“Waiting on me?”
I abruptly turned, ignoring the chill that ran through me upon hearing his deep voice. I glanced up into those dark brown eyes of his, swallowing.
“You’re late.”
He frowned just before staring up at something behind me.
I turned to see what he was looking at to find a clock mounted on the wall above the library’s entrance.
“And you’re a stickler for time.”
“If you tell someone you’re going to meet them, the courteous thing to do is be on time. I—”
“You’re right. It won’t happen again,” he stated, shocking me.
Did he really say I was right? My mouth parted, but no words came out. I quickly clamped my mouth shut but it was too late. He’d noticed, which was apparent by the cocky smile that touched his lips.
“Let’s take one of the quiet rooms upstairs. I already reserved it for us.”
Again, I was surprised at his preparedness. So surprised, in fact, that I didn’t even notice when he’d taken me by the elbow, leading me toward the staircase where the library’s quiet rooms were located.
“Did you have a chance to read over the books I gave you?” Robert questioned as he shut the door of the quiet room.
In spite of the fact that the room had windows on three of the four sides, and I could see out—as well as others being able to see in—being in such a small room, with the door closed, alone with him felt … overwhelming.
“Uh, what?” I questioned.
“The books? Did you pick a topic?” he questioned coolly from his position leaned against the door, arms folded over his chest, legs crossed at the ankles.
“Yes. The Berber religion as you said earlier. It appears to be interesting.”
He nodded, his thick brown hair, which was only an inch or so away from touching his shoulders, swayed with the movement of his head. Not for the first time, I noticed the freckles that lined his cheeks and bridge of his nose. There was something distinctive about them.
“Agreed. Now that we’ve chosen a topic, let’s discuss the ongoing research we’ll need to do for this project.” Pushing away from the door, he moved to the table and sat on a chair.
I swallowed and retrieved my notebook from my bag, ready to get down to business so that I could get out of there as soon as possible.
“I have to go,” I stated, hurriedly glancing at my watch. It was a little after six, and if I was going to have time to eat dinner and then make it to work for my shift, I needed to leave right then.
As I stuffed my notebook back into my bag, I felt Robert’s eyes on me. I paused, looking up to find his full concentration focused on me.
“Are you in a rush?”
Despite the past hour of getting along, my snarky attitude reared its ugly head. “Unlike some people, I’m on a schedule.”
“I was two minutes late,” he reminded me as he stood, placing his belongings back into his bag.
I didn’t say anything as I passed through the door that he held open. I moved past him, and within a half a second I felt his presence at my backside. I carried myself down the steps and out the library’s main doorway before he spoke another word.
“You want to grab something to eat?”
Pausing, I turned in his direction so quickly that he nearly walked into me. I took a step back.
“I can’t,” I responded.
“Why not?” His eyes narrowed and I had half a mind to tell him I didn’t owe him an explanation but something told me that wouldn’t go over too well. So I opted for the truth. “I have to get to work.”
I waited to see what type of reaction that would garner.
His eyebrows lifted. “Work?”
“Yes, like a job. Something real people do to earn money.”
“Real people? What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
“Everyday, normal individuals. As in those of us not born with the silver spoon in our mouths.” For some reason I wanted to piss him off.
However, I only pissed myself off when instead of reacting angrily, he chuckled. A deep sound that came up from the pit of his stomach. The hairs on my arms rose. I took another step back, hating how I wanted to move closer instead.
“You really don’t like people with money.”
I rolled my eyes. “Maybe I just don’t like you.”
“Princess, we both know that’s not true.”
I grunted, frustrated. “And what is with the princess thing? My name is Deborah. Do I need to spell it out for you again?”
“That won’t be necessary. I’ve got it memorized … princess.”
Frustrated, I stomped my foot. He obviously wasn’t listening. “I need to go.”
“Do you need a ride?”
I stopped again. “What?”
“You said you needed to get to work. Do you need a ride?”
I shook my head. “I have a car.” It was beat-up and old but it worked.
He nodded, and his lips parted to say something else, but he was stopped by someone calling his name behind him.
We both pivoted in the direction of the male voice. At first I thought it was one of Robert’s friends. But as the young guy moved closer, I couldn’t place him. I also realized two things; this guy was drunk or at least on his way to being drunk as evidenced by his wobbly stride, and two, he had to be related to Robert. He had the same dark hair and eyes, tall stature, and as he moved closer the freckles that Robert had on his cheeks, this guy did as well.
“Jason, what the hell are you doing here?” Robert’s voice was low, agitated.
The new guy, Jason, glanced at me and smiled, looking between the two of us. “Am I interrupting something?”
“No.”
“What the fuck do you want?”
Robert and I responded at the same time.
“I did as you said and I thought I’d come find you. I didn’t know you would be occupied with a lady friend.” Jason’s eyes returned to me, smirking again.
“Jason, if you don’t—”
“I need to get going. I’ll see you in class,” I told Robert. I gave the two one last look before turning and starting in the direction of my dorm room.
