I hugged Mom. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Tell Omar I need to talk to him,” Lovie said.
“About what?” I asked.
“Men stuff,” he responded.
“Oh okay. Y’all got each other’s number. Keep me out of it.”
Thirty minutes later, I was parking in front of his apartment. I turned on the inside light so I could see how to reapply my lip gloss. Perfect.
I turned the light off and exited the car. I walked up the stairs. I noticed someone exiting Omar’s apartment. I couldn’t see his face for the baseball cap he wore. He walked past me without speaking. I stopped and watched him go down the stairs.
I knocked on Omar’s door. “I thought I told you I was expecting company,” Omar said as he opened the door.
“Who was that?” I asked.
“Nobody.”
“You tell me that you answer the door sounding like you’re mad and the person I just saw leaving your apartment is nobody. Come on now,” I said with pouted lips.
He pulled me inside of the apartment. He looked outside first and then closed the door. “Forget him. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too, but—” I never finished my sentence. Omar pulled me into a tight embrace and ravished my lips with his mouth. I forgot all about the stranger.
CHAPTER 34
Hope
I felt guilty that I was about to embark on something enjoyable. Charity was at Omar’s so she would certainly be out until the next day. I had asked Raymond to meet me at our house. I quickly changed into something sexy. Although I wasn’t really ready for another relationship, I did want Raymond to find me attractive.
I removed the ponytail holder from my hair and allowed my hair to flow down to my shoulders. I sprayed on some oil sheen to give it a little shine. It was hot outside so I replaced my jeans with shorts. I replaced the tennis shoes with sandals with a small heel. I rubbed baby oil on my legs to give them a shine.
The doorbell rang. I checked my appearance in the mirror. I forgot to put on some lip gloss. I emptied the contents of my purse on my bed. The doorbell rang again.
“Bingo,” I said as I located the tube I was searching for. I quickly put some on as I walked toward the front door. I placed the gloss in my pocket and opened the door.
“Hello, beautiful,” Raymond said as he held out his hand and gave me a bouquet of flowers.
I took the flowers as he leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. “Come on in.”
He followed me in. “This is nice.”
“Thanks. Have a seat. I’ll be right back. I need to put these in some water.”
A few minutes later, I joined him in the living room on the couch. Our conversation was filled with small talk and felt awkward at first. We soon got into a groove and the conversation flowed.
“Hope, you’ve changed a little.”
I frowned. “Is that a good or a bad thing?”
“It’s all good. You’ve always been this super-confident chick. But I’m beginning to see another side of you.”
“Like I really have a personality. That I’m not some spoiled rich girl who thinks the world owes her something.” I spoke very properly as I talked.
“Exactly. You sometimes came across like you were entitled to everything and that the rest of us were lucky to be in your presence.”
I laughed. “Are you serious? Well, thank God I changed.”
Little did he know the change was only recent. But at least my effort to change was working. If Raymond could see it, I hoped others would notice it too.
“When was the last time you talked to Maria?” Raymond asked as he looped his fingers with mine. He reached for my hand and kissed the back of it.
“It’s been awhile.”
“She told me you two weren’t really talking. Maybe you should call her. She could really use a friend.”
“You know what? Mom said the same thing. I might actually do that.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t convinced some poor rich man to marry you,” Raymond teased.
“It will take a special man to tame me. I’m like a wild cat. Hard to tame.”
“Don’t let this nice guy complex fool you. I have some skills that can tame the wildest.”
We were staring into each other’s eyes. I forgot all about my rule of no men. We were thinking the same thing. I closed my eyes and our lips met. An electric current swept through my body the moment our lips touched.
Raymond pulled back first. “I’m sorry.”
I bit my bottom lip. “I’m not.”
“I’m sure you’re used to guys coming on to you all of the time. I wanted to be different.”
I grabbed his hand. “Raymond, you are different. Can I let you in on a little secret?”
“What?”
“I’ve always had a little crush on you.”
“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” he asked.
“Because you always had a lot of other girls around you. One thing about me hasn’t changed is the fact that I do not like to share.”
“If you were my girl, you wouldn’t have had to share me.”
By now my back was on the couch and Raymond was lingering over me. I placed my arm around his neck. “What about now? What if I was your woman? Would I have to share you?”
He planted kisses on my lips. “No. If you were my woman, you would have me all to yourself.”
He leaned down to kiss me again. This time, I became the aggressor. I stuck my tongue down his throat. The passion that had been lying dormant for months reared back up.
The more he kissed me, the more I felt like my entire body was on fire. I eased out from under Raymond. I fanned myself. “As much as I want you right now, I can’t,” I said. “I promised myself I wouldn’t do this.”
“But... but we both want it,” Raymond said.
I inhaled and exhaled. “You’re right about that. I want you bad, but Raymond, although we went to high school together, we don’t know each other. I want to know the Raymond of ‘today,’ not the Raymond of ‘yesterday.’”
