The heart of him, p.19
The Heart of Him, page 19
“Doesn’t anyone understand how pissed I am with him? He was the one who left our bed for Karen Holt. He was the one who let Katherine back into his life. And he was the one who got me pregnant!”
“Well, I think you helped with that, at least I know I did with my pregnancy.”
Ashley laughed, “I enjoyed it, too,” she said wiping the tears from her eyes.
Tracy laughed with her. The two sat there holding hands. “Life is so strange. Here we are crying when we should be smiling. You are getting married and we are going to have babies this time next year.”
“Tracy?”
“Yeah”
“Do you believe James loves me the same way JD loves you?”
Tracy thought for a moment, “I don’t think any two people love in the same way. Do I believe James loves you with the same intensity Jeffrey loves me? Yes. I believe that man would move Heaven and Earth to be with you.” Ashley exhaled, releasing a heartfelt smile. “Now, as much as I would like to continue this conversation, I think you and I need to find a gown fit for the queen that you are. And one that will fit the whale I have become,” they both laughed.
♡
In all the years Clair worked for James, the house never seemed so alive. It was wonderful to have the house filled with people. The entire Brooks clan with the exception of Vernon and Constance were gathered in the family room discussing the events of the day. Surprisingly, everyone was in good spirits including James. He was actually relieved. The last week without Ashley had been hell, but he now knew without a doubt he would not live without her in his life. He also knew he was going to have to face her before this night was over. And when he did, she would have a few choice words for him, which he would accept graciously. “Well James, what kind of ceremony will it be? Do I need to pull out the shot gun for Ashley?” Nick laughed.
James smiled, as he stood behind the bar preparing drinks for his houseguests. “No, I don’t believe you will have to go to the extreme. You may have to come to the ceremony in the emergency room. I’m sure Ashley is going to kill me for my outburst today.”
“That was a rather interesting way of apologizing,” Avery smiled.
“I would have resorted to violence if you had spoken to me in that manner. And I agree, you better wear some armor when you talk to Ashley tonight,” Gwen stated as she took a seat.
“I don’t know,” Nicki chimed in, “I think it was a little romantic, declaring your love for her in front of her friends and family. I would have never believed you were capable of such passion, if I hadn’t seen it for myself.”
“I know you shocked the hell out of me,” Nick laughed. “I thought JD and his friends were going to jump you there for a moment when you grabbed Ashley.”
Avery shook his head, “No, they know you love her and she knows it too. But you need to clear the air just like your friend Douglas said. Ashley has no way of knowing what went down between you and Katherine the other day.”
Before they could go any further Gwen broke in, “Actually none of us knows what went down with Katherine. James would you like to share?”
James exhaled and took a seat next to Nicki, “Katherine has decided to move to Richmond, to allow me better access to James Jr. She asked to stay here while her home is being built.”
“I hope you told her no!” Nicki stated.
“I hope you told her hell no!” Nick added.
“In no uncertain terms; Katherine and I will never live under the same roof again.”
“If you told her no, why is Ashley upset?” Nicki asked.
“Bad communication on my part; I haven’t told Ashley I said no.”
“Well, it’s time to clear the air.” Avery said. “It’s been just about a week. That’s too long to keep this going. I’m glad you finally took a stance. Now, what type of wedding will it be?”
“Whatever Ashley wants,” James replied with a very satisfied smile.
“Excuse me Mr. Brooks, you have a call, a Mr. Holt.”
“Thank you Clair,” James replied as he picked up the telephone with David Holt on the other end. James excused himself from the family and took the call in his office. “What do you want Holt?”
“Where’s my wife Brooks?”
“I’m not at liberty to say, Holt. If she wants to talk to you she will call.”
David gave a cynical sneer into the telephone, “You have gone too damned far Brooks. You had no business interfering in my marriage. You tell me where she is or you will pay the price.”
“Go to hell Holt,” James said and hung up the telephone. James dialed Brian’s cell and found he was still at JD’s house. “Brian, is Karen tucked safely away?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I just received a call from Holt. He’s mad as hell. He wants to know where his wife is.”
