Epilogue | Two Years Later | Brooklyn
Epilogue
Two Years Later
Brooklyn
“Ireally think we need to change it up this year.” Carter had my feet in his lap, massaging them while we lounged on the sectional.
The twinkling lights from the Christmas tree in the corner of the media room at his condo created an array of colors bouncing off the walls.
I’d finished a long day at a low-income women’s clinic where I practiced prenatal care, taught safe sex classes, and helped bring babies into the world.
I never returned to my residency. I didn’t need to.
Although I liked the ER, I loved bringing life into the world, and after finally releasing the pain of being a jilted bride-to-be, I returned to my true passion.
I shook my head vehemently. “No. Charlie Brown every year. You want turkey for dinner, then we have Charlie Brown.”
“Turkey is the staple of Thanksgiving dinner,” He argued.
“I prefer chicken, and I don’t mind cooking it if you don’t want to. In fact, I can stay up late to thaw it out and prepare it for tomorrow.”
Carter loved turkey as much as I preferred chicken and scowled. “Fine, Charlie Brown it is.”
“The twins are on the way. They got stuck on campus taking exams.” Sekani walked into the room holding his little sister, Brianna.
He was almost finished with his first semester at UCLA, where his older siblings attended.
He and Ethyn lived together in their apartment once he graduated from high school, and Joi moved back to Houston.
Maybe because he was the first of Carter’s children that I met, or that he had ambitions of being a doctor himself, we seemed to gel the most.
“She’s big enough to walk. Between you and your daddy, she’s so spoiled,” I complained and wiggled my feet. “Don’t stop, Carter.”
“The twins spoil her, too.” Sekani retorted, which was the absolute truth. They all loved their baby sister. The age gap helped deter any jealousies, and Brianna could have anything she wanted around them. I had to be the bad cop, or she would grow up rotten.
As expected, as soon as she spotted Carter, my chocolate sugar baby fought to leave Sekani’s arms and claimed, “Da Da, I’m sleepy.”
He grinned and beckoned her to him. Sekani put her down. “Traitor.”
“Guess, my massage is over,” I whined and pushed to sit up.
Her chubby legs carried her to Carter, who scooped her up, and she happily rested on his chest until her eyes closed.
I shook my head at the two of them. From birth, they had bonded.
He’d been overjoyed to have another girl who was his flesh and blood, and we both decided one child would be enough.
Our demanding schedules at our respective clinics dictated it so.
As he predicted, Carter had put a baby in me before the ring. We were married in his backyard in a very small ceremony while I was six months pregnant. We didn’t have a bridal party. It was simple and elegant and uniquely us. Surrounded by our families, including Grey and Darren.
My mother lived in my house, had a new man, ten years her junior, and took care of Brianna while we worked. We had a babysitter when she or Brianna’s older siblings couldn’t keep her. And my mother finally stopped praying for my common sense and giving me advice about men.
And my and Carter’s relationship moved smoothly like butter after the blip at the start of us.
We took care of each other, and he remained my comfort.
We still had our squabbles because we were both stubborn.
He could be demanding over nothing, and I’d been accustomed to doing things on my own for years and wasn’t always the best communicator.
Yet, we vowed to never go to bed angry, even if it meant we had to be up all night.
It usually worked to my advantage because the poor man still couldn’t keep his eyes open past ten.
“Wait, that’s the old cartoon that had an AI video of that black kid going off on being separated from the white kids, and that Snoopy prepared the meal. It’s so stupid and accurate.” Sekani stood by the TV, bopping his head to Little Birdie. “That is a nice song, though.”
I smirked at Carter. “See, I told you.”
He rolled his eyes playfully.
I leaned over to him. “Two years ago, on my first night with you, I sat right here, hoping that one day we would be sitting here with our children. Now, you see why you are my dream.”
Carter’s lips curved into a soft smile. “And you are the dream I didn’t know I had.”
I rose from the sofa and held my hand out to Sekani. “It’s one of my favorite songs. You want to dance?”
Sekani chuckled and took my hand. We danced around the room while a beaming Carter watched us.
