SAMANTHA: Never Say Never (The Powell's Book 2)

by Serenity King

  D’Andre went charging. Adam stopped him midstride.

  “Dre!” he yelled. “Leave it.”

  “Yeah, Dre, listen to dude. It’s not our fault your boy can’t hang. Don’t get hurt, son,” the loud mouth mocked. “It’s more of us than y’all.”

  Adam and Jared went over to help Luke up. All the while Adam kept his eyes on D’Andre.

  “Let’s call it a day, fellas,” Adam said. “You okay Luke?”

  “I’m good, Mr. A.”

  “Man they soft. Let’s go.”

  “Soft. Yo punk ass couldn’t take that beating we were giving ya’ll so you try to play dirty,” D’Andre shouted.

  “I got your punk,” Mr. Loud mouth said.

  “Dre! Cook it!” Adam yelled.

  Adam saw D’Andre jog back to his car and pop his trunk. Next thing he knew people were running.

  “Yo that crazy-assed dude got heat!” they yelled.

  Well damn, Adam thought.

  D’Andre trotted back over to them with his riffle in his hand.

  “Dre what the hell are you doing?” Adam groaned.

  “Protecting myself,” he smirked.

  “You’re determined not to get into college aren’t you?” Adam asked.

  “Mr. A, I ain’t never seen a dead man enter college,” D’Andre pointed out.

  “He’s right there, Mr. A.,” Jared and Luke joined in.

  “Use proper English Dre, and put that thing away before we all go to jail,” Adam scolded.

  “We not gon play ball?” D’Andre asked innocently.

  “With who? Everybody scattered with your Rambo stunt,” Adam eyed him. “Let’s get out of here. I’ll treat y’all to some takeout or something. Maybe go to my place and play some video games. Dre, I’ll follow you home to drop your car off. Everybody can ride with me back to my place.”

  “Sounds good to me, since we can’t play ball,” Jared said.

  “Yeah, me too,” Luke chimed in.

  “Sorry about that Mr. A.,” D’Andre said. “You know this is a drive by for you, but I have to live here. This is my reality at the moment. I can’t let people be punkin’ me around here. That’s why we prefer to play ball at the center—keeps us out of trouble on these streets.”

  “I hear ya. Don’t worry about it. Just be careful. You have a bright future ahead of you. Don’t let a bunch of loud mouths ruin it for you. There’s a difference between self-defense and getting angry and just poppin’ off. Remember that,” Adam said. “Now let’s go before we all get into trouble.”

  True to his word, Adam followed D’Andre back to his house where he parked his car and jumped into Adam’s. Adam picked up some burgers, fried chicken, fries, slaw, and potato salad. He had a bunch of sodas, sweet tea, and water at his place already.

  They ate, laughed, and played video games well into the night. He then dropped Luke and Jared off before heading towards D’Andre’s.

  “You’re good peeps, Mr. A. Thanks for all you do for me and the guys. I owe you a lot,” D’Andre said seriously.

  “Yes, well pay me back by not shooting anybody and staying out of trouble. Control that temper or you’re going to end up in a lot of trouble. Understand?” Adam said.

  “Yeah, I hear you. Will we see you at the center this week?”

  “Not sure. I’m going to try to make it. Have a lot of business to take care of,” Adam said.

  “Your lady problems, right?”

  “D’Andre I don’t have any female problems. Now get out of my ride.”

  “Yep. Woman problems,” he said, getting out. “See ya soon, Mr. A.”

  “See you soon, D’Andre,” Adam smiled. He waited for D’Andre to get inside before pulling off.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Samantha had Kayla strapped in her car seat and was on her way to Shane and Tracey’s. She’d had the car delivered to Shane’s a few days ago. They were taking it on its first test drive to see how it handled so far.

  Kayla was busy singing to herself on the drive over. It would take them about an hour longer to get to Shane and Tracey’s. Samantha was so excited about the car she hadn’t had time to think about her problems with Adam. She’d only spoken to him once since that last time when she was in Florida at her parents.

