The ties that bind 3, p.30
The Ties That Bind 3, page 30
part #3 of The Ties That Bind Series
“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” he teased.
Flip coughed loudly and Marcus glared at him while Claudia blushed and looked out the window, pressing her still-tingling lips together in an attempt to trap his flavor. He tasted even better than she remembered, she thought weakly.
Lord give her strength.
“No, it certainly wasn’t.”
Marcus pointed out sights, watching and enjoying her reactions for the duration of their short flight of less than an hour. When they’d safely landed, the men laughed at Claudia’s sad face as she unwillingly exited the plane.
“Don’t worry. I’m your ride back too, remember?”
He waited with her while Marcus went to make sure that Neville’s driver had arrived. Claudia hugged Flip and he turned beet-red with embarrassment. “Thank you for your patience. That was crazy fun!”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Marcus threatened to kick my ass if I didn’t check my baby daily and things didn’t go smoothly. You’re special to him, Claudia. I hope he’s special to you too. Glover is one of the good ones. There ain’t a lot of them around.”
“Trust me; I’m aware of that. He mentioned that you did this because of a favor you owed him. What was it?”
“One that I’ll never be able to repay,” Flip replied instantly. For a moment, he looked on the verge of tears. “That man is a fucking angel! He carried my kid brother through a fucking jungle in Colombia after he was wounded. Joe wasn’t expected to live, but he wouldn’t leave him behind.”
Marcus rejoined them. “You ready, woman?”
“I am,” Claudia replied, swallowing the lump of emotion gathering in her throat, and looked at him with something akin to wonder.
Marcus held his hand out to her; she took it with no hesitation.
Dinner was…interesting, to say the least.
Claudia sat across from Marcus and valiantly tried to ignore the way his hot eyes were stroking her. Oh hell, who was she kidding? He’d bypassed that and was rounding the bases, undressing her, and on the way to fucking her and—
“More wine, Claudia?” Neville offered.
“Please!” Gratefully, she held out her glass and he obliged under Ransom’s vigilant stare.
Billy nudged her dad’s knee sharply under the dining room table. Marcus arched an eyebrow, and she mouthed, “Knock it off!”. Aloud, she asked, “How’s the center’s renovation going?”
“It’s not bad. I hired a demolition crew, and they start in two weeks. I’m going to run some ads on the radio and have a couple of interviews lined up to encourage the community to volunteer with the process.”
“I’d love to help out where I can, Marcus,” Porsha volunteered. “I think what you’re doing is admirable. This is the center you learned to play basketball, correct?”
“This center was the heart of the community. Coming up, it offered whatever we needed—food bank, back-to-school immunization shots, plenty of activities to keep the youth out of trouble, etc. The city’s leaders would come and listen to our issues and find a way to resolve them. That’s what I’m trying to resurrect.”
“I want to help too,” Billy chimed in along with Ransom.
“We can come down on weekends and work around her schedule. I can take whatever pictures you need, especially for the grand opening.”
“I can talk to my Tia Dolores and provide some greenery for your entrance and the front desk. She loves a great cause. If you’re interested, maybe I can assist with the landscaping? And do some plant workshops? Whatever you need, I’m there,” Claudia sincerely offered.
She was excited about the prospect of being able to help Rage out in any way possible. He was an amazing person and friend who deserved everything good. On the other side of the table, Marcus was thinking he didn’t trust himself to take her up on that offer. It was sweet of her, but he couldn’t afford to have Claudia in close proximity while conducting his business. Shit just wouldn’t get done with her around.
“Thank you. I appreciate the offers and will definitely be taking you up on them.”
He’d addressed the table; however, Marcus was focused solely on Claudia.
Porsha turned to Neville with raised eyebrows. He shrugged and inclined his head. She understood her husband well enough to know that meant he’d follow her lead. After debacles with both Melody and Billy, in which Neville thought he knew best, this was an area he now left to Porsha’s expertise. She liked Claudia and had suspected there was something brewing between her and Marcus when he introduced them. His hand at her back kept her pinned to him. The way he hovered protectively along with the pride in his voice were also indicators of where their son-in-law’s love interests resided. Porsha refused to acknowledge him as an ex. Marcus was part of their family whether he liked it or not.
