for today he’d saved her from putting more of the poison into her body. His good deed was done.
* * *
Heaven finished her shift and gave her report to the incoming private duty nurse. She liked being a nurse, and liked even better the fact that she worked through a registry, going to different hospitals and the occasional home. It allowed freedom and she earned a lot more money, something that she needed. And she didn’t have to put up with the infighting that sometimes went on behind the scenes. She was never at one place long enough to become involved. And after running into that man in the hospital cafeteria, she was definitely glad she was off for the next several days.
She was used to having Muslim men try to tell her what she should eat, especially at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke Hospital. She didn’t know why they felt compelled, as though they had a right. Maybe it had something to do with their chauvinistic attitude toward the women in their country. She wanted to shout, ‘You’re in America now, bub, get used to it. You don’t tell women here what to do.’ He was lucky that her mind had been preoccupied with other things, or she would have gone off on him.
* * *
“Miss, miss!”
Heaven groaned. She didn’t believe it. There was Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome yelling at her. She kept walking, pretending that she hadn’t heard him.
“My car won’t start,” he offered.
She stopped in her tracks and let out a sigh. What did she look like, AAA?
She stomped two rows over to where Hamid was parked. “What’s wrong?” she asked, her senses on alert. The hospital staff wasn’t off duty, only the private duty help was. “Are you following me?”
“If I am, I’m doing a poor job of it. I didn’t know it was you until I saw the little things on your head.”
“Twists,” Heaven replied angrily, “they’re called twists. Now, what do you want me to do?”
“Do you have a cell phone?”
“No.”
He frowned. “Thank you for coming over. Maybe I’ll just go inside the hospital and ask the security guard for help.”
“Does your dome light come on?” Heaven asked, ignoring the way he was looking at her. “Move,” she ordered, nudging him aside as she opened his door. “Give me your keys.”
She snatched them from his outstretched palm and attempted to start the car.
“Are you a nurse, or a mechanic?”
She didn’t answer but found the lever and popped his hood. “Do you have jumper cables? Never mind,” she said and walked away.
“Where are you going?”
“To get my truck. Your battery is dead. You didn’t expect me to give you a jump with the power of my mind, did you?”
Heaven was being deliberately rude. She would give him a jump but she definitely didn’t want him getting the wrong idea. She was not into dating anyone but black men, and since Brandon she wasn’t much into them either.
For once luck was on her side. She pulled into the slot directly in front of Hamid’s car. Any other position and she would not have been able to help him. For a moment, she wished the space hadn’t been open. She popped the hood of her SUV, got out her cables, and went to Hamid’s car. She noticed right away the buildup of corrosion around his battery terminals, sighed again, and went for the toolbox she kept in her truck, then set to work.
“What are you doing?”
“Helping.”
“I meant specifically.”
“Your terminals are dirty. I need to clean them first.” She offered the wrench for his inspection. “This is an open-end wrench. I have to loosen the cables.”
“Do you know what you’re doing?”
“If I didn’t, would you be able to tell the difference?”
Heaven watched the expression in his eyes change from curiosity to embarrassment. “I know what I’m doing,” she answered.
She cleaned the terminals and the battery posts, then reattached them, she handed the cables to Hamid. “Give me a moment to connect your battery, then you can connect those to my battery.” She attached the cables and walked back to Hamid. “Go ahead,” she said. He was paused over the post when she slapped his hand away.
“Sorry,” she murmured, “You were doing it wrong. You have to put positive to positive and negative to negative or you can blow out the computer on both vehicles.” She took the cables from him and connected them herself.
“Go give it a try, turn the key,” Heaven ordered. The second she heard the car start, she unhooked the cables, slammed Hamid’s hood down, and then her own.
“You should be fine now,” she said and got in her truck and waved her hand for him to take off. She drove behind him for a minute or two, just in case. When she was assured that his car was not going to quit, Heaven made a left hand turn at Ashland and drove away before Hamid could follow. She would be more than happy to see this day end. She was going in the wrong direction for home deliberately. Never can be too cautious, her sensei had always taught them. Sure, the man’s car wouldn’t start and she knew he had not tampered with it. Still, she wanted that measure of protection. Living in a large city like Chicago had taught Heaven to be cautious.
As she bumped over one pothole after another on Ashland, she cringed at her reasons for being there. A lot of driving, just to throw off someone who wasn’t followi
ng her. This was ridiculous.
By the time Heaven had done all the backtracking and reached her home, she was royally ticked. For a nanosecond, she thought of skipping her karate class. However, it was the one thing that would allow her to let off some steam in a safe manner.
* * *
“Heaven, may I have a word with you?”
Heaven dropped her foot only an inch from her opponent’s face, wondering why the sensei would stop her in the middle of a fight. She glanced toward the floor before walking into the office. If she had been more aware of her surroundings, she would have known the sensei had left the office and was observing her.
“What was all of that?”
She frowned. “I don’t know what you’re asking me.”
“The way you were fighting, you were not in the dojo. You looked like a thug, a street fighter. That’s not you, Heaven. What’s wrong?”
Heaven sawed her teeth back and forth across her top lip. She didn’t want to tell the sensei what pettiness she was indulging in. Besides, he would think she was saying things she wasn’t.
“I’m sorry, I was a little distracted. It was a hard day at the hospital.”
“Did one of your patients die?”
“No.” Heaven tilted her head and stared at the sensei. “But it doesn’t look good.” She lowered her eyes. Even though her statement was true, it wasn’t the reason she was behaving irrationally. It was meeting Hamid.
“For the rest of the evening I want you to practice on your katas.” The sensei smiled. “And if you are frustrated over my words, you may kick the punching bag.”
Chastised, Heaven walked back into the dojo. She didn’t look at any of the other students, even though she knew that they had not heard the conversation. She knew they were thinking it had to be something awful for the sensei to call her into the office. Generally he would reprimand a student right then and there, in front of everybody. She shuddered, glad that he hadn’t.
Her eyes flicked to the punching bag and she immediately placed Hamid’s face there. He was the reason for her bad mood, him and his comments about her being beautiful, then his staring at her as though she were.
