Forces of Nature

by Cheris Hodges

  Crystal couldn’t put her finger on it, but Renda and MJ had been acting strange all day. Whenever she approached them, they’d stop talking and exchange the oddest looks. Finally she had to ask, “What’s going on with you two today?”

  “Umm, we’re just excited about the party tonight,” Renda said as she tied a ribbon on a balloon.

  “Okay,” Crystal said.

  “It’s going to be a good time,” MJ said.

  “MJ,” Renda chided, “shouldn’t you go talk to the caterers?”

  She smiled brightly. “I’m on it.”

  Crystal watched her retreating frame as she tied another set of balloons. “Why do I get the feeling that you two are up to something?”

  “Us? Come on, Miss Crystal. We’re just excited about the party and MJ going off to college,” Renda said.

  “I’m so proud of everything that you and your sister have accomplished here. Next year it will be your turn to go to college.”

  Renda shrugged. “I want to stay here,” she said. “Work at Starlight House and on the farm so other girls can see that even when people write you off, you can still make a difference.”

  “But what about furthering your education?” Crystal asked. Though she admired what Renda wanted to do, she didn’t want her to sacrifice too much.

  “I can go to college online. I just want to be like you and help other people,” Renda said.

  Crystal enveloped the girl in a tight hug. “I’m glad you feel that way.”

  “Well,” Renda said, holding back happy tears, “I’d better take these balloons into the cafeteria.”

  As Crystal stepped out on the porch of the Starlight House, she saw Dena walking up the driveway carrying gift bags and wearing a huge grin. “Are you going to stand there or help me?” Dena asked.

  “This was so sweet of you,” Crystal said as she took half of the bags.

  “Well, I know how you feel about these girls and how you’ve fought for them. I just wanted them to know that there are others who care,” Dena said as they entered the house and dropped the bags on one of the tables.

  “I haven’t seen you in a while,” Crystal said. “Not since you and Waylon reunited.”

  Dena’s grin broadened. “That man,” she said.

  “Seems as if that man is making you happy.”

  “Well,” Dena said with a sigh, “he was until he suggested that I start working at Welco.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Head of their legal staff. Waylon doesn’t trust a lot of the people working there because of loyalties to the old board, and when he brings the new CEO in he wants him or her to have a staff that can be trusted. I’ve tried to move forward, but that company represents a lot of pain and suffering.”

  Crystal sighed. “But things are different now, right?”

  Dena nodded. “Still, Douglas Wellington did everything in his power to keep me and Waylon apart because he was unhappy. He used Welco to do it, sending Waylon away on ‘business’ and making it seem as if he’d left me on his own accord. Left me and our baby.”

  “Baby?”

  “I was so angry because I had a miscarriage, alone. I spent years hating Welco, Waylon, and everything Wellington,” she said. “That’s why I filed all of those lawsuits every time Welco started a development.”

  “If you work for the company, you’ll be able to make changes from within.”

  Dena shrugged. “Some things aren’t worth saving,” she said. “Douglas walked away and that place is his family legacy. What does that tell you?”

  Crystal sighed and thought about the conversation she and Douglas had had earlier that day. Part of her wondered if she’d been the reason he left Welco.

  “Let’s get ready for the party,” Dena said as she walked over to the helium machine with Crystal.

  Chapter 21

  Douglas waited in line at the café for two slices of the rich chocolate cake he and Crystal loved. As he stood there, he couldn’t stop thinking about Welco. Why was this so important to him now?

  “Mr. Wellington,” the clerk said. “Long time no see.”

  “I know,” he said, remembering that he used to stop in every morning for coffee and a pastry before heading to the office.

  “It’s a little late for breakfast, isn’t it?”

  Douglas nodded. “I’m here for dessert. Two big slices of chocolate cake.”

  “All right, I’ll get that for you.”

