Neatly scrawled on the correspondence side were two words—still kicking
THE END
Hope you enjoyed the story!
My next book release is Someone Like Me. This will be the first title in my new Stillwaters series, named after a town where family success is everything and failure is not an option.
In Someone Like Me former welfare mother, Melanie Taylor refuses to consider the possibility that she could ever be more than friends with former CEO Scott Stillwaters. Yet, Melanie’s strength and perseverance intrigues Scott, while her smiles enchant him. Is it possible that the two of them really can become more to each other? Not if a man from Melanie’s past has his way.
Here’s a brief preview of Someone Like Me.
SOMEONE LIKE ME
CHAPTER 1
“If you put one more hand on my sister I will stomp your ass into the ground!” Melanie assured her sister’s ex-boyfriend. “Wanda told you to get out of her house and you better get out!”
She hoped this fool got the message, especially since she was standing in front of the little shrimp holding a table lamp that she fully intended to use if he didn’t comply. Her younger sister, Jolene, was standing next to her holding a steel baseball bat, increasing the danger he was in, and she didn’t mince words either.
“Get to steppin’, sucker, unless you want some of this.” Jolene was short and as thin as a rail. At her best weight, she barely tipped the scales at 110 pounds, but she was a fighter, a real pit bull, and she was about to bust this man upside his head. She tightened her hold on the weapon fully prepared to swing. “I know you don’t think you can break into my sister’s house and threaten her!”
In case he needed more persuasion, Wanda stood by the screen door that he had kicked off its hinges and she was breathing fire. She was ready to pounce on him too.
Wanda was the exact opposite of her baby sister. Although average in height, she was a large woman, whose round body still displayed remnants of the shapely young girl she used to be. Unlike Jolene, Wanda was more mouth than action, but there were times that she would spring into action and take care of business. This was one of them.
Realizing that he was outnumbered, the diminutive, Willie D, as he was known on the street, backed down. Enraged, he tossed a barrage of parting curses at the women as he weaved unsteadily out of the house and down the cracked steps of the ramshackle house. The sisters watched as he tumbled into his oversized sedan and drove away with tires screeching. It wasn’t until his vehicle was out of sight that Melanie whirled on her older sister.
“I’m sick and tired of this, Wanda! Every time you hook up with these no good men and things go bad, you call me to help you get out of a jam!”
“I didn’t call you,” Wanda snapped. “Mama did. We was on the phone talkin’ when she heard that idiot breaking down my screen door and she panicked.” Her eyes narrowed. “Anyway, don’t tell me, since you goin’ to college and all, you too good to help family now.”
“You mean since she’s playin’ on that computer screen pretendin’ to go to college.” Jolene sniggered, as she returned the bat back to its usual spot behind the front door.
Melanie had been taking online college courses for so many years that her efforts had become the bunt of family jokes.
Jolene continued. “Girl, I told her not to waste her money on that computer. Them things are a rip-off.” Wanda nodded in agreement.
“I guess you would know,” Melanie retorted sarcastically. Sadly, neither of her sisters had ever tried to use one. The era of technology was leaving them behind.
Ignoring the snide remark, Jolene turned her criticism toward Wanda. “And Willie D’s actin’ a fool should be a wakeup call to you. Get that landlord to install a security door in this place.”
Wanda sniffed. “That cheap ass man ain’t gonna spend no money on somethin’ like that, but I do need one. On top of it he’s probably gonna charge an arm and leg for that busted screen door, and it wasn’t even my fault!”
Melanie snatched her purse up and prepared to leave. “Why don’t you get that good for nothin’ Willie D to buy one for you? That’s the least he owes you after all the hell you let him put you through.”
She couldn’t count the number of times the volatile couple had fought during the short time they’d been together and, unfortunately, she had heard about every fight.
Wanda didn’t appreciate her suggestion. “I ain’t askin’ Willie D for nothin’. I’m through with him.”
Melanie shrugged. “Suit yourself. I’ll see you two. I’ve got to go.”
Moving swiftly, she hoped that she could get out the door, down the walk and into her car before her sister could say what she knew was coming next. It didn’t happen. She had reached the end of the walk when Wanda called out to her.