  He’d been in meetings and what not and she’d spent every hour that she wasn’t with Kayla working on the new car. Austin was a big help too. He was often over either helping with Kayla or working on the car too.

  “Mommy, Auntie TeeTee,” Kayla called out.

  “We’ll be there in a bit baby,” Samantha said.

  “Auntie TeeTee. Auntie TeeTee,” Kayla began to sing.

  Her sister must be having a boy because Kayla is just too crazy about her, Samantha thought.

  “Auntie TeeTee will be happy to see you too, baby. So will your Uncle Shane,” Samantha added.

  “Unca Shane. Unca Shane,” Kayla started singing. Lord, her baby made a song out of everything.

  Thank goodness they were almost there. Kayla talked and sang until she fell asleep.

  Samantha arrived at Shane and Tracey’s in a little over an hour.

  She pulled up to the opened gate and drove through. Hmm, lately Shane and Tracey had been leaving their gates open. Samantha didn’t know whether that was a good or bad idea—considering they both had crazy fans, especially Shane.

  Samantha killed the engine to her truck and got out. She walked around to the back and released a sleeping Kayla from her seatbelt.

  “Mommy,” she mumbled.

  “We’re here baby,” Samantha whispered, lifting Kayla up into her arms. She pushed the door closed with her foot and proceeded to the front door which swung open as she went to ring the bell.

  “Aww, she’s sleeping,” Tracey said. “Come on in. Poor baby is pooped.”

  “She sang herself to sleep,” Samantha chuckled. “I’ll just lay her down in one of the spare bedrooms.”

  “Those beds are too high. Lay her in the nursery,” Tracey said.

  “Tracey, I’m not putting her in your baby’s nursery—your baby hasn’t even used it yet,” Samantha said.

  “Please, there’s a crib and a bassinette in there. Put her in the crib. My baby hasn’t used it because the little one hasn’t been born yet.”

  “If you’re sure it’s okay,” Samantha said.

  “Of course it’s okay. I’m going to fix up another room for when my little mama stays over,” Tracey said.

  “You spoil her.”

  “We all do.”

  “Yes, you all do. And it needs to stop. Remember, you’re having a baby of your own. Kayla will no longer be able to monopolize all of your attention.”

  “Yes, she can too. My beautiful niece will always have my attention,” Tracey said reaching for Kayla.

  “Don’t you dare, woman! Lead the way to the nursery,” Samantha chastised.

  “Come this way,” Tracey said. “Why do you have the trailer hitched to your SUV?”

  “I have my bike in the trailer. Shane said the car was delivered.”

  “Yes, he’s going to have it moved to the track once you’re ready,” Tracey said. “I have to admit, I’m excited about this. I can’t wait to see what the car does.”

  “I can’t either. Where’s Austin?”

  “He had to fly out for some business or another?”

  “Really? He didn’t say anything to me about this.”

  “It was a spur of the moment thing. Like everything with our beloved cousin,” Tracey said.

  “True,” Samantha said, laying Kayla down in the crib. Aww, her baby looked too big for the crib. She was growing up so fast. “She should sleep for a little while longer; maybe another half hour or so.”

  “Come on let’s have a sit down before she wakes. Shane should be back shortly. He had some sponsorship stuff to take care of.”

  “Okay. How have you been?”

  “I’m great now that the ‘sickness’ has passed. I feel fantastic, in fa
ct!” Tracey said, rubbing her belly.

  “Your belly is getting big,” Samantha smiled.

  “Thanks a lot,” Tracey said sarcastically.

  “No for real. That baby is going to be huge,” Samantha said.

  “Yes, well, his or her daddy’s no slouch.”

  “I know. Shane’s excited?”

  “Excited is an understatement. Ecstatic is a better word. He’s driving me crazy. He thinks I don’t know he’s bought all of those boy toys.”

  “Ah, so he’s hoping for a boy?” Samantha grinned.

  “He says he doesn’t care, yet everything he has so far is for a boy,” Tracey said.

  “Poor Shane. He must know that girls like boy toys too,” Samantha chuckled.

  “Oh, he will. I’m surprised at him, seeing as though I race cars, and you race bikes, and build cars and bikes. Shame on him!.”