  Douglas took the cake and walked out of the café slowly, wondering if he could explain to Crystal why he wanted to go back to work at Welco—simply as a board member. Would she understand? Should he tell her before or after he asked her to marry him? Maybe he should just scrap the idea. Something inside wouldn’t let him do that, though.

  When he arrived at the farm, Renda and MJ rushed over to his truck. “Mr. D,” Renda said excitedly, “everything is all set. Dr. Taylor called and said he’s going to bring the proclamation and the sign for the farm.”

  “And after he does that, then are you going to ask Miss Crystal to marry you?” MJ asked excitedly.

  “Yes,” he said.

  “I can’t wait,” MJ said.

  “Wait for what?” Crystal asked as she walked up behind them.

  “Umm, the party,” MJ said.

  Crystal looked from Renda to MJ to Douglas. “Is that what I think that is?” she asked when she saw the Main Street Café box in Douglas’s hand.

  “Maybe,” he said, grinning.

  Renda and MJ told the couple they’d see them at the party and took off toward Starlight House. “Those two are a trip,” Crystal said. “I think there’s something going on that you don’t want to tell me about.”

  Douglas shrugged and pretended to be offended. “Do you think I would hide something from you?”

  She took the box from his hand and opened it. “Maybe.”

  Douglas closed the top of the cardboard box. “That’s for later, much, much later.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Let’s go inside. I need to talk to you about something.”

  “All right,” she said as they turned toward the front door. Douglas opened the door with one hand and held it for Crystal. She looked up at him and saw the serious expression on his face. “It seems as if I’m not going to like this,” she said as she took the cake box from his hand and started for the kitchen.

  “It’s possible that you won’t,” he said. “Coffee?”

  Crystal placed the cake on the bar and tilted her head to the side. “What’s going on, Douglas?” she asked.

  He sighed and moved closer to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “I’m thinking about going back to Welco.”

  “I knew this was coming,” she said quietly.

  “I don’t want this to be a problem,” he said. “I won’t be the CEO, but I’m thinking of joining the board.”

  She nodded. Douglas stroked her cheek. “You have to understand,” he said. “Despite what my father did, Welco is a part of me and my family history. Maybe I can undo some of the wrongs that my father did.”

  “So, what will this mean for us?” she asked.

  “I don’t see much changing. Are you okay with this?”

  Crystal stroked the back of his hand. “How can I tell you to turn your back on your family’s legacy? I wouldn’t—didn’t—and I can’t expect you to do anything differently.”

  He drew her into his arms and hugged her tightly. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” she said. “But Hughes Farm is still off limits.”

  “No doubt,” he replied. “Besides, this place isn’t going to be touched by anyone.”

  Crystal raised her right eyebrow. “Is that so?”

  He nodded. “Well, that was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I know Waylon wishes things could be like this with Dena. He wants her to work for Welco and she’s not even considering it.”

  Crystal shook her head. “I can understand why,” she replied. “What’s Waylon hoping to accom
plish by asking her to work there, knowing the history she has with the company?”

  Douglas sighed and released her. “I guess it’s his way of trying to make up for the past. It’s confusing, you know. . . .”

  Crystal crossed over to the coffee machine and loaded it with water. “Are you going to read your father’s diary? He probably wrote about why he did those things.”

  Douglas stroked her arm and shook his head. “I don’t know if I want to see the darkness that shrouded his heart, not when—” Douglas stopped short because he was about to reveal his plan to ask her to marry him. “One day, I’ll read it, but right now, I’m looking forward to the future.”

  She turned to him and grinned. “Everybody’s looking forward to the future today, especially Renda and MJ. I’m so proud of those girls.”

  Douglas nodded. “They are special.”

  Placing her hand on her hip, she asked, “So, what are you three scheming?”

  Douglas feigned ignorance. “What are you talking about?” he asked.

  “I’ve seen you guys having these hushed conversations, and don’t tell me it’s just about the party,” she said.

  “It’s a surprise and I’m not saying anything else about it, Miss Hughes,” he replied.

