by Tina Martin
“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”
“On another note, my father wants to come for a visit.”
“Oh yeah?” Carter said, trying to conceal his resistance against this idea. Why should he be anxious to meet the man who abandoned her?
“Yep. You think he and the family could stay with us. I mean, I’m assuming he’s bringing the family too.”
“Family?”
“Yes. He’s married and has two adult sons.”
Carter sat up in the bed. “You have brothers?”
“Yeah, well, half brothers.”
Her response made him think of Jacob’s first journal entry – about them not being brothers. He didn’t know whether to track down answers for his own satisfaction or just write the whole thing off.
“I’m going to be honest, Shayla. I’m not too thrilled at the prospect of meeting him.”
“Why?”
“Because he abandoned you. That’s why. But, with that being said, I’ll do it for you.”
“I appreciate that, Carter.”
“When we have kids, at least our babies would have one grandfather.”
“Yeah.” Shayla strummed the curls on his head with her fingertips.
“I still find it hard to believe that my parents are deceased. I mean, I don’t talk about it because I don’t want to burden you with my stress, but they’ll never get to meet out kids. That’s depressing to think about.”
“I’m sorry, Carter.”
“It’s okay, baby. I’m just expressing my thoughts out loud. I don’t usually.”
“Well, you can talk to me any time about your parents, your life, whatever. That’s why I’m here.”
After a few passing moments of running his fingers through her hair, he said, “The really sad thing is, when my mother was alive, I didn’t feel like I had a mother.”
“Why?”
“She was always away from us, doing functions and being a social butterfly.”
“So that’s where you get your social skills from.”
He grinned. “Guess you could say that.” Then he said, “When we have kids, I want to actually be there for them. I don’t want to be a part-time dad. I want to have an active role in their lives – the slumber parties, feeding them and taking them to school. I want them to know they are loved because I never want them to feel the way I felt growing up.”
“They’ll know,” Shayla told him. “Those lucky little rascals will have the best father in the world, just like I have the best husband in the world.”
“And I have the best wife a man could ever ask for,” Carter said, rolling on top of her. “As a matter of fact, why don’t we practice making a baby right now?”
“Carter,” she said in a mellow breath, feeling him own her yet again.
Carter couldn’t wait to feel the warmness of the deepness of her, to see how far he could go into her abyss, how much it would take to drive her insanely in love with him.
Chapter 20
The next morning Carter sat behind his desk, up-to-date on meetings, some internal work and emails. And with a smile on his face, his fingers interlocked and placed on his head, he could truly say that life was good.
He was on good terms with his woman again, and after making love to her multiple times yesterday, that’s all he could think about today. Even if today was a bad day for him, all he had to do was think about her and last night – the way they made love. He smiled to himself thinking about Shayla and her petite frame. With his ripped abs and bulky biceps, he looked so much bigger than her.
Deciding to pay her a visit during his lunch break, he locked his computer, walked out of his office and after watching Julie hang up the phone, he said, “Julie, I’ll be back in about two hours.”
“Okay, Sir.”
“If anything urgent comes up, call my cell.”
“All right, Sir. Enjoy your lunch.”
With a smile on his face, he said, “I will,” knowing what he had in mind for lunch.
Once in his car, he took his cell from his shirt pocket and called Shayla. After three rings, he heard her say, “Hi handsome.”
“Hey, beautiful. What are you doing?”
“I’m actually making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”
Carter switched lanes.
“Hello. You still there?” Shayla asked after a few seconds of silence.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“So how have your day been so far?”
“Good. How’s you day so far, Shayla?”
“Good. I slept in, took a long shower and threw on your robe, because I couldn’t find mine.”
Something about her wearing his robe made him want to get home faster.
“Did you have lunch yet?” she asked him.
“No. Not yet.”
“What are you in the mood for?”
“You.”
Shayla blushed, dropped the butter knife she was using to spread peanut butter on a slice of wheat bread, feeling something tickle her insides. “Carter…stop it before your coworkers hear you.”
“They’re not around,” he said with a sneaky grin on his face.
“Where’s Julie?”
“At her desk, I suppose.”
“Then stop it before she hears you.”
“She can’t hear me. I’m pulling up in the driveway as we speak.”
“What?”
He walked up to the front door, unlocked it and sauntered to the kitchen while loosening his necktie. He held his cell phone out in front of him, hanging it up so she could see him do it.
Shayla was frozen, surprised and nervous while watching the hard look on his face as he approached her.
Carter didn’t give her time to say a word. He swooped up on her, like an eagle going after its prey, kissing her.
“Your tongue tastes like peanut butter,” he told her.
She grinned while he carried her upstairs.
Carter stood up, picked up his clothes from the floor and said, “Got a meeting at two. Can’t miss it.”
“Aww…”
“No worries, darling. You know daddy’s coming home to ya as soon as I’m done. What do you have planned this afternoon?” he asked her.
“Um…oh, your aunt called and said it’s been a while since she’s seen me, so I’m going to go over there for a while.”