“That one’s got a nice ass. I’m a—”
I gasped and turned around, stunned at the words that’d come out of Jason’s mouth, but my eyes widened even more when I saw that Robert had literally wrapped his large hand around Jason’s throat, choking off whatever he’d been about to say.
“I haven’t laid a hand on you since we were children, but if you ever talk about her like that again, I will beat the shit out of you. Understood?” he growled.
I wasn’t sure if he was intentionally talking loud enough for me to hear or not, but at that moment, as I stared at a livid Robert Townsend, I had no doubt that he meant every word he’d just spoken. I clutched the strap of my bag tightly in my right hand.
“Fucker,” Robert grunted as he shoved Jason away.
I blinked and noticed Robert’s gaze returned to me. A chill ran through me at the darkness I saw in his eyes. But with one blink it was gone. Wordlessly, I pivoted on my heels and moved quickly in the direction of my dorm room. I dared not to even think of the butterflies that floated in my belly at the dangerous gleam in his eyes.
Maybe I didn’t have Robert Townsend all figured out.
Chapter Four
Present
Deborah
“You didn’t know me at all. But you were about to find out,” my husband cockily stated as I turned in his direction. I laughed, shaking my head all while admiring the age lines in his forehead and around his eyes. He looked better today than he had all of those years ago. And he was a sight for sore eyes back then.
His eyes narrowed ever so slightly and a lascivious grin touched the corners of his lips. It was the grin that was solely reserved for me.
“So that’s where it all started. You were partnered on a class project together and the rest is history.”
&
nbsp; “Not quite,” Robert added, striding over to me, wrapping an arm around my waist, facing our progeny.
“There’s a lot more to our story than that.”
“But you’ll have to wait to hear the rest. The computers are being delivered and I need you all to help us set it up,” Robert told the boys.
I aided Michelle, Patience, and Kayla throwing out the now empty pizza boxes, while Destiny fed Annalise who’d gotten a little fussy.
“Hang on. I wanted to catch Aaron before they all left,” I told my daughters-in-law. I moved out of the conference room and down the hall to the classroom area where the guys were helping the technicians setup the computers. Truthfully, they all were mostly standing, watching over to ensure the technicians did their job. All of my boys, including my husband, were overly protective. Security had been the first thing that had been set up in what would become our non-profit women’s shelter. This place was wired directly to the police station as well as Townsend’s security offices.
“Hey,” I stated, tapping Aaron on his arm as I moved beside him. My second eldest peered down on me, the ever-present scowl on his face but his eyes were soft. While outsiders may not be able to see it, he’d softened over the past two years. His wife and now four children had filled the hole in his heart I was certain even he didn’t recognize had been there for years.
“Is something wrong? Patience—”
“Your wife is fine,” I responded, cutting him off. He’d begun looking as if he was about to bolt out the door to find his wife to make sure she was okay.
My words had put him at ease.
“I wanted to check on you to make sure you were okay. After hearing us talk about Jason.” I lifted an eyebrow, watching him curiously for a reaction. Jason, Robert’s younger brother, was a lousy son of a bitch who’d done a lot of harm in his life. He was also Aaron’s biological father.
But while Jason may’ve been Aaron’s father through DNA, he was my son, mine and Robert’s.
My heart lightened when an actual smile, or something akin to it—Aaron didn’t particularly smile—appeared on his face and he leaned down, pressing a kiss to my cheek.
“I’m fine, Mother. He’s dead and I’m not. He can’t hurt me anymore.”
I blinked, taking his hand in both of mine and squeezing it. I’d said those same words to Aaron not long before he’d gotten out of the hospital following the car accident that killed his parents, and we brought him home to raise as our own.
“Out of my four boys, you are always the one to make me tear up the most,” I told him, patting my eyes with the silk handkerchief I’d pulled from the back pocket of the jeans I wore. “I need to get back to the girls.”
I gave Aaron one last look and then glanced over at my handsome husband. His eyes were already on me. Those same butterflies started flapping in my belly when he winked at me. For another moment, I stood there admiring how his dark brown locks were now much shorter than they’d been in the spring of 1974, and instead of brown they were grey. But he still had a head full of beautiful tresses, the wrinkle lines around his eyes more apparent, but I much preferred the distinguished look they gave him over the boyish, youthful appeal of our younger years. Truth be told, I’d enjoyed every stage of life with this man.
“When are you going to tell us the rest of your story?” Destiny questioned as soon as I entered the conference room with the rest of the women.
Grinning, I took Annalise from Destiny’s arms, admiring her wheat-colored skin against the red curls of her hair and brown eyes. She got her hair color from her father, Tyler. I pressed a kiss to Annalise’s nose, causing her to pull back and give me a funny look. I laughed at her expression, so much like her mother, before turning back to the rest of the women.
“Later.” I glanced around. “I’m so proud to be finally building this place,” I sighed out loud.
“We’re even more proud to be building it with you,” Patience added. “I can’t wait to start with the literacy classes here. We’ve already got around fifty books donated. I expect we’ll have much more by the time we open. As our resident librarian, literacy teacher, and grant writer, I am ecstatic for those doors to finally open,” Patience stated excitedly.
