Her Sweetest Desires

Chapter 1

“Billie Maxwell, are you listening to me?”

I wasn’t, because she wasn’t saying anything I wanted to hear.

My pressure was already sky high with the guest list, and now my mother wanted to talk about the menu. This was Thanksgiving for goodness’ sake. The menu would be the same as it was every year.

However, instead of having everyone bring a dish, I was making everything myself.

“Yes, Mommy. I hear you, I—”

“I didn’t ask if you heard me, little girl. I asked if you were listening. Don’t make me come over there. You’re not too old for a spanking.” She huffed.

I smiled and licked the icing from my fingers.

“Mommy. In the thirty years I’ve been blessed to be on this earth, . . . when have I ever gotten a spanking?”

Margaret Robins was the definition of soft.

Out of my parents, she was the most unserious one of the two.

Anytime she raised her voice, laughter wasn’t too far behind.

Over the years, my older brothers and I learned quickly that what Margaret lacked in discipline, William Robins, Sr., made up for.

I was a daddy’s girl, so I didn’t get in as much trouble as Junior and Carter, but I was also aware of how much I could get away with.

Daddy played about a lot but never his woman’s respect.

“Never and I think it’s high time I show yo’ ass a thing or two.”

Unable to hold my laughter back any longer, I hollered.

“Woman, please. You would probably fall apart after the first hit came my way. You were not built for that life, ma’am.”

I couldn’t see her, but I knew she waved me off.

“Whatever,” she said then grunted. “Back to what I was saying though. This is your first time hosting Thanksgiving, and we have to make sure the menu is good, Puddin’.

We know you’re good on making the sweets, but the whole meal?

Why don’t you let me and Constance help?

Plus, you know how critical Agnes is, and I don’t want to be fighting in your house. ”

I chuckled because although Margaret wouldn’t lay hands on her children, the same couldn’t be said for her sister.

My aunt Agnes was a bitter woman who hated anyone who even remotely looked like they were doing better than her.

She didn’t have any children, didn’t work, and couldn’t keep a man.

Agnes’s long funds came from my grandfather’s trust and her four divorces.

Anytime Agnes and Margaret shared the same air, bickering was never too far away.

I didn’t want her in my space, but, although annoying, I felt bad that if she didn’t come spend the holiday with us, she’d be alone.

Caring wasn’t my responsibility, but I did care, so my aunt got the same invite everyone else did.

“Mommy, you need to be like me. Don’t pay her any mind. The only reason she continues to get under your skin is because you keep giving her the energy. Love her from a distance until the holidays and then keep it moving.”

“I love my sister,” Mommy snapped, and I sighed.

“I didn’t say you didn’t love her, but it’s no secret you two don’t like each other, Mrs. Robins, and that’s okay. Besides, I love her, too, but I also make it a point not to let her get under my skin.”

She hummed, and I went back to putting the finishing touches to my sweet potato pound cake.

I purposely avoided my mom’s comment about her and my mother-in-law helping me cook.

This was the first holiday without my maternal grandmother.

I planned to use her recipes for every dish, and I felt like any outside help would ruin my vision.

I didn’t know how to express that without becoming emotional, so I just told them I was good.

My heart would be missing from the dinner table, so it was important to me that pieces of her were still present.

“You know, I was thinking . . .” I grinned because this woman was so predictable. “Maybe me and Daddy should stay at the house too. That way if you need some help, I can be right there.”

“Mommy, please act like you know your husband. That man is not staying anywhere but his own bed. The only time Daddy will willingly sleep somewhere else is if we’re on vacation.”

She smacked her teeth. “You just watch. I have my ways to get what I want. I—”

I frowned, and my head jerked back. “Nope.”

My hand sliced through the air as if to physically cut off her words.

There I was thirty, married, and a mother of a two, but nothing would ever prepare me for hearing the ways my mother could convince my father to do what she wanted.

In my eyes, I would never be that grown for that kind of conversation.

Some words just shouldn’t string together when speaking to your children.

I was tempted to call my father so he could get his wife.

I wiped my hands and picked up my cell phone to take a picture of my cake.

“Okay, old lady, . . . on that note, I gots to go. I will call you when the boys wake up so you can speak to them. TJ lost a tooth last night, and he needs his Nana to bear witness like he won’t see you on Sunday.”

“Ooh! I’ll have to make sure the tooth fairy drops off some money here for him.”

