“Wow, that is something,” he said, now getting a better understanding of the mother of his child.
“No kidding. From there, she became kind of obsessed with making her own money and having a business where she didn’t rely on any man,” she said. “Made it hard on her and relationships. No man had a real chance with her other than a diversion for a moment, but the second any dude mentioned marriage and motherhood, she dumped them.”
“I take it she is still single,” he said.
“Hadn’t talked to her. We aren’t that close,” she said, which caught his attention. “I didn’t have a mom, and she has this really great one who made clothes better than you can buy in any store. I learned about finances from Mrs. Leman. Jealously isn’t my thing, but when you get a blessing having a mom like that, you cherish her, not have shame.”
“Interesting,” he said.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love her, but the guy who gets her is going to have a hard time,” she said, watching him closely.
“How so?” Isiah asked, feeling like he was making a great deal of progress with an unwilling patient.
“Although her Dad is a great guy, she’s always seen him as this controlling force in her mother’s life. Therefore, she sees all men as beings who take your money and turn you into the nesting automatons who are okay to be introduced as so-and-so’s wife,” she told him. “That’s what happened to her mom. She is known as Dr. Leman’s wife or ‘Shondra and Andre’s Mom.”
“So, she never felt like her mother had her own identity,” he said. “Is that why you think the guy who gets her is going to have a hard time?”
“No, I’m telling you that she has trust issues, Isiah,” she said, staring at his profile. “The last man in her life wanted her to be at his side and give up her business to be his... I don’t know what John Lucas wanted her to be. He didn’t want her to be a successful businesswoman and overshadow him. She dumped him. It nearly destroyed her.”
“John Lucas, the basketball player?”
“Yeah, that asshole did a number on her head, but DeShondra is strong,” she said. “The year that he left, she took her company across the state, expanding her reach, her brand, and rejuvenating several communities. She even managed to get historical markers for a great number of homes in the oldest neighborhoods in Louisville.”
“She sounds formidable,” he said.
“She is powerful,” Tameka said. “The man who wins her heart needs to understand that she has to continuously evolve and grow. Making a difference for first time home buyers, revitalizing dead districts, is her thing. Her husband will have to see that vision and help her grow it. She doesn’t need some dude who can’t make a decision about what color socks to put on. During a day, she makes more split-second choices than most people make in a month.”
He listened closely, suddenly realizing, that he didn’t have the upper hand in this conversation. All his years of training had flipped on him by a wisp of a woman who spoon fed him tons of information leaving him with a much better understanding of the lady he planned to marry. There was no viciousness in her words or intent. Just facts. Facts he needed but would have taken months, if not years to obtain.
“Come on inside so I can make you some breakfast,” she said. “Hopefully, with some good planning, you can do your part with the addition and get out of here and home to your family.”
“I called myself being clever to get information out of you about her, yet you already knew. What gave me away?” he asked her.
“Added two and two,” she said. “Zeke said you bought a house in Louisville and were going to be a dad. Gabe married Cabrina and there was no way, if you spent a weekend with DeShondra in Vegas, that you would let a woman like that get away. Be good to her.”
“I will be,” he said blushingly.
“Of that, I have no doubt,” Tameka responded. “Gabriel made a big difference in the woman that Cabrina is evolving into. Zeke has given me the one thing I longed for since losing my mother: a family of my own. DeShondra has a vision. It is my prayer that you will be the man to help her bring it to realization.”
She left him on the porch, alone with his own thoughts. He stayed there until she called him in to eat breakfast. Isiah wanted to go home to his woman, but he’d made a commitment to his brother that needed handling before he could get home to discuss his future wife’s vision. Oddly, a warm sensation came to his midsection as an idea hit him. An idea he knew she would love.
He just had to figure out how to make it happen.
RAY-RAY SPOTTED HER first. The sleek black Lexus pulled into the driveway of the farmhouse, but she halted her entry, noting a hand held up by the slim guy covered in paint. Although she couldn’t hear his words, DeShondra knew he was calling into the house for the foreman to come out. Bugger. Bubba. Buster? What is his name?
“Buster, Bleu’s lady is pulling up,” Ray-Ray yelled out, prompting Buster to put down the nail gun and join the painter on the porch.
“Stop right there, Ms. Leman,” Buster said, coming off the porch in a hurry. The old knees nearly gave way as he tried to run towards the shiny late model vehicle.
DeShondra rolled down the window, peering her head out. “Is everything okay? I brought you guys a nice hearty lunch,” she called to him.
“No ma’am, you roll any closer to that house and you can run the risk of a nail in your tires,” Buster said. “The food sounds really good, but you are here trying to take a peek at our handiwork. You aren’t fooling me, but I could eat. Let me lend you a hand.”
“Thank you,” she said to him, opening the car door.
“No ma’am, we thank you,” he said. “These young kids think a burger and fries is a meal with a cold coke. In my day, it was meat with two veggies and a piece of bread to soak up the grease.”
“Well, we must be from the same era because that’s what I brought, along with some sturdy paper plates and real silverware,” she told Buster. “Four to six weeks is a long time to live on fast food. You get this kitchen set up, and I will move heaven and earth to get you guys a cook on the team to take care of your meals.”
