Hot Like Fire

by Niobia Bryant

  When Garcelle left him that night at that hotel, he had gone downstairs to watch her from a distance. It had made his soul ache to watch her fight not to cry as she stood in the lobby of the hotel. He wanted to go to her and tell her what she wanted to hear—what she needed to hear—but he couldn’t. He would have been lying.

  Garcelle’s father had once asked him if his heart was free to love her. He remembered pausing, because he was unable to answer that question with honesty. Garcelle deserved more than he could give her. She deserved to be more than a woman living in his dead wife’s shadow.

  Bianca was so sick and tired of being face-first in a commode. She frowned at the taste in her mouth as she flushed the contents of her stomach. Even after she rose to her feet and rinsed her mouth, she stayed in the bathroom. There was solace in there.

  She sighed heavily as she dropped the lid and slumped down onto the commode. Six or seven more months of this?

  There was a knock at the door, and she rolled her eyes heavenward.

  “Bianca . . . baby, you have to come out,” Kahron said through the door. “Mimi’s here to go over the wedding plans.”

  She had to swallow back a hysterical giggle. She could literally choke herself for opening her big mouth and talking her father and future stepmother out of eloping to Vegas.

  No, have the wedding here at my house. I’ll help plan it. Sure, we can put together a nice one in six weeks. Sure, I’m sure.

  “What in the hell was I thinking?” she muttered aloud.

  Kahron knocked again. “Did you say something, baby?”

  Between preparing for Thanksgiving dinner at her house, and the wedding at her house just one week later, and putting up with Lisha, who was driving her crazy with baby talk, Bianca was ready to grab Kahron and fly to Vegas . . . forever.

  Three Weeks Later

  Fate was dealing Garcelle a cruel hand. After seeing Kade and his family in the restaurant where she worked, she kept bumping into Kade. At the Piggly Wiggly when she was grocery shopping. At Bianca’s when she dropped her friend and ex-employer off after a day of shopping in Beaufort. At Kahron and Bianca’s ranch when she dropped off the fish stew Bianca begged her to make for her. At the menswear store on Main Street in Walterboro when she took her father there to purchase a new suit.

  True, Holtsville and Walterboro were small towns, but it was getting to be a bit ridiculous. Over and over and over again, their paths crossed. Each and every time, they would look at each other, wave, and move on in opposite directions to continue living their separate lives.

  “Oh God, not again,” Garcelle muttered after she looked up and saw Kade and Kadina stroll into Wal-Mart. Her heart hammered as she whipped her buggy around and headed in the other direction.

  “Garcelle! Garcelle!” cried Kadina.

  She winced at the sound of Kadina’s voice. She couldn’t dare ignore her, so she plastered a smile on her face and turned just as Kadina came running up to her. Garcelle took a step back after Kadina lunged at her and then wrapped her thin arms around her. “Hola, little girl. How are you?” Garcelle asked as she bent to kiss the top of her head.

  “I got all good grades in school, and Daddy’s gonna buy me whatever I want,” she said, looking up at Garcelle with bright cocoa brown eyes.

  “Oh, he is?” Garcelle asked lightly.

  “Yup.” Kadina looked over her shoulder. “Right, Daddy?”

  Garcelle bit the clear gloss from her bottom lip as she finally raised her eyes and looked at Kade. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he nodded.

  “I said I would buy you something, not anything. There’s a difference,” he told her, with a grin.

  “Sure, Daddy,” Kadina said in obvious disbelief.

  They all fell into a silence made all the more awkward when Kadina looked from Garcelle to Kade with an expected air. Kade and Garcelle looked at each other for what seemed like endless minutes before they both looked away.

  “I better be going,” Garcelle said.

  “Yeah, we don’t want to hold you up,” Kade said.

  “Adiós,” Garcelle said softly before turning to walk away from them.

  She chanced a quick look back, and her heart broke to see Kadina looking over her shoulder as they walked away.

  “It really is over,” she whispered aloud to herself as she gave the little girl a final wave before she continued on her way.

