After dinner, Rayne sat at the kitchen table at the Jenkins’ estate, sipping a glass of wine. Sunday brunch was winding down, but the loud talking, arguments, and ribbing was in full effect as people strolled in and out of the kitchen.
Rayne didn’t think she would ever get use to the huge, boisterous group, and at times, she was still a little intimidated around them. Having so many people in one place, no matter how big the home, was overwhelming at times. But watching this family was free entertainment at its best.
“I wish I could tell you that they’re not always like this, Rayne, but I can’t,” Katherine Jenkins, the matriarch of the family said, humor dripping from her words. She set her bowl of peach cobbler on the table before sitting next to Violet who was across from Rayne.
The long table sat eight and most of the chairs were filled. Martina, Nick’s wife—Sumeera, and a few others sat at the far end in a heated conversation.
“She’s right. Sometimes the arguments, or as Martina calls them, passionate discussions, get so unruly, they make you want to run out of here,” Violet added.
“It’s been me and Stormy for so long, it’s kind of refreshing to experience the life of a large family.”
Katherine laughed. “I’ll give you a few more weeks, and then you’ll be walking around with ear plugs and trying to find a quiet spot in the house to eat.”
Rayne smiled at the older woman. The matriarch was in her eighties and was a prime example of the phrase, black don’t crack. She had a few laugh lines around her eyes, but other than that, her smooth, dark skin looked healthy and practically glowed. The long, salt and pepper ponytail at the back of her head with tendrils framing her face, created the illusion of a youthful woman.
Despite her age, Katherine moved around her house like someone who was thirty years younger, and still oversaw food preparation for the weekly brunches. This was the third Sunday brunch that Rayne had attended since returning from San Antonio, and she still couldn’t get over that they got together weekly.
“Did you get enough to eat?” Violet asked.
“Yes, more than enough. As usual, everything was delicious.” Rayne had planned to taste a little bit of everything, but there had been so much to choose from. She ended up settling on shrimp and grits, collard greens, buttermilk hush puppies, and had also tasted some of the brisket which melted in her mouth.
“You must be getting more comfortable around us since Jerry isn’t up here hovering over you,” Katherine said.
“Yes. I’m getting a little more comfortable,” Rayne responded.
Just the mention of Jerry sent butterflies fluttering inside of Rayne’s stomach. It was a feeling that she never wanted to lose. Every day with him brought more joy to her life than she ever could have imagine.
She loved being anywhere he was, but tried to give him space around his family. Normally, when attending the brunch, the three of them ate together. This Sunday was different. Jerry had decided to eat with the guys on the lower level in the theater room. The Cincinnati Bengals were playing the Pittsburgh Steelers and supposedly it was a game none of them could miss.
Stormy also had her own plans. Rayne might still be getting used to the group, but her daughter was in her element around people. Since some of Jerry’s cousins had children her age, she spent most of her visit eating and playing with them.
“Rayne, how’s the new job?” Sumeera asked, slowly moving to the seat next to Rayne. She shifted in the chair, probably trying to get comfortable, and rubbed her protruding belly. She was seven months pregnant but looked as if she would give birth any day now. “I figured I’d ask, because the twin has been going on and on about how amazing you are.”
The twin was Nate, Nick’s twin brother. He was the one who had recently gotten married. Though Rayne knew the moment she saw them together that they were brothers, she hadn’t realized right away that they were twins. They weren’t identical, but definitely looked alike.
“The job is great. I absolutely love the work, and I couldn’t ask for better bosses.”
She reported to Nate mostly, but he owned the property development company with his Uncle Ben. Rayne had been hired as their administrative assistant, shortly after returning from San Antonio. She enjoyed that type of work so much that she was switching her major from psychology to business management.
In addition to the new job, Rayne had found an accelerated college degree program that would accept the credits she already had. It turned out that she had more credits than she originally thought and should finish the program in less than a year.
Moments later, Nate strolled into the kitchen carrying dirty dishes, and Nick was right behind him.
“Oh good. I’m glad you two are going to get started with clean up,” Katherine said. She had a large clean-up schedule hanging on the wall in the over-sized pantry. It had each Sunday of the month listed, along with who was responsible for cleaning the kitchen after brunch.
Rayne stood, and gathered some of the dirty dishes that were on the table. Jerry was also on the clean-up schedule. Maybe if she helped, they could head home a little earlier than usual.
“I take it the game is over?” she asked, setting the dishes on the counter next to the sink where Nate was standing.
“Yeah, and Jerry should be up soon. I thought he was right behind me.”
“Hey, Nate. I was just about to head downstairs to see you,” Martina said, adding to the pile of dishes near the sink. “I heard that Liberty is having morning sickness. So what, you marry her one day and then impregnate her the next? What’s up with that? And why y’all tryin’ to keep it a secret?”
The murderous look Nate gave his cousin could’ve cut through stone, but who could blame him? Rayne would be pissed too if someone blurted out something about her that she wasn’t ready to share.