“Ma’am, you make that happen and I will marry you myself,” Buster said with a sideways grin.
“If it doesn’t work out with me and Isiah, I may need to take you up on that,” she said with a smile. “I do love a man who can work with his hands.”
“Let me put these hands to work and carry some of that food,” he said, whistling loudly as the men came out the house to the car. Three large pans came from the back seat along with several gallons of sweetened ice tea, lemonade, bottles of water and sturdy paper plates and catering style silverware.
“We have to go around back and eat on the screen porch,” Buster told her. “The house is being treated and I don’t want to take a chance of you inhaling something harmful in your delicate condition.”
“I appreciate it,” she said, following him down the side of the house. The more she looked at the property, the more she liked the idea of raising the little one here− loads of room to play and grow. The additional bedrooms would be great for out of town friends, guests, and on occasion, that high-end customer whom she wanted to give the special treatment of sharing her roof.
“I appreciate this lunch,” Buster said, uncovering the trays of a roast beef, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, and dinner rolls. “Wow, look at this spread. We even have peach cobbler for dessert.”
“If you ask me, it’s a trap, Buster,” Scooter the electrician said. “She wants something. What is it you want, lady?”
DeShondra smiled at him, that same smile which made Isiah drop his jaw followed by his pants and give her his heart. Scooter sat immobile, blinking, entranced until finally reaching into his back pocket and throwing his wallet on the table.
“I got three grand in my savings, one credit card, and fifty bucks in my wallet,” Scooter said to her. “Smiling at me like that lady, you have it all! Take it! Take every dang gone dime!”
The crew erupted into laughter. Pookie wanted them all to join hands in prayer before the meal, which Bubba and June Bug refused, citing the lack of desire to hold hands with a bunch of hard legs even if they were thanking the Almighty. The men didn’t eat all the food but saved more than half for dinner. She enjoyed the company. It was the first time she’d sat at a table with a group of men who weren’t treating her if she were a stupid girl who didn’t understand the words the big boys were using.
“Okay Sexy Chocolate Drop, I know you didn’t come out here to just bring us lunch,” Pookie said, pursing his lips. “What you trying to find out or what is it you want to know?”
“Actually, I’m just trying to navigate new terrain,” she said to the group. “Trying to find my way I guess.”
“So, you thought you’d come to chat it up with the lost boys?” Pookie said. “You trying to find out what kind of man the boss is like that R & B singer who slapped some lady with his penis. You want to know if Bleu is like that before you say I do?”
“No, nothing like that,” DeShondra said, “I’ve never had an opportunity to have this discussion with a man. Roles are very important to every person, whether you are the provider or the nurturer. As a woman, once we marry, our lives take on a different meaning and our responsibilities shift. We become the caretakers and caregivers, often losing ourselves for the sake of love. I need to know, or at least I’m curious to find out from your perspectives, having lost so much at the hands of another, how have you all managed to stay sane?”
“Who says we’re sane?” Ray-Ray asked. “I’m here for a dental plan. I need me some new teeth.”
“That’s not what she’s asking, you Jackhole,” Buster said. “What the lady wants to know is have we found a way to rebuild our lives after so much loss, which is too complicated to answer.”
“Life itself is complicated,” DeShondra stated. “The answers are simple. Have you found a way to forgive those who hurt you so that you’re able to move on with your lives?”
“Fuck no, excuse my direct English,” Pookie said. “That woman put him away without even telling me he was gone. His Mama buried my tools with which I make my living inside of a coffin of the man I love. Personal, irreplaceable items. I try not to hate but what she did was spiteful. Plus starting over is hellish.”
“You can say that again,” Buster said. “The men who came for me wanted to break my hands as well as steal my business. Going to prison was an easier stint than having those thugs rob me blind for the rest of my life.”
“Yeah, you had it easy in prison,” Pookie said. “You could repair shit. The warden kept you safe so you could supervise repairs at the facility, saving him money.”
DeShondra tried to bring them back on track. Her relationship ended with John because she wasn’t willing to sacrifice everything she’d built to be his cheerleader. These men had lost everything, yet they seemed to have positive attitudes.
Buster provided her the answer to the question she was trying to find the way to ask. “Working for Bleu allows us to get back our livelihood, doing what we do best,” he told her. “He understands what we lost. Each of us he’s granted a different kind of second chance for a good life even with our sizable mistakes. The only jobs we would have been able to get would have been cleaning toilets or worse.”
“My husband-to-be is a good boss, is what you are saying?” DeShondra asked.
“Boss? No. He doesn’t really boss us. Buster runs the company, fairly,” Pookie said. “Bleu’s name is on it to protect us all. His brother Gabriel buys the properties, we fix ‘em up, then sell ‘em at a good price, and we get a regular paycheck.”
“Good to know,” she said, looking at the table. Sitting outside on the patio to have a meal was nicer than imagined. “Thanks, guys. Let me know when that kitchen is ready and I will get you a cook.”
