“Just what I need a hobo with problems.” Imani laughed.
Chapter 4
Garrett Tristan Hadley was devastated. The last twenty-four hours had left him reeling to the point of not knowing if he were coming or going. How else could he explain lying in a stranger’s bed, staring up at the ceiling in a bedroom that looked as if someone vomited an entire case of Pepto-Bismol onto the walls?
Not only had his life taken a one hundred and eighty-degree turn, but soon the choices he’d made would be put under a microscope and dissected as if he were a lab experiment. Garrett squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose hoping to drown out the noise in his head. It was impossible. How the hell did he not see what was right in front of him?
Garrett wasn’t a coward. He’d never run away from anything in his life and would face this problem like a man. But, he needed just a little time away from everything and everyone to regroup.
If he were a different kind of person he’d already be locked up, but given all that happened, no one would blame him if he acted on his murderous rage. Lucky for them, he was smarter than that. Garrett may have been down, but he wouldn’t be out for long. He’d worked too damn hard for his success to spend the rest of his life in prison for killing the two people he trusted the most—his wife and Raymond.
Now that he had slept off the alcohol, the numbness he’d prayed for yesterday was gone. Garrett’s heart ached to the point of physical pain. It was too early in the morning for another drink. He’d never tried to solve his problems from the bottom of a bottle and wasn’t going to start now. Difficult as it was, he managed to sit up and throw his legs over the side of the bed. Garrett didn’t want to move too quickly just in case he hadn’t recovered as much as he thought. Instead of standing, he rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together. With a bowed head, he took a deep breath to control the roiling feeling in his gut and his turbulent emotions.
Garrett could deal with Raymond stealing his wife and the company he built from scratch but not for stealing his son. Replaying Dr. Mainke’s words, explaining that the test excluded him as his son’s biological father, forced him to fight like hell to keep the pain from rising up and choking him. He’d spent the last two and a half years thinking Garrett Jr. was his son only to discover that he wasn’t.
Shannon had lied to him. They both had. He wasn’t confident about how long the affair lasted, but he was sure it started well before Shannon and Garrett met.
His marriage had been a sham. He could understand Shannon’s motivations, but Raymond’s? For what? Money? Garrett would have given him anything. He didn’t have to steal from him.
His gut said this betrayal was about more than a woman, and that Raymond’s motivations were deeper than what it appeared to be on the surface. Unfortunately, Shannon was too full of herself to realize she was being used.
Slowly, Garrett lifted his head and gazed around the room if only to turn off the spigot of his mind. Personal pictures, posters of boy bands, Prince, and Michael Jackson were hung all over the walls. His eyes landed on one picture in particular. It was of a young girl in a cheerleading uniform maybe ten or eleven. She was all arms, legs, and nothing else. She stood on top of a human pyramid smiling so hard that her eyes appeared almost closed. It was that smile that captivated him—innocent and genuine. Those were two things Garrett could say he’d never experienced. He wasn’t innocent, and neither were the people in his life.
The family he was staying with had apparently put him in her room. Garrett wondered what it was like to have a moment of being carefree and not having to worry about the next meal, or where to find the safest place to sleep without being violated.
Garrett shook off those memories. It was in the past. All he knew was that no child of his would ever have to worry about their safety. He returned his attention back to the photo. The guy he’d met at the airport, he couldn’t remember his name exactly but thought it might be Maddon . . . Jones? He had the same facial features as the young girl. It was almost uncanny except that Maddon was a bit older. She must be his little sister.
The one bright spot in this cesspool of hell had been Maddon. After everything that happened recently, Garrett should have been warier of him or anyone that hadn’t been in his inner circle. But there was something about the man that said he could trust him. They sat next to each other on the plane from Phoenix to Atlanta and struck up a conversation. It probably wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t been bumped from first class to the last available seat in business class.
