“Your mama and I worked long hours to give you a good home.”
“Long hours to still be poor. You blew our chance to have all the money in the world!” Aniyah yelled.
“It’s not money for us to take. Why can’t you understand that?”
“You blew it!” Aniyah yelled as she stood up and turned to the officer. “Take me back to my cell.”
“Don’t go, Rosie. I have more to say,” Tessa pleaded.
“My name is Aniyah and you’re nothing to me. You’re nothing but a Houston whore. I hate you!” Aniyah yelled as the officer took her away.
Tessa laid her head down and cried. She wanted to share the news with Aniyah that she would drop the kidnapping charges but her niece had become someone else—someone that she no longer recognized. Tessa mumbled as she hurried out, “God, my niece’s soul is with the devil.”
• • •
Walking out onto the patio of the Houston Villa, Tessa saw the Houstons and Baron chatting around a black cast-iron table for eight.
Baron noticed the redness in her eyes as she entered. He could tell she had been crying and went to her. “How did it go?”
Tessa shook her head. “Not good at all. My niece is in her own body, but her soul is destroyed.”
“With time, everything will come to a peaceful resolution,” he said.
Tessa walked over to the table and grabbed Milandra by the hand. “Please forgive the Sanchez family. We are really good people. I didn’t drop the charges on Rosie. I know now that she must take the punishment for her wrongdoings.”
“I’m glad you came to your senses,” Milandra said.
“Let’s start thinking of Mother and how beautiful she was. Let’s start rejoicing the good soul she had. She was a charitable woman,” Noelle said as she smiled.
Milandra knew what her sister said was true. Her mother would give to a stranger on the street. Alana never walked by anyone without saying “Good day.”
Milandra looked over at Nolan, who was staring at her. Just looking into his eyes, she saw the compassion she always saw in her mother’s eyes.
Everyone watched as Milandra stood up and gave Tessa a hug. “Forgive me. Forgive my father. I know Father didn’t show you the good and nurturing side of him, but believe me, it was within him.” Milandra let go of Tessa and grabbed her hand. She reached and took Baron by the hand. She locked his hand with Tessa’s. “Be happy. Catch up on the love you’ve always had for each other.”
Baron gave Milandra a hug. “Thanks, Miss Houston,” he said.
“It’s a new day. You’re welcome to call me and my sisters by our first names.”
“Thanks, Milandra.” He smiled.
Nolan rushed over to Milandra and hugged her. Sid ran over and hugged Noelle.
Kenley watched as they hugged each other. “What’s this? Everyone has someone to hug, but me.” Kenley laughed.
Pete came out of the kitchen to the patio to check on their needs. Kenley ran over and threw her left arm around his neck. He kept his hands up in the air. He yelled, “I didn’t do anything.”
“No, you didn’t. I’m not going to use you like that fake Aniyah.” Kenley laughed as she let go of him. Everyone on the patio was silent.
Milandra was curious. “Pete, how did she use you?”
“In her bed. I had to or I would lose my job at the estate. To protect me, Elsa sent me on many errands,” Pete admitted.
Tessa went over to him. “I’m sorry for whatever my niece did to you. You’re such a nice young man.”
Kenley went back over to him. She gave him a hug all over again. “You definitely need lots of hugs.”
“Thanks,” Pete said, smiling, enjoying all the hugs from Kenley.
Everyone else went back to hugging their significant other.
Chapter 32
Aniyah was convicted of all the charges against her and so was Danny, who was wanted for other crimes throughout the state of Georgia.
It was packing time for the Houstons. Milandra hurried to pack her clothes in boxes with the help of a servant. Kenley packed with the aid of Pete. He became her private servant, even though Milandra insisted she have a female servant.
“Remember, he’s just help. So don’t get any ideas,” Milandra warned her.
In her room, Noelle let her clothes stay put. She wondered how she would tell her sisters that she wanted to stay where she was.
Milandra came into her sister’s bedroom. “I know you’re the first to be packed,” she said, but she was startled to see the bedroom was neat and tidy—not like her bedroom, which had clothes laying everywhere to be boxed. “You haven’t even started to pack. Nolan will have his movers here early this afternoon.”
“I’m not moving,” Noelle softly said.
“You can’t mean that,” Milandra said in disbelief.
Noelle stared out of the opened window, viewing the calm waves of the lake. “I’ve fallen in love with the Houston Villa.”
“How can you? This is where Father kept his lovers. This is where that man attacked us.”
“Yes, but it’s here that I feel so much peace. I guess you wouldn’t understand. You’re so much like Father.”
“I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment or not,” Milandra said as she walked over to her sister. She looked out the window to admire the view, too.
“I didn’t mean anything negative by it. I know you love the prestigious life more than Kenley and I, so the estate fits you in every way.”
“And you don’t love money?”
“I do, but I don’t want it to control me. I want to be free to be me. Every time I do something, I don’t want to have to remember that I have to live up to being a Houston.”
“You can’t escape that, Noelle. That’s who you are.”
“Yes, it’s my name, but I want to live it in the way that I want to—not by any Houston rule book.”
“You really mean what you say?” Milandra asked. “You want to let go of all the ways a Houston should be?”
