Open Your Heart

by Cheris Hodges

  She closed the door behind her and speared him with a questioning look. “Can we talk about the other boxes in the room?”

  Chuck shook his head. “We made a mistake and shared an amazing kiss. We’re facing something serious here and we should put the focus there.”

  Yolanda inched closer to where he was sitting. She placed her hand on his knee. “It’s hard to focus when all I really want to do is this.” She leaned in and kissed him slow and deep. Chuck responded just the way she’d hoped he would, with fire. He pulled her onto his lap as the kiss deepened. She felt his erection through his jeans and quaked with a lustful need. She wanted to strip her clothes off and ride him until they both screamed.

  Screaming wasn’t an option. Her sisters were still there. Nosey sisters who would run to the door and demand to know what was going on. Chuck broke the kiss and pushed the stool back some more. But he didn’t let Yolanda go. And when she looked into his eyes, she knew they both wanted the same thing.

  “Yolanda,” he said, his voice husky with desire. “We can’t do this here.”

  “But we are going to do this?”

  He shifted on the stool and she moaned quietly. If he felt like this encased in jeans, she couldn’t wait to have him inside her. “I’ll make a deal with you.”

  Yolanda groaned; all he had to do was say yes. “What is it?”

  “Learn to shoot. Take the fact that people want to kill you a lot more seriously and it’s a one-and-done thing.”

  Yolanda hopped off his lap and tilted her head to the side. “One and done?”

  “Am I attracted to you? Yes. But I have to focus on the reason I’m here.”

  “Things change all the time. And it’s going to be so good, you’re not going to be able to keep your one-and-done promise. But I’ll accept your offer. However, I choose the time when it happens.”

  “All right. But your first lesson at the range starts tomorrow morning,” he said.

  Yolanda shrugged and wondered what in the hell she had gotten herself into. When she opened the door, Yolanda wasn’t surprised to find Alex and Nina pretending to look around the shop but standing really close to the door.

  “Real subtle,” Yolanda muttered as she looked up at the clock on the wall.

  A few seconds later, Chuck walked out of the storage room. “Ladies, how much longer are you going to be here?”

  Nina grinned. “Do you need time alone with Yolanda?”

  Alex nudged her and Yolanda actually blushed.

  Chuck, with his face stoic, simply said, “I have to go pick up a few things and I want to make sure I know your location. If you’re going to stay here, that’s fine—there are alerts on the doors. But if you plan to head back to the town house, I can escort you there.”

  “And all of this security is needed for what reason?” Alex asked, looking directly at Yolanda.

  “I think we’re done here,” Yolanda said.

  “But I haven’t picked out my dress yet,” Nina said.

  “And we have another shipment coming in tomorrow. No one said you’d buy a wedding dress in one day,” Yolanda said.

  “She has a point,” Alex said. “And I’m a little tired of being in here.”

  “All right then, let’s go,” Chuck said as he led the Richardson ladies out of the shop. Nina slowed down to look at the Charlotte skyline.

  “I’m going to miss this place, at some point,” Nina said. “But I’m getting used to ocean breezes again. And Clinton’s arms.”

  “And you hurry up and get married, because I’m tired of you,” Alex said with a laugh. “Clinton is just as lovesick.”

  Lovesick. Yolanda shot a quick glance at Chuck. Had he ever been in love? He probably broke hearts because his work was so dangerous. Maybe the love of his life left him because he couldn’t give up his superhero work. It started making sense as to why he made up rules for engagement.

  Did he think she believed sex and love were the same thing? Yolanda wanted an orgasm, not a long-term commitment. Those things never worked out. Her dad lost her mom and he was never the same.

  Her sister Robin thought she’d met Prince Charming and now she and Dr. Logan Baptiste were on their way to divorce court. She wasn’t going to put her heart at risk. And Chuck was a risk that she couldn’t fully take—right?

  What the hell am I doing?

  Chapter 14

  By the time Yolanda and her sisters arrived at the house, Yolanda felt conflicted about being alone with them knowing there was a killer out there hunting her. Chuck may not have believed that she was taking this seriously, but knowing that she may bring harm to her sisters—even Alex—scared her.