  Crystal groaned. “I hate that tone. You sound like the pompous jerk who tried to have me arrested,” she quipped.

  Douglas winked at her. “I have a question for you, Miss Hughes,” he said.

  “Well, Mr. Wellington, I may have an answer.”

  Douglas closed the space between them and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Whatever happened to those handcuffs you used in Welco that day?”

  She tilted her head and eyed him with a seductive gleam in her eyes. “And you want to know that piece of information because . . . ?”

  “Because the moment I saw you handcuffed in the lobby, I wanted to see you handcuffed in bed,” he replied in a low growl.

  Crystal glanced at the clock on the wall. She and Douglas had just enough time to play a little game before the party started. “Follow me and I’ll show you just where they are,” she said as she took his hand and led him to the bedroom.

  Douglas and Crystal entered the bedroom, surrounded by a crackling sexual energy that was almost overpowering. She pushed him back on the bed.

  “You know,” she intoned as she lifted his shirt above his head, “you’ve had me handcuffed once already. I think it’s time that I return the favor.”

  “Is that so?” he asked as she unzipped his jeans. His erection nearly burst out of his boxers as Crystal eased his pants down his hips. Once he was naked on the bed, she went to the closet and retrieved the handcuffs.

  “It’s payback time,” she quipped. Crystal sauntered over to the bed and straddled Douglas’s body.

  He lifted his hands above his head and she locked the cuffs on his wrists. “Mmm,” he moaned as she kissed his neck. Next, she eased down his body, sucking his nipples and stroking his hardness. Her expert touch sent his body into overdrive and Douglas regretted the decision to allow Crystal to restrain him. He wanted and needed to touch her.

  The moment she took the length of him into her mouth, Douglas cried out with desire. “Yes, yes,” he moaned. They locked eyes as she gave him oral pleasure and Douglas fought the urge to climax.

  Pulling back from him, she stripped out of her cotton dress and mounted his erection. Leaning forward, she unhooked the cuffs. “Hold me,” she moaned as he thrust his hips forward, filling her wetness with his throbbing hardness. Douglas wrapped his arms around her waist and sat up, pulling her against his chest as they ground against each other. She felt so good, so hot, so wet. When Crystal threw her head back and screamed his name, Douglas lowered his head and suckled her nipples. She dug her nails into his back as she reached her climax.

  “Come for me, baby,” he ordered as he continued thrusting into her. “I want to feel it.”

  “I—I,” she moaned as she climaxed again. When Douglas felt her tighten around him, he was unable to hold back his own orgasm.

  Covered in sweat and spent from their session, Douglas and Crystal held on tightly to each other and drifted off to sleep.

  Two hours later, the ringing of the doorbell awakened the couple. “What time is it?” Crystal asked through a yawn. Douglas glanced at the clock on the nightstand.

  “Damn, we’ve got to get ready,” he said as he leapt out of the bed and threw on his discarded clothes. He knew who was at the door—either MJ or Renda. They had to go over the setup for Crystal’s proposal one last time and he had to give the girls something special. Since MJ was heading off to college, he wanted to pay for her books and provide her with a monthly stipend so that she could focus on her classwork and not worry about financial issues.

  “I’ll get the door,” he said as he pulled his shirt over his head and rushed to the front door.

  Crystal slowly pulled herself from the bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower. She wondered, though, what Douglas was up to.

  “We’d better make this quick,” Douglas said when he stepped on the front porch with Renda and MJ.

  “Okay,” Renda said. “Now, when Dr. Taylor makes his announcement, we’re going to have the caterers bring out the drinks.”

  “And Mrs. Fey said we have to include sparkling cider because most of us are underaged and can’t drink Moët,” MJ said.

  Douglas nodded. “That’s a good idea. And the ring?”

  Renda smiled. “I told one of the waiters—the guy who’s going to have the champagne for you and Miss Crystal—that we’re going to put the ring in her glass.”

