“You could go to jail, Linda.”
“God will make a way, Eric; we just have to put our trust in Him.”
Angry, he stood up. “Lately, that’s all I hear from you… God will do this or He’ll do that. Where was God when you became an alcoholic, huh? Why didn’t He stop you from ruining all of our lives in the first place?”
His words knocked her down and then kicked her in the gut. “I-I’m sorry for what I did to you, Eric. It sounds like you want to give up and just go sign those divorce papers you threatened me with a month or so ago. But before you do that, can you do something for me?”
Calming down, he took a deep breath. “Believe it or not, Linda, I don’t want to divorce you. But I don’t want to be in this situation, either.”
She held out her hands to him. “Come, pray with me, my love.”
Linda and Eric prayed together that afternoon and then again before they went to bed that night. On Sunday, she asked Eric to attend church with her and he got up, and got dressed without complaint. The Morrison family enjoyed the service and were on a high as they stood waiting for Kivonna to finish talking with some of her friends.
Eric leaned over and whispered in his wife’s ear, “The blackmailer will be calling me back tomorrow. I’ll have to give him an answer.”
She looked at her husband and asked, “Would you mind taking a drive with me today?”
“Not at all, but where are we going?”
“I want to introduce you to someone.”
“Okay, but what about this guy that I need to deal with tomorrow? What do you think we should do?”
“Call a press conference for tomorrow morning. Let’s get this out in the open and then, with God’s help, we’ll move on with our lives.”
He looked a bit hesitant at her suggestion.
“Do you trust me, baby… wait, more importantly, do you trust God?”
Eric thought about that for a moment. His father had raised them to believe in God. Before Eric knew how to tie his shoes, he knew about God… and that his father felt that his family was blessed and highly favored by his God. It was high time that Eric developed the faith of his father… being that his lovely wife had already been recruited by Joel Morrison, he needed to catch up. “Yeah baby, I trust you and God.”
Chapter 12
Eric sat behind his desk, tapping his fingers on the telephone he was supposed to be using to set up the press conference Linda had asked for. His wife wanted to tell the truth and take whatever punishment came her way. That was all fine and good for her, but the fact of the matter was that Eric knew the news that Linda wanted to reveal to the press would not only cause her problems, but it would be detrimental to his political aspirations.
Eric loved his wife and didn’t want to lose her; he had finally come to terms with that. But did he love her enough to stand by her side and cover her while the chips fell on both of them? That was the question he was grappling with… and the reason his fingers were tap dancing on the telephone receiver.
Eric had decided that he would not take money from the foundation without asking his father first. However, if his father said it was okay, Eric would rather just pay this blackmailer and put an end to this. But Linda’s sense of rightness wouldn’t allow her to continue to live a lie. She also believed that her sobriety depended on her taking ownership for what she did.
He picked up the phone and punched in the numbers he knew so well as he realized that Linda was the most important thing in the world to him. He told her that they were a team and that he would help her stay sober, so he wouldn’t risk her sobriety for a governorship or even for a place in the Oval Office. Linda came first, plain and simple. “I need to call a press conference at 3 p.m. today.”
“What’s this concerning, Mr. Mayor?” His press secretary asked.
“New information concerning the Terrell Anderson accident,” Eric said and then hung up before she could ask any more questions.
There, he’d done it. And although he expected to feel anxious and nervous, Eric leaned back in his chair and smiled. He had long understood that Linda believed that she came in a distant second to his career. He hoped and prayed that this would show her that he had finally placed her in her rightful position. From this moment forward, Linda and Kivonna would always come first with him.
Darien burst into Eric’s office with the scowl of the devil on his face. “Are you seriously trying to ruin your chances of winning this race? Please tell me that what I just heard is incorrect?”
Eric sat up. “What did you hear?”
“You’re not really going to announce to the press that Linda…” Darien put his hand over his mouth and stepped backward.
“You knew, didn’t you?”
Recovering, Darien removed his hand from his mouth and strode towards Eric’s desk. “Of course I knew. I was in the office when your gardener called you. I followed you that night to see what you would do. But when Michael took the fall,” he shrugged his shoulders and continued, “I figured all’s well that ends well… you feel me?”
“Yeah, I feel you. But there was just one problem. This thing didn’t end well. I lied… I schemed.” He laughed bitterly. “But it turns out that while I was going down a path of destruction, my wife was getting her life back together.”
“That’s fine, Linda is sober now. Why in the world would she want to destroy her life when she doesn’t have to?”
“She can’t live with the lies anymore, and to tell you the truth, nether can I.”
Darien rolled his eyes. “Don’t act all righteous with me. If it weren’t for that blackmailer, you wouldn’t even consider going public with this.”
Eric looked at the man he’d been friends with since college. Darien had never had the kind of money he desired more than life itself. He’d gone to school on a scholarship and then began working on political campaigns. He made good money, but he was no millionaire… like he desperately wanted to be.