Carter pulled up his pants, tucked his shirt in and threaded the leather belt through the loops. “It’s the weirdest thing, but I saw her having lunch with Chip Fargus one day last week.”
“Who’s that?”
“His real name is Christopher Fargus…he’s the C.E.O. of the bank.”
“They must be old friends.”
“I guess so.” Carter said, fixing his clothes. “All right baby. I gotta run. Call me later.”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you too, hun.” He gave her a peck on the cheek and then was out the door.
Chapter 21
Before heading over to Jacqueline’s, Shayla took a quick shower, slid into a pair of blue, skinny jeans and a black turtle neck. She looked at her watch. The time was 2:18 p.m. so she went ahead and grabbed her purse from the bed, jogged downstairs and drove to Jacqueline’s place.
She rung the doorbell once and waited, but the house seemed extremely quiet. She pressed the doorbell again, and this time she heard the floor creaking from footsteps. Watching as the door slowly opened, she was taken aback when she saw Jacqueline’s face. Her eyes were a reddish color and puffy. Her nose was a shade of red and she had a Kleenex balled up in her right hand.
“Jackie, what’s wrong?”
She dabbed her nose and said, “Come on in, hun.”
When Shayla walked in, Jacqueline shut the door, then embraced her. “I’m so sorry, Shayla,” she said.
Confused, Shayla said, “Sorry for what?”
“It’s my fault you and Carter split and—”
Apparently, Jacqueline had no clue they were back together, so to str
aighten things out and put her mind at ease, Shayla said, “But, Jackie, we’re ba—”
“Shayla, please let me say this,” Jacqueline said, sitting on the couch, then patting the area next to her where she wanted Shayla to sit.
Shayla, still a bit apprehensive because she didn’t have the slightest clue as to what was going on, walked over and sat next to her.
“Shayla, I’ve done some things in the past that I’m not proud of.”
“We all have.”
“No,” Jacqueline said, shaking her head. “Not like this.” Tears spilled from her eyes. “Um…I don’t know where to begin.”
Shayla warmly placed her hand on top of Jacqueline’s hand. “It’s okay.”
Jacqueline sniffled. “You and Carter belong together, Shayla, and because of me, you’re not and—”
“Jackie...”
“A long time ago, I was foolish, hanging with the wrong crowd and ended up getting in trouble. I’m not going to elaborate on it, because I’ve been spending my entire life trying to forget it, but long story short, I ended up going to jail. At the time, I had a child, a baby.”
“A baby? I thought you said you didn’t have children.”
“I had a son. When I got in trouble, I begged my sister to keep him…told her I didn’t want him going into the foster care system. I wanted him to have a chance, you know. Lenora didn’t want to keep him at first, but I promised her that after six months, I’d be back to get him. So she finally agreed and I was so grateful to her for doing this for me. But when I was released, I came back for him and she didn’t want to let him go…said she wanted to keep him.” Jacqueline dabbed her eyes. “She said she’d bonded with him and if I took him away, she would say I was an unfit mother, exposing my jail record and my son would’ve ended up in foster care anyway. So I let her keep him and in the beginning, she would let me visit from time to time, then she got tired of it.” Jacqueline blew her nose, snatched another Kleenex and dabbed her eyes. “I say all that to say this to you…don’t be angry at Carter for confessing to you that Jacob was his brother because the truth of the matter is, they aren’t really brothers, Shayla. So go home and save your marriage and be happy. Carter loves you.”
Shayla frowned. Had Jacqueline known she was already back with Carter, no doubt she would’ve kept this a secret. But since she hadn’t known, Shayla took advantage of the situation. To get more details and try to make sense of what she was hearing, Shayla asked, “Jackie, why on earth would you keep that a secret from Carter? Why not just tell him that Jacob was your son. I’m sure he can handle it and it would unburden you both.”
Jacqueline’s tears just wouldn’t dry up. With trembling, unsteady hands, she took another Kleenex, looked at Shayla and said, “Jacob wasn’t my son, Shayla.”
And then it dawned on Shayla, that Jacqueline had been referring to Carter. Carter was her son? Carter was her son! “Are you telling me that Carter, my Carter is your son, Jackie?”
Jacqueline trembled.
“Jackie, are you saying that Carter is your son?”
Jacqueline nodded. “Yes. He’s my boy.”
“Oh my gosh…I can’t breathe,” Shayla said panicking, standing and pacing the floor in complete shock, holding her head as she walked. “This can’t be happening,” she said. “Carter is your son?”
“Yes,” Jacqueline sniffled.
“No, no, no…how could this happen? How could you do this to him, Jackie?” Shayla said in tears. “Carter thinks Lenora was his mother. He thinks his mother is dead and you’re his mother? This cannot be happening right now.”
“Shayla—”
“Why did you do this to him?” Shayla asked in a stern tone. “Why?”
“Because I didn’t want him to end up in a foster home.”
“No. I’m not buying that. You could’ve stood up to Lenora and got him back if you wanted. Why didn’t you?”
Still sitting on the couch, Jacqueline covered her face with her hands. “I knew Lenora could give him a better life. I was broke and my boyfriend was broke. We couldn’t take care of Carter.”
