Be My Valentine: The McClendon Holiday Series, Book 3

by Sean D. Young

“We’re trying to get a room ready for her and they’ll be taking her upstairs shortly.”

  “Thank you so much,” Patrice said, turning on her heel toward Jacques.

  He got up and went to her. “What did she say?”

  “They’re going to have to keep her.” Patrice pulled out her phone. “I have to call Faith so that she’ll know what’s going on.”

  “Are they going to let you see her again before we leave?”

  “I’m going to go back there after I talk to my sister. I want to make sure that Nikki knows that we are going to take care of her little girl.”

  Patrice called Faith and gave her the facts of Nikki’s condition. Faith agreed to keep Katrina until the morning. Patrice would pick the child up and they would figure out what to do from there. She was so relieved, but she really didn’t expect anything different from her big sister. Faith was a gentle and kind-hearted woman who loved children.

  Placing her phone in her purse, she got Jacques’s attention and pointed in the direction of the treatment area. She was going to say good night to Nikki. She’d have to make sure she asked the nurse what room they were taking her to, so that she’d know.

  Jacques realized right away that the evening had started out like a nightmare. The series of awful events connected together, but thankfully it didn’t end in disaster. He was grateful that they’d found a place where Nikki could get treatment and her daughter would be safe.

  Now, he just hoped the police could find that low down and dirty boyfriend of hers. Jacques hated hearing about men beating on women. He never quite understood the point. There were plenty of men out in the streets who would love to fight, so why pick on a woman. He later discovered that it was more about power as well as a whole lot of other elements that made men abusive toward women.

  Driving back to Patrice’s place, he knew she was exhausted from the chaos of the evening. He was proud of her for stepping in to help Nikki since she didn’t have anyone else. Jacques realized he had to be there for Patrice as well, so his first concern was her well-being and emotional state of mind. He wanted her to know that he loved her.

  Once that thought came to him, he was sure that it was right. He loved Patrice McClendon. There were many qualities that he loved about Patrice that went along with her strength, independence, beauty, and her uncanny ability to speak her mind. He noticed that when he was with her, he didn’t think about his problems. Her belief in him as a perfumer to help take her business to the next level was humbling. He’d never had anyone depend on him and show their sincere appreciation before. Hearing the words coming from Patrice made him feel good about the work he’d done. He admired her tenacity.

  He pulled into the parking spot and turned to her. Nudging her shoulder, he said, “Baby, we’re back.”

  He could tell that she was groggy and exhausted. “Come on, I’ll go inside with you.”

  They got out of the car and headed to the door. Once inside, he let her lean on him as they went up the stairs to the second floor. He walked beside her down the hall to her bedroom, and by this time, she was fully awake.

  “Jacques, please don’t leave me,” she begged.

  Jacques didn’t mind staying with Patrice and understood her being hesitant about being alone after what happened. Many times people don’t get involved in domestic disputes because they are threatened by the abuser.

  Sitting on the bed beside her, he wrapped his right arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” He would be there just in case someone came looking for Nikki. “Let’s get you out of those clothes and into bed.”

  Patrice got up and removed her coat. “Do you think Katrina is okay?”

  “I’m sure Faith is taking good care of her. Stop worrying, baby, and get some rest.”

  While Patrice went into the bathroom, he took their coats and put them away. Then he removed his shoes, slacks and shirt. He’d wear his boxers and white V-neck T-shirt to bed.

  A short time later, Patrice emerged, rubbing her arms with a scented lotion, igniting the room with a warm vanilla fragrance. She was wringing her hands together as she walked to the bed.

  Jacques got in bed ready to receive Patrice as she slipped under the covers and over to him. Resting in his arms, he grazed her arms gently in a circular motion, hoping to soothe her. He shifted his body to face her, pulling her closer. “I love you, Patrice,” he said in a whisper.

  Her eyes fluttered closed and she gave him a hint of a smile. Jacques didn’t expect her to respond with the same words, he just needed to say it to her, to say it out loud. She didn’t speak a word, but he did see a lonely tear race down her cheek. He hoped it was her reaction to his declaration. Kissing her lips, he relaxed and waited for sleep to capture him.

  * * * * *

  Most Saturdays, Patrice liked to sleep in if only thirty minutes, but this morning she was up extra early. The first thing she did was call Faith to check on Katrina. She promised her sister that she would be there to pick up the toddler in time for Faith to get to her shop. The next call she made was to her mother.

  Myra answered immediately. “Treecie, Faith called me last night and told me about what happened. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, but poor Nikki isn’t. That’s the reason I’m calling.” Patrice knew that her mother had a lot of connections as she worked with other ladies from their church at the battered women’s shelter and other places they volunteered.

  “I hate to say it, but I knew it was going to happen again,” Myra said. “How long do you think she’ll have to stay in the hospital?”

  “I don’t know. She has a couple of broken ribs and some other injuries.”

  “What are you going to do with her little girl?”

  “I’ve got to figure that out. I hadn’t gotten that far yet.”

  “This baby didn’t have anyone she could call, Treecie?”

  “She did, Momma, me. She came over to my place, bloody and beaten, barely holding on to her baby.”

