Alan put a hand on Isaac’s forearm. “It wasn’t about disrespecting your mother. It’s that he didn’t trust Michael Thomas. His mother is on the board in his stead.”
At the mention of Michael’s name, Isaac met his wife’s gaze. “At least Dad is rational where Michael is concerned,” he said to Alan. “But I still don’t like the idea of Leah and Deborah with seats on the board.”
“I’m sorry, but it’s a done deal. When I leave here, I’m meeting with the two women. They need to be at the press conference.”
Isaac shook his head. “No way,” he said. “Their presence will only add more uncertainty to an already uncertain situation.”
“But your father—”
Isaac met the older man’s gaze. “My father’s in a coma and I’m running MEEG. I’m not going against his wishes. If he put them on the board, they’re on the board, but we don’t make that announcement at the press conference or at the companywide meeting. We do it down the road in a month or so. If Dad’s back at the helm by then, all well and good, then he can make the announcement. If he’s not, then people will have become used to his absence and the announcement won’t generate much interest.”
“If that’s the way you want it.”
Isaac nodded. “That’s the way I want it.”
“We need to have a board meeting in the next day or so.”
“Let’s talk about that tomorrow morning. Right now, I need to spend some time with my family.”
Alan checked his watch. “One more thing. Have you told Leah and her family about the change in Abraham’s condition?”
Isaac shook his head. “Mom wouldn’t hear of it.”
“I know this is hard for her, Isaac, but you’re going to have to make room for your half brother and half sister. It’s what Abraham would want. It’s the right thing to do.”
Isaac winced at the terms “half brother” and “half sister.” Deborah and Michael weren’t only Abraham’s children, they were also his brother and sister. He pushed away the childhood memory of himself asking his mother for a baby brother or sister. “I know you’re right, Alan, but she’s my mother and this is killing her. She has to come first.”
“Look,” Alan said, “I’ll let Leah and Deborah know when I go over there, and we’ll work out a visiting schedule of some sort. Talk to your mother. She can’t make those kids go away.”
“I’ll try but you should talk to her, too. You’ll probably have more sway with her. She trusts you.”
“Good enough,” Alan said. “I’ll come back here around lunch and force her to get something to eat. While we’re eating, Leah and Deborah can visit with Abraham. I’m pretty sure Michael won’t be visiting, so he won’t be a problem.”
“I understand about Deborah and Michael, but I don’t see why Leah has to be here. You weren’t here the other day when she and Mom came face-to-face. It wasn’t pretty. Mom lost it.”
Sighing, Alan stood. “This entire situation is a mess, isn’t it? I’ll speak with Deborah and Leah. We’ll work something out.”
Isaac stood and extended his hand. “Thanks, Alan. I know Dad trusted you and counted on you. I’ll be counting on you a lot as we go through this transition.”
“I’m ready to assist you in any way I can.”
“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
With that, Alan left.
“You did good,” Rebecca said. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Don’t be proud yet,” Isaac said. “Anybody can talk a good game, as you well know.”
Rebecca flinched at his words, and he knew they had hit their target. Unwilling to offer her any comfort, he left her alone and headed for his father’s room.
Chapter Seventeen
Deborah glanced at her watch again. Alan Weems was a long-winded guy. Handsome, but long-winded. Why didn’t he just get to the point? She wanted to get to the hospital to see Abraham. She’d called this morning to check on his condition only to learn that the doctors had put him in an induced coma. While she knew there was nothing she could do, she wanted to be with him. Instead, here she sat on her living room couch while this attorney droned on and on.
“So in addition to your new job as head of Running Brook Productions,” he said to her, “you also have a seat on the board of directors of MEEG, along with your mother.”
“What?” Deborah asked, jerking upright in her chair. “Abraham didn’t tell me anything about this.”
“He was going to tell you the night of his accident,” Alan explained.
“He’s right, Deborah,” her mother chimed in. “Abraham told me so himself.”
“When did you talk to him?” she asked her mother.
“A few days ago. He came by my classroom at the community college. He wanted to run the idea by me before he approached you and Michael.”
Deborah turned back to Alan, unsure how she felt about her mother and Abraham having secret talks about them. “Okay, there’s a place for me and Mama. What about Michael?”
Alan sat forward in his chair and faced them. “Well, Deborah, your father doesn’t trust Michael to act in MEEG’s best interests, so he doesn’t have a seat on the board at this time.”
“That’s not fair,” Deborah said. “Abraham needs to earn Michael’s trust. It’s not fair to leave him out.”
Her mother placed her hands on Deborah’s. “He hasn’t left Michael out exactly,” she explained. “I’m holding his seat on the board.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Abraham has made a place for Michael, but I’m holding it until Michael is ready for it.”
Deborah snorted. “And who decides when Michael is ready?”
“I have Abraham’s proxy, since he’s incapacitated, so the three of us will decide,” Alan said. “I understand and appreciate your inclination to look out for your brother’s best interests, but you have to trust that Abraham will do right by him.”