“I think we need a new rule for Sunday brunch,” Nate said to no one in particular, but loud enough for everyone to hear. “Martina Jenkins-Kendricks, shouldn’t be allowed on the premises without Paul. If he’s out of town, she should either go with him or stay home. Now, can I get someone to second that motion?”
“Whatever, just answer the questions and keep my man out of this,” she snapped.
Rayne had only met the former U.S. senator twice, but did notice a difference in Martina whenever Paul was around. She was gentler and usually hung out wherever he was in the house. Anyone who saw them together would know immediately how much they loved each other.
“Rayne, you’ll soon learn that secrets aren’t safe around our resident troublemaker,” Nate said. “And to answer your question, MJ, yes. She’s eight weeks pregnant.”
“Who’s pregnant?” Christina asked, as she and Nick strolled into the kitchen, their hands filled with serving dishes. “I only caught the tail end of the conversation.”
“Nate was just confirming that Liberty is pregnant.” Martina organized the leftover food and grabbed Styrofoam carryout containers from the pantry. Their grandmother insisted that everyone take some of the leftovers home with them.
“I thought you guys weren’t telling anyone until after the first trimester,” Nick rolled up his sleeves as he approached the sink.
“That was the plan,” Nate murmured then turned his back to the group and started loading one of the two dishwashers.
Martina put her hands on her hips. “So that makes three who will be having babies in the next seven or eight months.”
“Three?” Sumeera asked. “Me, Liberty and who else?”
Everyone looked around and their eyes landed on Rayne.
She stepped back with her hands up. “Uh, don’t look at me.”
Toni-Jenkins Logan ambled into the kitchen wearing a This Girl is the World’s Greatest Plumber T-shirt and headed to the kitchen table. “Gram, do you still have some of that ginger tea?”
“Wait! Oh my God! You’re the one who’s pregnant?” Christina shrieked and hurried over to a stunned Toni and hugged her.
Katherine and
Violet shook their heads smiling. It was safe to say they already knew.
“Dang, MJ. Yo butt can’t keep nothin’!” Toni snapped, but accepted the hugs and well wishes from her family.
After hugging Toni, Rayne left to go in search of Jerry. The noise level in the kitchen had reached new heights.
This was her new life…and she loved her adopted family, drama and all. Funny what a difference a few months could make. The carjacking, injuries and even the layoff from the factory seemed like a lifetime ago, though it was only a couple of months. Those memories didn’t overshadow the joy radiating inside of her.
Never in a million years would Rayne have guessed that moving to Cincinnati would end up being the best decision she ever made. Each day, her future looked brighter and brighter.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Moments ago, there had been at least twenty guys watching the game. Now Jerry and Luke were the last two in the theater room. Most had gone to the large game room that was just outside the door, while some of the others had headed up stairs.
“Luke, I need a favor,” Jerry said to his brother-in-law.
“And what’s that?” he asked, sitting back in one of the leather chairs watching another football game, looking as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“I need you to switch clean up days with me.”
Luke started shaking his head before any words came out of his mouth. “Nope, because the moment I need to switch, your ass probably won’t be here.”
“You act as if I ask you to switch all the time. This is a first, and I promise I won’t ask again.”
Jerry stood and pulled his ringing phone out of his pocket. When he saw that it was Pilar, one of their customers calling, he silenced the phone. He rarely talked to any of their customers if he was off duty. In the voice message she left the other day, she had asked that he give her a call back regarding one of the jobs they were doing for her. When he called, he got her voice message and they’d been playing phone tag ever since.
“Come on, Luke. Help me out here. I need to go and take care of something.”
Jerry wasn’t sure what Luke heard in his voice, but he turned to look at him.
“Why? What are you up to? And who the hell keeps blowing up your phone?”
“Nobody. Just a customer who I’ve been playing phone tag with.”
Luke sat forward and narrowed his eyes at Jerry. “If your ass is screwing around on Rayne, I’m going to kick your motherfu—”
“Whoa! What the hell, man? How we go from me asking you to fill in for me upstairs, to you thinking I’m stepping out on my woman?”
Now Luke was standing, his arms folded across his chest. They were close in height and build, but Jerry was pretty sure his brother-in-law could probably kick his ass. There was a reason Martina referred to the guy as the thug lawyer. Luke had more swagger and brains than anyone Jerry knew, but there was an underlying edginess about him that would make even a badass tread lightly.
“So, the phone calls are not some type of hook up with another woman?”
“No. Definitely not! I love Rayne more than life. There’s no way in hell I’m going to mess up what we have for some tail. You can believe that!”
“Then why do you need me to fill in for you?”
“Because I need to talk to Rayne and it might take a little while.”
Seconds ticked by while Luke studied him as if trying to determine if he was telling the truth.
“All right, but you have to fill in for me twice,” he said.
“Deal.”
They both headed for the door but pulled up short when they saw Rayne in the doorway.
How much had she heard? Jerry did a mental rewind of the conversation he and Luke just had and decided that they hadn’t said anything out of line. If Rayne was still standing there, she had heard him profess his love for her.
“I’m gonna head up,” Luke said to Jerry, then greeted Rayne before clearing out.
She acknowledged Luke, but her gaze was on Jerry. “Hey,” she said. “I was just wondering where you were.”