  The holidays were always a tough time for him. The holidays equaled family, and for so long Kade had felt like his small family was incomplete. The holidays were just a poignant reminder of that. On Thanksgiving mornings in the past, he would wake up to an empty bed and the heavy smell of cooking from the kitchen below. He would go downstairs, sip on coffee, and read the paper as Reema made all of his favorite dishes. On this day his kitchen was just a reminder of what he’d lost.

  He jumped from the bed and purposely avoided looking at his wedding picture on the wall opposite the bed. Thanksgiving dinner was at Kahron and Bianca’s this year, and he was ready for the noise and chaos that usually ensued when his family got together. He jumped into a fresh pair of pajama bottoms before he strode to Kadina’s room.

  He chuckled at the way she lay across the middle of the bed, with one arm and one foot hanging off and with all the covers nearly on the floor. “Up and at ’em, Kadina,” he said, nudging her shoulder.

  She scowled in her sleep and scooted back under what covers were left on her bed.

  “Come on. We’re going to Uncle Kahron’s,” he told her as he bent over to scoop her up into his arms.

  Kadina opened one eye and stretched, with her arms and legs extended. She closed that eye, and her body went slack as she went back to sleep.

  “Girl, I don’t know what kind of job you going to have, loving the bed so much,” he mused as he shook her gently. “Come on and get up, Kadina.”

  She stretched again before she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Good morning, Daddy,” she said in a throaty voice.

  He tried not to wince at her morning breath. “Go brush your teeth before you burn out my nose hairs.”

  Kadina covered her mouth with both her hands and giggled. “You should brush yours before I lose my eyebrows, Daddy,” she said, her voice muffled.

  He sat her down at his feet and covered his mouth with both of his hands as well. “Let’s both brush. Deal?”

  She nodded before she went running off to the bathroom.

  Kade dropped his hands as he walked back into his bedroom and then into his private bathroom. He did his morning ritual before he strode back into his bedroom. He turned on the television, then looked in his closet for an outfit other than his usual Dickies uniforms.

  Choosing his own outfits took getting used to. Reema had laid out what she thought he should wear, down to his socks and shoes. Life is so much easier in one of my uniforms, he thought as he selected a pair of jeans, a crisp white shirt, and a tailored suede blazer.

  Garcelle used to love to see him in anything except one of his uniforms.

  He paused in putting on his clothes at the thought of her. He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts as he finished getting dressed. “Kadina,” he called out.

  “I’m right here, Daddy.”

  He nearly jumped out of his skin at her sudden appearance at his side. “You brought your clothes?” he asked as he flopped down on the end of his bed.

  “Sí, Papi.”

  He helped her get dressed in her colorful, opaque stockings and the ruffled jean dress she’d chosen. “Ready for some turkey and stuffing?”

  “And macaroni and cheese, and greens, and cranberry sauce,” she finished in a little singsong fashion as she did a little dance.

  “Then let’s get our shoes on, and let’s ride.”

  She winked at him before she went skipping out of the room. “You ain’t said nothing but a word, Daddy.”

  He was slipping on his shoes when Kadina reappeared at his door. He looked up at her face and w
as surprised by her serious expression. “What’s wrong?”

  “Daddy, I don’t want you to be alone anymore,” Kadina said suddenly as she walked into the room and smoothed down his lapels.

  “First, I’m not alone, because I have you and a whole bunch of family.” Kade looked up at her. “Second, I know you love me and you just want me to be happy, but trust me, I’m okay.”

  “Don’t you think Mama loved you?”

  Kade’s brows furrowed as he frowned at the question. “Yes, your mama loved me very much.”

  “Then wouldn’t she want you to be happy, too, Daddy?”

  Kade paused.

  His daughter was right. Reema had been a warm and caring woman. She had put others before herself. She wouldn’t want him to be alone.

  “I miss hanging out with Garcelle, Daddy.”

  He nodded. He had a wrenching feeling in his gut. “Me, too, baby girl. Me, too.”

