Betrayal of Trust

by London St Charles

  Sierra’s entire body trembled. She couldn’t imagine anyone putting their hands on her girls, not even their father.

  “Visualize someone beating Carrington, for being the person she is,” Priscilla pressed, now needing the support of her cane. “She’s so much like her daddy was as a kid. Inquisitive, adventurous, silly, smart. Can you imagine someone trying to squelch that?”

  Remorse overcame Sierra as she turned to face Priscilla with tears in her eyes, her chest constricting with pain at her snap to judgment.

  “Imagine that person was her father and you were powerless to stop it?” Priscilla’s chest heaved as pools of tears escaped their home and flowed down her cheeks. “That man deserved what he got,” she cried. “And I for one am glad the bastard is gone.”

  Chapter 9

  “Are you ready to talk to me?” Cedrick asked Sierra, grabbing the remote from the nightstand and placing the TV on mute. “I’ve been home for five days now. Thanksgiving’s next week. We can’t continue like this.”

  “I want things the way they used to be, but that isn’t an option,” Sierra replied, sliding under the covers.

  “I’ve played this scenario over in my head a million times, and the outcome has always been this. It’s what kept me silent when I needed to level with you.”

  Sierra gazed at him. “What do you mean?”

  “You looking at me differently,” he countered, scooting closer and wrapping an arm around her to pull her close. “I love you. I was scared of losing you. I’m still scared of losing you.”

  “But you were going to leave me with two kids to raise alone …”

  Cedrick glanced off into the distant corner of the bedroom; his eyes fixated on a wall portrait of the girls in pastel purple dresses, each girl holding a sunflower.

  “Why couldn’t you trust me with the truth?” Sierra asked, propping herself up on her elbow.

  “Because I was afraid of the police or FBI finding me or interrogating you,” Cedrick confessed. “You can’t tell them what you don’t know.” He ran his hand along the side of her face. “I was protecting you and the kids.”

  Sierra kissed the tip of his nose. “Cedrick, we are a team,” she stressed. “What affects you, affects me— affects our family. I feel bad for misjudging things when your mom told me about your past. Honestly, I couldn’t understand until your mother made me see things from both your sides. When she asked how I’d have felt if it was Carrington, I realized I couldn’t judge you because I wasn’t in your shoes. And for that I’m sorry.”

  Cedrick hugged her tight and kissed the top of her head. “Sweetheart, there’s nothing to apologize for. I should’ve told you. My only defense was that I was scared to death and I’m more frightened now than before.” He rolled onto his back taking her with him.

  “But why?”

  “What if they come for me and say you’ve been hiding a fugitive all these years and you get locked up? I’d rather kill myself before I let that happen. I don’t care what happens to me, but what about you, and our girls? I couldn’t risk the authorities or the press hounding my family for something I did.”

  Sierra climbed out of bed and walked around to his side. “C’mon,” she said, reaching for Cedrick’s hand.

  He pulled on a pair of gray sweatpants that laid at the foot of the bed, then grabbed her hand. Sierra walked him down the hall to Carrington’s room.

  “Your twin in there.” Sierra opened the door and pointed to their daughter. “Needs you. If it weren’t for Carrington, you wouldn’t be alive,” she stammered. “God didn’t give you another chance for you to second guess being here.”

  Cedrick rested his head along the doorframe, watching his first-born sleep peacefully. Carrington Dalton was proof that he got it right. She loved him the way Cedrick loved his father. The difference is that Cedrick returned her love and affection tenfold. His father never had.

  Sierra tugged his arm, pulling Cedrick from his thoughts as they walked across the hall to Lena’s room. “This one loves you more than she loves me.” Sierra snickered. “Da-Da-Da-Da-Da, is all I hear.”

  Cedrick laughed. “That’s my girl; that’s why.”

  “Whatever.” Sierra nudged him. She took both his hands securely in her own. Only when he made eye contact did she continue. “Remember that when you feel like there’s no way out. They need you, and so do I. We are a family. That will never change, Cedrick. Never.”

  He wrapped his arms around his wife, and she buried her head in his chest.