  “Have you spoken to Mommy recently?” Samantha asked.

  “Yes, every day. What about you? Have you spoken to Adam?”

  “Adam? What does Adam have to do with anything?”

  “Everything. Why are you avoiding him?”

  “I’m not avoiding him. I’ve been busy, and so has he.”

  “Sam?” Tracey said. “What happened between you two?”

  “Nothing. We’ll be all right. Trust me,” Samantha said. She didn’t feel like getting into her and Adam’s relationship. Not when she hadn’t a clue as to what was going on herself.

  “If you say so, but you’re not fooling me. I know something up. I’m thirsty. You want something to drink?”

  “Sure. I may as well drink something while waiting on Shane to return.”

  “Let me grab the baby monitor so we can hear when Kayla wakes,” Tracey said rushing in and out of the nursery.

  “Wow, you move pretty fast for a pregnant woman,” Samantha said.

  “I do pretty well. Hey, have you heard from our brother lately?”

  “No, as a matter-of-fact, I haven’t. I’m surprised too. Usually, he’d have called a million times checking on Kayla.”

  “He checks on me too. Maybe he’s finally gotten a life,” Tracey said.

  “I doubt it. He’s married to Powell Industries. Especially since Daddy’s been traveling a lot with Mommy. It’s like Daddy has one foot out the door,” Samantha said.

  “Pre-retirement,” Tracey said.

  “Possibly. He deserves the time off. He’s worked very hard to keep Powell’s in the black. Bringing Declan on board was a bonus. We don’t agree with him on a lot of things, but we can’t deny he’s been awesome with the running of the company; not to mention, he’s in his element. Our brother’s a pain, but he’s sacrificed a lot of his life for all of us to live comfortable. He doesn’t have a life,” Samantha said.

  “Do you think he’ll ever get married and have children?” Tracey asked.

  “You tell me. You’re his twin,” Samantha sassed.

  “Yeah, but regardless of what you all think we don’t use telekinesis,” Tracey snorted. “However, I have been feeling a little uneasy where he’s concerned.”

  “Call him,” Samantha said.

  “No, because then he’ll think that gives him access to call me all day and night. At one point I thought Shane was going to kill him, he called so much. Then Shane just started making a joke out of it.”

  “He needs a woman,” Samantha said.

  “He. Needs. A. Woman,” Tracey said slowly. “That’s it, Sam! Declan needs a woman!”

  “Oh no, I’m having a hard enough time keeping up with my affairs, I refuse to get involved with finding Declan, a woman,” Samantha said with a shake of her head.

  “Hm, I wonder if Allison is seeing anyone?” Tracey said.

  “Allison Grant?” Samantha asked.

  “Yes.”

  “That ship has sailed. Allison is much too independent and—well—too over Declan,” Samantha said.

  “Yeah, he did mess up pretty bad the last time,” Tracey said, pouring herself a glass of juice. “Do you want soda or juice?”

  “Give me a cola. I need the caffeine.”

  “Have you decided when you’re going to let Kayla start daycare?”

  “I keep putting it off. Frankly, I’m not feeling it. I may let her stay with me. I mean I can manage it. I can work when she’s napping.”

  “Whatever works for you. Just remember in the winter there won’t be much to do with her. Summer is easy because there’s a lot of activities and parks, not so in the winter,” Tracey said.

  “I know. Maybe I’ll let her go two or three days a week. Not the entire week though.”

  “That’s a great idea. It will give you both a chance to get used to it. By the way, I think you’re a wonderful mother. You’re doing a fantastic job with Kayla.”

  “Aw, thank you. I appreciate that Tracey. It’s hard at times, but I have such a wonderful family that I’m not overwhelmed.”

  “She gave us all a scare when she got sick.”

  “You? I was out of my mind with worry. Her pediatrician said I have to be careful when she gets fevers. Apparently she’s in that percentile that gets seizures when her fever reaches a certain level. She wants to watch her to make sure that the fever was the only cause of the seizures.”

  “Really? She doesn’t think that she’ll have a history of seizures does she? You know…like epilepsy or something?”