  Kade fell silent. Life without Garcelle was hell. Seeing her around town, and having to fight his urge to go to her, tore him up. He hadn’t been back in Donnie’s restaurant since the day he found out she was working there. It took everything he had not to go to her.

  Garcelle was still in his system.

  “You really like Garcelle, don’t you?” he asked her.

  “I like her a lot.”

  “I know you do.”

  “Don’t you like her?”

  “I do.”

  “Good.”

  If only things could be that simple.

  His eyes fell on the wedding portrait as he stood and slipped his wallet into his back pocket. His heart ached, and he knew he needed to be around his family more than ever.

  The Santos house was organized confusion. Everyone spoke freely in Spanish. Music played. The television blared. The clang of pots echoed from the kitchen.

  Garcelle wiped the sweat from her brow with her forearm as she stirred a large pot of seafood stew. She reached for seasonings and bumped into her father, who was roasting chickens. “Sorry, Papi,” she said as she bent over slightly to taste the broth.

  She felt his eyes on her, and she looked over at him, with the spoon poised before her lips. When she did turn her head to meet his eyes, she saw the concern he had for her. “I’m okay,” she said before he could ask.

  “I disagree, Garcelle.”

  “Did Marisol call?” she asked as she moved to the fridge to remove the bowl of salsa.

  “Yes, she did, but don’t change the subject, Garcelle.” Carlos pierced her with his eyes. “Ever since you and Kade broke up, you have been moping around the house. You hardly eat. You don’t play poker anymore. You do nothing but go to school and go to work.”

  “Papa—”

  He held up his hand. “No, let me finish.”

  Garcelle met her father’s eyes.

  “If it isn’t meant to be, Garcelle, then it just isn’t meant to be,” he said softly as he reached over to squeeze her hand.

  He tugged her hand, and she was wrapped in his loving arms. She didn’t want to cry. She wasn’t going to cry. “I just really thought he was the one, you know? I thought he was for me,” she admitted softly.

  “I know, bambina, I know.” Carlos rocked her from side to side like she was still his little girl. “The one for you will come. I promise.”

  She nodded as she swallowed back any fussy tears. “Perhaps,” was all that she said.

  “The food ready?” Paco asked as he peeked his head into the kitchen.

  “Yes, Son, yes,” said Carlos. He patted Garcelle’s back comfortingly before he walked over to the kitchen counter and turned up the radio. The sound of Tito Puente filled the air as Carlos extended his hand to Garcelle. She smiled and danced over to him to take his hand, and he spun her.

  They used what little room they had to dance around the kitchen as they cooked. Garcelle knew it was her father’s way of lightening her mood, and she loved him all the more for it. She loved Kade no less, but the pain she felt about their breakup wasn’t quite so sharp anymore.

  Hours later, after the seven courses of their holiday dinner were enjoyed, Carlos rose to his feet, with a glass of sangria. He looked around the table, momentarily resting his eyes on each and every person. “I just want to say that I enjoyed spending time with you all. Family is very important to me, and on a day like to day, I am especially thankful to have you all in my life. Never forget the importance, the strength, the support, and the love of family.”

  Everyone raised their glass in a joyful toast before they sipped from their drinks. Garcelle realized that the fun, good food, family, and friends had kept Kade from her mind for most of the day. She was grateful for that.

  One Week Later

  Kade knocked on Kahron’s office door before he strolled in. He slid his hands into the pockets of his tuxedo pants as he looked down at his brother. “Looking for an escape from all the wedding hoopla?” he asked before folding his tall frame into one of the leather chairs before Kahron’s desk.

  Kahron shook his head as he leaned back in his chair and wiped his mouth with his hand. “My house has been turned upside, and this is the only spot where I feel like I’m not a visitor in my home.”

  Kade laughed as he crossed his ankle over his knee. “It will all be over tonight, little brother.”

  Kahron just mumbled under his breath as he rose and walked over to the bar. He offered Kade a shot of cognac, but he declined.

  “Is uh . . . Garcelle coming?” asked Kade.

