My Time in the Sun

by Naleighna Kai

  Several board members and deacons found something more interesting to look at besides the youngest person in the room whose vision was now blurry with tears. Brother Ray extended his hand to Tee. “Come on. You didn’t need to hear any more of this or have anyone attacking you that way.” He raked an angry glare over Uncle Terrence. “Especially family.”

  Brother Ray turned to face Brother Phillip. “And let’s be clear about something else. Aridell didn’t misunderstand a thing. She shot you because you tried to take something she wasn’t willing to give. And it’s not the first time we’ve heard a woman in our church mention it. It’s the first time one of them had the balls to make a point with a long-term reminder. I tip my hat to a woman like her. If more women put a bullet where a man’s ill intentions were, there’d be a lot less … misunderstandings on men’s part.”

  “There’s a reason you were left out of the loop.” Uncle Terrence slid into the seat behind the desk that rightfully belonged to Pastor Baltimore.

  “Because you know that no good can come from ill-gotten goods,” Brother Ray countered. “This, my brothers, is ugly for no reason at all. We said we’d take a church vote, do it the right way if he’d been found in error.” He pounded a fist on the desk. “None of that happened because the books are clean. Membership is at its highest, so there was no reason to take the man out of his position.” Brother Ray held the door open for Tee to walk ahead of him. “I wasn’t there to stop it, but I want no part of anything else y’all are trying to do.”

  “So whatcha saying?” Brother Thomas asked, and everyone held a tense breath.

  “I’m saying I resign my position on the board. No way in hell am I’m cosigning this madness.”

  When Brother Ray swept out of the office with Tee in tow, and they’d made it a few feet up the center aisle, Tee remembered she’d left something on the chair. “I have to go back for my purse.”

  He nodded, turning to finish the trek up the aisle. “I’ll pull the car out front.”

  Evidently, they believed Brother Ray and Tee were no longer within earshot. She cracked the door in time to see Auntie Leesa sauntering to the middle of the office. She pressed her mile-wide buttocks against the desk and slid onto it as she said, “When you don’t want someone in your house, you lock the doors.”

  Tee pushed her way inside, snatched up her purse and was out the door and heading for the car, but not before hearing Uncle Terrence say, “Cat and Leesa, y’all follow them. You know they’re going to Baltimore’s place. Find out everything you can.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Never,” Tony said, and the intensity behind that one word made Kari breathe a sigh of relief. She believed him.

  “How long were you in?”

  “Small stretch. Three years,” he replied. “Drugs and a weapon meant I could’ve been in there until all three of my sisters became great grandparents.” Tony stood, moved to the opposite side of the room and looked out on that small sliver of Lake Michigan the window offered. “Met a man inside who’d given his life to God. Saw how much respect he got from everyone. He wasn’t afraid of anything. Not the guards, not the gangs, not the Aryans. That impressed me.” Tony leaned his shoulder against the wall, still keeping his focus outside. “We talked a lot, especially about questions I’ve always had about God and religion. His simple take on the most complex things made God something I wanted to find out more about.”

  Tony left the window and came to stand in front of her, but he didn’t attempt to touch her.

  “I made a promise to myself while I was in there that when I got out, I’d get into the seminary and study the Bible for myself; that I’d be about the business of making sure no one else in my family started slinging dope or getting into the same situation I did because they feel there’s no other choice.”

  Kari brushed past him and went into the living room. A handsome, hardworking man who was intelligent and ambitious had landed in her lap. He had some serious baggage, but he was up front about it. It wasn’t like there were a lot of heterosexual men on this side of the bars who weren’t married, gay, players, or didn’t have a sordid history that made them off-limits to women.

  When Tony came into the room, she locked a dark-brown gaze with his green one and said, “I won’t hold your past against you, if you don’t hold my past against me.”

  He released a long slow breath, pulling her into an embrace that seemed to go on forever. For the first time, she felt something that had eluded her for so long. She felt safe.

  Kari stayed in his arms that night. The chemistry between them was so strong, but no matter how much she pressed against him, gave the physical signs that she wanted more, Tony didn’t take the bait. Before she slipped into sleep within the comfort of his arms, he whispered, “I’m going to marry you.”

  There was a certainty in his voice that made her look over her shoulder at him.

  “You don’t even know me,” she replied, wondering if something about her made him think she was an easy mark for that kind of empty promise. But over those few months of conversation, she’d come to know him enough that if he said something, he would work like crazy to make it happen.

  “I know enough,” he said, placing a kiss on the crown of her head. “A woman going hard at her Plan B and making it work is a woman I want on my team. Always.”

  Tony kissed her lips then and she so wanted him to make love to her, but he still wouldn’t take things there.

  “I made a promise to myself,” he said. “That we wouldn’t make love until you gave me the privilege and pleasure of making you my wife. And I’m going to keep that. No matter how much I want you. I want you to always feel you can trust me. That my word is my bond.”

  The words were like a balm to her soul. Trust. Openness. Integrity.