“It’s on you. Do you want her to stay put?”
“Let it be her decision. Tell her he’s asking about her and go from there.”
“I’ll handle it on this end,” Brian replied.
James hung up the telephone. He wondered if he was doing the right thing. When Karen called last Sunday, she told James she wanted to leave Holt, but knew he would come looking for her. She did not think she would have the strength to say no to him and asked for James’ assistance. That Monday James met with Karen and arranged for her to take a six-month leave of absence from her position at Special Services. He asked Brian to make living arrangements for her. Brian asked Douglas to allow Karen to stay at the apartment above the Renaissance until she decided what she wanted to do. Brian also asked Douglas to make sure she was not disturbed by Holt. He placed a call to a friend at Virginia Domestic Violence Alliance to counsel her. Only Brian and Douglas knew where she was being placed. It was up to Karen if she wanted to contact anyone else. Based on the call from Holt, James knew Karen had not been in contact with him. He exhaled. For a moment he felt for Holt. If anyone tried to keep him from Ashley it would drive him crazy. At that moment, James decided it was time to face Ashley. He needed to hold her and tell her in a more personal way how much he truly loved her.
♡
Ashley was sitting in her den going over the list of things Cynthia left for her to make decisions on. For some reason the mood wasn’t there. Trying to decide on colors, invitations, music and food was not foremost in her mind. Well, maybe the food part was since she was hungry at that moment. For the past week it seemed like she needed to eat every minute of the day. It crossed her mind to make an appointment with the doctor to verify the pregnancy, but she wasn’t in the mood for that either. Actually, the only thing she was in the mood for was James. But since he demanded she marry him, she had not heard from him. Ashley put the list aside and went into her bedroom to change clothes. She put on a pair of jeans and a midriff top, and then put her hair up in a ponytail. She smiled at her reflection in the mirror and remembered Tracy and her ponytail. She slipped her feet into a pair of flat sandals and headed to the kitchen. The telephone rang on the way. “Hello,” she said into the receiver.
“Hello,” she said again when no one answered. She looked at the Caller ID. It read “UNKNOWN.” She hung up the telephone and pulled the cherry vanilla ice cream out of the freezer. She grabbed a spoon out of the kitchen drawer, sat in one of the chairs at the table and placed her feet up in another. As she ate her ice cream, she wondered what she would do with the condo once she moved in with James. She and Tracy purchased the condo right after college. Tracy always believed in investing well. It never dawned on her to rent an apartment; she always said there was no return on putting money in someone else’s pockets. That was six years ago. Last year when Tracy and JD got married she signed the condo over to Ashley, paid in full. The value of the condo had tripled to a little over $300,000. Maybe she would sell it. Ashley sighed as tears began to form. She laid her head back and closed her eyes. She let the tears flow freely; her life was changing for the better, why was she so sad?
After a few minutes she brought her head back up and dug into the container of ice cream. She opened her eyes and was stunned to find James standing before her. She stared up at him with the spoon midway to her mouth, but did not utter a word. He took the spoon and put it back in the container. Lifting her feet, he sat in the chair placed them across his legs and then preceded to pull her chair closer to him. He positioned his hands on both sides of her face and wiped the tears away with his thumbs. He lowered his lips to hers and whispered, “I am sorry for everything that has happened with us this past week.” He gently kissed her lips, “There are some things I need to tell you about Katherine.”
Ashley put her arms around his neck as they sat forehead against forehead. “I don’t care about Katherine or Karen. I care about you. Tell me about you,” she said as tears streamed down her face.
James took her hand and led her into the den. He sat on the leather sofa and pulled her into his lap. Ashley was amazed how easily she fit whenever he held her. She snuggled as close to him as she could. It was wonderful to smell his cologne, feel the stubble on his chin, the warmth of his arms around her and the gentle beat of his heart.