He sat straight. “You’re right. We are moving a little fast. I apologize. I got caught up and, ooh, Hope. You don’t know what you do to me. I haven’t been able to get you off my mind since the night I saw you at Copeland’s.”
I sat on the couch beside him. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you either. Which is weird for me because usually it’s out of sight, out of mind.”
“So where do we go from here?” Raymond asked.
I held his hand and led him to the front door. “You’re going to think this is weird, but I’ve never been courted. I want to be courted. Do you think you can do that?” I placed my arms around his neck.
“I can handle it,” Raymond assured me.
I gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Great. Goodnight, Raymond.”
I moved. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me back toward him. “Goodnight, Hope.” He gave me a long sensuous kiss leaving me off-balance.
CHAPTER 35
Lovie
The puffiness under Dad’s eyes made me concerned. I hadn’t seen him since the meeting Mitch had scheduled. I picked up the black phone. I wiped it off and then placed it on my ear.
“Son, thanks for coming. How are you?” Dad asked.
It was hard seeing him behind bars. In spite of our differences in the past, my father had always been the best man I knew. He took care of his family and tried to instill in us good moral values. He’d always been, as far as I knew, a law-abiding citizen.
“I’m doing okay. Just busy.”
“Nobody’s giving you any problems, are they?” he asked.
“Not really. I have everything under control,” I responded. Although sometimes I felt like I didn’t. When some of m
y relatives wanted to cross the line with me, I would fall back and let them know my father was the majority owner of RJ Jones Funeral Home and as his son, that meant what I said went. I tried not to go there with folks, but sometimes they would make me.
“I heard from Mitch that your mother signed the papers. It’s official. Lexi has control over all of my interests. If anyone gives you any trouble, tell her. She’ll set them straight.”
“Pops, I told you, I’ve got it.” We both knew Mom would have done that, even without a power of attorney.
“What’s been going on? I don’t mean the sugarcoated version either,” Dad said as he rubbed his head. “Keep in mind our conversation may be monitored.”
That meant avoiding saying anything that could incriminate him or me but to still get my point across. I gave him the four-one-one on everything. “Mom thinks Diana knew more than she let on.”
“Did the guy ever call you back?”
“No. I tried calling the number after we learned Diana had been killed and the number’s now disconnected. We’re sure all of this is tied up to Uncle Jason’s murder.”
“Sounds like it.”
“I’ve told Mom, Charity and Hope not to venture off trying to do something on their own. Everyone we think may know something has ended up dead.”
“Keep an eye on them, son. You know how stubborn they all can be; especially my Lexi. Once she gets an idea in her head, she’s going to run with it and won’t stop until she gets to the bottom of something.”
I agreed. “Yes, that’s Mom. She did promise she would make sure one of us was with her when she went on her fishing expeditions.”
“Changing the subject, what do you think about this cat Charity’s seeing?”
“Omar? As you know, I’ve never liked him. And that’s because I recognize how whorish a lot of police officers are. Having worked at Bottom’s Up, I’ve seen how scandalous some of them can be. I don’t trust cops. Never have and never will.”
“Well, he wants my permission to ask Charity to marry him.”
“That’s her business, but the verdict is still out on him as far as I’m concerned. Granted, he did help me out once.”
“With what?” Dad asked.
During our conversation, I’d left out the fact that my apartment had been burglarized. “My place got broken into. That’s another reason why I’m staying at the house.”
“How much damage did they do?” Dad asked.
“They didn’t take anything. They fumbled through my stuff. They were looking for something specifically and I have an idea of what it is.”
“Is it in a safe place?” he asked.
“Yes. Also I’ll be playing Robin Hood as soon as I leave here. Jason’s ex-clients are going to be some happy people. Mom’s going to be happy too because I found out Jason owed you more money than I’d originally figured.”
“I could strangle him,” Dad confessed.
“Too bad he’s already dead,” I said.
“Watch out for Charity. Watch that Omar for me.”
“Pops, don’t get me wrong, he’s real good to Charity. I haven’t seen him be disrespectful to her at all. Hope sort of feels like I do, but I think she’s feeling that way because Charity’s hardly ever around anymore.”
“Your sister does like being the center of attention.”
“Yes, she does.”
Dad said, “I’ll try to keep an open mind when it comes to Omar.”
“You do that and I’ll keep my eye on him for you out here. If he does one thing wrong, I’m going to tell Charity to dump him.”
“Lovie, don’t get into any fights. He’s a police officer and if you fight him, he can easily have you arrested. There’s no sense in both of us being in here.”
“I’m not going to fight him. He’ll wish he hadn’t messed with a Jones.”
Seemed like time went by fast. The guard said, “Jones, time’s up.”
“Son, I’ve got to go. Keep the faith. I’m not giving up yet.”