  Six months later, from the Honeymoon Suite of the Drake Hotel, Mrs. Kari Baltimore admired the beautiful princess-cut floating halo diamond Tony had slipped on her finger earlier that day. She pressed a kiss to her husband’s lips while he removed the wedding dress, unveiling her a little at a time before placing it on the nearest chair. She arched her body toward him and his mouth descended on hers, tasting her, teasing her. Her white silk and lace corset joined the gown, and soon his clothing was in the mix.

  Tony stood behind her, lips placed on the curve of her bare shoulder. Soft kisses on the base of her neck sent feather-soft shocks of pleasure through her body. He pulled her to him, connected them so close she could feel how aroused he’d become. His hands spread out, stroking down the front of her body and grazing her breasts ever so gently before splaying on her abdomen, bracing her against him. A woodsy fragrance mingled with his own earthy scent made her inhale him; made her want to taste the sweet saltiness of his skin.

  “Are you ready for me?” he asked.

  Those wonderful hands of his lowered, stroking the lace material covering her heated core, a rhythmic blend of exploration and queries.

  “Are you ready for me?”

  She was too overwhelmed with the mind-blowing sensations to put voice to the one word in her mind.

  He asked yet again and she finally managed a breathy, “Yes.”

  Tony took his time exploring the silky softness of her hair.

  Kari’s breathing hitched and she found it so hard to take a solid breath. His movements, slow, deliberate, gentle, were her absolute undoing. It had never been this beautiful.

  Tony touched her, teased her, pleased her to the point that she trembled in a way her body had never done. She was used to pain. That’s all sex had ever been. Fear and pain. But this, this right here … This man was making sure she never wanted anything less than for anyone to worship her body in this way.

  Sensations were like a river running through her soul. He pressed another kiss to the base of her neck, traipsed those lips to a point that she angled her head so her lips could join his.

  Then he was with her, his body streamlined against hers in a way that allowed their breaths to min
gle; and she opened to him, inviting him in for a lengthy visit. Tony showed her what love felt like, what it tasted like. Showed her how they would end on a scream of passion and be reborn with a sigh of pleasure.

  True to his word, Tony had made the first strides to get into Chicago Theological Seminary. Unfortunately, because of his criminal background, he wasn’t eligible to receive grants, loans, or financial aid. He’d worked two jobs to put himself through school, refusing to accept a dime of Kari’s money. And she had offered so many times. Especially since her freelance paralegal business was thriving even more than she imagined. She’d added four more staff to fulfill a contract with a firm handling a civil case involving the oil spill in the gulf.

  “I don’t ever want it said that I’m only with you because I needed a ride,” he’d said, and his tone indicated that he wouldn’t broach the subject again. “I’m going to make it happen. Trust me. Might take a little longer, but I’ll get there.” He’d gathered her to him, stroked an index finger down her cheek. “You just keep loving and encouraging me. Oh, and keep those good meals coming.”

  Tony had a knack for washing away any worries. And he also had a head for business.

  He started a unique company of procuring artwork and written works by inmates, and selling them to support their families and put money on their books. It gave him an income and he used the profits to open an individual stock trading account until he worked up enough cash and established an account as a corporate entity to trade on a higher level. Next, he opened a gallery and bookstore that displayed the works and continued his efforts to help ex-cons who were trying to get their lives together. His gallery now had five locations—Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago, Atlanta, and New York. Most of them were managed by a local artist, Jordan Spears who founded a music and arts center that helped children with special needs and those from impoverished families. He also managed to bring in Calvin St. James, the son of the man he’d met in prison who had changed his life.

  With so many doors closed to men with his kind of past, he forged an avenue that brought in an income that took care of Kari and amply took care of their needs while allowing him to focus on his studies and graduate from the seminary.

  She’d kept her end of the bargain, and Anthony Baltimore had more than kept his.

  The one thing he had never pressed her about was those “missing” years of her life. Now it seemed they were the very things that could cost him everything he’d worked so hard to build.

  She had told him, “I won’t hold your past against you, if you won’t hold my past against me.”

  Never imagining that years later, fate would force her to confront it in such an ugly way.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Kari and Tony were so deep into their kiss that the unfortunate experience at church earlier, and the outside world as a whole, ceased to exist. They made it to the master bedroom, ready to join in that all too familiar dance, when …

  The doorbell chimed.

  Kari shrieked with frustration. Tony groaned his disappointment.

  They shared a speaking glance, burst out laughing, then quickly threw on their robes and went down the stairs.

  Kari peered over Tony’s shoulder as he pulled open the door to find a group of forty or so people standing behind Aridell Henderson Slaughter.

  “We just came to talk.” She lifted an eyebrow, taking in their disheveled appearance with a quick once-over, cleared her throat, and added, “But if it’s not a good time, we can come back a little later. Maybe much later—like tomorrow.”

  Tony looked at Kari, who sighed her acceptance. “Now is as good a time as any,” he said, inviting them in.

  The group, made up of the choir, musicians, a few members, Ricky, and an usher board member, filed into the living room, each greeting Tony and Kari as they walked past.

  “Would you like for us to fix some beverages and refreshments for everyone?” Sister Janice asked and waited for Kari’s nod before she, Sisters Susan, Martha, and Lorna went into the kitchen.