Garrett’s desire to get back to Chicago, as soon as possible, to receive the results of the DNA test was his only priority until he received that fateful phone call. That moment in time would always be frozen in his mind. He was walking to gate G8 when Dr. Mainke’s office called him. Once Garrett received the results, there was no longer a need to rush. After Garrett had learned the truth, all he wanted to do was crawl into a hole and rot. Getting drunk had quickly moved up to the top of his priorities list.
Garrett wasn’t sure if it was because Maddon was easy to talk to, after sharing a drink with him and the fact that Maddon had no idea who he was, or because he was so overwhelmed with life, that he divulged more about himself than he had to anyone . . . ever.
A heavy knock on the door sounded and brought him out of his private hell. Then came a now familiar voice. “Garrett, you decent?”
Garrett stood and glanced down at his clothing. The wrinkles were deeply embedded in his shirt and pants because he’d slept in them for the last two days. If he hadn’t met Maddon on the plane, he was certain the man would have thought he was homeless. “Yeah. Come in.”
He opened the door but didn’t walk all the way inside. He just stood there staring. The space between his eyes wrinkled. “Dude, you look like shit.”
Garrett couldn’t even attempt to muster up a smile as he stroked the two-day-old scruff that formed on his face. “It mirrors how I feel.”
After everything Garrett had told him, Maddon couldn’t help but feel some compassion. That was why he had invited him back to his parents’ home. The Jones’ were good at fixin’ up emotionally scarred people.
Maddon lifted the corner of his lips in a half smile and responded. “One step at a time.”
“Right. The problem with that is each step I take leads me closer to a cliff.”
Maddon waved him off. “Don’t think about all of that right now. You’ve got plenty of time to figure things out. In the meantime, take a shower. . .” He handed him a toiletry bag. “Shave and change into some fresh clothes. You’ll feel better. Not to mention, I can’t have you looking crazy downstairs at breakfast. My sister has this thing about serial killers. When I told her you’re in her room, that was her first thought. I know she believes I let a serial killer sleep in her bed.”
Garrett finally cracked a small smile and pointed to the picture on the wall. “You mean her? The young girl in the photo?”
“The one and only.”
Garrett sighed. “She looks as if she doesn’t have a care in the world. Must be nice.”
Maddon turned serious and stepped inside the room, closing the door behind him. “You literally don’t know me from a hole in the wall, but let me give you a little piece of advice. I didn’t understand it then, but as a grown man, I get it. My Big Mama used to say; I don’t look like what I’ve been through. Half the battle is just to keep moving. If you step out of this room looking and feeling like a defeated man . . . they win. I don’t know about you, but I’m competitive. I don’t want anyone to beat me at anything.”
Garrett was slow to respond, but Maddon was right. He’d allowed himself twenty-four hours to feel the pain and anguish of betrayal at the hands of the two people he trusted most. He’d never allowed life to beat him and didn’t plan on starting today.
Garrett leaned his head from side to side loosening up the muscles and cracking his bones in his neck. Steel determination that had gotten him through s
ome tough times returned. It was laced throughout his voice. “That won’t happen.”
Maddon was happy to hear the fight in him, but there was also an edge to it. It was the edge that worried him.
Garrett continued. “Let me grab a quick shower, and I’ll meet you downstairs.” He walked over to his carry-on and pulled out his own toiletry bag. “I’ll do my best not to scare off your sister.”
Maddon nodded and left. He had no idea how ruthless Garrett could be. This situation had taken Garrett by surprise. Garrett may have stumbled in a moment of weakness, but Shannon and Raymond had better hope they made a good contingency plan because one thing was sure, he was going to make them pay for their betrayal.
Chapter 5
Imani sat around the breakfast table watching her family talk a mile a minute. Being home was good. Nothing could heal her hurts faster than being surrounded by their love. It also was never a dull or quiet moment when they were all together except for when her father said grace.
