One good reason, p.26
One Good Reason, page 26
“No,” I protested and wrapped my arms around her back, holding her closer to me.
“Greedy old man… let me go use the restroom. I promise to come right back.”
“No,” I fussed. “The minute you move, I’ll have to wake up and I’m not ready.”
“Lawton Harvey, if you don’t move, I’m going to piss in this bed.”
Growling, I slid off her and rolled over onto my back. “You lucky.” I yawned.
“As bad as I’ve gotta use the restroom, I would say you’re the lucky one.” She tossed over her shoulder as she ran to the bathroom.
I laid in bed a few more minutes before getting up to go relieve my own bladder. While I stood over the toilet handling my business, Talitha started the shower.
“I’m hungry. Can we go eat?”
“Yeah. I need to call and see if I can get a reservation this late.”
“If not, I can eat anything.”
“I’ll see.”
Standing at the sink, I washed my hands and dried them off before toeing back into the room in search of my phone. After securing us a reservation for Nobu, I hopped in the shower.
“For somebody to be so hungry, you sure didn’t order much,” I fussed after the server walked away from the table. The whole ride over to Nobu, Talitha had gone on about how hungry she was only to get here and order fucking Yellowtail Jalapeno. That few pieces of sushi weren’t going to do anything but piss her off.
I knew it and so did she, that’s the reason she laughed it off and picked her up cocktail. “You got the ribeye… I’ll just eat off yours.”
“Bullshit.” I chuckled. “You will do no such thing.”
“I can’t have any of your food, Law?” she asked and batted her eyes.
“No love, you can’t. You should’ve ordered more food.” I was lying, I would feed it to her if she asked.
“If you say so.” She giggled and blew me a kiss.
Talitha’s ass was lucky that I was hungry as hell because when she strutted out of the bathroom, I almost bent her over the dresser. She was looking so good I damn near had to catch my breath at the sight of her.
When we had sex earlier, her hair had gotten messed up. Instead of curling it again, she’d tossed it up in a slick ponytail. Instead of wearing the usual red lipstick, her lips were coated with some type of nude gloss. The white satin dress she wore draped low in the front and had her entire back exposed. Her jewelry tonight was modest as she wore her usual Rolex and a pair of Bottega tear drop earrings. It was something about the way the color white made her chocolate skin shine so bright that had my dick bricked up in my jeans.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, noticing that my eyes hadn’t left her.
“You look remarkable, love.”
“As do you,” she flirted.
“You can’t flirt with me like that in public.”
Placing her glass on the table, she leaned in and asked, “Why not?”
“My dick is already hard,” I admitted, making her toss her head back and laugh.
“Surely you got enough earlier.”
“Wanna see?” I challenged.
“Lawton Harvey, stop it,” she cooed.
“I’ll leave you alone. Are you having fun?”
“I am but it would be remiss of me if I didn’t mention that my heart is heavy. Like, I almost feel guilty for enjoying myself here with you when I know Gema is back at home with my Mama and her husband.”
“You can’t feel guilty love. What happened was out of your control. As much as you would like, there is nothing that you can do. It pained me to sit there and watch you cry knowing I couldn’t stop it. So, I did the best thing I knew to do. Change your environment and give you peace, even if only for a moment. You feeling guilty means I’m not doing my job.”
“No, you are,” she sighed. “It’s just–” She paused like she was unsure of what to say next.
“Just what?” I asked, encouraging her to express herself.
“I feel like I keep failing, Law. And I know I keep saying the same thing and you’re telling me I’m not but it’s how my heart feels. I worked my ass off to give Gema a better life. She’s the happiest that she’s been in years and the moment it feels like we’re finally okay, this happens.
For so long I shied away from relationships because not only was I scared of getting hurt but me being afraid to be happy was a big part of it. My past makes me feel like I don’t deserve good things.”
Our plates being lowered onto the table ceased the conversation momentarily. When the server walked away, I asserted, “We all deserve something good, Talitha.”
“Try explaining that to my five-year-old self. Gema and Papa Joe never ceased to tell me how extraordinary I was, they poured into me daily. But the love and admiration they gave wasn’t what I needed. I needed it from my Mama, and she chose to give it to Joe Lee.
It’s like I’ve battled for her love and attention my entire life, even with me getting it from my grandparents. I wanted it from her, and I can admit that now because I’m grown, and I’ve been in therapy for it.
So no, I’ve never felt like I was deserving of anything. Not even the Superman that’s swooped in and tried to change my skewed view.”
Reaching across the table, I grabbed her hand. “You’re deserving of everything you’re receiving now and the things you will receive in the future. You’ve spent your whole life taking care of other people, Talitha. Let me take care of you.”
“I don’t need saving, Law,” she reiterated for the umpteenth time.
“I’m not trying to save you. I’m trying to help you get over your fears.”
“I don’t even know what all of my fears are.”
“Then how about we start there. Figure out the things that’s hindering you from growing into your full potential. Once you’ve gotten that figured out, the rest is easy.”
“Nothing about life is ever easy, Harvey.”
“It is if you make it easy, Howard. You’ve gotta commit to doing the work.”