  Aridell grinned, then leaned in so only Tony and Kari could hear. “Looks like y’all worked things out pretty well.” She winked, then gave them an ear-to-ear grin. “I’m proud of you.”

  Kari’s cheeks flamed with embarrassed color.

  Tony had the nerve to look chagrinned.

  Hushed whispers of conversation ensued while the men brought in chairs from the dining room, patio, garden, and the family room to accommodate the guests. Tony and Kari went upstairs to change with a humorous warning from Sister Aridell. “Remember y’all got guests down here.”

  Kari gasped. “Sister Aridell—”

  She ducked her head and tried not to laugh. “Y’all remind me of me and Richard. God knows I loved that man so much. Maybe too much,” she said, sobering a little. “Probably asked God to take him before I wore him out.”

  “Lord have mercy,” Kari said, placing a hand over her heart before following a laughing Tony up the stairs. “Don’t encourage her, Tony.”

  That only made him laugh harder.

  They came down about ten minutes later and Sister Aridell tapped an imaginary watch and grinned. Kari gave her the side eye as she took the seat Sister Dana offered.

  “We want to apologize to the first lady,” Brother Michael said, his robust frame inching further into Sister Anita’s space than she probably liked.

  All around the room the rest of the members echoed those sentiments.

  “I’m not the first lady any longer,” Kari said, folding her arms over her full breasts.

  “You’re our first lady,” Aridell corrected. “No matter what my knucklehead nephew has in mind.” She put her gaze on Tony. “I’ve set a church meeting for Wednesday. The whole congregation will be there to get our new marching orders.” She gestured to a few of the people around the room. “This will be your new board, if you’ll have us.”

  Tony perched on the edge of the sofa, the only available space in his home. He took in the expectant and eager expressions of those around him. “I know this isn’t going to be what you want to hear, but after everything that went down today, I’m not trading one noose for one of my own making.” He glanced at Kari, who nodded. “I was just having a talk with my wife and saying that a street ministry is what we’re aiming for. So, I won’t be needing a board. Advisors, yes. A board, no. I’m not going to answer to anyone but God, my wife, and the government.”

  Silence greeted that.

  “That’s fair,” Aridell said after a few moments, and there was an unmistakable tinge of disappointment in those two words.

  Tony grinned at his new advisors. “I’ll say that you’re a heck of a sight better than a board that’s no more than a retired bunch of Negroes with more time on their hands than good sense.”

  The doorbell rang again.

  “Who in the world could that be?” Kari said as she went to the entrance with Tony fast on her heels.

  Brother Ray, the one board member who hadn’t been at church today, with Tee Henderson beside him, greeted them on the threshold.

  Leesa and Cathy pulled up in an SUV right behind them, scrambled across the street, cornered the well-manicured bushes along the brick path leading to the doorway, trying to make it in time to catch up to Brother Ray and Tee.

  Aridell came up beside Tony and Kari, her mouth tightened and expression hard. “Well, slap me with bread and call me a sandwich. Look who’s here.”

  “You’ve got jokes,” Tee said in a small voice. “I need to talk with Pastor Baltimore and you … Auntie Aridell.”

  “Shouldn’t you be with Terrence,” Aridell taunted. “Since your side of the family’s trying to take over?”

  “I didn’t have nothing to do with that,” Tee insisted, with a wary glance at Tony. “I’m not down with whatever they’ve got going on.”

  Brother Ray slid past the other two on the threshold, ushering Tee inside as he said, “They planned all of this without me. I wouldn’t have let things go down this
way.”

  Tony nodded, understanding that Brother Ray was the one member of the board who was always on his side, and he laid excellent arguments swaying the deciding votes that were in the best interest of the church. Of course, he wouldn’t go along with what the deacons and board had set up today. They’d known Brother Ray would be coming back from his sister’s funeral and possibly spending time with his family to wrap up the woman’s affairs.

  Aridell’s brown eyes narrowed on her grandniece. “Well, it’s a little interesting that you showed up now, just when those of us supporting Pastor are having a private meeting with him.” She cocked her head at the other two women standing right behind Tee. “And don’t think we didn’t notice you two were cosigning what happened at the church.”

  “Come on in and take a seat,” Kari offered, her tone not completely welcoming, but not exactly forbidding either.

  “No, put them in the basement somewhere until our meeting’s over,” Aridell warned, keeping a side-eye on her family. “We don’t want them taking any information back to the other side.”

  “We’re not going to do that,” Tony said, also keeping his focus on the three unwanted newcomers. “Unless they give us a reason not to trust them.” He went back into the living room to join the others who had spread out between the living room, dining room, kitchen and some in the solarium, all of whom shifted their focus and smiles to Brother Ray, then wary gazes to the trio. Some quickly averted their eyes and whispered to the person next to them. Others gave them a hard stare, and a final few merely shook their heads.

  “Nothing going on here that won’t be public knowledge at some point,” Tony reminded everyone.

  Aridell looked to Kari, who signaled for Aridell to be cool. But the older woman still wasn’t feeling the love. She moved past all of them and reclaimed the seat she’d vacated, grumbling a few choice words along the way.