He typically sat at the head of the table while her mother would take a seat at the opposite end. Today, Aaliyah sat across from her but next to Maddon. The chair just to Imani’s right was empty.
Aaliyah snuck a piece of bacon. Imani was starving and thought she’d try it too but was stopped cold. Her mother didn’t even have to raise her voice. She cleared her throat—twice. “We haven’t blessed the food yet.”
Imani wanted to act like a teenager, whine and say, but Aaliyah got one. Her immediate reaction was so silly she almost laughed out loud. The girl was pregnant and clearly eating for two. All Imani could do was ease her hand away from the delicious looking bacon and place them back on her lap. She kept her pout to a minimum. Still, there was an edge to her voice. “What exactly are we waiting for?”
Her father responded. “We have a guest. Hopefully, he’ll be down soon, and we can eat. Maddon, you did invite him to breakfast, right?”
Maddon nodded. “Yeah. He’ll be down soon.”
Speaking of the devil, Garrett seemed to magically appear from nowhere as he stood in the doorway of the dining room. “I apologize for making you and your family wait, Mr. Jones.”
Imani turned towards him and his silky, smooth voice. She stopped breathing. For about five seconds, Imani didn’t move and probably didn’t have a heartbeat. He was so magazine cover gorgeous, she was rendered speechless, which was a pretty mean feat.
Her father waved him in. “No problem. Come on and have a seat. Nothing like breakfast with good friends and family to cure a multitude of ills.”
Maddon stood up from his chair and shook Garrett’s hand before re-introducing him to everyone. This time, he made the introductions while Garrett was sober. “You’ve already met my parents, Michael and Felicia Jones.”
Garrett nodded. “Thank you again for allowing me into your home . . . considering . . .”
Maddon continued, “You also met one of my sisters, last night, Aaliyah.”
Garrett nodded and smiled at her.
Aaliyah waved.
“However, you didn’t meet the Brat. She flew in this morning. This is my sister, Imani. Imani, this is Garrett Hadley.”
Garrett noticed her the moment he entered the room. Who wouldn’t? To put it mildly, she was absolutely stunning, and the spitting image of Maddon only she was sexy. He wasn’t. Her features were softer where his were more masculine. Her big brown eyes seemed to look straight through him – smooth caramel skin looked soft and kissable. Garrett wasn’t sure what, if anything, she could see, but that made him a little uncomfortable. The mere thought that someone could discern all of his deeply held secrets made him cringe on the inside. It was a good thing he was the master of the façade. Garrett used it to his advantage when he coolly responded. “Nice to meet you.”
Imani stared long and hard as he made his way toward the chair next to her. His dirty blonde hair was still wet from a shower, and his strong angular jawline was freshly shaven. Where the hell did Maddon find the sexiest man on earth? His jeans hung low on his hips, and his black t-shirt wasn’t fitted but didn’t do anything to hide the corded muscles in his arms or the sculpted form of his broad chest.
Imani turned away then blinked a few times to get her bearings before plastering on a smile. “Nice to meet you, too.” She was grateful her voice hadn’t betrayed her.
Maddon took his seat. His eyes twinkled with laughter. “Does he look like a serial killer to you, Imani?”
He was being a smart ass, so she thought she’d give it right back to him. “I didn’t know serial killers had a look.”
Garrett pierced her with the eyes that were a unique blend of brown, green, and gray. And, for a moment, it seemed as if an electrical current went through her entire body. She was sure steam was coming out of her ears. Was this for real? Imani wasn’t sure if anyone else in the room could feel it and wondered if he did too. She could only pray that she wasn’t blushing. Please let this man be missing a couple of teeth, webbed hands, or something because his presence is messing with my mind. Imani had never had this strong of a reaction when meeting an attractive man—ever.
He smiled. Perfectly straight, white teeth greeted her. His smile was dazzling.
“I can assure you; I’m not a serial killer.”
She was doomed . . . doomed! If Imani had to imagine how hypnotic the Pied Piper was when he played his instrument, she would imagine it was something like Garrett’s voice.