She sighed before perking up and changing the subject. “Back to this steak. Are you going to give me a piece?”
“We discovered months ago that you don’t eat medium rare steak.”
“I’ll eat whatever you feed me.”
“I’ll feed you this dick. How about that?”
“God, you are awful,” she complained and tossed her napkin across the table at me. “I can’t wait to tell Gema how bad your mouth has gotten in her absence.”
The more I stared at Talitha, the more I realized I was towing a fine line between insanity and love. After the first time we had sex unprotected, I made sure to sheath myself. The last three times however, I had purposely gone in bare. I wanted to feel her, the real her without any type of barrier between us.
This woman had reiterated on multiple occasions that falling in love wasn’t in the cards for her. Hell, we equally agreed on it before we ever crossed a line. The more I’m around her, the more her layers are starting to peel back, the more my heart beats for her. I promised myself after Dahlia I wouldn’t allow myself to get caught up in that manner again. Talitha was like a breath of air. When I looked at her, I wasn’t trying to picture Adele’s qualities in her. Hell, if anything I was grateful that she was everything Adele wasn’t. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to end up in love with a woman who was incapable of loving me back.
CHAPTER 26
Talitha
“Harvey, I’m almost insulted. You came to my city and didn’t notify me?” a sultry voice cooed from the side of me. Turning my head slightly, I stared at the fair-skinned, older woman.
“Adele.” Law pushed back from the table and stood. Tossing his napkin on the table, he wrapped his arms around her and whispered something into her ear. Whatever he said made her giggle and pinch him in the side. “My apologies.” He pulled back but didn’t remove his eyes from her. “It was spur of the moment.”
“Bullshit Harvey.” She giggled. “Are you trying to hide this beauty from me?”
“Adele, this is Talitha. Talitha, meet my oldest friend, Adele.”
“Pleasure to meet you darling.” She held her hand out.
“You as well.” I smiled and grabbed her hand.
“Adele, Talitha is the one I was telling you about, with the technical college.”
“Oh, your business partner?” She smiled.
Tossing his eyes in my direction, Law bit his bottom lip before confirming, “That amongst other things.”
“I see,” Adele hummed and looked me up and down. “Harvey, before you leave the city, call me so we can chat. I’ll get you get back to your business dinner.”
Was this old bitch being shady? Something about the way she looked me up and down wasn’t sitting right in my flesh. I could have been overreacting. In New York, I’d met a few of Law’s friends and I was wrecking my brain trying to remember if he’d ever mentioned her.
The two of them stood there having a hushed conversation and clearly something he said pissed her off because she slanted her eyes at him and stormed off.
“I’m sorry about that,” he apologized when he sat back down.
“Sorry about what?” I probed.
“Adele, I didn’t know she was dining here tonight.”
“Who is she?”
“A friend of my mothers. We go way back.”
“Oh, okay.” I nodded, dropping my defense. Maybe they were disagreeing about something with his mom. “She seemed angry,” I said, fishing for some type of explanation.
“When isn’t she angry is a better question?” Law laughed.
“I guess. She looked tucked nicely,” I added.
“What the hell, Talitha!” Law laughed. “What does that even mean?”
“Shit. She looked mad but her face didn’t move. Botox maybe?” Okay. Maybe I was being petty, but I didn’t appreciate the way the old hag looked at me like I was beneath her.
“Botox is Adele’s best friend.,” he admitted. “But for a woman her age, she looks nice.”
“Sure, she does.” I giggled. “Anyways, how close is she with your mom?”
“Oh, they’re no longer friends. In fact, they probably stopped being cordial shortly after my Pops passed.”
“Oh okay.” I nodded. “Enough about your friend with the stiff face. Tomorrow, can we go to the beach?”
“We can go wherever you want to go love.”
“Just the beach will be fine. I want to lay out in the sun before we get back to reality. Oh, and by a souvenir shop to get Gema and Mrs. Jessie a gift.”
“That’ll be fine. I’ll pick them something up as well.”
“We should come back with Gema. She will love it here.”
“We can do that as well. Say the word and I’ll make it happen.”
“Thank you, Lawton.”
“What are you thanking me for?”
“A moment of peace.” I smiled and dropped my head to the yellowtail sitting on my plate.
That moment of peace I was thanking Law for the other night was now dull and sullen. The longer I sat here listening to Corrine outlining the motion she had filed and the information she received back from the courthouse, my shoulders slumped in defeat. Law and I flew back into town late last night and the first thing on our agenda today was meeting with Corrine after she left the courthouse. The way she sounded on the phone, I for sure thought she had gotten some good news. We rushed down to her office preparing to hear whatever she had to say.
Prior to this moment, she told me things wouldn’t be rectified immediately but she didn’t say it would be close to two months before I would get that home visit. They didn’t hesitate to come and snatch Gema out of my house so why the fuck was it going to take so long for them to conduct their investigation.
Scratching my nose, I blurted, “I’m not understanding. I have to wait for damn near two months just to get someone out to the house.”
“Unfortunately, and that’s with me lighting a fire under the assistant district attorneys ass. These types of cases are taken as serious as child abuse allegations.”