Noelle walked past her sister. She sat in front of a vanity table and brushed her hair.
“I just want to be myself as a Houston.”
Milandra could see her sister wasn’t budging. “Okay, if you want to stay here, fine. Kenley and I are definitely leaving here ASAP.”
Noelle couldn’t believe Milandra wasn’t going to give her a good verbal fight.
“Thank you, Milandra, for respecting my wishes.”
“Can you do one thing for me?”
“What is it?”
“Can we Houston girls still go to lunch every Friday, as Mother always had us do?”
“Of course!”
Noelle laid the brush on the vanity and stood up. As she embraced her older sister, her baby sister entered the bedroom.
“Do you need me to call Sid to help you pack?” Kenley teased since she saw her sister hadn’t begun to pack.
“No. I’ve decided to stay here—at least for now,” Noelle said.
“Wow! Is Sid moving in with you?” Kenley asked.
Milandra echoed, astonished, “Sid is moving in here with you?”
“Of course not. Those were Kenley’s words, not mine. Now that part of a Houston, I’ll keep. No man will move in here until he makes me an honest woman.”
“You scared me for a moment,” Milandra said, relieved.
They laughed as they embraced in a group hug.
The day went as planned. Noelle helped them with their clothing. Nolan’s movers packed their bags and boxes into the truck.
Noelle walked her sisters out to the limo. A tear rolled down her face. “I’ll come to visit soon.”
“Tomorrow,” Milandra ordered.
They gave one another pecks on the cheeks. Noelle waved until she could no longer see the limo. The first item on the agenda in her new life would be to call Elsa to arrange for a servant for her. That part of a Houston’s life she wouldn’t give up. Pete had already left to go back to the es
tate, thanks to Kenley, who pouted until Milandra gave in and allowed him to continue working at the estate.
Before the end of the day, the doorbell chimed and Noelle made her way to the front door. When she opened it, her eyes lit up. Who better to be her first guest than Sid. She smiled. “Welcome to my home.”
Sid gave her a peck on the cheek and entered. “I went to the estate. Kenley told me you decided to stay here. I’m surprised.”
“I think it’s time I stand on my own two feet. I always stood in the shoes of my family. I’m kind of nervous, but I think I can do it.”
“I’ll help you any way I can.”
“Come in the kitchen; there’s a freshly baked sweet potato pie ready to be eaten.”
“Sounds delicious.” Sid followed her into the kitchen.
Noelle handled the pie carefully as she carried it from the oven to the table. She directed Sid to find a knife in one of the drawers.
After slicing the pie in sections, Sid placed a slice on each of their plates. Noelle got ice cream out of the freezer and put two scoops on his plate and one scoop on her plate. Together, they began to feast on the dessert.
“Yummy…delicious,” he said.
“I love vanilla ice cream and pie together. My mother always had the cook prepare this dessert at least once a week.”
“Did you bake this pie?” Sid asked, knowing she didn’t.
“No way! The help baked it. You would never want to see me again after eating a pie I baked. It would be a disaster.”
“One day you and I will make one together,” he promised.
Noelle’s voice was as squeaky as a mouse when she asked him, “You can bake a pie?”
“Oh yeah. I wasn’t blessed with a silver spoon. I’ve watched my mother bake up a storm. It rubbed off on me.”
“I guess sometimes letting others do for you can make a person like me lose out on doing simple things that may just be fun. I look forward to making pies with you.” She smiled.
Sid jumped up out of his seat. He took the remainder of the pie off the table and tossed it in the trashcan.
Noelle watched him with her mouth wide open. He took their plates and dumped them in the sink.
“I can’t believe you threw the pie in the trash.”
“Oh, yeah. We’re going to bake our own pie.”
“Right now.”
Sid ran around the kitchen and took out all the ingredients to make a sweet potato pie. Noelle stood back and watched him move around the kitchen like a professional chef.
“Come over here. I’ll give the instructions and you’ll do as I say.”
“I think you’re going to regret throwing the other pie in the garbage.”
“My recipe is better. And your touch is going to make it taste even better.”
Noelle did as he said every step of the way. “This is fun,” she admitted as she stirred the sweet potato mixture.
She finished his last instruction. She placed the pie in the oven.
“There, the pie is cooking. Wait until Milandra hears that I baked a pie. She’s going to think I’ve truly gone against being a Houston.”
“Baking a pie doesn’t make you less of a Houston,” Sid assured her as he took some of the leftover pie mix around the bowl and scooped it on his finger.
Holding his finger to her mouth, Noelle licked off the pie filling. “Superb!”
Noelle enjoyed the sweetness of the filling, and then she saw the sink was full of dirty bowls. “The kitchen is so untidy.”
“More fun for us.”
Sid removed the bowls and filled the sink with soapsuds and water. He washed the dishes. Noelle occasionally checked on the pie as it cooked. She kept the light on in the oven.
“Get away from there,” Sid said as he handed her a dishtowel. “You can dry the dishes.”
“We should have used the dishwasher. That would have been quicker.”
“We’re doing it the old-fashioned way—with our own hands.”