It thrilled me to hear her excitement. I’d spent years wanting to open a location like this. A place to aid women, young and older, who were down on their luck, lost, and had nowhere to turn. After years of planning it finally came about, and thanks to the dynamic, intelligent, and competent women each one of my sons had married, I now had a team to help me bring it all together. This would be a family affair. The Williamsport Women’s Shelter was the name we were going with for now.
“We really could’ve used a place like this on the mountain,” I stated out loud.
“The mountain?” Michelle questioned, curious.
I smiled, still bouncing a giggling Annalise on my hip. “It’s how I refer to home.”
Michelle nodded. “Appalachia, right?”
I tilted my head. “More specifically, eastern Kentucky, Beattyville.”
“Do you ever miss it?” Destiny asked.
Twisting my lips, I considered the question. “Honestly? Sometimes. Not often, but at times. Despite all of its problems, and trust me, there are many problems, there is a certain beauty about Appalachia. The natural rivers, streams, mountaintop views. Unfortunately, all that gets lost in the crushing poverty. We had our problems when I was a kid, but now with the opioid epidemic … I wouldn’t wish that life on my worst enemy.”
I hadn’t been back to the town I grew up in well over two decades but I’d heard a few cousins of mine had either overdosed or ended up in jail for some horrific crimes committed while trying to get their next fix.
“I left Beattyville just before my senior year of high school, to complete my high school education in a different town, and never looked back, mainly because my mother had told me if I ever did come back she would kick my ass.”
“Seriously?” Michelle blurted out.
I looked her in the eyes and nodded. “She wasn’t kidding either. My mother worked her fingers to the bone to make a better life for me. Both of my parents had but only she’d lived to see it through.”
I sighed, my heart aching as it always did when I thought about my parents. Looking down into the big, bright eyes of my youngest granddaughter had me realizing, not for the first time, that their sacrifices had been worth it.
I didn’t have time to get too lost in my thoughts when the guys piled back in to inform us that the computers were all set up. The ladies and I would be staying around for another couple of hours to get things like scheduling and administrative tasks figured out, but the men were headed home to the kids.
“You’re thinking about home,” Robert’s deep vocal chords drowned out my thoughts.
I turned to him, smiling. “Now, I’m thinking about you,” I responded as he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me into him.
“Kiss me.”
I raised my lips to meet his and he didn’t disappoint.
“I’m proud as hell of you. You know that, right?”
I did but it still felt great to hear him say it.
I lifted my arms to his shoulders. “When I get home, I’ll show you precisely what your words mean to me,” I purred just before pulling him in for another kiss.
“Here they go again,” I heard Carter say.
“I’m going to kick his ass,” Robert growled.
I giggled. He was always threatening one of our boys’ lives.
“Leave him alone. Besides …” I jutted my head in Carter’s direction. Our eldest had already lost interest in us as he whispered something in Michelle’s ear, making her blush.
“Chip off the old block,” Robert stated proudly.
Once the men left, the ladies and I had our planning session. Patience and I would be the close to full-timers while Kayla, Destiny, and Michelle would put in a few hours at the shelter given they still had full-time jobs, in ad
dition to their very full homelives.
“This all looks great, ladies,” I stated, standing up from my chair and stretching. “I think I need to get to my yoga class in the morning.”
“I’ll join you, if you don’t mind,” Kayla inserted.
“I’d love that.”
It wasn’t unusual to attend a yoga or some other workout class with one or more of my daughters-in-law.
I glanced at the watch on my wrist before looking up and noticing Patience cover her mouth as she yawned.
“Boys still keeping you up at night?” I questioned.
She smiled. “They’re doing better,” she responded. In addition to seven-year-old twins, Aaron and Patience had a set of nearly one-year old twins. “I’ll be right back,” Patience stated, before standing and exiting.
I lifted an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. Instead, I went over and worked with Destiny as she decided on what type of financial literacy courses she wanted to conduct in the five to ten hours she’d spend at the center throughout the week.
But I wasn’t oblivious when I saw Michelle get up and follow Patience out toward the restroom. I smiled to myself.
Chapter Five
Michelle
I headed to the space where the soda and snack machine had been set up already. Thankfully, the soda machine did have ginger ale as an option, but the snack machine didn’t have the saltine crackers I was hoping for, so I got the next best thing.
After grabbing the snacks, I exited the cafeteria area and headed farther down the hall toward the restroom. Just as I pushed the door of the multi-stall bathroom open, a toilet flushed and Patience exited one of the stalls wiping her mouth. She paused when she saw me enter.
I held out the contents in my hand.
“Animal crackers?” Grinning, she took the soda and crackers from me.
“The snack machine didn’t have saltines. We should work on that.”
She nodded. “I’ll make a note of it.”
I watched as she opened the can of ginger ale, taking a sip. “I would ask if it’s that obvious, but …” She held up the snacks I’d given her.
I giggled. “You two don’t quit, do you?”
Until My Last Breath Page 3