Driving back to her office, she spoke a silent prayer that if her husband to be did all of this for men he sought to help, it sat lightly in her heart that he would do the same for the woman who shared his life.
Chapter 9 – Time, Talk and a Toybox
NATHANIEL MANN, THE nearest neighbor and Zeke’s new best bud, arrived right after breakfast with an additional load of supplies. Isiah found himself pleased yesterday when he spotted the poured and cured foundation for the room additions. The framing, if done correctly, would only take two days or less if the neighbor had any skills. Zeke’s shoulder, he determined, would also be a contributing factor in slowing them down.
“Hey,” Nate said as he arrived on his ATV, pulling a cart with a load of materials.
“Hey back,” Isiah said, standing tall at his full six feet. Eyeing the man who’d helped his brother and wife through a tough time, he held his judgment from the uneasy vibe the man gave off. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
“You’re the baby brother,” Nate commented, trying to get a feel for the youngest Neary.
“That I am,” Isiah replied.
“Don’t talk much, do you?”
“Nope,” he responded. “Brought you some cheese as requested.”
“Sounds good,” Nate said, looking Isiah in the eyes, “I guess we start there.”
“Guess so,” Isiah mumbled.
Zeke joined them in the backyard, focused and ready to get the framing done in two days or less. If, and it was a big if, they were able to get the wood in place, the larger pieces of wood for the roof could go on while they still had two good arms to lend them a hand.
“I see you two have met and had a great conversation,” Zeke chided the two monosyllabic men. “Let’s get moving.”
They worked non-stop, hammering, nailing, and lifting until the outer frames of the home were in place. Taking a break for lunch, sitting at the table in the small kitchen, Zeke went over the blueprints Gabriel had drawn. Munching on venison burgers and fries, the buns which Tameka had baked from scratch weren’t half bad. They were only half good, but with the help of a cup of tea which tasted like macerated pine needles, he got it down.
“Isiah, you have yet to hold your niece,” Zeke said, handing him Michelle.
“She’s still pretty small,” Isiah replied, holding the child like she was a football and he was the star running back going for first and ten.
“Just don’t break her,” Zeke said, getting a bottle and new diaper for the child while Tameka went to the garage to fire up the kiln. She was working on a new batch of plates and cups which were a heck of a deal more even than the ones his mother made years ago.
Michelle’s brown eyes gazed up at Isiah, settling on the beard which she reached for, yanking on the hairs, causing his eyes to water. Detaching the small hands from the hair, he shook his head no at the child as if she understood the silent edict. Michelle responded by yanking on the beard again, but this time adding a slobber filled grin which tugged at his heartstrings.
“She’s kind of adorable,” Isiah said. “How long before she stops shitting on herself and begins talking?”
“It’s going to be a while, Bleu,” he said.
“Why do they call you Bleu?” Nate asked.
“I got our Daddy’s blue eyes and I have a thing for bleu cheese, bourbon, and bad women who make me blue,” he mumbled.
“The one carrying your baby...you think she’s a crazy heartbreaker too?” Zeke wanted to know, handing him a warmed bottle to feed Michelle.
“Naw, that one makes my heart erratic. All I have to do is stand close to her and all logic drains from my damned head, ergo, the reason I’m going to be somebody’s daddy,” Isiah said.
“Congrats,” Nate told him.
“Yeah, what he said,” Zeke replied. “You ready to take all that on?”
“As ready as I’m going to be. It’s happening whether I’m ready or not. In six months, the child will be here, but we gotta plan a wedding in the next three. That, I am not looking forward to at all,” Isiah added.
“Keep it simple,” Nate said. “Groomsmen
, bridesmaids, church, backyard cookout for the reception. It saves money and lessens the strain on her pregnancy in planning.”
“I have the yard to handle it as well,” Isiah said. “Putting up a few tents won’t be an issue. The grass will be in if we do the wedding at her family’s church, which I haven’t even seen yet, so it may work out. Thanks.”
“Glad to be of help,” Nate said with an uncharacteristic smile. The way Zeke’s brother held the baby said a great deal about the man. He considered himself to be a good judge of character considering what he did for a living. Isiah Neary was, in his opinion, a man of strong character.
“Okay, enough of the bromance. We need to get the framing done, the trestles up and maybe the roof on so I can get home to my woman,” Isiah, said, placing Michelle on the blanket over his shoulder for a burp.
“Agreed,” Zeke said. “We need to get finished so you can get the hell out of my house so I can be alone with my woman.”
“Listen to you,” Nate said. “You finally get to spend more time than just with her hand and now you’re trying to boss somebody around.”
“Keep talking. You’re going to be spending some time with my five balled-up fingers if you continue this conversation,” Zeke threatened.
“Oh, you planning to pull me off too?” Nate said laughing. “I don’t like you that much, but thanks for the offer.”
“Michelle, we are going to leave these two alone and go to the couch so they can have some privacy,” said Isiah, getting to his feet. She was a good baby based on what he’d witnessed. He laid her in the crib and really wanted to work on the toybox he planned to make for his niece. However, unless he stopped the bromance and got the men back to work, he would run out of time.
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