“Katherine and I were married right after grad school. Everyone thought we were the perfect couple, both coming from prominent families. For a while, I thought we were too. But not soon after we were married I found Katherine was more interested in the status our family name could bring than she actually was in me. It seemed the prestige of being a Brooks was the attraction. She loved the jet setting of our lifestyle; it was an aphrodisiac to her. Unfortunately, it did not appeal to me. I always enjoyed working and indulged in making a name of my own. As a result, Katherine began to feel neglected. I came home from a trip to New York earlier and planned to surprise her with a shopping trip to Paris. I asked the pilot to stay on standby and had the driver to take me home. When I entered the house, I asked Charles if he knew where Katherine was. He indicated she was visiting Constance in their suite.
Not thinking much of it I entered their suite without knocking. I went into the living area, but did not see her, but I heard voices. I followed the voices and found Katherine in the bedroom with my brother, Vernon. Katherine was ashamed enough to jump up and begin putting her clothes on trying to explain, but not Vernon. He sat up in bed with this smug smile on his face and asked, “Are you looking for your wife?” Before I knew anything I had him by the throat dangling from the balcony of their bedroom. It took my father to talk me out of dropping him. When things settled my mother didn’t uphold Vernon’s actions, but she relentlessly stood by him against me. At least that’s how I felt at the time. Now I realize she could no more turn away from Vernon than she could me. We are both her sons, she could not banish either of us. I left the house that night; Katherine came with me. I couldn’t look at her for weeks. But she was my wife. So I gave her the option of moving to Richmond and she took it. I moved here and started a new life. A month later, Katherine told me she was pregnant. I never asked who the father was, I’m not sure I wanted to know. Nevertheless, there was no way I could turn my back on her, therefore, I accepted the child as mine, without question. I believe she gave James Jr. my name because she desperately wanted him to be my child. To be honest with you I don’t know for certain that he is mine biologically. But in my heart he is and will always be my son, regardless of what a DNA test may or may not show. “
Ashley hadn’t realized how tightly she was holding on to James or how wet his shirt was from her tears until she shifted her head to look up at him. “James Jr. could be your son, you can’t be sure.”
James looked down into Ashley’s eyes. They were filled with tears. She was hurting for him the same way he was hurting for her when she told him about David Holt. He pushed her hair aside and kissed the tip of her nose. He swallowed hard and said, “I never touched Katherine after Vernon. In all probability James Jr. is Vernon’s son,” he said calmly.
Ashley reached up and put her arms around James neck. He pulled her close and buried his face in the cradle of her neck “I’m so sorry James. I’m so sorry.”
James held her there long enough to compose himself, and then he sat her back on his lap and cradled her head in his arm. “You don’t ever have to be insecure about Katherine, Karen or any other woman. You are the very heart of me. Don’t ever doubt that.” He kissed her with such passion that Ashley was convinced he was making love to her with her clothes on. And if it wasn’t for the fact that she was already pregnant she was certain that kiss could have impregnated her. James broke the kiss and was content to hold her in his arms.
“Hmm, James,” Ashley said as she closed her eyes. “The day we went to your parent’s home was the first time you had gone home since the incident?”
“Yes,” he replied wondering why she asked the question.
“You went back for me?”
“Yes”
“Why?”
“I felt I needed to clear the air with Vernon and my mother before I made you a part of our family. I didn’t want you to marry into a hostile family and that’s what we were for a while.”
Ashley smiled. Then she began to giggle and that giggle then began to turn into laughter. She sat up in his lap, smiled, and then exhaled. “James Avery Brooks you are going to be a daddy; again.” The expression on James face was one of confusion. So Ashley explained further. “When we went to your parent’s home we planned to stay the day only, but we ended up staying two days, remember.”
“Yesssss,” James replied hesitantly
“Well, I didn’t take my pills with me and we had a lot of fun in your suite. You noticed I said suite and not any particular room? We were all over the place the last day we were there.”
“You’re pregnant?” he asked calmly.
Ashley closed one eye, looked at him, and positioned her fingers together. “Just a little bit.”