“Marcus, if there’s anything you need, do not hesitate to ask,” Neville humbly stated. “Every community needs a heartbeat that doubles as a haven. We’ll do everything in our power to ensure that your neighborhood has one once again.”
He was choosing to overlook the fact that it was the same neighborhood Melody had escaped to, away from them, years ago. The one Neville had bashed in an effort to put Marcus in his place, socially and economically. Billy had brought Marcus into their lives, and Neville had come to deeply respect him. He felt awful about trying to rip a teenager apart and demean where he came from. Amends needed to be made, and the center was the perfect place to start.
“Thank you, Neville. That means a lot to me,” Marcus readily answered.
“Go, Granddad,” Billy cheered, and Neville flushed. “Guess we’re making this a family affair!”
Embarrassed by the praise, he anxiously changed the subject. “I’ve been meaning to ask how Angela is doing. Isn’t she due—”
“For a visit? I know, she keeps promising. Unfortunately, family obligations continue to get in the way. She did ask that I tell you hello, though,” Billy smiled, feigning ignorance at cutting him off. “Maybe another time. Grandmother, this pork Milanese is delicious. Is there any more left? The salad pairs well with it. I normally don’t care for arugula. Too peppery in my opinion, but the lemon vinaigrette really brightens it up.”
Neville squinted at her suspiciously, convinced something was afoot. “Yes, perhaps. However, I was referring to her pre—”
“Pressuring you about seeing your grapes.” Billy finished enthusiastically, detouring him again. “I did try to talk to her about that.”
Her grandfather was nonplussed. “What—”
Porsha took pity on them and intervened. She lifted the platter closest to her and passed it to Ransom who accepted it. “Would you mind, dear? We both worked up an appetite keeping up with Alexis today. Ransom, did you know that Billy has fallen in love with her?”
He eyed his girlfriend dubiously as he placed more pork Milanese on her plate. “Are you sure about that? ‘Cause that doesn’t sound even remotely like her…”
“I’m not exaggerating! Isn’t that right, Billy? Go on and show everyone how much you love Alexis.”
“What?” Billy stopped short of shoving a forkful of pork in her mouth. “We’re in the middle of eating right now. Maybe later.”
“Nonsense! It’ll only take a minute! I swear it’s the cutest thing when she scratches her belly,” Porsha gushed to the rest of the table. “Billy, don’t keep us waiting!”
Gnashing her teeth, Billy set her fork down and snapped her fingers. Alexis ran to her side and immediately flopped on her back, tail wagging, nipples exposed. Billy’s gag reflex kicked in, and she had to squelch the instinct to hurl the succulent meat she’d just digested. Helplessly she glanced toward her grandfather, taciturnly begging for his intervention. None was forthcoming. Neville hid his grin behind his raised wine glass. With everyone watching, Billy reached down and accepted her payback for lying by default to her grandparents and involving them in her scheme to keep Angela’s pregnancy concealed.
“There’s a good girl!” Porsha cooed smugly.
Ransom leaned against the balcony railing and took a puff of his after-dinner cigar. He scowled at Rage who was smoking his own cigar, unperturbed by the mad dogging he was on the receiving end of. Once he’d settled on the wicker settee with Alexis in his lap, Neville’s eyes ping-ponged hopefully between the adversaries.
“Question for you,” Ransom began, intentionally blowing his smoke directly into Marcus’s face. “When Billy first came to Chatham and you found out we were interested in seeing each other, did you have an overwhelming urge to break your foot off in my ass? Or stomp my face on sight? Or maybe even a combination of both?”
Neville clasped his hands together with pure delight. There was never a dull moment between these two. His instincts had been spot-on, as usual, and Neville was mentally patting himself on the back. Ransom looked ready to come unglued. His face had grown progressively turbulent observing his mother and Marcus who were enveloped in their own world and circling each other, in a sea of chemistry and sexual tension.