  “I love you.” Cedrick pulled Sierra into a tight embrace, stroking the back of her curly fro. “Thanks for reminding me what’s important.”

  “No matter what happens, we face it together,” she stated. “Never forget that.”

  “I won’t,” he assured her.

  “So, tell me all about Victoria.”

  “Vicki saved my life a million times over,” he admitted, locking his fingers in Sierra’s and walking to their bedroom. He closed the door behind them. “She was the only person other than my mom who knew my dad beat me.” Cedrick lowered onto the bed and turned his back toward his wife. “It’s harder to talk about than I thought.”

  “You don’t have to be ashamed,” she reassured Cedrick, laying her cheek against his back. “I’d never judge you or make you feel small, and I’ll always protect your secrets,” Sierra said, maneuvering to Cedrick’s side and stroking his face. “I love you.”

  He turned toward Sierra and kissed the back of her hand. “I love you more,” he replied, laying on his back and pulling her down with him. Sierra snuggled in Cedrick’s arms and laid her head on his chest. Wrapping his arm around her back, he held her close. “My dad … he enjoyed hurting me. I don’t know why and unfortunately, I’ll never know. I was a kid. How could my own father hate me so much?”

  “That was more about him than you and whatever issues he had within.”

  “My brain knows that it wasn’t my fault, but the little boy inside who was terrified of his father still has questions,” Cedrick said with a deep sigh. “This is where Vicki comes in. I had no friends until her family moved next door when I was seven. She brought me out of my shell and didn’t even know it.” A small chuckle escaped his mouth. “I used to watch her play on the front lawn from my living room window all the time.”

  “Stalker-ish,” Sierra teased, poking Cedrick in the side.

  “Whatever.” He laughed, pushing her finger away. “Every time Vicki glanced my way I would duck down, hoping she hadn’t seen me. I was afraid she could tell what my father did to me just by looking at me. Then one day, Vicki rang my doorbell and asked my mother if I could come out and play. I was so scared, but my mom encouraged me to make a new friend. I thought my dad would see me having fun and hit me because of it. I swear the sound of my laughter set him off. Anyway, that was the beginning of our friendship.”

  “Victoria’s been a part of your life for a long time,” Sierra commented, “How long before you told her about the abuse?”

  “Two years. Vicki hugged me, and her exact comment was, that’s why you look sad all the time, but everything’s going to be okay because I’m your friend now. I made her promise not to tell anyone, not even her parents. She promised she wouldn’t.”

  “Sounds like Victoria was loyal and trustworthy.

  “She was.” Cedrick paused for a moment. “I was envious of Vicki’s relationship with her dad. You could tell he truly loved her just by the way he talked to her. There was a tenderness to his masculine voice that always shown through his tough exterior. He’d take her bike riding and would sometimes play tea party with Vicki and her dolls when she had no one to play with. Her dad would always open the door for her whenever they got in the car. My dad never did that for my mom, and she was his wife.”

  “He sounds like an amazing man and father,” Sierra commented, leaning into Cedrick. “Just like you.”

  “Thanks, sweetheart. But you’re biased.”

  “That doesn’t ma
ke it any less true and the fact that you are, without having that example from your father, is even more amazing,” Sierra said, hugging Cedrick tightly. “You are everything to me. To this family. Don’t ever forget that.”

  * * *

  The following morning, Cedrick rose early and prepared breakfast for the family. He took the conversation he and Sierra had to heart and restructured his schedule, so he could be there for the ones he loved the most. Whatever the outcome, Cedrick would deal with the fall out when it came.

  “Ooooo, Mommy. You cooked bacon,” Carrington shouted, rounding the corner into the kitchen. “It smells soooo––– Daddy,” she screamed with delight and launched herself into his arms. “You don’t have to work today?”

  “I go back tomorrow.”

  Carrington’s face lit up brighter than the lights on a Christmas tree. “So, you’ll be here when I get home from school?”

  “That’s the plan.” Cedrick winked, handing Carrington a plate filled with bacon, eggs, raisin toast, and sliced kiwi.

