“Watch this, Mom.” Jamie gave Chris the signal and he pulled the chair back, popping a wheelie. Her son laughed so hard, Corra had to smile. Her baby was going to be okay.
Chris stopped the chair next to her. “Ready to go?” he asked.
Corra looked at her phone.
“He’s not coming,” Chris said. “I told him I’d take you guys home.”
Corra lowered her arms and said through clenched teeth, “I should have known the minute I saw you. Wait until I see him.”
“If you’re going to be mad at anybody, be mad at me. I told him I wasn’t leaving until they released you guys. I just want to make sure you get home safe.”
It was almost one o’clock in the morning, what choice did she have? As much as she hated to admit it, at the moment she trusted Chris more than anyone, besides Rollin.
She nodded, and followed Chris and Jamie out to his waiting car. Chris had pulled his car close to the emergency room door. He helped Jamie into the backseat and held the door open for her. A nurse waiting behind them took the wheelchair back.
Minutes into the drive, Jamie fell asleep in the backseat. Corra hadn’t uttered a word until now. “I don’t know what made you think it was okay to let Eric take Jamie anywhere.”
“Because he’s his father.”
“But I have sole custody of my kids. All Eric can do is come see them at my house.”
“With the way you’ve been letting him come around how was I supposed to know that?” Chris glanced in the rearview mirror, which made Corra peek back to confirm Jamie was still asleep. He was snoring.
“I know how you feel about him, but he’s their father, as you’ve pointed out to me on numerous occasions. I know now it wasn’t the right thing to do, but at the moment, it seemed like the only thing I could do.”
“Yes, I want my kids to know their father. But, Eric’s been out of our lives too long for me to trust him alone with my kids. He willingly gave up custody. And you see what he did tonight.” On fire, she glanced out the window into the darkness and shook her head. “He just left him there.”
Jamie coughed, getting Chris’s attention, as he stirred in the backseat. “Can we talk about this after we get Jamie home and in bed?”
“Not tonight. I’m too upset to talk.” Corra relaxed her head back onto the headrest and closed her eyes. She knew Chris didn’t have much experience with children, but she expected better from him. All she wanted right now was to be home alone with Jamie and Katie.
Corra must have dozed off as well, because when the car pulled into her driveway, it jolted her awake.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Chris said.
Corra sat up to see a car parked in front of her house with the passenger door open and Eric sitting on her front steps.
She wanted to race out the car and run over and smack the hell out of him. Even worse, she wanted to kick him where it hurt for leaving her baby alone at the hospital. The only problem was, Chris wouldn’t allow it.
She pulled on the door handle, but nothing happened.
“Corra, hold on.” Chris reached out and touched her arm.
She jerked away from him. “Unlock the door, Chris.” All Corra could see right now were her hands around Eric’s neck. She wanted to cause him bodily harm.
“Let’s get you and Jamie inside, I’ll talk to him.”
“He doesn’t need a damned talking to, he needs his ass kicked.” She pulled up on the door handle again. “Take the child locks off.”
“I’m going to take them off, but I want you to get Jamie and go in the house.”
“Is that Daddy?” Jamie asked. He was awake now and looking out the window.
“That’s the...yeah, that’s him,” Corra spat.
Jamie went to open the back door, but Chris stopped him.
“Hold on a minute, little man. You just got out of the hospital, let me help you out there.” Before he released the child locks, he turned and gave Corra a “don’t do it” look.
She heard the locks pop and threw the door open. She walked around the back of the car to Jamie’s side and opened the door. He was totally capable of getting out of the car himself, but she helped him anyway. Chris stood next to her, closing the door after them.
Corra held Jamie by the back of his shirt. She could tell he wanted to run to his father, but the look of Eric sitting on her steps talking to himself and holding what looked like a bottle of beer between his legs scared her.
“Come on, let’s get you inside,” Chris said to Jamie.
As they walked toward the steps, Eric stood up, leaving the bottle along the side of the steps. Corra turned Jamie’s head.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Mr. Christopher Williams. Here to take what’s mine once more.”
The streetlight in front of Corra’s house revealed Eric’s bloodshot eyes. Chris ignored his comment.
“Jamie, you all right?” Eric asked, and tried to reach out to him as soon as they were close enough.
Corra took Jamie by the shoulders and turned him away from Eric. “Don’t touch him. Not after what you did tonight.”
“What I did! I took him to the hospital. Your boyfriend here didn’t know what to do.”
Chris stepped between them. “Look, Eric, why don’t you go sleep it off and come back tomorrow. You don’t want the kid to see you like this.”
Eric took a step back. “Like what?”
Chris held Eric off while Jamie and Corra hurried up the front steps. “Hey, man, is there somebody you can call to come get you? You don’t need to be driving tonight.”
“I drove over here, didn’t I?” Eric walked around Chris. “Corra, baby, I need to talk to you.”
“Eric, go home,” Corra said over her shoulder before opening the front door and rushing inside.
Chris pulled out his cell phone. He couldn’t let Eric drive in his condition.