That was good to hear. His eyes held a sparkle that wasn’t there when he first sat down. Hopefully, my visit with him was encouraging. We said our goodbyes.
I noticed someone off in a corner staring at me as if he knew me. I stared back. I didn’t know the dude. He tilted his head in my direction and then smiled before walking away.
I called Mitch as soon as I got in the car. “I just came from visiting my father and saw something he needs to know. Can you deliver a message to him?”
“Sure,” Mitch responded.
“Tell him to watch his back.”
“I’ll be seeing him later this week,” Mitch said.
“I need for you to see him today. This dude I saw made me feel real uncomfortable.”
“I believe I can rearrange my schedule and make that happen,” Mitch said.
“Thanks,” I said. “Call me when you have.” I needed to relieve some stress and I knew who I was going to call to help me do so.
CHAPTER 36
Omar
After having the letter delivered to Royce Jones, I used my credentials to set up a private meeting with him the following day. He seemed surprised to see me. I extended my hand out to him when he approached the table. We shook hands.
“How are you doing?” I asked as he took a seat across from me.
“I’m doing okay. I got your note.”
“I meant what it said. I will do whatever it takes to make sure Charity is happy,” I said.
“I’m going to hold you to it.”
“You’re probably not going to believe this, but for me, it was love at first sight. I knew the moment I saw her that I wanted her to be mine. To be my wife,” I said.
“I felt the same way when I met her mother.”
I grinned. “So you know how I feel?”
“Yes, Omar, I do. But my question to you is how does my daughter feel about you? Do you think she’s ready for this type of commitment? She’s been engaged before. Did she tell you about that?” he asked, looking me directly in the eyes.
“She cares about me. I can tell how she talks to me and from the things that she does. She mentioned this other guy, but she’s never gone into detail. To be truthful, there’s no need for her to. He was part of her past. I’m here right now and want to solidify our future.”
“I can respect that,” he said. “As long as Charity is happy, I’m happy.”
“So does that mean you don’t have a problem with me asking her to marry me?” I asked.
“Not going to go that far. I still don’t see why you’re rushing it. But on the flip side, I’m glad you’re trying to make an honest woman out of her by doing the right thing.”
“If you’re concerned about me whoring around on her, that’s not going to happen. I’ve had my share of tail. I want more out of life. I want love and stability. Charity’s a beautiful woman and she can give me everything I need. There’s no other woman out there that can replace her in my heart.”
“You sound confident. I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt. I might be locked up for now, but hopefully this is a temporary situation. But even if it isn’t, if you hurt my daughter, you will have to deal with me.”
“And that I don’t plan on doing,” I tried to assure him.
A guard came in. “Are y’all through in here?”
“Wrapping things up now,” I responded.
“He thinks you’re here asking me questions about my case. Lovie told me how you’ve been helping out. I appreciate that.”
“I’ll continue to do what I can to help,” I said.
“I wouldn’t want you jeopardizing your job, though. Be careful, young man.”
“No, sir. I’m being real careful.”
The guard came back. “Jones, you’re the man today. You’ve got another visitor.”
“Who?” I asked.
“His attorney. Jones, stay right here. We’re allowing him in now.”
The door on my side unlocked. Royce’s attorney and I greeted each other.
I stood. “Mr. Jones, thanks for meeting with me.”
Royce looked at me. “See you around. Take care of Charity for me.”
“I will,” I said, right before leaving him alone with his attorney.
I slipped the guard a hundred-dollar bill before leaving.
My partner hit me up on the phone, chastising me for being missing in action. After I got Jake to calm down, I made a detour to the hotel to see my own dad.
He was lying across his bed in a drunken state. I hit his leg a few times to wake him.
He reached under his pillow.
“Dad, it’s me!” I shouted.
“I thought you were a burglar,” he slurred.
“Look at this mess. You’ve got clothes everywhere and you stink. Get up and get a bath.”
He slowly got up. He stumbled when he tried to stand “Come on, let me help you.”
I walked him to the bathroom. I turned the shower on and helped him into the tub. While he showered, I called room service and ordered some food. I started to clean up but that was what housekeeping was for. I made a mental note to call them later on my way out to clean the suite.
Dad walked out and plopped down on the couch. “Sorry you had to see me like that.”
“I’ve been calling you and calling you. You had me worried for a minute,” I said.
“I had to make an unexpected trip out of town.”
Before I could ask any further questions, there was a knock on the door. I paid for the food and rolled the table inside. “You need to eat.”
I watched him devour the food as if he hadn’t eaten in days. “I’m glad you’re showing so much concern,” he said, in between bites.
“If I didn’t care about you, Dad, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be helping you out like I have. I wouldn’t be risking—”
He held his hand out. “I get the point. We don’t have the ideal father-son relationship, but I do know you care for me. And I hope you know I care for you too.”
The Aftermath Page 12