Marcus gave a sharp bark of laughter. “The thought may have crossed my mind a time or two. Why? You got something you need to get off your chest? Speak your mind. You’re among friends, Ransom,” he mocked, amusement flickering across his face.
“Motherfu—”
“Yes, what about your mother?” Neville interrupted gleefully.
“Your old instigatin’ ass is enjoying this a little too much,” Marcus remarked, frowning at him.
His former father-in-law nodded enthusiastically. “I am. Definitely much more than when I discovered you knocked my daughter up.”
“And if I hadn’t done that, then there would be no Billy and you wouldn’t be thoroughly entertained right now because there would also be no Ransom or me to tickle your fancy,” Marcus combatted snidely.
“That’s another conversation altogether,” Ransom interjected. “Be straight with me here. What are your intentions toward my mother? Don’t fucking get cute or evasive with me either, Rage,” he warned lethally. “The same way you don’t play about Billy, I refuse to entertain you about Ma. If you’re in it for some ass—”
“The fuck?!” Marcus’s cigar sailed over the balcony as he stepped into Ransom’s space.
“Porsha, come quick! It’s happening!” Neville crowed. He sat up as tension swirled around the opponents. Alexis took it one step further and hopped off his lap, growling at the men who paid her no heed.
“I promise you didn’t mean what you were going to say about Claudia,” he quietly insisted, wrath brewing in his death stare. “You ever again refer to your mother in such a manner—”
On the defensive and with good reason, Ransom closed the minuscule space between them. “You break her heart, and I’ll enjoy breaking every goddamn bone—”
“Cállate, Ransom Michael Lawson!” Claudia screeched, racing across the veranda to get between them.
Billy and Porsha had also come to see what the commotion was about. They stood in the entry with slacked jaws as a riled Claudia confronted the men.
She smacked her son’s arm, thoroughly mortified by his behavior. “What’s with all the machismo?! You’re not only disrespecting me but also the Stantons after they’ve graciously opened their home to us! Apologize!”
“Ma!”
Marcus’s chuckle at Ransom’s outrage turned into a grunt when Claudia punched him in the stomach. “And you! How dare you threaten my baby! I expected better from you, Rage!”
“I’m not a baby!” Ransom complained petulantly, sounding exactly like one.
“He started it!” Marcus disputed, pointing at the younger man. “And he’s right! Look at his big ass! That ain’t no damn baby!”
“Cállate! You’re both children!” Claudia wanted to die of embarrassment at their conduct, even if it was on her behalf. “Neville, please forgive their lack of manners—”
His fit of hilarity cut her short. Tears streaming down his face and unable to speak, he nodded his understanding and waved her off. Claudia turned to the women helplessly.
“I’m so sorry. Please excuse me; I think I need some air.”
Wearing an understanding smile, Porsha came forward and hugged her. “May I make a suggestion? A walk through the vineyards usually eases my mind when I’m troubled. I think it’s more than a coincidence that it happens to be a lovely evening for a stroll.”
Claudia smiled tentatively back at her. “Gracias.”
Billy patted her shoulder. “Go take a breather. We’ll get them straightened out.”
“What is the matter with you two?!” she demanded when Claudia departed. “We could hear you from the sitting room! There’s way too much testosterone in the air! Dial it down! Ransom, I thought we discussed Claudia being a grown woman capable of making her own decisions. Dad, didn’t I warn you this would backfire?”
“Wait, you knew about them? Since when?!”
“That’s not important. What’s important is my dad wouldn’t hurt her,” Billy staunchly defended. “He cares deeply for Claudia and—”
“Thanks for the alley-oop, babygirl. I got it from here,” Marcus interceded. “Ransom, you defending your mother like that was a good look. You wouldn’t be the man I thought you were if you didn’t.”
He sighed and stroked his beard thoughtfully. “I’m not one for airing my business, so I’ll say this one time only. I like Claudia more than I probably should at this stage in her life as she’s sorting things out. The last thing I’m trying to do is hurt her.”
“From what I’ve seen, I believe the feeling is mutual, Ransom,” Neville offered, wiping the evidence of laughter from his face while Porsha disappeared, Alexis on her heels.