“Why should I trust him where Michael is concerned?” Deborah asked, jumping up from her chair. “Maybe Abraham feels he has one son and doesn’t need another.”
“Deborah,” her mother chided. “You know that’s not true.”
Deborah sighed deeply. This was all happening too fast. Her father had come into her life. He bought her a company. Then he had an accident, was hospitalized and placed in a coma. And now she’d learned that he put her on his board of directors. How could so many good things and bad things happen at the same time? Why couldn’t things be all good?
“I’m sorry, Mama,” she said, sitting back down. “You’re right.” She turned to the attorney. “Forgive me, Mr. Weems. So much is happening so fast. It’s all a bit overwhelming.”
Alan gave her a smile that showed his perfect white teeth. He was indeed a handsome man. In fact, he was the spitting image of the gorgeous black guy who played the president on that TV show 24. She guessed his age to be late forties, early fifties. “I know this has to be a difficult time for you,” he said. “Believe me when I tell you that Abraham wanted things to go smoothly for you. His accident upset his plans.”
Leah gave a dry laugh. “Not even Abraham can control everything.”
“He certainly makes a great effort, though,” Alan said. “That’s one of the keys to his success.”
“He was that way when we were kids. I knew he’d never change.”
Deborah heard a wistfulness in her mother’s voice she hadn’t heard before. She wondered if her mother still had feelings for Abraham. What if she’d never stopped loving him?
“I’ve know him for twenty-five years,” Alan said, “and I can tell you that he hasn’t changed much in that time. If anything, his basic characteristics have only grown stronger with age.”
Leah laughed outright. “So you’re saying he’s become more controlling with age?”
“You didn’t hear it from me,” Alan said good-naturedly.
The attorney’s long-term relationship with Abraham caught Deborah’s interest. Maybe this man could hel
p her learn about her father. She needed that, now that Abraham was in a coma.
Alan cleared his throat. “I know you two want to get to the hospital, but there’s one other thing I’d like to talk to you about.”
“What?” Leah asked, concern in her voice.
“Saralyn.”
“Oh,” Leah and Deborah said at the same time.
“I want to preface what I’m about to say with this: You have every right to be at Abraham’s side while he’s ill. It’s what he would want.”
“I hear the ‘but’ coming,” Deborah said.
“Yes,” Alan said, meeting her eyes. “Saralyn is the ‘but.’ This situation is difficult for all of you, I know, but I still need to ask you to do a favor—not for Saralyn, but for Abraham.”
“What is it?” Deborah asked warily.
Leah stiffened. “I hope you’re not going to ask Deborah to stop visiting her father.”
Alan shook his head. “I’d never do that,” he said. “I only ask that for the immediate future you plan your hospital visits around Saralyn’s so you aren’t there at the same time.”
“Something tells me that Saralyn’s idea of coordination would be for us to never show up,” Deborah said. “Maybe you should be talking to her.”
“I’m scheduled to meet with her for lunch today and we’re going to have a long talk. My idea is that you plan to be at the hospital when Saralyn isn’t there. In return, she promises to make herself scarce the times you’re there and to keep you updated on any changes in Abraham’s condition.”
“Somehow I don’t see her agreeing to that,” Deborah said.
“She’ll agree,” Alan said with confidence. “She doesn’t have much choice. You’re Abraham’s acknowledged daughter. As I said, you and your brother have as much right to be there as she and Isaac do.”
“What about Mama?” she asked. “She’s family. I want her there with me.”
Leah hugged her daughter’s shoulders. “I’ll go with you sometimes, sweetheart,” she said. “But it’s not really my place to be there. My presence would only make the situation more difficult for you.”
Deborah felt a weight settle on her chest. Too much was happening too fast. “But what if I need you?”
“Then I’ll be there just as I am whenever you need me. But I’m sure you’re going to find you won’t need me as much as you think you will. Besides, you need time with Abraham and to get to know your half brother. My presence will only hinder your building those relationships.”
“But—”
“No buts,” Leah said. “I’m right and you know it.” She turned to the attorney. “We agree to your plan, Mr. Weems. As long as Saralyn agrees to keep Deborah up-to-date on changes in her father’s condition, she’ll schedule her visits so that she doesn’t overlap with Saralyn.”
“I appreciate it,” Mr. Weems said. He turned to Deborah. “I’m taking Saralyn to lunch, so you’re welcome to ride over to the hospital with me and visit with Abraham while she and I dine. Afterward, I can bring you back here or I can drive you over and show you your new office at MEEG.”
Deborah looked at him. She knew she could drive herself over, but she welcomed some time with this man who knew her father so well. “I’d like that,” she said, “the ride to the hospital and the visit to MEEG, if you’re sure it won’t put you out.”
“It’ll be my pleasure,” Alan said. “I’d like to get to know Abraham’s daughter.”
And Abraham’s daughter would like to get to know you, she thought. “It’s a date—I mean a deal—then.”