“Who you calling, the police?” Eric asked, looking back at Chris.
“No, a cab. You’re drunk.”
“The hell I am. So what I had a few beers. Then I come over here to see how my boy is and nobody’s home.” Eric sat down on the step and pointed at Chris. “But, once they showed up I knew you’d be with them. Know how I knew that?”
Chris didn’t answer him.
“Because you’re a thief. You always have been. You stole everything that ever mattered from me. You really want to be me.”
Chris stepped over into the grass and looked up at Corra standing in the doorway. She’d walked out just in time to hear Eric ranting. The door made a squeak and Eric turned around. When he saw Corra he stumbled to his feet.
“Baby, look. I’ve been trying to show you that I’m a changed man. I can take care of you and the kids again. Just give me a little—”
Chris turned away and gave the cab company instructions on how to get there, then hung up. He wasn’t going anywhere until Eric was off Corra’s property.
“Are you kidding?” Corra’s voice rose several octaves as if she’d forgotten it was after one in the morning. “You just showed me how much you want to be a father, by deserting your son. He was scared to death. What the hell is wrong with you?”
Eric started up the steps again. “I’m, I’m, sorry. I was coming back.” He stopped and pointed at Chris. “I was looking for him. He done something to Jamie. He ain’t never had no asthma before. Not until he took him to the field. And where were you? Why did you leave Jamie with him? I’m his father, not him.”
Corra walked to the top of the steps and lowered her voice. “In the last couple of months, Chris has been more of a father to them than you have. Don’t play the good father with me. I had to hunt your ass down just so they would know you were alive.”
Chris hoped the cab would get here soon. He hated t
o see this play out on the front porch like this, but then he didn’t want Jamie to witness any of it either. Until the cab arrived he realized he had to defuse the situation. He walked up on the porch and tried to ease Corra back into the house.
“Corra, come on, it’s late. You can have this discussion another time. Jamie’s inside alone and a cab is on the way to pick Eric up.” To his surprise she backed up with him until she was standing inside the storm door.
“So you’re gonna let this asshole take my family from me? Take my kids from me?” Eric pleaded as he stepped up onto the porch.
Chris hated to see him try to gain sympathy from Corra. “Man, why don’t you go sit in your car until the cab comes.” He tried to take Eric by the arm and usher him down the steps, but he pulled away from him and stood with his shoulders back, defiantly.
“You are not gonna take my son away from me.”
“I’m not trying to take Jamie or Katie from you. But I do love them and their mother. I want what’s best for them. Look, man, I know you’re hurting, you don’t want your son to see you out here behaving this way. When the cab comes, go home, sleep it off, tomorrow you can sit down and explain what happened to Corra.” Tell her why the hell you left your only son alone at the hospital.
“Just let you have them, huh? Like you took my baseball career away from me.”
Chris’s head snapped back as if he had been struck.
Chapter 24
“Eric, I didn’t take anything from you. You got hurt junior year when you collided into me on the field, it was an accident. Then you quit coming to practice. You expected the coach to keep you on the team when you weren’t showing up? You weren’t going to qualify for a sports scholarship because you needed to be more responsible. You need to man up and finally face the facts.”
Chris knew he’d hit a nerve when Eric lumbered up his shoulders and neck as if he was ready to throw a punch. Why had he let Eric goad him? This was the last man Chris wanted to get into a fight with.
No matter how much liquor Eric had ingested, Chris knew he’d never throw a punch. Weakness was another of Eric’s flaws.
Corra opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. “What the hell are you two doing?”
Having her attention gave Eric more courage. “That’s bullshit, man. You took the one thing from me that I wanted more than anything. That hit you gave me on the field was intentional, and it sidelined me. You weren’t better than me. You never have been.”
Corra threw her hand up trying to calm Eric down. “I don’t believe it. You’re arguing over some high school shit! This is crazy.”
Chris realized something for the first time tonight. Eric envied him. Not just because he’d come into Corra’s life, but his resentment went all the way back to high school. He blamed Chris for him not having a successful baseball career. All the years of rudeness, sneering at him, and talking negatively about his mother in high school, was his way of dealing with losing his position to Chris.
There were no words that could change what happened years ago, but Chris understood Eric better now. For Chris, his position on the baseball team was just another sport to excel in. For Eric, it may have been his future.
Corra and Eric kept arguing until Chris stepped back in. “Eric, I’m sorry, man. I never meant to take anything away from you. If baseball meant to you one tenth of what football meant to me, then I’m truly sorry.”
At first Eric frowned at Chris. Then he started laughing and wagged his finger at him.
At the same time, a taxi cab pulled to a stop in behind Eric’s car.
“You’re good. I guess you think that apology is going to make up for everything.” He pointed to Corra. “This is what you want? A thief.”
“Oh, Eric, go home. I’ve had enough. Get in the cab and go.”
Eric applauded. “Bravo, Mr. Williams. You win tonight. But don’t think for one minute I’m giving up on what’s mine.”
Chris didn’t say another word. Instead, he walked out to the taxi and instructed the driver to take Eric wherever he wanted to go. He slipped him the money without Eric noticing.