  “You made some big changes here,” Nina said as she looked around her former home. She pointed at the downstairs bedroom. “You sleep down here?”

  Yolanda nodded. “Your old room is the perfect design studio.”

  Nina clasped her hands together and jumped up and down. “Does that mean you’re going to start your fashion line?”

  Alex rolled her eyes. “Can you explain how you keep coming up with these business ideas but you . . . Is Daddy going to finance your fashion line?”

  Yolanda ran a frustrated hand across her face. “This is why I . . . Alex, you have such a low opinion of me and what I’ve done. I moved here without Dad’s help. The business is in my name. And if I want to design clothes, then I’m going to do it. I’m going to live my dreams while you stay buried under yours!”

  “Guys, can we not fight?” Nina exclaimed. “I’m sorry I said anything.”

  Alex stormed toward the door, but Yolanda grabbed her arm. A picture in her head showed an unseen gunman shooting her sister. “Wait, sis,” Yolanda said calmly. “I’m sorry.”

  Alex took a step back, surprise contorting her face. “What the hell is going on?”

  Even Nina was shocked by Yolanda’s complete one-eighty. This was usually the part where Alex left the room and Yolanda started cursing. “We had a pretty good afternoon, let’s not mess it up. Alex, I get that you don’t understand fashion as a business, but one thing I have learned from you is to have a business plan. I have a few. That’s why I was able to pay Dad back for his investment.”

  “I don’t understand the move to Charlotte,” Alex said. For a change her tone was calm.

  “How about I get us some snacks and we talk about it?” Yolanda said.

  “The truth about it?” Alex said as she started to sit on the sofa.

  “Ah, don’t sit there, that’s Chuck’s bed.”

  Nina burst out laughing. “You make that big man sleep on this tiny sofa? Is that why you sleep down here?”

  Before she could answer, the front door opened and Chuck walked in carrying two black bags.

  “Charles,” Alex began, “I’m so sorry that my sister acts as if she doesn’t know how to make a guest comfortable. The sofa?”

  Yolanda sucked her teeth and sat on the love seat near the sliding glass door.

  “Well, ma’am, it makes more sense for me to be down here for security precautions, and I have to say, Yolanda has been quite hospitable.”

  “I bet,” Nina muttered and Yolanda shot her an evil look.

  “So, when is anyone going to tell me about why my sister needs a live-in bodyguard?” Alex asked.

  “That’s not my place,” Chuck said. “I’m going to put these things up in your studio and we need to go over what I have.”

  Yolanda nodded, then said, “Wait. Um, don’t go up there yet.” The last thing she wanted was for him to see any more of her sketches of him. The last one she did, it was a nude.

  “What’s in the bags anyway?” Nina asked.

  * * *

  Charles thought his sisters were nosey and hard to deal with. The Richardson sisters made the Morris girls look tame. He did understand why Yolanda was being hesitant about telling her sisters the whole story, but how much longer would she be able to keep them in the dark? Well, keep Alex in the dark. Nina seemed to know part of the
story and was the one who went to their father.

  “You write for Sports Illustrated, right?” Charles said.

  “Um-huh. So, what’s in the bags?” Nina replied.

  “Stuff for me and your sister,” he replied. When he heard Yolanda call his name, Charles wanted to run up the stairs to get away from Nina and her questions. But he kept his cool and headed up to Yolanda’s studio.

  “You brought guns in here?” she asked as he walked into the room. She nodded toward the black bag she’d opened. “What in the hell were you thinking?”

  “We have a plan,” he said. “I didn’t think you and your sisters would be sitting there talking about whatever you were talking about.”

  “I didn’t tell them that you were bringing guns into the house.” Yolanda’s eyes stretched to the size of quarters as she glanced at the bags. “How many guns are in here? Are we planning to shoot it out with whoever is out there?”

  “No. First of all, we’re not planning a war,” he said with a chuckle. Charles reached into the bag and pulled out a revolver. “And you only need a handgun.”