“I was actually on my way upstairs to get you.” He brushed a quick kiss across her lips. “Come with me.” He reached for her hand and gently pulled her along with him up the stairs.
“Where are we going?” she asked as they passed the family room, dining room, and headed toward the front of the house.
“You’ll see.”
His grandparents’ estate was one of his favorite places in the world. Seeing all of the family photos lining the walls of the hallway, brought back fond memories of him and his cousins playing hide-go-seek. The house had hosted more parties and celebrations than some hotel ballrooms, but they didn’t always have all of this.
Recently, Jerry’s mother had told Rayne about his grandparents humbled beginnings. She shared one story after another, some that he hadn’t even heard before. It reminded him how hard his grandparents had worked and sacrificed to create a legacy for their family.
“In here,” Jerry said when they arrived at his grandfather’s study. He glanced in and made sure no one was in there before he ushered Rayne in. His grandfather and some of Jerry’s uncles were hanging out in the carriage house near the pool, probably smoking cigars. Something his grandmother didn’t approve of.
Jerry released Rayne’s hand as he closed and locked the door, but when he turned, she had taken a few steps back, uncertainty in her eyes.
His heart plummeted to his stomach as that uncertainty he had just seen in her eyes turned to defiance.
Okay, maybe I need to rethink this idea.
Rayne folded her arms across her chest, bringing attention to her enticing breasts. The low-cut blouse she had on revealed just enough cleavage to make him want to take her on top of his grandfather’s desk.
“Jerry, I am not having sex with you in here!” she hissed as if reading his mind. “Anyone could walk in.”
Relief flooded through is body, and he burst out laughing, understanding why she would be concerned. Since leaving San Antonio, he hadn’t been able to get enough of her. Every rare moment they had alone, he found places to make love to her. During dinner at his parents’ house one night, he had even snuck her into his old bedroom to test out his old bed. And then there was that one Sunday, during one of the brunches, that they stole away into an upstairs bathroom.
That was fun.
But she had the wrong idea.
He approached her and slid his arm around her waist. “Though that idea of making love to you in here appeals to me,” he nuzzled her scented neck, loving the way she squirmed against him, “that’s not why I brought you in here.”
When her shoulders sagged and her defenses went back down, Jerry kissed her cheek and guided her across the room. They went past his grandfather’s large desk, and didn’t stop until they were in the sitting area. Jerry directed her to the brown, leather sofa.
“Have a seat.” Once she was seated, he sat next to her, thinking about all that he wanted to say.
“Jerry, you’re scaring me. What is it? Does this have anything to do with the conversation you and Luke were having a little while ago? Is there someone else?”
“No. Absolutely not, and just like I told Luke, I’m not risking what you and I have for anyone. Sweetheart, I love you. I don’t want anyone else, and if it takes the rest of my life to prove that to you, then that’s exactly what I intend to do.”
Jerry held her left hand between his. “I know we’ve only been dating a few months,” he started, his pulse picking up in speed with each word, “but I knew way before then that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.”
He released her hand and dug the velvet box from his pocket before getting down on one knee.
“Oh. My. God,” she breathed and covered her mouth with her hands.
“You said that you would never get married again, but I’m asking you to please reconsider. I have worked like hell to become the man you deserve, a man who will che
rish you for the rest of our lives. I know that you and Ladybug are a package deal, and if you’ll have me, I promise to be the best father she could ever want. Rayne, will you marry me?”
She nodded, tears filling her eyes. “Oh, Jerry. I love you, too. And yes, yes I’ll marry you!”
Jerry slipped the three-carat, pear shaped diamond ring onto her finger and pulled her into a standing position. Cupping Rayne’s face, he kissed her with everything within him, wanting her to feel the love that he felt deep inside.
“Are you’re sure about this?” Jerry asked when he lifted his head, wanting to make sure she wasn’t feeling pressured to say yes.
“I’m more than sure. I can’t wait to marry you.”
After another quick kiss, he said, “Come on. Let’s go let everybody know the good news.”
A few minutes later, they stood just inside the huge family room where much of the family had gathered.
“Stormy,” Jerry called out, and her head popped up. She and Janay were playing a board game in front of the television. “Come here, baby. And may I have everyone’s attention.”
Stormy ran to them, and everyone stopped their conversations.
“Rayne and I have an announcement to make,” he said, holding her hand tighter. “We’re getting married!”
Instead of the cheers and congratulatory responses he expected, all they got were wide-eyed stares. No one moved. No one spoke. They just looked at them as if seeing him and Rayne for the first time.
Then everyone started talking at once.
“You owe me twenty dollars,” Martina said to Toni.
“I think she’s good for him, but I can’t believe she said yes,” someone else chimed in.
“It’s about time that boy settles down,” came another response.
“Hey! I’m standing right here!” Jerry shouted good-naturedly, not surprised by the wise cracks.
Stormy looked at him and Rayne, confusion on her sweet face. Jerry watched as that confusion morphed into understanding.
“Mommy, you’re getting married?” she asked in a rush, her excitement slowly building.
A Lesson on Love Page 18
