“I feel all naked,” he said with his bottom lip poked out.
“You look very handsome Rocky. I can see your entire face,” Man said.
“What about my face? Look at this thick makeup. Look at my eyebrows! I have a Mohawk!”
“Actually, you look very sexy. Edgy. Dangerous. I love it,” he said to her.
“You would—-wouldn’t you?”
“All you have to do is wash it, add some gel, and it will be fine. Sticking up like that does make you look a bit like a rooster,” he said to her, which only unleashed a fresh batch of tears.
He ran back to the porch to pay and thank Aunt Amelda, then kissed her on the cheek. “You have your hands full with those two right there Man-Mann,” she told him.
“Yes Lord, you got that right. I love it,” he said as he waved, climbed in the car and with two toots of his horn, he drove off.
The Arch Angel was a little under three hours away. Thus far, they had driven and hour without a word from either Shanice or Rocky.
“Okay, somebody say something,” he said to the two pouting riders.
“I need a baseball cap so I don’t catch a cold in my head,” Rocky said. “Why did I have to get a haircut?”
Fast on his feet, Man responded. “Where I live, there are a lot of spiders, ticks, and things that like to crawl in your hair and make a home. This way, if you get any visitors on your head, we can see them early and get rid of them,” he said.
“Oh,” Rocky responded and touched his head.
He glanced over at Shanice, who gave him an unadulterated fuck you sideways look that made him laugh again.
“I kid you not, I have laughed more in the last few days than I have laughed in the past ten years,” he said to her.
“I’m glad you find this so amusing. How is that black woman your Aunt? Is she like the Sweets, someone you helped, which, in turn, they unofficially adopted you or some crap?”
“No, she is my mother’s oldest sister. I mean oldest, really. She is ten minutes older than her twin Esmerelda,” he said.
“That woman is black!” She said, looking at him with his straight thick black hair and cornflower blue eyes.
“So is my mother,” he said flatly. “My biological father is possibly the whitest man I have ever seen. He is part German with blue eyes. My mother is much fairer than Aunt Amelda, who is also a lot darker than her twin.”
“Do you have any siblings?” She asked out of curiosity.
“No, my biological father made sure that my mother would never be able to give another man any children. She and my Dad, Chris Mann, didn’t adopt or anything. He didn’t have any other children either. I have some brothers and a sister on my father’s side, but I don’t have any dealings with them.”
It all made sense now. This man sees his mother’s struggle in me. He is trying to save me from what she went through.
“I get it,” Shanice said.
“No you don’t,” he said quickly. “My mother was his mistress for nearly a year as I was told. She learned she was pregnant with me on the same day that she discovered he was married. She also found out on that same day that my father ran a company that contracted out killers for hire. She witnessed him taking the life of a public figure. I was four when she got away from him.”
Shanice reached over to touch his hand. “I’m so sorry,” she said softly.
“Don’t be. I am strong. We survived. She married a good guy, he took care of us, raised me to be strong. Driven. Focused,” he said proudly.
“But he didn’t raise you to be a killer,” she said boldly.
“Ironically, in order to protect my mother from the man who sired me, I had to become one. To ensure her continued safety, I have to continue to be one. There are no easy outs Shanice. When life hands you a chance to find balance, you take it. True, some tradeoffs may be required, but you find the balance,” he encouraged.
“And I am supposed to find balance in being your wife and sharing your bed?”
“You know something that could hurt that man who sired your son. Almost six years it took him to find you, but he did. Until he sees your dead bones, he will never stop coming after you. At some point, you will have to tell me what you know. If we expose him after he settles the contract, he can spend the rest of his life feeling like crap, even if he believes you are gone,” he told her.
“Maybe. It’s something to think about,” she said.
“Yes, you also need to think about new names for you and Rocky,” he responded. “We will be there in a little.”
Her head was spinning. Her toes were burning, her fingernails were still too long and moreover, she looked like a clown. I don’t even have a dress to wear to this stupid wedding.