  “Why don’t I get to have a rifle?” she teased as he returned the revolver to the bag.

  “Because I said so.” He winked at her and pulled out a. 380 semiautomatic handgun. “This is small and powerful, but with a semiautomatic, you have to consider the possibility of it jamming.”

  “That doesn’t sound safe.”

  He reached into the bag and pulled out another gun, this one a shortbarrel .357 revolver. “I would recommend the revolver. It’s a gun that is a lot more reliable. But when we go to the range in the morning, shoot both and see which one you’re more comfortable with.”

  “This is . . .” Yolanda looked at the guns, and for the first time, he saw real fear. He saw that she had actually turned down the sex, the attitude, and the bravado. “Someone is out there who wants to kill me and I don’t want my family to suffer. Chuck, I didn’t do anything. I was simply at my shop and . . .” Tears sprang into her eyes and he pulled her into his arms.

  This wasn’t a seduction, wasn’t Yolanda trying to hide her emotions behind her swagger. He felt her tears wet his chest and Charles knew that he was going to do everything he needed to do to protect her.

  “Yolanda,” he whispered. “I’m here for you and I’m going to do whatever I have to do to protect you and everyone you love.”

  She lifted her head and looked up at him. When her lips trembled, he wanted to kiss her. He needed to kiss her.

  Stop it, he thought as he turned away from her. You have to stay focused. Despite that stupid deal you made with her.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m so sorry to be this basket case. Being around my sisters today has me shaken. I don’t want this Danny person to try to get me, miss, and one of them pays.”

  “Even though y’all fight a lot, you ladies are close.”

  “Yes. We are. And I’d never forgive myself if something I did hurt them.”

  “Just remember you didn’t do anything wrong.”

  Yolanda nodded. He cupped her chin and forced her to face him. “Yolanda,” he said. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “You’re right. Thank you.” She fingered the .357. “And this is the more reliable option?”

  “It can be,” he said. “Like I said, we’ll try both of them tomorrow morning. What time are you and your sisters going to the shop? I think we need about two hours in the range so that you can ease into your comfort level with the guns.”

  She closed her eyes and sighed. “That means I’m going to have to get up early and cook breakfast before we head out,” Yolanda said as she eased out of his embrace.

  Had he really been holding her that long? Was it really feeling that good to have her heat against him? One and done. What the hell were you thinking?

  “Um, knock-knock,” a voice said from behind them.

  “What is it, Alex?” Yolanda groaned.

  “Are we cooking dinner or is there going to be a delivery or something? Personally, I was hoping for shrimp and grits. And your sister said Clinton taught her a recipe, so please stop her.”

  “Oh hell no,” Yolanda exclaimed as she started down the stairs. “Nina, you’d better not be in the kitchen.”

  * * *

  Charles tried to cover the guns, but Alex saw them and didn’t pull any punches. “You’re about to arm my sister? Look, Charles, I know you’re trying to pretend that you’re working for Yolanda and you don’t have to answer to anyone but her and my father. Let’s be clear, I’ve been making sure you get your paycheck. Now what in the hell is going on?”

  He sighed and closed his eyes for a quick second. “Alex,” he said quietly. “Yolanda is in trouble.”

  “Well, that’s obvious.”

  “Your father knows what’s going on and you need to speak to him about it. I need your sister to trust me and I can’t violate what we have by doing the one thing she asked me not to do.”

  Alex shook her head. “Yolanda is always in trouble. Just do what you have to do to keep her out of trouble and . . . How serious is it?”

  “Please, speak with your father. But know that I have your sister’s best interests at heart and I’m going to do everything in my power to keep her safe.”

  Alex gave him a nod of approval. “Please do. Yolanda means more to me than she even knows,” she said, then left the room.

  Charles laughed as he heard the women in the kitchen arguing about grits and how to make the shrimp. They really loved each other, and now he knew there was more to why Yolanda wanted to hide from her family how much danger she was in.

  Chapter 15

  Dinner was interesting, at least for Yolanda. She actually allowed Nina to cook the shrimp because she kept talking about how Clinton had taught her how to pan fry shrimp with bacon grease. Neither Yolanda nor Alex would let her touch the grits.