In retrospect, I wish I had thanked Bishop for standing me up at the altar that Christmas night he showed up at the hospital. If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t have taken the residency at L.A. Pacific.
And I wouldn’t have met the man who was truly meant for me.
I guess our love might just be fated after all.
Keep reading for an excerpt of Tempted, FANtasy Series, Book 4.
BLURB:
Troubled hip-hop country star Freedom Cade once broke her heart when they were teenagers.
He abandoned her on the night of their prom because of choices that landed him on the wrong side of the law.
Disappointed because she believed he’d changed his hustling means of survival, she vowed never to love him again, though she carried his child.
Even created a family with his former best friend, who was there for her when Freedom chose superstardom.
For years, Jamaica Bennett put the past behind her and focused on loving her husband and family, convinced she and a baby would have only held Freedom back from his destiny.
Until a determined Freedom returns home for their class reunion, demanding to be a father to the son he swears he knew nothing about, and tempting Jamaica with what they once meant to each other and what they could be.
As Jamaica struggles to resist his allure and the blushing memories of first love, dark secrets from the past begin to tumble into the light, and vows become meant to be broken.
Tempted Excerpt:
“Can I have this dance?” I asked, and she nodded with an exasperated expression. “Now, all y’all dance and stop staring at us so she can loosen up. It’s a party, right?”
People fell in line around us in the darkened room, though I knew eyes and cameras were zoned in on the hometown star dancing with his high school sweetheart.
Up close, I could see the pale white telltale spots on her cheeks.
She’d been crying. My gut twisted. I pulled her close enough so she could hear me, but still respectable because she did have a husband.
My arms went around her waist, and hers circled my neck.
“I had no choice. I thought you might have run again.”
“I was headed out the door before you started singing, and suddenly I couldn’t move. I haven’t heard you sing in years.” Jamaica looked at me long enough for me to see that I had affected her deeply.
“You were my motivation.” I clasped my hands tighter around her waist. “Don’t be mad with me for wanting to spend a little more time with you.
“I’m trying not to be. Everyone’s staring. It’s going to get back to Kody, and I’ll have to hear his mouth.”
I glanced around the room at the watchful faces, probably reading our lips. “Yeah, Kody is going to be pissed. Just not enough to turn down the contract to build my homestead and the studio downtown. He always did love money.”
“What did you say?” Her doe eyes narrowed.
“Kody agreed to the terms of a contract that my lawyer drew up.” I tilted my head, assessing her. “He didn’t tell you, did he?”
She shook her head in disbelief. “You must have used an alias.”
“No. I don’t have a reason to hide. He reached out to me, and not the other way around.
You would think that he wouldn’t want me to get close to you.
” I dropped my forehead to hers to partially hide my mouth.
“If you were my wife, no way I would leave you alone on a night that you've probably been planning for months. Good job, by the way.”
Jamaica scowled and retorted, “That’s because he knows he has nothing to worry about. I honor my vows.”
“And not the man?” I smiled and pulled her into my arms briefly before twirling us and placing space back in between us. “He should be very worried.”
Her forehead wrinkled before she warned, “Freedom...”
I smiled. “Jamaica.”
“Ooh...you know I can’t really say what I want.” She pressed her head against my chest and hissed, “I see you’re still ridiculously stubborn, and I’m not a pawn between whatever game you and Kody are playing now. Nothing is going to happen between us.”
Dipping my head beside hers, I countered, “We’ll see.”
Jamaica stepped back and said with a forced smile, “I’m so glad this song is almost over.”
Tugging her back to me, I whispered against her ear. “We’re far from over, baby. I want to meet Jamie.”
Her body stiffened, and she looked up at me, her eyes wide and nervous.
“People are staring. Smile. I’ll text you later so we can really catch up.
” I kissed her cheek, stepped back, and clapped with the crowd.
Someone handed me a mic. “Yeah. Yeah...yeah...I owe you a couple of songs.” I pointed to Jamaica.
“Give her a round of applause for being a good sport and making this night magical.”
Once again, she smiled weakly and waved before slipping back out of the hall. This time, I was confident that we would see each other again.
She had a piece of me for the last fifteen years, and it was time for me to be whole.