  “Lawd, have mercy. That poor child. Well,” Myra sighed. “I can babysit while you’re at work during the day. It would be nice to have some company now that Micah and Mariah stay with their daddy after school is out.”

  Patrice didn’t understand what her mother was talking about since she was never at home, going here and there, this place or that, helping this one or that one.

  “When Nikki’s released from the hospital I’m going to let her stay with me a few days. The baby goes to daycare, so I’ll drop her off and come back to get her in the evenings. Nikki can recuperate at my house for the time being,” Patrice said.

  “I’m sure she’ll be grateful, but what is that going to do for you? You’re right in the middle of completing this project. You barely have time for yourself now. That’s a big responsibility and you’ll probably be the one taking care of the little girl.”

  “I know, but I have to help them,” Patrice said. There was an obligation pressing on her to make sure that Nikki and her child were safe. Patrice couldn’t get away from it because that would leave them out in the cold.

  “I hate to ask, Momma, but do you think any of your contacts could find her father? I’ve got to try to get Nikki out of the city of Chicago and to a safe place.”

  “Do you have any information on where he was last seen?”

  “I only know what she told me. He was in Milwaukee last, but that was years ago. She was in elementary school. She has no clue where he is now,” Patrice said, trusting that her mother could find some answers.

  “If you can get some basic information from her for me, then I will see what I can do.”

  Patrice was grateful to hear that her mother would help, but she didn’t expect anything less. “Momma, I promised Faith that I would be by the house to pick up little Katrina before she left for work. So I’ll come by there afterwards so
I can introduce you.”

  “That sounds good. I can’t wait to meet the little sweetheart,” Myra said. “Wait, before you hang up, what’s her father’s name?”

  “Leroy Howard.”

  “I’ll get right on your request and let’s pray that we find her father.”

  Patrice disconnected the call and got up from the bed, headed to her bathroom when she heard a loud boom. She jumped up from the bed and went to find her baseball bat. She hadn’t had to ever use it since she’d been living in her apartment, but she kept it handy. Before she could grab it, Jacques walked into the room.

  “So you’re finally awake,” he said, carrying a piping hot cup of tea.

  “You scared me, Jacques.”

  He handed it to her. “I’m so sorry, baby. I thought you knew that I was in the kitchen.”

  “I thought you snuck out of here.”

  “No, I got up and made you some tea because I figured you were going to get up moving.” Jacques walked to the door. “I am going to leave now, though. I haven’t been back to my sister’s house.”

  “Thank you, Jacques, for everything.”

  There was a lesson in all of this for Patrice and she just recognized it. Being supportive and bending a little when you can to help someone else out was a gift that anybody could give. And she was happy to be the one to do it for Nikki.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jacques arrived at his sister’s apartment just in time, so that he could get showered and dressed for work, he thought. But when he walked in and saw a tall fair-skinned man with curly brown hair walking around the apartment with a terry cloth robe on, he changed his mind. He should have stayed away longer and the couple could have had the place to themselves. She must have made up with him.

  “Cee Cee,” he called out to his sister as he walked toward his room. The last thing he wanted was for her to come out of the room or wherever she was with no clothes on. “Cee Cee,” he called again.

  “Jacques,” Cecilia responded, walking from the kitchen. She too was in a white robe.

  She went to him and put her arms around his waist. “How is that girl you told me about last night doing?”

  Jacques had called Cecilia to let her know that he wasn’t coming back. Unconsciously after they’d hung up, he knew he’d called her to be sure she was safe. “She was pretty beat up, but she’ll make it.” Jacques bent closer to Cecilia’s ear. “Why didn’t you text me to let me know you had company?” he whispered.

  “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking,” she smiled. “If you know what I mean.”

  “Yes, Cee Cee, I know what you mean,” Jacques said, rolling his eyes, turning around. He didn’t want her to tell him any more about what she did last night. The twin robes gave it all away for him.

  “I’m going to shower and change so I can leave and you two can have the place all to yourselves.”

  Cecilia followed him to his room. “I do have some good news for you though.”

  Jacques’s sudden stop caused his sister to walk into the back of him. “You found someone to buy my condo?” Jacques guessed. He knew she had been working hard on getting that done for him.

  “Yep, and I found you a really nice house out here,” Cecilia said with her hands behind her back.

  “Where is the house?”

  “Barrington Hills.”

  “Did you set up a time for me to go and see the house?” Jacques asked. He wanted to move out right away because he really wanted her to have her privacy. He would hate to walk in on her in the act. Now that he really didn’t want to see. Coming in and out all the time was not privacy.

  “Yes, I set it up for this afternoon. Were you planning to go into the boutique to work on the fragrance today?”

  “I had planned on it, but this is important.” Having his own place was right at the top of his priorities at this point in his life.

  “Well, I want you to meet my friend Warren.”

  Jacques stepped out of his room and looked down the hall at the back of the man sitting at the kitchen table his sister was referring to. “So you made up with your boyfriend? I’m glad, Cee Cee.”

  When she didn’t answer him, he asked, “Who said they were sorry first, you or him?”

  “That’s not Ryan. Warren is my new friend.”