  “Dr. Riley doesn’t think so because she hasn’t had another episode. I believe she’s just cautious, which is a good thing. She would like Kayla to undergo allergy testing. We still haven’t figured out what caused her allergic reaction.”

  “Hm, your pediatrician sounds as if she has everything under control,” Tracey said. “Is she good?”

  “Very. Why?”

  “We are going to need a pediatrician; may as well go with the one who comes highly recommended,” Tracey said.

  “Dr. Riley is awesome. Very thorough,” Samantha said. “I’ll give you her card before I leave. Where’s your husband? At this rate, we won’t be able to test the car until morning. I hadn’t planned on staying the night.”

  “Please. I rarely see you. You and Kayla are welcome to stay the night. In fact, I’d enjoy spending time with both of you, and Shane adores Kayla too.”

  “It’s a good thing I brought extra clothes for the both of us.”

  “Yes, it is. It’ll be fun,” Tracey said.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Shane sat in the local Bar and Grill that most of the racing circuit, including some locals, frequented.

  “Is there a particular reason we’re here and not at my house?” Shane asked Adam.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, do you care to elaborate brother,” Shane snickered.

  “No.”

  “Adam, I left my pregnant wife at home alone. I would like to get back to her sometime today. We’ve been out all day. Not to mention she doesn’t even know you’re in town.”

  “I wanted it like that.” Adam listened to the noise and bustle around him. The racing week was soon. The locals would be making money hand over fist. Adam didn’t care. He was waiting for one particular person, in general, Daniel Ashby. He’d gotten the word that this was Daniel’s new hangout.

  The man was a groupie magnet. He’d better be careful before he ended up in a lot of trouble messing with all those women. Ashby was playing a dangerous game, but the man was so arrogant, Adam doubted very seriously if Daniel knew just how serious. Frankly he didn’t care what the man did with his life; Adam just didn’t want Samantha or Kayla getting caught up in Daniel’s craziness.

  “Does this strangeness you’re going through have something to do with Samantha?” Shane asked.

  “Yes,” Adam responded.

  “Adam, can you please elaborate a little bit more. I mean you’ve got me out here when I should be home with my wife enjoying her company, and won’t tell what this is about,” Shane said.

  “Order some barbecue and I’ll find us a
table in the back away from prying eyes and listening ears,” Adam said, and then turned and walked towards an empty table. He heard Shane bang his knuckles on the table and then order the food. Adam made his way to the table and sat down—he placed his tall glass of draft beer in front of him. He’d been babysitting the same glass ever since he and Shane had entered the establishment. He turned towards the bar and saw Shane making his way over to him. Shane was also putting his cell phone away. He knew his brother was not going to be able to keep his wife in the dark for long. Adam was surprised he’d lasted as long as he did.

  “They’re bringing over our food in a bit. Now do you want to tell me what the hell is going on?” Shane said, taking a seat across from Adam.

  “You called Tracey didn’t you?” Adam asked.

  “Yes, I did. I let her know that I’d be a little longer than I thought. Besides, Samantha is supposed to be meeting me there. We were going to test out the new car today. It’ll have to wait until tomorrow sometime now,” Shane said, looking down at his wristwatch.

  “Have you seen it…the new car?” Adam asked.

  “No, only the drawings. I haven’t seen the car yet. Austin says it’s a beauty,” Shane smiled excitedly.

  “You miss racing don’t you?” Adam smiled.

  “Not as much as I thought I would. I will always love the sport, but my time came and went. I had a great run. Enjoyed every moment of it. I’ve been asked to do some commentary on the sport,” Shane grinned.

  “Wow, that’s great! Radio or television?” Adam asked.

  “Television of course. It’s with Racing Today. Remember, they approached you just after I’d announced my retirement. I didn’t give it a thought then because Tracey was still racing. However, with the baby coming, I figured I better do something to keep me busy.”

  “You don’t think a baby is going to keep you busy enough?” Adam gloated.

  “Well sure. However, I can’t just do nothing, I would drive Tracey crazy,” Shane chuckled.