  “I thought I was dreaming,” Sierra said with her nose stuck in the air. “But nope, that is bacon I smell.” She sauntered over in an open robe, wearing a bra and pajama pants, plucking a juicy brown strip from an aluminum pie pan lined with a napkin. “And my husband home for breakfast.”

  “Good morning.” Cedrick smiled as his lips met hers. “Juan’s opening up today. He’s been doing a pretty good job of running things in my absence,” he acknowledged, handing Sierra a plate filled with all the trimmings.

  “Thanks, babe,” she said sauntering to the table taking a seat beside Carrington. “Oooooo. What’s this? Sierra lowered onto the chair, then removed a folded card with her name on the front, and a single long stem rose from the placemat.

  Carrington grinned, then glanced at her daddy. He winked as he waited for Sierra to read the card.

  Several seconds passed before Sierra glanced upward in that way that made his nature rise. The expected result of desire brimming in his loins was instantaneous.

  Cedrick walked over to Carrington and placed his hands over her ears. “Don’t start something we don’t have time to finish,” he warned in a low, deep voice.

  She beamed with pleasure. “Thank you.” Sierra lifted the flower to her nose and inhaled.

  “You’re welcome.” Cedrick smiled, keeping his focus on Sierra’s mesmerizing eyes. “I’ll take care of the girls this morning. You relax and enjoy your breakfast.”

  * * *

  Cedrick dropped the girls off at school and daycare, then headed home, but not before placing a call to Chef Brasseur in hopes of catching him before the restaurant opened.

  “Hello. Is Chef Brasseur available?”

  “I’m sorry, Sir, but we’re closed. You can try him after eleven,” the polite woman on the other end of the phone informed Cedrick.

  “Tell Gabriel it’s Cedrick Dalton on the line. If he wishes for me to call back during regular business hours, I will. But could you please relay that message. I’ll hold. Thank you.”

  If Cedrick knew anything, he was confident Chef Brasseur was at the restaurant early, overseeing things. That’s how he did it at The Smokehouse.

  A few minutes passed, then Chef Brasseur bellowed into the phone. “Hey, Cedrick. What can I do you for?”

  “About twenty minutes of your time, if you can spare them,” Cedrick shot back.

  “Where and when?”

  Chef Brasseur agreed, and they met at the coffee shop around the corner from the restaurant. Cedrick presented the chef with an offer he hoped he couldn’t refuse.

  “It’s been rumored that your restaurant’s slated to close by the end of next year,” Cedrick mentioned with a gloomy sigh. “I’m sorry these new tax tariffs recently implemented have affected your business.”

  “Had I known it was going to be like this, I would’ve held off on the remodel. Now, I’m barely hanging on,” Chef Brasseur said; his French accent dull and dry. “I’ve been in business for over ten years. I didn’t struggle this much when I first started. The overhead’s killing me. I don’t know how I’m going to tell my employees.”

  “What do you think about partnering with me at The Smokehouse, offering French barbecue?” Cedrick asked, enthusiasm dripping from his tongue. “Our customers can have the best of both worlds. Your balsamic chicken and fig brochettes and marinated monkfish are grilled delicacies that I enjoy, along with half of Chicago according to the reviews on The Infatuation.” Cedrick smiled. “I’ll have room for you, your Sous Chef, and a few staff members. This way, you can still cook the food you love, pay off your debts, and keep most of your clientele.”

  “Sounds intriguing.” Chef Brasseur hummed, sipping his hot chocolate. “Let me discuss it with my partner, and I’ll get back to you.”

  * * *

  Cedrick drove home with a peace that had always eluded him. Helping a fellow entrepreneur filled him with pleasure. He could’ve been in Chef Brasseur’s situation, but that was only part of the reason for the joy in his heart.

  The past didn’t haunt him with the same intensity as before. He had Sierra to thank for that. She discharged his worst fear, at least one of them. She didn’t pack the kids and flee when his ugly truth fell in her lap, considering the way it was exposed, would’ve given the most dedicated person pause.