  “What? How long have you known this dude?”

  The only thing you could hear was the heat when it kicked on otherwise there was stone cold silence.

  Cecilia grabbed Jacques by the hand.

  Jacques didn’t appreciate her not answering his question before dragging him from his bedroom down the hall to the kitchen. He would have liked for the man he was about to meet to have some clothes on first before he got into a conversation with him. His attire wouldn’t allow Jacques to be able to concentrate.

  Surrendering to her request, Jacques took a seat at the table and it hit him that Nikki was only four years younger than Cecilia. It was a good thing that she wanted him to meet the man that she was going to be spending time with. If his sister ever ended up like Nikki, Jacques was sure he’d get arrested. He wouldn’t stop until he found the guy and the Lord would have to have mercy on his soul.

  Jacques didn’t want to sound like the detective who interviewed him, but there were things he needed to know in order to feel comfortable with his sister being with the guy. First of all, she really didn’t know him that well enough for her to have him in her home so quickly.

  After talking with him, he’d concluded that as far as he could tell Warren wasn’t a bad fellow. He’d just landed a job at a small law practice in the loop and was very well mannered. Jacques knew he couldn’t decide for Cecilia anyway, but since he was going to be around, he would certainly be keeping an eye on Warren.

  * * * * *

  Walking into Faith’s apartment, Patrice saw that Katrina had adapted to her environment. She looked happy as she played in front of the television. Luckily, Faith had purchased some dolls for their niece Mariah, so Katrina was sitting on the floor playing with them.

  Patrice hugged Faith tightly. “Thank you so much for looking after her.”

  Faith looked over at the little girl. “She is really a sweetheart, Treecie. Didn’t give me a moment’s trouble. I took off the clothes she had on and threw them in the washer and dryer so they would be fresh today. I gave her a bath and we sang up a storm.”

  All of her sisters would have been kind to Nikki’s daughter, but Faith had always been a nurturer. Patrice couldn’t wait until her sister had babies of her own. “She sings?”

  “Yes, you can’t understand all the words, but she busted out singing Kirk Franklin’s ‘Smile’.”

  Patrice giggled as she followed her sister into the room where Katrina was talking to the doll she was playing with.

  Faith picked up Katrina. “Come on, baby girl, and go to Auntie Patrice.”

  Patrice took the little girl in her arms. “Are you ready to go?”

  Faith came back with her coat and helped her put it on while Patrice was still holding her. “You’re taking her to Momma’s house?”

  “Yes. She agreed to keep her while I go to work today since it’s Saturday.”

  “Okay, let me know if you need me again. I don’t mind at all,” Faith said, picking up the little girl’s hand, kissing it. “Isn’t that right, sweetie? You have a good time with Auntie Faith.”

  Katrina giggled and clapped her hands. Faith mimicked her, clapping her hands. “Yay,” she said with Katrina repeating it.

  “You’d better get ready to get out of here Faith and stop playing around with this baby,” Patrice said.

  “I know, but she’s just so cute,” Faith said, kissing Katrina’s cheeks.

  “Say bye to Auntie Faith,” Patrice said as they walked to the door. Katrina opened and closed her hands as they stood in the threshold of the do
or. Patrice could see Faith was taking it all in and couldn’t keep her hands off the little girl.

  Patrice drove over to her parents’ house and dropped the toddler off to her mother and promised to come back as soon as the store closed. She was so grateful for the help she was receiving from her family. She only wished Nikki could say the same.

  * * * * *

  Patrice walked into the spa area of the shop and saw the crew setting up for her presentation. She noticed the shiny heart-shaped decorations suspended from the ceilings and adorning the walls. She was excited about today because this would be the first time that someone other than she and Jacques would have a chance to try the fragrance. She wanted them to feel the same as they did about it. The staff of twelve people started filing into the reception area of the spa. They filled in all the empty seats and started to mingle with each other. Patrice stood at the front and spoke loudly to get their attention.

  “As soon as everyone is seated, we’ll get started. I don’t think this will take more than an hour and we’ll open up the shop right after.”

  Once everyone was seated, she had their undivided attention. “Great and wonderful things are coming our way,” she said with enthusiasm. When the words came out of her mouth, she watched everyone’s expressions and they seemed excited. “First, let me bring you up to date on the new fragrance that folks have been whispering about. It is true that we are doing a fragrance for actress/singer Angela Simpson.”

  Everyone applauded, whispering to each other, so much so that Patrice had to settle them down so that she could continue.

  “The launch date is February fourteenth,” she said. Once she saw the expressions of disbelief on their faces, she had to assure them that the date was correct.

  “That’s right, our launch date for our new fragrance will be Valentine’s Day. That’s a big day for everyone. As you can tell we’ve already started with our Valentine’s decorations,” she said, pointing to the newly decorated shop.

  “They are going to get fancier as we get closer to our launch date. We expect a very lucrative season. We appreciate the hard work and support that you continue to give to the McClendon’s in making Good Scents Aromatherapy and Day Spa a success. So at the conclusion of the launch as a thank you for all your hard work we are going to have a Valentine’s Day party. So be sure to bring your sweetie.”