“Bullshit,” I called. “I work with the youth, Corrine. The county nor state gives a fuck about kids being abused. I see the shit every day, hell I’ve reported several incidents to the local authorities. Day in and day out those kids show up at the youth center with yet another bruise on them and no one is snatching them out of their toxic environments.”
“I am doing all that I can do Talitha to get Gema home. Judge Rowlins has granted you permission to visit Gema so that’s a step in the right direction.”
“What about her mother?” Law asked.
“She can’t stop it. It’s ordered and signed off on.”
“So, we can go today if we want?”
“You can.” Corrine nodded.
“What about Mrs. Jessie?”
“Unfortunately, a restraining order was taken out on her over the weekend. She can’t be anywhere near Gema. I think it was a tactic used to keep Gema from coming home, I mean if Mrs. Jessie is her nurse, of course she’s going to be at the home.”
“They know… Mrs. Jessie is there with Gema while I go to work. She did that as a fuck you to me I can almost bet you.”
“She’s prepared to fight you on everything. Power of attorney included. Is there any way she can somehow convince your grandmother to change her mind?”
“Hell no. Gema wouldn’t dare sign papers without notifying me. My Mama tried it once before and Gema and I had a very long talk. She knows better than that.”
“Well, that’s one less thing we have to worry about. Is there anything you can give me to somehow help your case?”
Scratching at my head, I thought about two things I could use against my mama. One I didn’t care to share, the other one I didn’t give a fuck at this point. I guess Law could feel my resistance because he chimed in.
“If anything comes up, we can let you know at a later date.”
“There is one other thing,” I butted in.
“Talitha,” Law groused. Grabbing my hand, he ordered, “Look at me. You don’t have to do this.” He assured me with his eyes when I looked up at him.
Without peeling my eyes away from him, I blurted out, “I own all of their houses. Willearl, Betty Jo, Louise, my Mama, and Gema’s.”
“What? How the hell is that possible” Law asked incredulously.
“Papa Joe purchased the houses with the money he got from my Mama husband. The only one he didn’t buy was my Mama’s and Joe Lee. I bought those on my twenty-fifth birthday when they neglected to pay their property taxes. I never said anything to her. Joe Lee knows because he was the one responsible for paying the mortgage.”
“So even if the judge never granted you visitation, it would’ve been impossible for her to kick you off property that you own.”
“Yes.” I nodded my head.
“This is good.” Corrine nodded. “I don’t know how we can use it going forward but you leave it to me to figure out. Is there anything else Talitha?”
“I was molested by my stepfather,” I stammered.
Corrine’s head did a full spin at my revelation. “I’m sorry… what did you just say?”
“Talitha,” Law rasped, but I shook my head at him.
“I was five when it happened. My grandparents figured it out and took me from my Mama.”
“And your mother is still with him?”
“She didn’t believe me. She told everyone I had imagined it.”
“Do you feel like he will be inappropriate with your grandmother? If you have any ounce of fear that it could happen, I can make this whole thing, go away with the snap of my finger.”
As tempting as that shit sounded, I didn’t think for one second Joe Lee would be inappropriate with Gema in that manner. I’d never thought he was capable of doing that. Now, did I think he might be rough with his words, or maybe put his hands on her? I wouldn’t put that past him but to touch here inappropriately, I wouldn’t go to that extent.
“As much as I want to say yeah so this could end, in my heart of hearts I can’t.”
“Damn,” she sighed. “If you can think of anything else, don’t hesitate to mention it. I’m going to fight with all of my might to get your visit pushed up Talitha. I don’t want this thing to drag out at all. The longer we wait, the more your grandmother will be compromised.”
“I know. I’m just ready for her to come home.”
“We all are. In the meantime, go home. You own everything, they can’t touch you. If I hear anything else, I’ll reach out.”
“Thank you again, Corrine.” Law stood and shook her hand.
Grabbing my purse up from the table, I tossed it over my shoulder and stood. “If I figure out anything else, I’ll let you know. I’m going to go home and stop by the bank so I can go through the safe deposit box.”
“Great. You two be safe.”
“We will.”
When we walked out of Corrine’s office, I stood with my back against the truck. “I’m gonna go home and pack a bag. I’ll probably get on the road in a few hours.”
Grabbing my face in his hands, Law stared into my eyes. “Talitha, you are out of your mind if you think I’m letting you go down there alone.”
“What about your business? You’ve taken enough time off already, dealing with me and my shit. I’ll be fine alone, Law.”
“I don’t give a fuck what you say,” he scoffed. “I’m not letting you go alone and that’s just that. God forbid you get down there and they do something to you. I will fuck the city of Warner Robins up. I mean, wipe it clean off the fucking map.”
“Oh God,” I groaned. “It’s not that serious, Harvey.”
“When it comes to you, Talitha. It’s gonna always be that fucking serious.”
I don’t know but something about his declaration made my kitty purr. Possession. That’s a feeling I don’t think I’d ever had the pleasure of receiving. Sucking my bottom lip into my mouth, I fought back a smile. “Okay. Well, let’s go home so we can get changed and get on the road.”