Damn. Double damn. Imani could tell this man was trouble. Unfortunately, while she was about to go up in flames, he hadn’t seemed to have been affected by her at all.
She attempted to shake it off and recover her wits. “Good to know you’re not since you’re sleeping in my bed.” Imani wanted to die. Mixing the words bed and this man in front of her parents after what she’d been thinking, weren’t quite the best word choices.
Curiously, Garrett glanced at Maddon. Confusion was written all over his face. “I thought you said the room belonged to the little girl in the picture on the wall?”
“It does.” He pointed to Imani. “That’s the brat on the wall.”
Aaliyah tapped on her water glass. The chimes rang out. “Hey! Pregnant lady here. I’m starving. Can we say grace and continue this meet and greet after I eat? We’re hungry.”
Felicia Jones placed her elbows on the table and grinned proudly. “If my grandbaby is hungry then let’s say grace and eat.”
Aaliyah smirked. “It’s all about him, or her, already isn’t it?”
Without looking at her youngest, Felicia removed her napkin from off the table and snapped it before settling it on her lap. “Yep. You better believe it.”
Whatever reprieve Garrett had been given by the distraction of the beauty that sat next to him disappeared at the mention of Aaliyah’s baby. The familiar ache in his chest returned.
Thoughts of Shannon being pregnant with Garrett Jr. flashed through his mind. She always had him running out for some weird craving. It didn’t matter. Whatever she wanted he made sure she had regardless if it was day or night. Every damn time. Of course, Garrett could have sent someone from his staff to do it, but that was his child. He wanted to give his son everything. No. He wouldn’t allow himself to get sucked back into the abyss of despair. He had plans to make. Instead, Garrett took a deep calming breath.
Michael Jones extended his arms out palms up to pray over the food. Imani and Aaliyah both placed their hands in his. Everyone held hands. However, Garrett felt awkward and out of place. He wasn’t even sure if he believed in God. Considering this wasn’t his home, he would be respectful of their tradition. After all, they were doing him a favor just by being so welcoming to a perfect stranger.
Imani wasn’t sure why, but she noticed how tense Garrett had become. She attempted to smile warmly to soothe him, then leaned over and nervously whispered teasingly into his ear. “This is where you bow your head and place your hand in mine.”
His eyes locked with hers.
After a mome
nt, Garrett did just that. While he may have been somewhat uncomfortable, he was surprised at how comforted he was by the warmth of Imani’s touch.
Chapter 6
Imani was so full she could burst from both the food and the conversation. Her father missed his calling as a comedian. He had everyone laughing so hard tears were forming at the corners of her eyes. Aaliyah had to get up to use the bathroom several times to keep from wetting herself.
Felicia stood up laughing at something silly Imani’s father had just said. “I’m going to get a fresh pot of coffee.” She checked Garrett’s plate just like a mother hen would do. “Did you get enough to eat? Would you like more of something?”
For a brief moment, he’d been so engaged in the conversation that he’d forgotten about all of his problems . . . almost. He’d even done something he hadn’t in a very long time . . . laughed. It wasn’t forced but genuinely from-the-belly laughter. He couldn’t imagine what it must have been like to grow up in this family.
Garrett hadn’t eaten this kind of comfort food in years. He rubbed his stomach. “I’m stuffed. Everything was incredible. Thank you.”
Michael’s booming voice continued to ring out. “Maddon, are you going to go play football this afternoon at the SanDusky?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I might take this Sunday off. I figured, you, me, and Garrett might catch the football game instead.”
Aaliyah laughed. “Garrett, you don’t even realize it, but you’ve probably saved my brother’s life. He’s getting entirely too old to be running around out there on the field like a teenager.”
Maddon lifted his arms and flexed his muscles. “I’m all muscle, baby. Haven’t lost a step since college.”
Garrett leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “You play football?”
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