“I know it is. I put it all together in New Mexico,” Ransom acknowledged sheepishly. “The day you left here, I was messing with you about her possibly dating. You need to understand where I’m coming from. She’s my mother, and I intend to protect her at all costs.”
His face tightened. “I don’t want anyone playing tricks with her mind. Slade used to constantly mess with her, and he’s still doing it.”
“What do you mean?” Marcus and Billy questioned in unison.
“He’s refusing to sign the divorce papers. I gave him an ultimatum two weeks ago to sign or deal with me,” Ransom said coldly. “It was on my list of things to discuss with her this weekend. Looks like I need to pay him a visit.”
Billy crossed her arms and pursed her lips. “Because you were going to mention this when, babe?”
He shot her an apologetic grimace. “Another thing for you and me to discuss, too, I guess.”
“Nah, don’t sweat Slade. I got it, man. I got her,” Marcus announced coolly. “Excuse me.”
She’d actually served Slade divorce papers.
Marcus felt like he was dancing down the Soul Train line as he left them to go find Claudia. He ran into Porsha in the foyer where she was obviously waiting for him. His eyes landed on the blanket she was holding, and he raised his eyebrows.
“Is that for me to sleep outside because I disrespected your house, Momma P?”
She gave a warm chuckle. “Stop it. No, but it is for you. When Neville and I started out, we occasionally clashed. Needless to say, the vineyard had a way of calming us down.” Porsha gave Marcus a cagey smirk. “The optics are self-explanatory. Hopefully, it works for you and Claudia.”
“Uh-huh. Please tell me that ain’t the blanket y’all did all your ‘calming down’ on, Momma P,” he asked, half-jokingly.
“Hush, silly! Go find Claudia and make up. It’s nice to see you happy. You deserve it, Marcus.”
He kissed her cheek and accepted the blanket. “Thank you.”
The solar lights built into the path helped Marcus to find Claudia easier. She was leaning against the trunk of a towering oak tree with her back toward him. At his approach, she looked back, then immediately faced forward again, her posture rigid.
“I’d like to be alone, please.”
He ignored her and spread the blanket out behind her.
Claudia’s curiosity got the better of her, and she glanced again. “Did you hear me, Rage?”
She gasped when he scooped her into his arms. He settled against the other side of the tree, away from the path, with her in his lap.
“I did but being alone ain’t all it’s cracked up to be,” Marcus grunted, staring down at the top of her head and her ramrod-straight shoulders. “If you’re mad about what you heard, then you have two options: get over it or get used to it. I won’t ever let anyone disrespect you, Claudia. Ransom and I are on different sides but ultimately fighting for the same cause. Your well-being. If you can’t grasp that, I suggest you let it marinate for a minute.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing here,” Claudia admitted. She looked up at him, uncertainty flickering in her green eyes before she glanced away.
“Everything was going good until I heard you guys hassling each other. I don’t need anyone to fight my battles, Rage. However, my baby had a valid point, and I’m feeling exposed and vulnerable here. Are you trying to be a temporary or permanent fixture in my life? I sincerely hope I’m not just a piece of ass to you. I want to believe that we’re headed in the same direction. I’m on the other side of forty and aside from you, I’ve only been with Slade. Let me know where we stand in your mind.”
Claudia shifted and fiddled with his tie, focusing on the knot rather than those penetrating orbs that effortlessly sucked her in. “I’m not just attracted to you, Rage. I really like and respect you as a friend. You make me laugh, and read me like no one else can. When I’m with you, I forget everything, including the time. You’re addicting on a whole other level that has nothing to do with your prowess in the sack. If you want ass, I can do ass, shiiid,” Claudia grinned impishly. “I’m the one who originally propositioned you, remember?”
Marcus tucked a few wavy tendrils behind her ear. “I’m not likely to forget how crazy your ass used to be. You’ve come along way, mamacita.”
“Thanks for the accolade. My point is, if it has to be one or the other with you, I want you as my friend. My life’s a mess right now, so perhaps I’m not even a variable worth considering having in yours,” she ended on a wistful note, divulging where most of her fears lay.