  “Maybe we shouldn’t put it in the glass,” he said, stroking his chin. “But I love what you girls have done. This is going to be a special night for Crystal.” He drew MJ and Renda into his arms and hugged them tightly.

  “Now, you make sure you don’t mess it up,” Renda said. “Because I’m going to be here and if you hurt Miss Crystal . . .”

  “I told you before, you don’t have to worry about that. As a matter of fact,” Douglas said, reaching into his back pocket, “I have something for the both of you.” He handed the girls two prepaid debit cards. “This is for all of your help and hard work.”

  “Credit cards?” Renda asked.

  “Preloaded debit cards, a few hundred bucks for you to do whatever you want with,” he said. The girls giggled excitedly.

  “Thank you,” MJ said.

  “You know,” Renda said as she stuffed her card in her jeans pocket, “I guess you’re an all right guy. But I have to know, if Miss Crystal hadn’t changed your mind and your company bought this farm, what would’ve happened to us?”

  Douglas rubbed his throat. “I’m not sure. But after tonight, that’s not going to be a concern ever again. I’m glad I got a chance to see what this place means to people and especially to the girls who live here.”

  “So are we,” MJ said. “We’d better go get dressed.” Renda and MJ dashed off.

  Douglas stood on the porch looking out over the farm and smiling. No one could have paid him to believe that spending time there would change his mind about what he wanted to do with the farm. Now, he couldn’t imagine tearing down anything on Hughes Farm. This place was as magical as Crystal described that first night he was there.

  Just as he was about to return inside the house, Dena flagged him down as she made her way to the front porch. “Douglas,” she said. “I guess congratulations are in order.”

  “For?” he asked.

  She looked over his shoulder to make sure Crystal wasn’t in earshot. “I know about the landmark proclamation and the proposal,” she whispered. “Waylon is very excited for you, as am I.” She gave him a quick hug. “I’m glad I was wrong about you.”

  He smiled. “You’re wrong about something else,” Douglas said.

  “And what would that be?”

  “Working for Welco.”

  Dena sucked her teeth and placed her hand on her hip. “Yo
u know, I don’t want to have this conversation.”

  Douglas sighed and shook his head. “But, Dena, you have to understand what Waylon is trying to do,” he said.

  “I hate to speak ill of your father, but that man was a monster, an evil son of a bitch, and I don’t want anything to do with his company.”

  “It’s not his company anymore. We have a chance to make it better. Something we all can be proud of. Don’t you want to be a part of that?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “You walked away.”

  “But I’m going back,” he said.

  Dena rocked back on her heels. “And Crystal is okay with that?”

  Douglas nodded. “Despite what my father did and how he used Welco, it’s still a part of my legacy. I’d like to see good people like you and Waylon making Welco a much better place for the community.”

  “I’ll think about it, but I’m not making any promises, young Mr. Wellington.”

  “You can call me Trey,” he said with a laugh.

  Dena looked into his eyes as tears sprang into hers. “I wonder if Waylon and I would’ve had a son or a daughter,” she whispered. “We lost a lot of time together and a lot of our dreams died. We’ll never be able to have a family and we’ll never be able to get back what your father stole from us. When I think about Welco Industries, I can’t separate it from your father. He used that company to try to lord over this town because he thought people did him wrong. He ended up doing so many wrongs while paying off the right people so that folks overlooked his evil. I couldn’t. I can’t.”

  “Dena, he’s gone now.”

  “And as cruel as this may sound, thank the Lord,” she retorted. “I’ll be glad when Waylon finds a new CEO and I simply hope he will walk away. Then we can have the life we should’ve had.”

  Douglas wanted to apologize, tell her that he was so sorry his father had caused her so much pain and suffering. He couldn’t imagine how he would feel if someone kept him and Crystal apart for decades.

  Dena noticed the pensive look on Douglas’s face and tapped the back of his hand. “Enough about that,” she said. “It’s not your fault and you can’t change the past.”