“Katherine, what are you doing here?” he finally asked.
Serena squinted her eyes. “No, actually it’s me you should be worried about, because I’m the one who brought her. I’m the one who you thought was too stupid to check up on you, but what you didn’t know was that I figured out that password to your voice mail a long time ago. You changed it when you left Kennedi, but then I watched you type the new one in, too, and that’s all I needed.”
“Serena, please don’t do this.”
“Oh, I’m definitely doing this, because you deserve whatever you get. I loved you, Blake, and I’m carrying your twins, so how on earth could you do this to me?”
So, she really is pregnant, Kennedi thought. Blake had claimed that Serena had miscarried, but now Kennedi knew he’d only told her that because he’d been faking like he wanted her back and because he wanted her to believe he no longer had any obligations to Serena. This also explained why he’d suddenly wanted to settle so quickly and outside of court.
Attorney Green looked from person to person but didn’t say anything. Attorney Newman seemed amused by all that was happening.
Serena turned to Kennedi. “I know you’ll probably never forgive me, but I’m sorry. I’m sorry for sleeping with Blake and for getting pregnant by him, and if it’s any consolation, I’m already getting my payback. Because, you see, this lowlife right here has been sleeping with Katherine and pretending like I don’t even exist. But then after I listened to some of her messages, I called her and told her he was living with me and that we were expecting two babies. And can you believe he had the audacity to tell her that as soon as he got his part of the money, he wanted them to get back together?”
Kennedi raised her eyebrows. “Back together?”
“Oh,” Serena continued. “Did I forget to tell you that they’re married?”
“That’s right,” Katherine confirmed. “And Blake knows it.”
“This is crazy!” he yelled. “All I want is my check so I can get out of here.”
“I don’t think so,” Katherine objected. “You’re married to me, remember? Not Kennedi.”
“Why couldn’t you have just died the way you were supposed to? The way I left you all those years ago?”
Katherine slowly shook her head from side to side, and it was obvious she hadn’t expected Blake to make such a heartless statement.
Kennedi was shocked by his words as well, but she couldn’t help wondering what the odds were of something like this happening. Winning the lottery and finding out your cheating husband was a bigamist. She guessed one in a million. Or more.
“Maybe you should explain,” Attorney Newman told Katherine, and Katherine sang like Jennifer Holliday and Jennifer Hudson all wrapped up into one.
Apparently, Katherine had been watching the press conference and realized the husband of the winner was legally her husband—of twelve years. Blake had only been in his late twenties when he’d married her, but as fate would have it, Katherine had soon found out she’d been stricken with a rare blood disease. At first, the doctors had been hopeful, but eventually, they’d told her they’d done all they could do and that she had six months left at the most. Blake, however, hadn’t coped with the news very well and had finally told Katherine that he could no longer deal with her illness. He’d hung around for maybe another week or so but then apologized and told her he was leaving the next day.
They’d been living in California, and since Katherine had been near death, she never bothered asking him where he was going. She’d decided that if he was cruel enough to leave her right when she was dying, then she wanted nothing else to do with him.
But, thank God, her disease had miraculously gone into remission and she’d been fine ever since. She’d admitted that it was crazy and irresponsible of her not to file for a divorce, but as it had turned out, one year had led to another, and after a while she’d no longer thought all that much about it. There were times when she had considered hiring a lawyer and filing papers, but like so many other men and women in the country, she just hadn’t. She’d decided to live her life in California and to let Blake live wherever he was living, and that was that.
By now, Blake was beyond humiliation. “You make me sick,” he said, glaring at Katherine and heading toward the doorway. “And you,” he said, pointing at Serena. “As soon as I pack my stuff, you can forget about ever hearing from me again.”
“Oh, I think I’ll hear from you quite often. I’ll be hearing from you every single week, once you start sending my child support payments.”
Blake cracked up laughing. “You silly, silly woman. If you think I’m paying you as much as one nickel, you’re even dumber than I thought you were.”
“No, you’re the dumb one, Blake. So dumb that you actually thought you could scheme your way into millions of dollars and then simply walk right out of here with it. But unfortunately for you, we fixed all of that, didn’t we? We stopped you dead in your tracks, and there’s not a thing you can do about it.”
“You can say that again,” Katherine added. “There’s not a thing he can do except run out of here with his tail between his legs.”
Blake tossed both of them a dirty look, flung the door open, and then left the conference room. His attorney followed behind him, and Kennedi asked Attorney Newman and his assistant if she could have a few minutes alone with Katherine and Serena.
“You know, not that it matters one way or another,” Kennedi said to Katherine, “but how were you even able to contact Blake?”