  Kahron watched his brother over the rim of the glass as he sipped his drink. “No.”

  Kade felt disappointed and relieved.

  “Pour me one of those,” said a familiar voice.

  Kade looked over his shoulder as Kaleb and Kaeden strolled into the office in their tailored tuxedos. Kahron poured the drink and handed it to Kaleb. He laughed as his brother downed it in one gulp and winced afterwards.

  “Want another shot?” Kahron asked.

  Kaleb scowled. “No,” he said in a strangled voice.

  Kade looked up, and he saw Kahron’s face become transformed. He followed Kahron’s line of vision and saw Bianca walk into the room, in a strapless, floor-length, satin dress of the deepest shade of purple.

  The men all rose to their feet before they faced her.

  “You’re a lucky man, brother,” Kade drawled.

  “Don’t I know it,” Kahron said as he walked past his brothers to reach his wife.

  “So this is where you all are hiding,” she said as she raised her face to kiss Kahron briefly before she looked past him. “Now, I must say that this looks like a Sean John ad or something. You are one bunch of sexy . . . ass . . . men.”

  “Hey,” Kade said as if affronted.

  She looked up at Kahron. “You’re the sexiest of them all, baby.”

  “I’d like a vote on that,” Kade called over to the couple.

  “You got that right,” Kaleb drawled.

  Kaeden straightened his bow tie. “Since Kahron and I look alike, I’ll agree with you, Bianca.”

  She winked at him before she rubbed her hands together. “Okay, the wedding will begin, so I need you all to come out of hiding.”

  The men headed out of the office just as Bianca turned back around suddenly. “Boys, if you care about me at all, keep your mama and her dang-on J. C. Penneys and Sears catalogs from me today . . . please. Deal?”

  “Deal,” they all said in baritone unison.

  Kade knew his mother was in full grandmother mode. She’d been the same way when Reema was pregnant with Kadina. As soon as she knew the egg had been fertilized, she started shopping. Bianca had no clue that the more she showed, the worse his mom was going to get. It would be a full blast of old wives’ tales, talk of decorating the nursery, choosing baby names, and everything else baby related under the sun.

  Of course, she did it out of nothing but love. It had taken time, but eventually Reema had been glad for the help. Plus, he knew his mother had been l
ooking for a heap load of grandkids from them.

  Kade’s steps faltered. The way his life was going, there wouldn’t be any more kids for him. That thought saddened him. He loved Kadina to death, but he’d always imagined having plenty of children. He frowned deeply.

  “What’s wrong, Kade?” Kaeden asked as he slapped him soundly on the back. “You look like you’re the one headed to the altar.”

  Kade just shrugged as they walked out the front door and across the lawn to the huge heated tent in the center of the field. The cold bit through his suit, and he sped up his steps. He paused at the entrance to the tent, beside his brothers.

  “Wow,” Kade said as he shoved his hands inside the pockets of his slacks. “Bianca went all out.”

  “Yeah,” his brothers all said in unison.

  The front half of the tent was reserved for the wedding ceremony, and the rear was given over to the cocktail reception and dancing. Big, fat dripping candles were lit in every available spot inside the tent. A multitude of elegantly arranged and deeply colored flowers made the entire tent smell like the inside of a perfume bottle. Thirty people dressed to the nines sat in gold chairs lined up on either side of the aisle. Hank’s and Mimi’s names floated against the walls in lights as they stood at the altar, before the minister. Kahron, Bianca, and Kadina stood behind them as the best man, maid of honor, and flower girl. The soft strains of Etta James’s “At Last” played softly in the background.

  I’m late. Garcelle shivered from the cold. Winters in the South were still winters, and she was freezing. The faint wave of heat from inside the tent blew against her body, and she damn near sighed in pleasure. She eased the tent flap back, hoping to slide in and grab a seat in the rear, but she stopped searching when her eyes fell on Kade’s profile.

  He looked devastatingly gorgeous. His silvery hair contrasted so well with his skin tone and the rich black of his tux. Suddenly, the air outside wasn’t quite as cold anymore.