“You’re pregnant?” he grinned, “You’re pregnant?” he chuckled and hugged her. “You’re pregnant.”
“Well, we’re pregnant. “ Ashley smiled as he leaned down to kiss her.
James froze and looked at her with a frown. “Your mother is going to kill me. Does she know?” He stood up and put Ashley on her feet. “My Lord, woman, we have to get married now, your mother is going to kill me. I promised her I would protect you.”
“Next month will be fine James. My mother will not know before then.”
James stood there gazing lovingly at her. There was nothing she could have told him that would have pleased him more. Surprisingly, the more he thought about it, the happier he became. He cupped her face in his hands. “We’re going to have a baby.” A broad smile creased his face as he gently kissed her lips. Then he pulled away and frowned again.
“Oh Lord.” Ashley said then dropped in the seat behind her. “What now?”
“We have to get married now; this could affect the campaign.”
“Lord forbids anything would impact the campaign.”
♡
Brian followed James instructions. He met with Douglas at the Renaissance to talk to Karen. While in the elevator to the penthouse apartment Douglas asked Brian. “How long do you anticipate I will have a house guest?”
“Man, with the asshole we are dealing with, it’s hard to say. I can tell you this, James is on the verge of murdering this man,” Brian replied. Douglas looked at him with a question on his face. Brian threw up his hands, “Don’t ask. I have no idea. He said no, he is not, nor has he ever been involved with Karen Holt. Every so often, I wonder, but I can see he truly loves Ashley. Hell, he’s as bad, if not worse, than JD is about Tracy.”
Douglas laughed, “I believe that. Holt met James here one night and if I had not stepped in I’m sure James would have given him an ass whipping he would never forget.”
“Yeah, well at least you were able to stop him. The morning of the rally, James had the man by the throat, dangling from the damn ceiling.” Brian laughed. “Man, I swear, I never thought I would run across a man who I would think twice about tangling with. I’m not ashamed to say James Brooks is one.”
Douglas knocked on the door. Since one of Brian’s employees brought her to the apartment, neither had met Karen. They were both shocked and appalled at the vision that met them at the door. Karen did not remove the chain from the door, “Yes” she said through the door.
“Mrs. Holt, my name is Brian Thompson. Mr. Jones, who escorted you here, works for me. I have been employed by James Brooks to ensure your safety until you make a decision on the next step you want to take. This is Douglas Hylton. He owns the building and this apartment. May we come in to speak with you for a moment?”
Karen closed the door and removed the chain. She opened the door and immediately turned her back and walked away from them. She sat in the chair looking out of the window. “Please don’t think I’m being rude. I’m just not very presentable at the moment.”
Douglas sat at the table in the dining room, which was close by the door. He did not want to intrude on this matter. “Mrs. Holt, could you tell me in your own words what transpired between you and your husband?” Brian asked as he stood opposite her.
Karen pulled her feet up into the chair and wrapped her arms around them. “From what I could understand, David and James had some type of confrontation last Saturday. When he came home from the rally, he was very upset. I made the mistake of thinking he would be in a good mood, since the rally was such a huge success.” She hesitated to wipe away a tear that escaped her eyes. “I’m sorry; I thought I was all cried out.” She continued, “I was dressed to celebrate the occasion, a white Victoria’s Secret silk teddy; the one with the thong panties.” She placed her head on her knees and smiled, “I looked pretty good.” She stopped as if trying to remember each detail. “I popped the champagne as soon as he walked through the door and said here’s to a great start on the campaign trail.” Brain stepped closer. Tears ran down what he could see was a bruised cheek. “He walked over to me and ran his knuckle down my cheek. I could see in his eyes that something was wrong. Before I could move away he lifted me by my neck and slammed me against the wall. He pushed me up the wall as high as he could reach and told me to dangle my feet. The pressure on my throat was too much and I couldn’t do anything. I was about to black out when he dropped me to the floor. I wished I had blacked out. He began hitting me in my face with his fist. Between hits, he said James’ name several times. I never really got heads or tails on what he was mumbling about.”