She sulked all the way to the Arch Angel’s home. A man, who was a bigger Devil than the one she was about to marry. It didn’t help that he was possibly the most handsome man she’d ever seen in her life.
Chapter 14- Do you take this man...who?
The old farmhouse was mostly made of stone. The walls, surrounded by scaffolding, meant a great deal of it was being repaired. The landscaping was immaculate, but something appeared to be off kilter. The old masonry looked too friendly. Man said so himself. He stopped the car several feet away from the driveway, cut the engine, and slid slowly from the driver’s side with his hands in the air. He turned his body a full rotation in the spot where he stood as if he were being scanned by an unseen x-ray machine.
Three lights on the front porch blinked as Man got back in the car and drove up the drive to the front door. He made a point of keeping his hands high on the steering wheel where they could be seen by whoever was watching the approach.
“I am scared,” Shanice uttered.
“Don’t be. Keep your hands visible at all times and your mouth closed as much as possible. All will be well,” he responded.
“What about me Pops?” Rocky wanted to know.
“Just don’t kick anyone okay?”
“Okay, but if they touch my Mama, somebody is getting a karate blow,” the boy responded. The man looked into the rear-view mirror to see his tight little determined face. He liked the boy more and more every minute of every day. He also had some kind of feelings about the Arch Angel himself.
Gabriel Neary, former CIA operative, stepped out on the porch. Dark hair, searing brown eyes, black wire framed glasses and possessing lips that would make a nun want to French kiss the man into submission. His open, buttoned down shirt showed perfect abdominal muscles, which were an 8-pack of awesome with a slight stream of black hair making a trail into the top of his unbutton pants. A giggling woman ran past them out the front door blowing kisses as she jumped into a little sporty blue convertible. Blowing more kisses at Gabriel, she shouted for him to call her. He didn’t seem to be at all that interested in the woman’s departure.
“Saving another lost soul?” Man asked him.
“I do what I can to service my flock,” Gabriel responded with a deep baritone voice. “Come on inside, let’s get it done. I have to drive down to Kentucky, then over your way tomorrow.”
“What’s happening down my way?”
“My brother has a place which butts up next to yours. He used to be the number one for FLOTUS until he got shot. He’s taken a break from the Secret Service but the PTSD was a bit much, so he moved down to Dad’s old hunting cabin for some quiet. Loud noises make him edgy,” Gabriel told them.
“Next to me? You aren’t talking about Isaak Macklemore are you?”
“No, not those hillbilly meth dealers. My Dad’s old place is between the two of you. The entrance is barely noticeable except for the blue mailbox. I have driven by it several times myself trying to get there,” he told them. His eyes were on Shanice, then the boy.
Man moved to stand closer to Shanice to block Gabriel’s view. “I will keep an eye out for him. Anything big chasing him?”
“Nothing more than Lucifer himself,” Gabriel said. “I need to get a few photos of t
hese two. How old is the boy?”
“I am five Sir,” Rocky spoke up.
“Are we keeping his same date of birth or giving him a new one?” Gabriel questioned.
“I don’t know how many boys were born in my county on that day, let me make a call,” Man answered.
“Naw, I got it,” Gabriel answered. “You guys come on inside.”
Shanice, looking about the house, saw nothing personal which gave any hint as to who Gabriel was, what he did in the home, or how he lived. “May I freshen up a bit and take this gook off my face before any photo is taken? I don’t want an ID that looks like I a lost a fight with a traveling band of clowns,” she stated.
“I was wondering if that look was intentional,” Gabriel said with one perfect eyebrow arched.
“No, I actually lost a fight with a large woman who thought I needed this type of makeover. My own mother wouldn’t recognize me like this,” Shanice said.
“The bathroom is down the hall. By the time you return, I will have everything ready for you to sign including your marriage license,” Gabriel announced.
“Whoa! It’s one thing to pretend we are married, but it’s another to have a fake document perpetrating the lie. I have enough sins to atone for. I don’t plan on answering for that one,” she quipped with her hands on her hips.