“Hey, Melanie, can I borrow a couple of dollars from you to get another screen door?”
Taking a steadying breath, Melanie turned to Wanda. “You know good and well I don’t have any money to loan you. I’ve got bills to pay.”
“I’ll pay you back,” Wanda said testily.
“Yeah, just like the hundreds of other times you didn’t. Besides, it’s the first of the month and you just got your check for the twins.” Wanda was the legal guardian for her daughter’s two children.
“That little piece of change ain’t gonna get me far and I sure ain’t got no extra money for a door. I’ve got to pay rent, and buy food…”
“So do I,” Melanie interjected. “Plus I’ve got to send money to Myra at school. College is expensive.”
“Oh, Lord! Here we go with that college mess again.” Jolene stood in the doorway beside Wanda. “If Myra had kept her butt in Bauer she wouldn’t need no money. Damn, Melanie, all your kids are grown and out of the house, you can loan her something!”
“Thanks for your unwanted opinion,” Melanie hollered over the top of the car. “And since you’re so concerned, why don’t you loan her some money? Or she can call Willie D!” Sliding inside the car, she slammed the door and drove away.
Melanie was seething. She was fed up with her sisters’ snide remarks. It used to be that the three Carson sisters stood together as a united front. Now it seemed that unless there was a fight she was called to help referee it was two Carson sisters against one. Things had definitely changed, especially since she had enrolled in college
As she drove to her job at the discount store, she forced herself not to think about them. Instead, she concentrated on the final exam she had to take tomorrow. Passing it would mean she would have achieved the goal toward which she had worked for so long—a college education. She smiled.
Pulling into the parking lot of the strip mall where her job was located she thought about how life would be so much better when she had that piece of paper hanging on her wall. She hated her job. The pay was minimal. The hours were long and the work was boring, but she had a plan that would make things better very soon.
Her cell phone rang just as she turned off the ignition. Melanie didn’t have to look at caller ID. She knew it was her mother, again. Wanda had called her.
Laying her head on the steering wheel, she took a deep breath to gather her resolve. She knew what this call was about. Her family was so predictable. Reluctantly, she answered, trying not to sound irritated. She failed.
“Hey, Mama, I’m getting ready to go into work. What’s wrong now?”
As usual, Faith Carson ignored her middle child’s impatience. “I want to know why you can’t loan your sister a little bit of money to help her buy a new screen door?”
“What’s wrong with Jolene? Why are you bugging me?”
“Because you’re the only one workin’ now…”
“Don’t you mean ever,” Melanie shot back. “I can’t afford to take care of Wanda, Jolene and myself too! They’re full grown and healthy as horses, let them get up off their behinds and get jobs.”
“I guess that goes for me too.” Faith sounded offended.
<
br /> Melanie didn’t bother to address that statement. Faith had never worked a day in her life. She never had to. When she was younger she had been a stunningly beautiful woman. Her daughters had lost count of the number of people who described her as looking like the great Lena Horne. There had always been men eager to be with her, help pay her bills and do her bidding. Faith was now in her sixties and still attractive, but lately she had been between men. Presently, her income came from babysitting and contributions from her girls—mostly Melanie—who planned on cutting this conversation short.
“I’m not loaning her a penny, Mama! End of story. I’ve got to clock in now. Goodbye.”
Disconnecting the call before her mother could say another word, Melanie wanted to scream. She had worked so hard over the past ten years with the hope that she would eventually get out from under this pressure, both financial and familial. Would this ever end?
She had tried so hard to do everything right. She had gone to night school to get her G.E.D. After that, she had commuted back and forth from Bauer to the town of Anders, thirty miles away, no matter the weather, by car, by bus, anyway she could get there in order to attend the community college. Her goal was to earn an Associate degree. When she failed at that effort, she didn’t give up. For the last six years she had been taking online college courses working toward a Bachelor’s degree. No matter the setbacks, personal or financial, in spite of the skepticism and ridicule of her mother, her sisters, and her fellow employees, she had been steadfast in her efforts. Only her daughter Myra, and her mother’s best friend, Emma Owens, had been there for support. Sometimes she felt as though she was on a merry-go-round, spinning faster and faster out of control. There had to be that brass ring at the end of this ride. There just had to be.