  “If this is trash, I’m blaming you,” Alex whispered to Yolanda as Nina prepared the shrimp.

  “She hasn’t set off the fire alarm yet, so . . .”

  “I hope you heffas know that I can hear you,” Nina snapped. “The shrimp is almost done.”

  Alex crossed over to her baby sister. “No the hell it isn’t! Are you going to cut the tails off? If this is how Clinton is . . .”

  “You make the shrimp and I’ll get the grits going,” Nina said.

  “No!” Alex and Yolanda exclaimed.

  “Put some pepper on that shrimp,” Yolanda said.

  “And a pinch of salt,” Alex added.

  Nina sucked her teeth. “What the hell is a pinch?”

  “Just go sit down,” Alex said. “We’ll take it from here.”

  Nina shrugged. “Fine. I was tired of cooking anyway.” She headed for the dining room and Yolanda checked the shrimp. She had to admit, Nina’s skills had improved. Clinton was more than just a marketing genius, he was a miracle worker.

  “Taste this,” Yolanda said as she held a piece of shrimp out to Alex on a fork. “Nina has changed.”

  “Harumph,” Alex said before taking a bite. “Oh my goodness. This is good. I still don’t trust her with grits.”

  “I can hear y’all,” Nina called out from the dining room.

  “We know,” Yolanda shot back.

  “Technically, this is still my house and I can kick you out,” Nina said.

  “The shrimp is good, though,” Alex said as she stirred the grits. “Yolanda. How much trouble are you in?”

  “A lot and I don’t want to get you involved,” Yolanda said.

  “But you had no problem getting Daddy mixed up in . . . whatever you have going on.”

  “Thank Nina for that—my plan was to handle this by myself.”

  Alex raised her right eyebrow. “But if you need a bodyguard then this must be . . .Yolanda, are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

  “No, because that defeats the purpose of telling you that I don’t want you involved. I know you, Alex. All you can d
o in this situation is make things worse.”

  Alex crossed over to Yolanda and gave her a tight hug. “Why are you so damned hardheaded?”

  “Because I had a great teacher?”

  Alex pinched her on the shoulder. “You’re not funny.” As the sisters broke their embrace, tears welled up in Yolanda’s eyes. She hadn’t realized how much she needed a hug from her bossy big sister.

  “Will Charles be joining us for dinner?” Alex asked as she wiped moisture from her eyes. Yolanda could tell that she was worried about her and she wished that she could tell her everything. But she knew Alex would leap into action, want to take her to the police station in Richmond and force her to make a report. And didn’t Chuck tell her they were dealing with someone very dangerous?

  “Yolanda,” Alex snapped.

  “What?”

  “Are you feeding the bodyguard or not?”

  “I’m sure Chuck will eat something later.”

  Alex shook her head as she checked the grits. “Why do you call that man Chuck?”

  Yolanda giggled. “Because his last name is Morris.”

  Alex nearly dropped her spoon. “His mama played a joke on him. Does he know karate?”

  “I do. And several other forms of martial arts,” he said as he appeared out of what seemed to be thin air. Yolanda still didn’t know how a big man like that moved in such silence.

  “Well, Chuck Morris,” Alex said, “will you be joining us for dinner? Shrimp and cheese grits.”

  “Who made the grits?” he asked as Nina walked into the kitchen.

  “Seriously? You tell everybody about the one mishap I had with cooking grits,” Nina said, flashing an accusatory glance at Yolanda.

  “That wasn’t a mishap, that was an embarrassment,” Alex said. “But you’ve almost redeemed yourself with these shrimp.”

  “Thank Clinton by giving him the day off Friday.”

  Yolanda laughed. “That’s not going to happen.”

  Chuck watched the women as they moved around the kitchen, joking, fighting, and laughing. Yolanda caught his eye as she crossed over to the freezer and pulled out two plastic containers of collard greens.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you had collards?” Alex exclaimed. “We could’ve had fried chicken and macaroni and cheese.”