by Peyton Banks
Jada let loose the breath she didn’t even realize she was holding. She nodded.
“I’m glad you like it,” she murmured, staring at her work. She had to admit that she’d done an excellent job on the woman’s hair.
“Like it? I love it!” Erna set the mirror down on Jada’s station and turned to her.
Jada watched the older woman who seemed to try to think of what to say next.
“Jada. May we have a word in private?”
Jada looked around the salon, and everyone turned and fidgeted at their stations with their clients, acting as if they weren’t paying attention to Jada and Erna.
“Why sure.” Jada smiled and motioned for the older woman to follow her to her office.
This was it.
Time for the showdown.
Jada closed the door behind Erna. She waved her over to the chair in front of her desk. Jada had to fight down the memories of the day that Reiner had walked into this same room and taken her against the wall. She couldn’t go down memory lane at the moment with his mother sitting in the room.
Jada took a seat behind her desk and waited for the woman to start. Her new hair took years off her and made the resemblance between her and Reiner more prevalent.
“I know we didn’t get off on the right foot,” Erna began.
Jada kept her face void of all emotions. On the inside she was a hot mess, but she refused to show how she really felt.
“And I’ve come here to make things right, Jada. I don’t want there to be any animosity between us and I’m woman enough to admit when I’m wrong. I’m sorry.”
Jada’s mouth flopped opened in shock. She had imagined every other situation possible, but her outright apologizing was not how she’d imagined this conversation going.
“I’m not sure what to say,” Jada admitted.
“I don’t expect you to say much. I see how much Reiner loves you and how happy you make him. When he called and told me about the baby, I knew that I had to come clean. I don’t want to risk losing my son or my grandchild.”
“He told you about the baby?” Jada whispered. She knew that Reiner had been going crazy about the baby. She was surprised he hadn’t taken out billboards around the city to make the announcement that they were expecting.
“Yes, and that’s when I knew I had to come and speak with you.” Erna’s hand shook as she brushed her hair behind her ear.
“Look, Erna, you don’t owe me any explanation—”
“But I do.” Erna stood from her seat and began to pace. “I am not a racist woman. I want to tell you a story that will explain my actions.”
Jada sat shocked in her chair as she watched the older woman pace back and forth in front of her desk. She didn’t know what to say so she figured she’d just let the woman get whatever she needed off her chest.
“Okay.”
“During the sixties, I was involved in the civil rights movement locally, and I’m sure you can imagine how rough it was in Texas back then. Well, anyway, my best friend, Sara Smith, was right by my side the whole time. There were so many marches back then. We were right there in the midst of the protests. The way African Americans then were treated was downright shameful, and we wanted to make a difference.”
Jada was blown away. Erna Strickland had marched in the name of civil rights? Her wall that she had built to keep the woman away from her heart was starting to crack. The past few months, she had built it to protect herself. It had bothered her that Erna couldn’t accept her.
“Sara met a nice young man named James Holden. James was a sweet black man who adored Sara. But no one saw how much Sara and James were in love with each other.”
Dread filled Jada’s stomach as she listened to the story. She was pretty sure she knew how it would end and bit her lip to keep from interrupting Erna, who was lost in thought as she spoke.
“I can remember the day still as if it were yesterday. We had gone to Birmingham for a march, and things got out of hand. The police and the dogs were all over the streets. I can still hear the screams of people as they turned the water hoses on the protestors.” Erna paused and stared down at the floor as if reliving her memories. She brushed a finger across her cheek to wipe the tears from her face.
“And,” Jada gently urged her on.
“We escaped from getting arrested. I remember us running, trying to get away from the dogs and police. When we finally thought that we had put enough distance from the craziness, all hell broke loose.”
Jada sat with bated breath listening to the story. Now she had to know how it ended. She sat forward on her chair as she waited to hear what Erna would say next.
“A few white men had been watching Sara and James and figured out they were together. They were the ones who had taunted them the day before at a diner when we had first arrived in Birmingham, and apparently they had been keeping an eye on James and Sara. Well, that night during the chaos, the men decided that they would get revenge on James for taking one of their white women. Mind you, they didn’t even know Sara. It was Sara who saw the gun first and dove in front of James, taking a bullet for him.”
The tears were freely flowing down Erna’s face and Jada’s. Jada wiped the tears from her cheeks as she sat stunned in her chair.
“Their relationship was never easy. From the moment they fell in love, they had it hard. I never wanted that for my child. When Reiner told me that he was interested in a black woman, all I could think about was Sara and James. I wouldn’t wish what they went through on anyone. Sara died saving James.”
Jada stood and walked around her desk. She stopped in front of Erna.