Steeling herself to go inside to her job, Melanie repeated the mantra that had gotten her through everything in her life: Soon—very soon—things will be better.
****
Scott Stillwaters fought the butterflies in his stomach as he looked out the window of his father’s luxury aircraft. There it was below, his destination, his home town—Stillwaters.
In his more than fifty years of life, he had lived in or visited nearly every continent on earth. Why he was nervous about returning to this tiny hamlet in the middle of nowhere he couldn’t understand. He knew this place well. Stillwaters was his family’s private Shangri-La.
From the air, it looked foreboding with a high stone wall surrounding its entire perimeter and an admittance gate that was even higher. Yet, behind that wall was an enclave of wealth and power that few knew existed, and those who did know found it hard to believe.
The town was a grid of spotless avenues and well planned neighborhoods, with houses that could compete with those in the most affluent areas in this nation. The lake, around which many of the homes were built, was so clear that he could see the reflection of their airplane as they approached Stillwaters’ private landing strip. The city park was a green oasis, containing everything from playground equipment to a soccer field. Scott could distinguish the town’s commercial area by the brightly colored buildings dotting its main street.
He hadn’t been back here since the death of his grandmother, the family’s beloved matriarch, Esther Stillwaters. It had been she and her husband, William, who founded the town.
“It looks like more stores have been built since my last trip here,” Scott observed.
“You’re right,” his father, Gerald Stillwaters, Sr. confirmed as he prepared for landing. “Business is booming. Your Aunt Ginny has opened up the shopping area from just weekends to seven days a week.”
That was news to Scott, and a detail that he would have liked to have known. He had agreed to come home because he needed a change in his life. In the process, his father had talked him into doing something Scott wasn’t sure he wanted to do. He was to take over as City Manager of Stillwaters, a position now held by his Dad and second only to that of the mayor. His father’s sister, Ginny, held that job.
“I wish you had told me about all of this expansion,” Scott told his father. “You know I don’t like surprises.”
“Uh huh,” was Gerald’s only reply.
Little did Scott know that after landing and arriving at his father’s spacious home, he was in for an even bigger surprise.
“Go open the front door,” Gerald directed his son, handing him a suitcase out of the trunk. “I’ll get the rest of your things.”
Doing as told, Scott entered the foyer of his Dad’s house and was immediately greeted by a blast of horns and shouts of joy.
“Welcome Home!”
Relatives surrounded him. Scott groaned. So much for not wanting surprises.
By the end of the evening, he was ready to pack his bags and head back East. It seemed that every relative living in town had problems and they wanted the new City Manager to solve them.
“I haven’t officially taken the job,” Scott complained to his father. “And your brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews have given me a list of complaints a mile long. I always thought of Stillwaters as a happy place.”
“It is.” His father flashed him a devilish grin. “It’s happy to have you here to deal with all of this family drama.” He slapped his son on the back. “And, Lord knows, I am too.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Crystal V. Rhodes is an author and an award-winning playwright. Her romantic suspense novels include Sin, Sweet Sacrifice, Sinful Intentions, Singing a Song…, Small Sensations, Stillwaters, Secrets and Strangers.
Her Grandmothers, Incorporated cozy mystery series, co-written with author, L. Barnett Evans, includes the titles Grandmothers, Incorporated. Saving Sin City, There’s Something Wrong with Miss Zelda and Whose Knife is it Anyway? A play based on the characters from Grandmothers, Incorporated, written by Evans and Rhodes, enjoyed a successful Off Broadway run.
Written Word Magazine named Rhodes as one of the Ten Up and Coming Authors in the Midwest. As a playwright she is the recipient of the BTA Award for Best Original Writing for her stage play, Stoops. Rhodes has a Masters degree in Sociology and has written for newspapers, magazines, radio and television.
Visit her web site at www.crystalrhodes.com
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