At that moment a light went on inside Eric’s mind.
“It was you, wasn’t it?”
“What was me?” Darien asked, irritation clearly in his voice.
“You had that guy call me about the accident. Were the two of you going to split the ten million fifty-fifty?”
Darien didn’t respond.
Eric stood up and pointed to the door. “You’re done. Get out of here.”
“You don’t have a prayer of winning this election without me,” Darien declared.
“Then I guess I won’t win it, because I’m done dealing with you. Now get out, before I have you thrown out.”
Darien hesitated, opened his mouth to speak, thought better of it and then turned and walked out.
As Eric sat back down and tried to recover from the crushing blow, he realized that what his father had told him since he was a young man was true… man was suspect, but he could always put his trust in God. So at that moment, Eric decided to do just that. He was going to that press conference to support his wife, but his trust for the outcome would be in God.
***
The press conference was jam packed. Linda started sweating. She wanted to do the right thing, but seeing all the people swarming around like vultures, gave her pause. The information she was about to reveal could send her to prison… it could end her husband’s political career. Could their marriage survive either of those things?
Eric squeezed her hand, his silent attempt at letting her know that they were in it together. She glanced up at her handsome husband and saw that he was smiling down at her with eyes that spoke of love and respect. She smiled back and then he stepped to the microphone.
“Thank you all for coming here today. We won’t keep you long, but there is a bit of relevant information concerning Terrell Anderson’s accident that occurred in our city several months back that we need to clear up.”
The conference room door opened and there was a huge commotion in the room as photographers tried to snap shots of Terrell walking into the
conference room. Linda smiled; she knew Terrell wouldn’t let her down. She had taken Eric to visit Terrell at his rehab facility the night before, and both she and Eric had told Terrell about the press conference. Terrell had promised to attend and Linda was now leaning on the young man for the strength she needed to do what was right.
Behind Terrell, Tawanda, Les, and Mr. and Mrs. Anderson walked into the conference room, as well. Linda took in a deep breath, silently praying that the Anderson family wouldn’t hate her when the press conference was over.
Terrell stepped onto the stage and stood next to Linda as Eric continued. “The truth of the matter is my gardener didn’t hit Terrell that night.”
Cameras flashed, as reporter after reporter yelled, “Then who did?”
Eric opened his mouth to respond, then turned to Linda. He then turned back to the microphone, but still no words escaped his mouth. Linda grabbed hold of the microphone and said, “I did. Eric was at work when the entire incident occurred. Michael Underwood wanted to help me, so he pretended to be the driver of my car.”
“Why would he do that?” a reporter asked.
Clearing her throat, Linda admitted, “Because I had been drinking.
After those words, questions were coming from so many directions that Linda didn’t know which one to answer first.
Terrell stepped to the podium and took the microphone. He said, “Hold on, you all need to pipe down a bit. Now, Mrs. Morrison may have been wrong for drinking and driving, but she is the one who made sure I received the proper rehabilitation. And because of that I am now officially back on the Bengals team.”
The crowd went wild with that news. The reporters asked Terrell a few more questions about practice and his legs and his contract. After about five minutes of that, Eric took the microphone back and said, “Thank you all for coming, that’s about all we have to say for now.” He grabbed Linda’s hand and started walking off the stage, heading for the exit sign.
Before they made it out the door, a reporter stopped them and asked, “Mr. Mayor, given that you ran for mayor on a platform of integrity and honesty, and that is reportedly the same platform you wanted to use to run for governor… do you think you should drop out of the race?”
Before Eric could answer, Linda said, “My husband is no quitter. Look how long he stuck it out with me.” The crowd erupted into laughter. Linda continued, “Eric Morrison has done a great deal for this city and he plans to reduce the unemployment and foreclosure rates in this state, which will lead all of us to a better economic future. So, I don’t think the voters of this great state will judge my husband based on the mistakes his wife has made.”
“So, what should they judge him on?” a snippy reporter asked.
Linda looked up at Eric with love showing in her eyes. She turned back to the reporters and said, “If they’re smart, they’ll judge him for his own character, strength and for the love and passion he has for the state of Ohio.”
As if he was at a pep rally, Eric joined in with a shout. “That’s right! Linda and I will give this race everything we’ve got, and then we’ll let the voters decide.” With that they walked out, arm in arm, ready to do battle together… and to love one another come what may.
Epilogue
Linda was arrested after her announcement at the press conference. Judge Wilson took into consideration all the glowing remarks Terrell Anderson said concerning the character of Linda Morrison. However, when his sister, Brenda Jones, told him about the organization that Linda founded, and how it helped her recover from her ten year addiction to alcohol, rather than giving her jail time, Linda was granted probation and community service.