“What I heard from the story of Sara and James was how much they were in love. They fought together and believed in their love, so much so, that Sara gave her life for James. That is the ultimate sacrifice to show someone how much you truly love them. Reiner and I may not have to go through what couples had to go through during the civil rights movement, but do know this: I love Reiner with every breath in my body. He is the reason my heart beats.” She smiled through her tears as she stood before Reiner’s mother. Just thinking of her sexy football star and she knew that if need be, she would be his Sara.
“Can you ever forgive me, Jada?” Erna asked, searching Jada’s eyes.
Jada nodded, too choked up with emotions, and she watched the older woman open her arms for her. She rushed forward as the tears flowed down her cheeks. Her wall that she had built was officially torn down. She understood that Erna had felt that in her own way, she was trying to protect Reiner.
Erna’s strong arms encircled her and squeezed tight. Jada returned the hug and blamed the tears on her hormones.
“Am I interrupting something?” a deep baritone spoke up from the door.
“Reiner!” Jada’s head flew around, and she caught sight of Reiner standing inside the doorjamb. His large frame filled the doorway. He stood with a confused look on his face.
“It’s all right, honey,” Erna murmured, wiping her face.
“Mom?”
His eyes widened as he took in his mother’s new look. His gaze flew back and forth between the two women, and Jada’s lips turned up in a small smile as she walked toward him. He enclosed her in his arms and laid a kiss on her forehead.
“Do I even need to ask what is going on?” he said.
“Let’s just say, everything’s all right,” Erna announced as she ambled to his other side.
He looked between them, and Jada nodded.
“We’re good, babe.” Jada’s eyes met Erna’s, and she knew that it was a step in the right direction. They would have to get to know each other, and she was confident that they would make their relationship work. They both had too much to lose.
“Well, I need to be going,” Erna said. “Do I pay at the front desk?”
“It’s on me, Erna.” Jada shook her head. There was no way that she would charge her future child’s grandmother.
“Thank you, my dear. You must come back to the
ranch next time Reiner comes home.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Jada nodded as Erna placed a kiss on Reiner’s cheek then exited the room.
He turned to her with wide eyes. “What did I just walk into?”
“Well, your mother and I had a talk, and we’ve come to an understanding.” She patted him on his chest. She moved to step back from him, but he shut the door and pulled her to him.
“Oh, no. You don’t get to give me a vague answer. Spill it.”
His eyes narrowed on her as she leaned into him. She loved the feeling of his strong muscles around her and counted her blessings for finding him.
She smiled up at him and knew that he was it for her. She couldn’t wait to hold their child in her arms and reached up and entwined her fingers together at the base of his neck.
“Your mother told me a story that made me realize why she was afraid of us being together, and as she was telling the story, it made me realize one thing.”
“What is that?” he asked, brushing her hair from her face.
“How much I really love you.”
“I don’t want to leave you two tonight,” Reiner whispered while he stood behind her as their little bundle of joy let loose a small cry. He would have to fly out tonight for an away game tomorrow. Jada had gotten used to flying with him so that she could see all his games. She was still learning the game of football, and with Reiner as her teacher, she was getting the best person to school her.
“Reiner, you woke her up.” Jada swatted at Reiner. She leaned over and scooped up their daughter. Her small face was scrunched up in a precious cry. Her little lips puckered up as if wanting a kiss from her momma. Jada happily obliged and laid a small kiss to her daughter’s lips.
“I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to look at her once more.” He chuckled, reaching for little Miss Serenity Sara Strickland.
“Well, if you’re going to wake her then you can change her.” Jada walked with him to the changing table.
Her life had changed in the past months. She had finally agreed to move in with Reiner so that she and the baby would be with him. He didn’t want to miss anything. Even though football season was in full swing, he still made sure that he was able to spend time with his little girl and her.
Reiner had fallen in the love with Serenity the minute she’d stepped foot in the world. She may only be a few weeks old, but she already had her father wrapped around her little finger. Jada patiently watched as he changed the baby’s diaper. He had mastered the art of diaper duty after a few tries.
He scooped Serenity up from the table.
“Hey, little girl, your family is here to visit with you. Let’s go make an entrance,” he cooed to her while they walked out of her bedroom.
“Why is everyone here today? Had I known that they were all coming, I would have cooked or something,” Jada muttered as they walked down the stairs.
The smells of tempting food filled the air.
“You don’t need to be up cooking,” Reiner remarked when they made it to the first level. “That’s why our mothers have designed a rotating schedule for one of them to be here with you.”
“There she is!” Reiner’s father called out once they entered the family room.