Noelle wiped over the bowls, half-drying them. She didn’t feel like a Houston in the way the world portrayed them. She wished the media could have captured her having fun in the kitchen.
Turning off the oven, Sid gave her orders that the pie was ready.
Noelle covered her hands with oven mitts to avoid burning herself on the hot pie pan. She held her head back from the heat that escaped from the oven. “It smells so good,” she said as she placed the golden brown pie on top of the stove.
“We’ll let it cool down.”
“I’m ready for a bite.”
“Set the table.”
Noelle got out two small plates. She placed a fork next to each plate and filled two glasses with cold milk. She waited for Sid to give the okay to slice the pie.
He turned around and smiled at her. “Miss Houston, would you like the honor of cutting your first baked pie?”
Noelle curtsied. “I thought you would never ask.”
Sid took the pie over to the table and she cut it into slices. She placed a slice on each plate. Sid went back and got the ice cream out of the freezer.
“One scoop of vanilla for me,” Noelle said.
He put two scoops on his plate. They sat down and absorbed the taste of the pie with the ice cream.
“This is magnificent.”
“You should be proud, Miss Houston.”
“I am…to have you come into my life.”
They ate the dessert until their stomachs felt like lead balloons.
“Talk about overeating. I’ve had my share of pie tonight.”
“You made my first night in this house without my sisters one to be remembered.”
Sid got up and started to clean the dishes. Noelle went over to him. “Leave it for tomorrow.”
She took him by the hand and led him upstairs to her bedroom.
“As always I ask you, are you sure you want to do this?”
“I’m a grown woman; you don’t ever have to ask me that question again.”
Noelle eased her hands up his chest and around his neck. Sid loosened the pins in her hair to let it fall. They kissed passionately.
Noelle stepped back and removed her clothes. He stared as she shared her bare flesh with him again. The light from a pole outside glowed through the window to shine on her body.
“Aren’t you going to join me?”
Sid removed his clothes. Noelle hungered for him. Once his last piece of clothing exposed his masculine parts, she raced into his arms. He lifted her up and laid her on the bed. He climbed on top of her. There he explored her body.
Noelle moaned from the force as he entered her. She locked her legs around him. He moved like the waves of the ocean and she paddled along with him. She screamed, knowing that her sisters wouldn’t have any say-so in her life. This was her paradise—to live her life as she pleased.
Sid rested under the covers with her. He held her in his arms close to him. “I’m not the man you or your father would see as a suitable husband, but I can make you happy. Just give me the time to show you that I’m worthy of you.”
Noelle touched his mustache. “My heart tells me you’re perfect for me. We’ll let things fall into place.” She kissed his chest.
Sid looked at his watch. “It’s late. I better get going.”
Noelle placed her finger on his lips. “No such thing. My heart says you’re wanted here for the night. Go to sleep.”
They slept in each other’s arms.
Chapter 33
Back at the Houston Estate, Milandra saw to it that the guest bedroom was completely redesigned. The mahogany king-sized bedroom set was given away to the Salvation Army and replaced with a king-sized, cherrywood bedroom set. The bedding matched the newly painted green wall color.
Their parents’ bedroom was also redecorated. Milandra decided to move into the master suite, leaving Kenley on the west wing of the house. Her goal was to turn her and Noelle’s old bedrooms into more guest rooms.
She hurriedly unpacked
as Nolan carried up the last box of clothing. He dropped the box on the floor. Taking a hand towel, he wiped the sweat that dripped down the back of his neck.
“I’m tired. Girl, you Houstons don’t play when it comes down to clothes.”
Milandra laughed. “We have to stay ladylike at all times.”
“I don’t know if I can keep up with royalty.”
Milandra looked at him, noticing that his face showed no signs of humor.
“Nolan, I don’t expect anything extra out of you other than the person you are.”
“Thanks, because I can’t give you what you want. I don’t have the cash to do it.”
Milandra knew this would come into play sooner or later. She went up to him. “I’m not looking for the world from you—just your friendship.”
“Friendship! Is that it? Milandra, you only want me as a friend? I’m a man who wants a wife and kids one day, but I get the feeling you don’t want what I want.”
“We come from two different worlds. We could never be man and wife.”
“I thought you really dug me. Damn, I’ve never been used by a woman.”
“I’m doing no such thing. I mean we can be together and have fun, but it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to marry someone of your status. You don’t have wealth.”
Nolan hit his fist against the wall. “You’re no better than Aniyah and your father put together. I’m out of here. Take my company off your list for services. I won’t be doing business with you anymore,” he said as he stormed out.
“Nolan, why are you doing this? You know how things can only be for a Houston,” Milandra called.
Kenley overheard them. She saw Nolan leaving, slamming the door behind him, and Milandra running after him, tearfully.
“What’s going on between you two?” Kenley asked.
“I have lost Nolan. He couldn’t understand that we can only be friends.”
“And why can you two only be friends?”
“We’re from two different worlds. I can’t marry a mover.”
“He owns his own company,” Kenley said as she sat down on the top step.
“Nolan doesn’t have wealth.”
“He has love for you. That should be good enough. I hope you didn’t tell him he didn’t have wealth.”
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