Eric Morrison didn’t get a chance to run against Governor Kasich. Another Democrat beat the governor in the 2014 election. Eric lost in the primary. However, four years later, he became a United States Senator and served for three terms. He then went back home and ran for governor again. He won and served two terms.
Eric Morrison is now running for President of the United States of America, and he did it all with Linda and his four children by his side. They never quite made it to the half dozen children that they had originally wanted, but the three other children that Linda birthed into this world provided as much joy as their big sister, Kivonna, the current mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio.
The lesson that Eric and Linda learned as they went through every trial and tribulation is that God never fails. Even when it seems as if all is lost, if we put our faith and trust in God, He will work it out in the end.
Eric finally understood why his father considered his family to be blessed and highly favored by God. Joel Morrison had done a good job of instilling God into his children when they were young, and since the children of Joel Morrison had matured into adulthood, each child was learning to accept Christ in his or her own way. Eric just hoped that his knucklehead brother, Shawn would soon come to know the truth. It seemed as if Shawn was heading for the hardest fall of any of the Morrison children, however, Eric had confidence that God would be with his little brother.
The end…
Only one book left in the Blessed and Highly Favored series. The Playboy’s Redemption releases in January 2012.
OTHER EBOOKS BY VANESSA MILLER
The Blessed and Highly Favored Series is available in ebook format only…
The Blessed One: (March 2011) Joel Morrison proved his love for God when he lost all of his children in the 1952 Kern County earthquake. He weathered those hard times, and God blessed him with five more children. But now that his children are grown and living their own lives, Joel worries that the devourer has once again set his sights on the family that God has blessed.
For the most part, Joel’s children are successful and rich yet very unhappy. Joel realizes that giving his children more money will not make them happy, nor will it secure a place in heaven for them, when their hearts and souls are not fully committed to Christ. So, Joel Morrison decides to change his will in an attempt to teach his children a lesson in giving. He invites his children on a family vacation in the Bahamas to tell them that he will be giving most of his money away to charity. However, Joel’s declaration is not the biggest surprise of their vacation.
Shockwaves are sent throughout the Morrison family, the likes of which they may never recover from.
The Wild One: (release date: June 2011) Dee Dee Morrison-Milner is a movie star and the wild child in the Morrison family; you name it and she’s done it, with almost no regrets. However, when her younger sister, Elaine, asks her to adopt an African orphan child (Natua), Dee Dee agrees because Hollywood is full of actresses adopting underprivileged children--no big deal. But when a psycho fixates on Dee Dee’s maternal abilities and imagines himself married to the movie star diva, she finds herself running from a stalker.
When Natua is kidnapped, Dee Dee turns back to her estranged husband, Drake Milner, to help her find the child whose kind nature stole her heart. Along the way, Drake helps Dee Dee restore her relationship with the Lord.
The Preacher’s Choice: (release date: August 2011) Isaiah Morrison is a man after God’s heart. Even though his wife divorces him, Isaiah continues to preach and declare the goodness of the Lord. He is content to live alone for the rest of his life, never imagining that God has something else in mind for him.
The first day Ramona Verse walked into Christ Tabernacle, she fell in love with everything about the church, and especially the handsome self-assured man behind the pulpit. But would a man like Pastor Morrison ever consider a woman with a dark past like hers? Ramona and Pastor Morrison are brought together through his need for someone to head his charity foundation, but Isaiah will soon discover that he needs much more from the secretive Miss Verse than he ever thought possible.
The Politician’s Wife: (release date: October 2011) Eric Morrison’s wife, Linda, hits a football superstar while driving drunk, and Eric tries to cover it up. But Linda is now ready to atone for her sins. With help from unexpected places, she finds the stre
ngth to stop drinking and gives her life to Christ. Eric is thrilled when his wife stops drinking. However, when she tells him that she wants to start an organization that helps recovering alcoholics put their lives back together and that she intends to use some of his father’s foundation money to do it, Eric rejects the idea, convinced that it will put his bid for governor at risk.
Then a blackmailer threatens to reveal pictures of his wife’s drunk-driving accident unless he receives ten million dollars. Eric must decide whether he will stand up for the truth that his father taught him and that his wife also believes in or sell his soul for public office.
This story has so many twists and turns, you won’t be able to put it down!
The Playboy’s Redemption: (release date: January 2012) After a very public argument over increased child support payments, the mother of Shawn Morrison’s third child is found dead. Shawn is the primary suspect. Now in a fight for his life, Shawn turns back to Lilly, the woman whose heart he broke after she gave birth to two sons for him, but never even received an engagement ring. Lilly is now a born-again Christian. Will her forgiving heart and new attitude concerning morality finally help Shawn turn back to God in this, his darkest hour?
Love Isn’t enough (Short Story) ebook
Sometimes love just isn’t enough and Hannah Ellison is sick of pretending.
The Politician's Wife Page 8