“I found a listing for his parents and asked his mother if she would have him call me. I don’t think they have a clue that Blake and I are still married, and I never told them differently. But his mother did give him my message, and he phoned me right away because I think he knew there was going to be trouble if he didn’t get back to me.”
“When did you first see him?” Kennedi wanted to know.
“He flew me in about three weeks ago, and I’ve been here ever since. I took an indefinite leave of absence from work.”
“And you were willing to take him back even after he left you to die?”
Katherine chuckled. “You won’t like what I’m about to say, but the only reason I came here and the only reason I slept with Blake was because I knew he was about to get paid. I knew that whether he kept his word about us getting back together or not, I was going to be rich. Either as his wife or as his blackmailer. It didn’t matter to me one way or the other. But then I found out about Serena, and when she told me about those two little ones she was carrying, all I could think was how horrible it felt when Blake walked out on me and how he obviously didn’t care about anyone. Then I thought about the fact that God had been merciful enough to spare my life all those years ago, yet here I was plotting to steal money from someone I didn’t even know. I realized how wrong I was, and then Serena and I decided that Blake had to be stopped.”
Kennedi sat there in a daze, not knowing how she should feel. On the one hand, she still despised Serena for sleeping with the man she thought was her husband, and to be honest, she wasn’t all that happy with Katherine either. But on the other hand, she couldn’t deny that these two women were the reason Blake had walked away with nothing. They were the reason Kennedi no longer had to worry about any divorce proceedings or Blake in general. It didn’t seem real, but she was finally free of the man she’d never actually been married to in the first place and able to move on with her life.
Kennedi hadn’t felt this good in a very long time and decided she was going to do something most women would never even consider.
“I won’t lie,” she told Katherine as she filled out a check. “I’m still not sure how I feel about you or about the fact that you were basically planning to steal from me, but what I do know is that Blake would have walked away with ten million dollars if you hadn’t come forward. There is a chance that I still might have found out he was a bigamist, but you can bet I never would have gotten all of my money back. So
this is for you.”
Katherine looked at the draft and then back at Kennedi.
“After the terrible thing I was going to do, you’re giving me a hundred and fifty thousand dollars?”
“I am. For services rendered,” Kennedi said, and then stood and strolled toward the door.”
Serena frowned. “Wait a minute. What about me?”
Kennedi glanced back at her. “You? You get absolutely nothing. Except maybe a hard way to go.”
Chapter 20
No matter how many times I think about Blake already having a wife, I’ll never be able to fathom it,” Patrice said matter-of-factly.
“It’s a real trip,” Kennedi agreed. “No doubt about it, and I’m just glad he hasn’t tried to contact me.”
“That’s because he’s probably scared to death that you’re going to press bigamy charges against him.”
“You’re probably right, but I’m through with Blake and everything that has to do with him. Ever since he walked out on me, all I could think about was paying him back—in the worst way possible—but now the only thing I want is to be at peace.
All I want is to close this unfortunate chapter and move on with my life.”
“I don’t blame you, plus now you’ve got Miles, anyway.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Well, you do.”
“For the time being.”
“I think he’s the one, Kennedi. I see the way he looks at you, and it makes me very happy.”
“I hope you’re right, but we’ll see soon enough.”
“I guess we will,” Patrice said, and then went to answer the ringing doorbell.
It was Sunday afternoon, and Kennedi was glad some of her relatives were starting to arrive. She’d invited over Aunt Lucy; her second cousins Lee Willie and James Michael; and three other distant family members. She’d even considered letting bygones be bygones when it came to Aunt Rose, Raymond, and Joseph—especially Joseph, since he’d at least had the decency to speak to her at that holiday cookout—but she just wasn’t ready to deal with such trifling individuals. Maybe she would feel better about the whole situation at some time in the future, but not now.
“Hi, sweetheart.” Aunt Lucy smiled and embraced her niece.
Kennedi held her close and for longer than usual. “Hey, Auntie, I’m so glad you could make it.”
“I know I’ve told you on the phone a couple of different times, but I can’t apologize enough for Rose and Raymond’s behavior on the Fourth of July. It was totally uncalled for, and you didn’t deserve to be treated that way.”
“Don’t worry about it. And after what I just found out about Blake, that drama with the two of them is child’s play.”
“I guess so.”
Over the next twenty minutes, everyone else filed in and took a seat around the family room, and Kennedi walked in front of the fireplace. “I’m sure most of you are wondering why I called you here, but then again, you might have figured it out already. Anyway, now that my financial situation is settled, I wanted to get all of you together as soon as possible,” she said, holding a stack of envelopes. “I wanted you to know that I love you and that I appreciate the way you’ve supported me and how you’ve been there for me my entire life. Unfortunately, Daddy was an only child, so the only real family I have is all of you who are from Mom’s side, and I hope you know that I’ll cherish each of you always.”