Shayla shook her head. “That’s wrong.”
“I know it was wrong, and I regret that now. I do. But Carter turned out well.”
“He did?” Shayla questioned. “You know how much pain he carries around thinking his Mother is dead…thinking he’s partially responsible for her death and here you are sitting here alive and well! How dare you do this to him! How dare you, Jackie!”
“I’m sorry,” Jacqueline cried. “I’m sorry.” She wiped her eyes yet again. “The only reason I’m telling you this is so you can get back together with him.”
“We’re already back together, Jackie.” Jacqueline hung her head even lower. If she had only known…
“So had Carter and I never broke up, you would’ve taken this to your grave, huh?”
“I don’t know, Shayla.”
Shayla grew even more incensed. “What about his father? Is he still alive?”
Jacqueline wiped her eyes again, stood up and walked off into the kitchen.
Shayla followed her, and standing a few feet away, she asked, “Jackie, is Carter’s father still alive?”
“Yes.”
Shayla caught her balance by holding on to a kitchen chair, having felt lightheaded at her response.
“He is?”
“Yes. He lives in Ballantyne.”
“Are you still in contact with him?”
“Yes. We had lunch one day last week.”
Shayla thought for a moment and remembered that Carter said he saw her having lunch last week with the C.E.O. of the bank. It couldn’t be…
“Chip Fargus is Carter’s father?”
A look of shock overtook Jacqueline’s face when Shayla uttered his name. “How’d you know that?”
“Because Carter told me he saw you having lunch with the C.E.O. of the bank last week, Jackie! Oh my God!” Shayla said, touching her stomach and feeling sick. “This is so wrong. This is so wrong on many levels.”
“I know it is, Shayla, but it’s for his own good.”
“How? How are all these secrets supposed to help my husband, Jackie?”
“The less he knows, the better off he’ll be.”
“He thinks both of his parents are dead, and you actually think I’m going to keep this a secret from him?”
“Shayla, some things in life need to be kept quiet.”
“Well, not this thing. This is my husband we’re talking about here…your son! You cannot do this to him.”
“I can, and I will. He’s already grieved his mother.”
“But Lenora wasn’t his mother!”
“As far as he’s concerned she was.” Shayla shook her head.
“Shayla, please let this be. Please.” Shayla stood there quietly, recalling her conversation with Carter about their future kids not having grandparents. He was emotional about it, she could gather, but tried to keep his cool demeanor. And then she thought about how far she and Carter had come in their relationship, their promise of open communication and no secrets. How could she keep this from the man she loved? The man who’s always questioned his childhood, his relationship with his brother and Lenora.
Turning her attention to Jacqueline, she said, “I’m sorry, but I cannot keep this from him. I can’t.”
“Shayla, please.”
“I can’t. I’m sorry, Jackie.”
“Then let me be the one to tell him,” Jacqueline countered.
“When? When are you going to tell him?”
“I don’t know.”
“Okay, well I’m giving you one week.”
“Shayla—”
“It’s bad enough I have to go home and pretend I’m okay and lie to my husband when he asks me if something is wrong. As it is, I can’t hide things from Carter so the way I see it, a week is a generous amount of time for you to tell him and if you don’t, I will.”
“Shayla,” Jacqueline cried. “You just don�
��t understand.”
“No, I do understand. I understand you and your sister had a screwed-up relationship that filtered down to Jacob and Carter. That’s why their relationship was like it was. They were just like you and Lenora, only Lenora molded Carter to be like her, to be a good speaker and be social and she couldn’t stand her own son because he had your personality. That’s why she treated Jacob so badly…because he reminded her of you.” Shayla took a breath. “One week!” she said, then stormed out of the kitchen, took her purse from the coffee table in the living room and shot out the door like a swift breeze. She sat in the car and cried, thinking up ways to explain her puffy eyes to Carter.
Chapter 22
Shayla was expecting her father at any moment now. He’d flown in from Norfolk alone and had just gotten a rental car ten minutes ago. Originally, he’d planned on bringing the boys and his wife, but they ended up out of town, visiting some of Gail’s family in Maryland, so he came solo. And he hadn’t flown in on Saturday as he originally told Shayla he would. Today was Sunday, and he’d be leaving very early on Monday, something that pissed Carter off more than it did her. The man was missing her whole life and couldn’t spend a full weekend? With his only daughter?
Rushing to get dinner ready, Shayla pulled a plain yellow cake from the oven, then sat it on top of the stove to cool. Cake would be a good dessert after the garlic sautéed shrimp, barbecue chicken wings, broccoli and brown rice for dinner.
“Smells good in here, baby,” Carter said, embracing her, kissing her neck.
“I’m almost done with everything.”
“Good. I’m ready to dive in.” Carter let her go, then said, “I called Jackie and asked her to come.”
“You did?” she asked, quickly removing the frown from her forehead before he saw it.
“Yeah. Is that cool?”
“Ah…yeah,” Shayla said reluctantly.
She hadn’t spoken to Jacqueline in a week and she wondered if she’d told Carter that she was his mother. “So you talked to her?”