With a little coaching from Corra, Eric staggered down the steps, closed his car door which was still open, and slid into the back of the taxi.
After the cab pulled off, Chris walked back up on the porch.
“If he causes you any trouble when he comes back for the car don’t hesitate to call the police. I doubt that he will, but just in case.”
“I will.” Corra stood inside the storm door.
Afraid to speak, Chris looked into Corra’s eyes hoping to see relief that he’d gotten rid of Eric for her. Instead, he saw narrowed eyes, locked and loaded, and aimed right at him.
“Thank you for the ride,” she said, her tone sharp.
“Sure. Will I see you tomorrow?”
She looked away. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
He nodded. Okay, so she needs a little time to think about it. “Sometime this week then?”
“Chris, I’ve got a lot on my plate with the upcoming wedding and all. Maybe it’s best we do our own thing for a while.”
He tilted his head. What the hell did that mean?
* * *
After a two-week setback, the contractor finally finished Chris’s house. The interior decorator he hired completed the final touches a few days later, just in time for a reporter to come out and take pictures for the local paper. His first guests, as promised, were his family. He gave them the grand tour, pointing out how he’d preserved so many of the historical interior details.
“Oh, Chris. This is simply amazing.” His mother, Dakota, stood in the foyer admiring the new traditional Schonbek crystal chandelier.
His mother’s pain level was a three today, which made Chris happy. Dakota insisted on taking the stairs by herself. Nathaniel and Pamela followed them.
“See the intricate carvings on this banister?” Nathaniel ran his hand along the wood as they went upstairs. “I worked on that for hours, getting it just right.”
Chris shared a smile with his mother.
In the master bedroom, Pamela opened the balcony doors and walked out. “Wait until Darlene sees this place.” She stood against the railing with her arms spread out wide and yelled, “Look, Ma, I’m on top of the world!”
Chris laughed, then playfully closed the doors on her.
After the tour and lunch, the women were eager to explore the property more, while the men kicked back by the pool.
“Son, I don’t mean to be nosy, but what happened to the Coleman woman with the two children?”
Chris took a deep painful breath and leaned back in his chair. “She’s not speaking to me right now.”
“Why not?”
Chris replayed what happened Sunday night two weeks ago. Since that night he hadn’t slept well, nor been able to fully concentrate on anything. He’d let Corra down. In the weeks that followed, he’d put all his focus on completing the house.
“Don’t beat yourself up. I know you had plans for your future that included them.”
“How do you know that?” Chris asked.
“Because, I had kids of my own. Your guest rooms upstairs are painted for a little boy and a girl. And I’ve never known a man who needed a shoe closet. Just have faith that God will bring them back to you.”
Nathaniel smiled, stood up and patted Chris on the back. “Don’t give up on love, son.”
Chris stared out into the pool while his father joined the women inside. He now owned the largest, grandest home in all of Danville, which was exactly what he’d always wanted. So why wasn’t he happy about it?
* * *
“Corra, that dress is stunning.” Sharon zipped up the back of Corra’s dress. Corra stood in front of her bedroom mirror staring
at her knee-length, lavender, chiffon halter bridesmaid dress that was perfect for the July heat.
She was so excited about Tayler and Rollin’s wedding she had to model the dress again for Sharon.
“So what shoes are you wearing?” Sharon asked. “You need something sexy, yet simple. You don’t want to take away from the dress.”
“I don’t know, but I’ll find something by next week. Time is running out.”
Sharon rummaged through Corra’s closet pulling out shoe after shoe. “Oh, my God! These are amazing.” Sharon held up Corra’s Jimmy Choos.
Corra reached out and gently took the shoe from her friend. The minute she held it, she remembered the last time she had them on. The memory brought a smile to her face. She held the shoe against her chest.
“Those are the shoes Chris gave you, aren’t they?”
Corra nodded.
Sharon got up from the mound of shoes around her and walked over to sit on the edge of Corra’s bed. Corra followed her with her back to Sharon so she could unzip the dress.
“Don’t you want to try them on to see how they look with the dress?” Sharon asked.
“I don’t need to. They’re perfect. Get me out of this dress before I start crying all over it.”
Sharon unzipped the dress. “You haven’t had them on since you came back from Vegas, have you?”
Corra shook her head and wiggled out of the dress.
“Then you definitely need to wear them. They’re fabulous.”
“But Chris gave them to me and he’ll be there.”
“Good. Maybe seeing him again will bring you to your senses. That man is the best thing that’s happened to you since Katie was born. And I know. I’ve listened to you complain about the quality of men you’ve met over the years. Corra, Chris was good to you. So he made a mistake. No man’s perfect.”
“He made a big mistake.”
“Yes, and I’m sure he’s apologized a thousand times. Come on now, you said yourself he was bonding with the kids. And Eric’s been spending quality time with them since the incident as well. All’s well that ends well, right?”
Corra hung her dress up and changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top. “Sharon, you don’t have any children, do you?”
The Only One for Me Page 14