Chapter Eighteen
Leah drove around in her eight-year-old Nissan for half an hour before deciding to go to the one place she wanted to be. She took a deep breath and turned onto Sycamore Street. When she reached the fourth house, she opened her purse and pulled out the garage door opener she rarely used. She pressed the button and the door went up. The late model white Benz parked there confirmed that he was home. She breathed deeply and pulled her car in next to his. The door to the kitchen opened just as she pressed the button to lower the garage door, and she saw him standing there, a slight, balding man sporting thick professor glasses.
When the garage door was closed, she got out of her car and walked directly into his arms. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered, holding her close. “I’ve missed you a lot.”
She lifted her face for his kiss and then lost herself in it.
When it ended, he smiled down at her and said, “I guess you missed me, too.”
He’d worked his magic and made her laugh. How had she been so lucky to find him? “It’s only been a couple of days.”
“Seems like weeks to me,” he said, leading her into the house. “I was about to fix lunch. Are you hungry?”
She shook her head. Before she could explain, tears filled her eyes and she began to cry.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, pulling her close. “Tell me what’s wrong so I can help.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. She held him tightly, reveling in the comfort he provided. He was so good to her. She didn’t deserve him, not really, but neither could she give him up.
“It’s going to be all right,” he said, leading her to the upholstered couch in his living room. He sat down on the couch, pulled her down with him, and continued to hold her close. “It’s going to be all right.”
Her tears and soft weeping continued until she emptied herself of them.
He tipped her chin up. “Feel better?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry for crying all over you.”
He pressed a kiss against her forehead. “I’d rather you cry all over me than all over some other man.”
She chuckled. “No other man would put up with me.”
“Then I guess that makes me one blessed man. You know, I pray for you and thank God for you every day. You’re a blessing to me, Leah.”
The words were hard for Leah to hear. A chance meeting at a reception for a visiting lecturer at the community college had led to a relationship that fulfilled her in more ways than she could name. It still amazed her that Melvin Reeves was in her life when he could have any woman he wanted. She knew for a fact that several single women in his church were convinced that he’d one day be their husband. Maybe one of them would be his wife someday. But for now, he was hers. “You’re the blessing, Reverend.”
He tapped her nose with his finger. “That’s Reverend Doctor to you.”
She laughed again.
“I love to hear you laugh,” he said. “The sound fills my heart and makes me happy. I never thought I’d feel this way about a woman again, but you changed that for me.”
“You make me happy, too. That’s why I had to come over. I needed to hear your voice, feel your arms around me.”
He squeezed her shoulders. “Tell me what had you so upset.”
“Abraham.”
“Has he taken a turn for the worse? I was there with Saralyn this morning when she got the news about the doctors inducing the coma.”
She shook her head. “Not really. It’s me. I feel so guilty, Melvin. My children are hurting and it’s all my fault.”
“You can’t blame yourself,” he told her. “You made some mistakes a long time ago. God has forgiven you, now you need to forgive yourself.”
“I was on my way to doing that until Abraham burst into our lives again. He’s turned everything upside down, brought back a lot of painful memories.”
“I thought you were glad he’d finally acknowledged your kids.”
She eased out of his arms and got up from the couch. She couldn’t have this discussion sitting down. “Of course I’m glad. It’s about time. But I’m also angry that it took him so long. My feelings are all over the place.” She tucked her hands in the pockets of her jeans. “Why does life have to be so complicated?”
“Because we have free will, which is a double-edged sword. We’re free to make good and bad decisions. In exchange, we have to suffer
the consequences of those decisions.”
“Sometimes I think God is laughing at us.”
Melvin shook his head. “Never. He’s crying with you. He doesn’t like to see you suffer. That’s why He always makes sure your suffering is not in vain. You’ll benefit from it or someone else will.”
“I understand that, but why do my kids have to suffer the consequences of my actions? They’re innocent.”
Melvin got up and walked to her, pulling her into his arms again. “That’s why you have to trust Him. There’s one thing you can be sure of: As much as you love your kids, God loves them more. That knowledge should comfort you.”
“I know it should, and most times it does. But when I see them suffer and know that my decisions caused it, it’s hard. It’s real hard.”
“That’s why I’m here, so that you can lean on me during the difficult times. I’m God’s gift to you.”
“I know,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “I know there are other women better for you than me, but I’m so happy that you’re in my life.”
“There is no other woman for me, Leah, and I want to shout it to the world. How many times do I have to tell you?”
She wished she could be as open with their relationship as he wanted her to be, but for now she was much more comfortable keeping it a secret. She hadn’t even told Deborah or Michael. “People would talk,” she told him.
He snorted. “People always talk. That’s a given. Talk doesn’t bother me, and it shouldn’t bother you.”
“You’re a preacher,” she said. “You need a woman who’s above reproach, as the Bible says.”
He chuckled. “You’re above reproach.”
She pulled out of his arms. “You know what I mean. You need a woman without a past, especially a past like mine. Melvin, I have two kids and have never been married.”
“So? That was then; this is now. You can’t live in the past. You can’t keep beating yourself up about it.”
This was a conversation they’d had many times. He was patient with her, but she wondered how long his patience would endure. “Once the women in your church find out you’re seeing me, they’re going to beat up on you.”
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