Kennedi’s eyes filled up and she blinked quickly, trying to prevent any tears from falling. But she couldn’t. “This is from me to you,” she continued, her voice shaky, while passing out each envelope one by one.
When Aunt Lucy opened hers, she squealed like a small child on Christmas Day and then rushed toward Kennedi, hugging her and thanking her profusely.
“You are more than welcome, and I already mailed Lisa and Bell something yesterday,” Kennedi told her. Then she addressed the rest of the group. “I hope everyone understands that because Aunt Lucy is my mom’s oldest sister and more like a mother to me, she got just a little more than the rest of you,” Kennedi announced, referring to her aunt’s one-million-dollar gift.
“Of course, we understand,” Lee Willie replied. “Young lady, this two hundred thousand I got right here is more than enough.”
“I know that’s right,” James Michael concurred. “This is more money than I know what to do with.”
The others commented similarly, but when Kennedi looked over at Patrice and saw massive tears streaming down her face, she knew Patrice, like Aunt Lucy, had seen all seven figures. Kennedi smiled and Patrice silently mouthed the words, “Thank you. I love you with all my heart.”
Kennedi took a deep breath and couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so warm inside. Now she knew that no matter how much money a person held in his or her possession, it was so much better to give than it was to receive. It was so much more rewarding, and now that she thought about it, she’d had that same feeling when she’d given her tithe at church that morning. And she knew she would experience the same kind of happiness once again, tomorrow afternoon, right after Miles wrote checks to each of her designated charities.
She was glad God had placed her in a much better position to help others, and she wouldn’t let Him down. She still wanted her dream house and she still wanted to enjoy life as a whole, but more than anything, she wanted to make a difference. She wanted to help those who were in need without any regret.
What she wanted was for her mother to be proud of her.
Acknowledgments
As always, I am thankful to God for all Your love and the many blessings You have so graciously given me; my husband, Will, the love of my life, for all that you are and for always believing in me no matter what; my brothers, Willie and Michael; my stepson and daughter-in-law, Trenod and Tasha, and the rest of my family members for all of your unwavering and continued love and support; and to my friends, my girls, my sisters—Kelli, Lori, and Janell—for everything.
To my very talented and very hardworking assistant, Connie Dettman, the woman I was blessed to connect with right when Love and Lies was first released: When I say you were sent from God, I really do mean exactly that. You have made my working life so much more manageable, and I appreciate all that you do for me daily.
Thank you to my agent, Elaine Koster, for everything and then some; to my fabulous and very caring Harper/Morrow/Avon team (or as my publisher, Lisa G., would say, “Team Roby,” which she is so very right about!): Carolyn Marino, Lisa Gallagher, Pamela Spengler-Jaffee, Ben Bruton, Debbie Stier, Tavia Kowalchuk, Lynn Grady, Wendy Lee, Lauren Manzella, Richard Aquan, Buzzy Porter, Michael Morris, and Mike Spradlin, to name a few, and of course to everyone else at Morrow/Avon who works so tirelessly on promoting and distributing my books. What you do for me means the world, and I will never be able to thank you enough.
Thank you to my wonderful church family at Providence Missionary Baptist Church, for all the love and support you have shown me my entire life; and to Dr. Betty Price, Dr. Fred, and the Price daughters, Angela, Cheryl, and Stephanie, for always welcoming Will and me at Crenshaw Christian Center with such open arms.
To the amazing book club discussion groups, bookstores, retailers, and libraries that host my events throughout every year and to all the print, radio, and television media outlets and personalities, both locally and nationally, who are kind enough to publicize my work, thank you.
To my loyal and very compassionate readers who encourage me to write one book after another: I certainly couldn’t do this without every one of you, and for that I am beyond grateful.
Much love and God bless,
Kimberla Lawson Roby
About the Author
KIMBERLA LAWSON ROBY is the author of the acclaimed novels Sin No More, Love and Lies, Changing Faces, The Best-Kept Secret, Too Much of a Good Thing, A Taste of Reality, Behind Closed Doors, Here and Now, Casting the First Stone, and It’s a Thin Line. She lives with her husband in Illinois.
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Also by Kimberla Lawson Roby
Sin No More
Love and Lies
Changing Faces
The Best-Kept Secret
Too Much of a Good Thing
A Taste of Reality
It’s a Thin Line
Casting the First Stone
Here and Now
Behind Closed Doors
Credits
Jacket design by Ervin Serrano
Jacket photograph by Jan Cobb
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ONE IN A MILLION. Copyright © 2008 by Kimberla Lawson Roby. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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