Everyone gathered around Reiner and Serenity, trying to get a look at her. Jada smiled and stood watching. She didn’t mind that their attention was on her. She was just happy that family was all there to love on Serenity.
The relationship between her and Erna had made a complete turnaround. There was no more tension in the air between them. Every time Reiner went home to the ranch, Jada was right there with him.
She couldn’t ask for a better life. She had fallen in love with a man who loved her for her and was crazy over their newborn child.
“Wait until she’s walking and big enough to get on her first pony!” Erna exclaimed, tapping Reiner’s father on the arm.
“Well, I have already been looking for a pony for her. Nothing but the best for my granddaughter.” Karl chuckled.
“Dad, not yet. It will be a few years before she’s getting in the saddle.” Reiner scoffed, handing off Serenity to Jada’s mother, Clare, where she and Erna both cooed and smiled at their granddaughter.
“Well, I guess I’m no longer the important one,” Jada joked since no one had even looked in her direction since entering.
Laughter filled the room while they all greeted her. She smiled, knowing that everyone was captivated by the baby. She took a few steps and stood next to her mother and Erna.
“How has she been sleeping, dear?” Clare asked.
“For some strange reason, she’s a night owl. Three in the morning, and I swear the little girl is wide awake and ready to eat. Literally it’s every night like clockwork.” She smiled and shook her head. It was worth it.
Now that she’d had the baby, she was taking time off from her salon. Trissa took on the responsibility of running the shop while Jada was out on maternity leave.
“Oh, dear. Reiner was a night owl. I swear, up to about age nine, he was always the child I would check on in the middle of the night and find him on the floor playing.”
They shared a laugh, and Jada noticed the women looking over her shoulder at something. She turned around, and a gasp escaped her.
Reiner was down on one knee behind her.
Her hands flew to her mouth as tears welled up.
“Oh, my goodness,” she whispered, staring into his eyes. Even on his knees they were eye-level. She glanced down at the small black velvet box that was in his hand. “What are you doing?”
Her gaze flew around the room, and the smiles on their faces let her know that everyone was in on the surprise. Their parents and Sky were grinning from ear to ear.
“Jada Dalton, from the moment I met you in the pouring down rain on the side of the road, I knew that you were special. Meeting you again later let me know that we were meant to be together.”
Tears began to freefall from Jada’s eyes as she listened to Reiner. Her gaze dropped to his hands when he opened the box, revealing the most amazing ring she’d ever seen. The large princess-cut diamond was surrounded by small diamonds and took her breath away.
“Reiner,” she hiccupped, brushing her tears from her cheeks.
“Jada, you have made me the happiest man on the earth by giving me the most perfect gift a man could ask for. I couldn’t ask for a better woman to be the mother for my child. It seems I’ve waited a lifetime to meet you and I want us to become official. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Make an honest man out of me and say you’ll marry me.”
He stared at her, waiting for an answer. She was too choked up with emotion to get a word out. She threw herself at him, almost tilting them both on the floor. Reiner stood from his knee, cradling her in his arms.
“Jada, honey, you have to answer. Is that a yes?” He chuckled, squeezing her tight.
“Yes!” she cried out as he set her down on her feet. She jumped in place, holding out her hand for him to slip the ring on her finger.
He leaned down and covered her lips with his while their family surrounded them.
She had fallen hard for Reiner, and now, she would have forever with the man of her dreams.
The End
Thank you for taking the time to read Hard Love. I hope you enjoyed Reiner and Jada’s story! Please take a few minutes and leave a review for this book. I love reading reviews to get a feel of what readers think of the books they read! Every review matters!
* * *
If you would like to stay up to date with me and my work, check out my Facebook page
* * *
www.facebook.com/peytonbanksauthor.
* * *
Warm wishes,
Peyton Banks
Peyton Banks is the alter ego of a city girl who is a romantic at heart. Her mornings consist of coffee and daydreaming up the next steamy romance book ideas. She loves spinning romantic tales of hot alpha males and the women they love. Make su
re you check her out!
* * *
Sign up for Peyton’s Newsletter to find out the latest releases, giveaways and news!
* * *
Newsletter
* * *
Want to know the latest about Peyton Banks? Follow her online:
Current Free Short Story
Summer Escape
* * *
Interracial Romances (BWWM)
Pieces of Me
Hard Love (Coming 2018)
Dirty Tactics (Special Weapons & Tactics 1) (2018)
Dirty Ballistics (Special Weapons & Tactics 2) (TBD)
* * *
Mafia Romance Series
Unexpected Allies (The Tokhan Bratva 1)
Unexpected Chaos (The Tokhan Bratva 2)
Unexpected Hero (The Tokhan Bratva 3)