“Margaret Robins, no. Truce gave him a dang ten-dollar bill last night. He does not need any more money.”

She scoffed. “Don’t tell me how to grandparent. Do I tell you how to raise your kids?”

I cackled. “Uhm, yeah, you do.”

Instead of replying, my mother hung up, and I laughed harder.

I set my cell phone on the counter, washed my hands, and set the pound cake on my cake pan.

She was beautiful and my favorite Thanksgiving treat for my family.

Just as I set the cake in the middle of the table, my baby boy’s cries came through the baby monitor.

I smiled, grabbed my cell phone, and made my way upstairs.

At the top of the stairs, I crept down the hall, holding my breath.

I still had a few house chores to do, so I prayed he’d just go back to sleep.

“Mommy—”

I bumped into the wall, dropped my cell phone on my foot, and hollered out. TJ jumped away from me with wide eyes, and Tristian wailed as loud as his little plump body could. I cursed, clenched my teeth trying to refocus the pain, and bent down to grab my phone.

“TJ, you scared me.” I giggled. “How long have you been up, and why didn’t you come looking for me? I made your favorite cake.”

He rushed up to me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

“I’m sorry, Mommy.” I smoothed my hand over his waves and smiled. “I don’t know when I woke up, but I went to my bathroom, then called my Daddy. I can have some cake now if you want.” TJ grinned, and I shook my head.

With his arms still around me, we went into Tristian’s room.

He was on his feet, still crying his little heart out. I walked over to him, and TJ went over to the changing table to get his brother’s diaper and wipes ready. My boo loved being an older brother and was my little helper.

There were times that I had to remind TJ that I was Tristian’s mama, because he took being an older brother seriously.

“What did Daddy say when you called?”

“He said he is gonna order us some Chinese food before his plane leaves. Daddy said I can have the sugar balls.”

I smiled at TJ’s name for the Chinese restaurant’s fried biscuits.

“Okay.” I looked at the safari clock on Tristan’s wall. “Daddy’s plane leaves in one hour, so he’s probably ordering the food in thirty minutes. That means we have to have our baths so we can be ready for dinner when it gets here.”

TJ bounced on his feet and cheesed, showing off his missing tooth.

“I’m gonna have two sugar balls, Mommy!”

I nodded, smiled, and got Tristian changed and into a onesie that wasn’t soaked in drool, then handed him to an impatient TJ.

Once TJ had his brother, he left the room, and I shook my head.

I smiled at the thought of my husband taking care of dinner without me having to tell him how tired I was.

Truce always seemed to be in tune with how I felt, or with the things I needed.

After straightening up Tristian’s room, I crossed the hall into TJ’s room.

“Alright, put him in the bouncer and pick out your pajamas.” I watched as TJ did what I said. “Do you want a bath or a shower?”

“Shower, please. I don’t think I need to take baths anymore, Mommy. I’m not a baby like Tristian.”

“Oh, excuse me, sir. Well, I’ll go start your shower then.”

TJ giggled and followed me to the bathroom.

Tristian was occupied by the superheroes on his brother’s walls, so I had a few moments to help TJ get situated.

Once he was in the shower, I grabbed Tristian and walked down the hall to my bedroom.

I was extremely tired, but my bedtime wasn’t for another four hours, so I’d just have to hang on.

My cell phone rang, so I settled Tristian in the middle of my bed and answered without looking at the caller I.D.

As soon as the call connected, I could hear an airport announcement blaring, so there was no mystery as to who was on the other end.

I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth and flopped backward onto my bed.

“Sorry about that, Sweets. What’s up, pretty?”

I sucked in my cheeks, fighting my blush.

“Just got your mini me in the shower, and now me and the slobber monster are laying across the bed.” He hummed, and I was quiet for a second.

“Thank you for ordering dinner. I’m ashamed to say that I hadn’t even gotten that far in my day.

We probably would have ended up ordering burgers and fries, messing with me. Chinese will last longer.”

Truce chuckled. “You don’t have to thank me, Sweets. You’ve been busy, and the next two weeks are only about to get busier. Ordering dinner was the least I could do. I’ll be home soon though. Can’t wait to see your pretty face, kiss those pretty lips, maybe even suck on that pretty—”

“Okay! You know your son got the ears of a bat. Even with the shower running, we can’t be too careful.”

I squeezed my thighs together as Truce laughed.