  Cedrick went downstairs into his home gym in the basement and did cardio combined with weights for an hour then hopped in the shower. He opened his mouth, allowing the water pellets to dance on the back of his throat until his mouth was full, then he’d shoot them out between his teeth like a fountain.

  Long showers were forbidden as a child. Five minutes max, just enough time to wash and rinse, and Cedrick could forget about shampooing his thick locs. Shaving them gave Cedrick great pleasure when they moved to Chicago.

  As an adult, his shower routine was pretty much the same. Cedrick didn’t have time to indulge, but today, he did. Thirty minutes in, he was like Fred Astaire singing in a monsoon and enjoying every minute until the doorbell rang.

  Patting himself dry, Cedrick wrapped a robe around his damp body and rushed to the front door. He opened it without checking the peephole.

  “Well …” Victoria blushed, grinning at him as if she’d won the lottery.

  Cedrick stared dumbfounded.

  “You going to let me in or what? I wouldn’t want all of that to catch a cold.” She gestured, waving her hand from his chest to midsection.

  He stepped aside so she could enter, tugging his robe as Mr. Alexander, the neighborhood dog sitter, walked by with his canine friends.

  “Good day, Cedrick,” the older man greeted with a nod and a suspicious gaze. “How’s the misses?”

  “She’s fine. I’ll tell Sierra you asked about her.”

  Cedrick closed the door and faced Victoria. “How’d you know where I live?”

  “Since you wouldn’t return any of my phone calls, I had to get creative.”

  “I guess a straight answer is too much to ask for?” Cedrick smirked, shaking his head. “Some things never change.”

  Victoria slid her coat off and laid it across the back of the charcoal leather sofa. “I asked my father-in-law for Sierra’s address.”

  “And he gave it to you. No questions asked.”

  “I said I had to get creative,” she replied, parking her behind on the sofa, angling her weight to one side.

  Cedrick excused himself and got dressed. When he returned, Victoria had poured herself a glass of orange juice and reclaimed her seat on the sofa.

  “Why doesn’t your wife know about me or our friendship?” Victoria asked, glancing upward at Cedrick. “Lennox knows all about you.”

  He rubbed his temple, perplexed that Victoria went to such lengths to find out where he lived to ask him why he didn’t talk about her to his wife. It didn’t make sense. Why was that so important?

  “Lennox knows you were my best friend growing up,” she clarified. “Sierra doesn’t know you
lived in Reno according to our short conversation. Why wouldn’t you tell her about me? I share all the important aspects of my life with my husband.”

  “She knows about you,” Cedrick said, sitting next to Victoria.

  “Yeah … now she does.”

  “Vicki. There were things about my past that I don’t ever want to speak on. Let alone share with anyone else–––”

  “That’s how you feel?” She shot up, slamming the glass on the coaster so hard that the stem broke. “I’m a “thing” from your past that you’d rather forget. That’s how you see me?” she snarled, snatching her coat.

  “Wait,” Cedrick hollered, reaching for her. “That’s not what I meant.”

  Victoria opened the front door, but Cedrick pushed it closed. “Why are you so angry?”

  She turned to face him, her eyes glazed over. Victoria gripped his t-shirt in her fist, pulling him down to her, planting a wet kiss on his lips. “When Uwezo Omari returns, let me know, ‘cause I don’t recognize this Cedrick person. Goodbye.”

  Chapter 10

  Cedrick stared at the front door as though he expected it to talk suddenly. What just happened? What made Victoria so angry in a matter of seconds? He backtracked the conversation and couldn’t think of anything that he said that would’ve warranted that hostility.

  What Cedrick did know for certain, was what a goodbye-I’m-never-going-to-see-you-again kiss felt like. He wrote the rulebook on that one. Though Victoria never coming around again was for the best, Cedrick felt a loss, and he wondered if this was how she felt when he left all those years ago.

  The faint sound of a ringing phone snapped Cedrick out of his trance. He jogged up the stairs, taking two at a time. Sierra’s name flashed across the front of the screen, but the ringing ended by the time he pressed the button to answer. Six missed calls from her guaranteed an interrogation. Before he could call Sierra back, she’d called for the seventh time.