Gabriel smiled at her with the loveliest set of teeth she’d ever seen. Shanice felt her knees get weak. No one man should look that good.
“I am an ordained minister. I am more than happy to perform your marriage ceremony,” Gabriel said with a smile.
“No! I don’t want some internet certified preacher with a perfect smile holding a bible getting me hitched,” she said with her hands still on her hips in defiance.
Gabriel moved intentionally like a predator, walking around his desk, opening a drawer, and pulling out a framed degree. “I went to seminary school. I have a Master’s degree in Theology,” he asserted.
“This makes no sense,” Shanice murmured.
“It makes perfect sense,” Gabriel told her. “I am a flawed man, and church women can be very persuasive. I was born with the mind of an angel but too good looking and gifted for my own soul’s sake.”
“Gifted?”
He lifted an eyebrow.
“Oh!” She said blushing.
“I am many things, but a hypocrite is not one of them. I am working through my demons. Jesus is forgiving. Church folks are not. When the time comes for me to go back to the ministry, I will know when the time is right. Right now, I have other work He has tasked me to do. You must understand that the designated work today means giving you a fresh start with Nate over here,” he clarified.
“Who?” She asked.
“Nathaniel Mann, your husband to be,” Gabriel spelled out. “Let’s get this show moving.”
Thirty minutes later, dressed in a cinched waist white sundress with tiny yellow flowers and sandals, and Rocky in a tie with dress pants, she stood before an altar in Gabriel’s home about to say her wedding vows. She couldn’t do it.
“I can’t do this,” she said to him.
“Give us a moment Gabriel,” Nathaniel said to him.
Gabriel left the room.
“Talk to me Shanice,” he said.
“It’s too much. It’s too sudden. I just learned your name is Nathaniel. My new name is Sharon, and my son is now Benjamin Mann. He was named after my grandfather Rockledge, and now, you have taken that away. Today, you have taken away everything that I am to make me into this Sharon person. And... And...You expect Sharon to stand before some disgraced minister with a big wanker and say ‘I do’ to you,” she stated with confusion etched on her face and concern in her voice.
“He’s not disgraced, and I know nothing about his wanker,” Nathaniel said to her.
“Really? That’s your come back?”
“I changed his name to Benjamin because he can’t go through life as Rocky Mann. Kids will follow him around humming the theme song from Rocky. He will have to fight every day,” he explained with ease.
“You are making fun of my fears,” she told him. It was true. Being small for his age, Rocky was constantly teased by the kids. It is the reason why she put him in karate classes so young. He was pretty good at defending himself. She’d also learned in the last few days that he was pretty good at defending her too.
“I understand your fears. Again, if you don’t want a life with me as my wife and me as Rocky’s father, you now have the documentation. When the payment clears for your contract, I will give it to you, and you’re free to go,” he reminded her.
“I have nowhere to go,” she exasperated. “I wouldn’t even know how to go about starting over all by myself with just my son. In Venture, Hester and the Reverend helped me get settled. I got a job at my cousin’s store to support myself.”
“Is that what you want, me to help you get set up on your own?”
“No. I don’t know.” she said softly. “I just always imagined my wedding being something different with a man that I loved.”
“Love is something that is earned. I will earn it from you, but we are out of time Shanice. We have to get moving. It is almost ten hours to my home. Our home. We have to drive at least three more hours tonight,” he told her.
“Fine,” she said, holding the small bouquet. “You could have at least proposed and gave me a chance to feel giddy like I am eager to start a life with a man, who cares enough to at least ask me for my hand in marriage!”
“Mama, I’m hungry,” Rocky squealed.
“We will get something to eat as soon as we get out of here,” Nathaniel assured his soon to be son. He looked at Shanice’s face. He understood what she needed. If that’s what the little lady required to feel giddy, he was going to make her dizzy as heck. He groaned a bit as he took to one knee.
“This may not be the ideal way to start a life together, but each morning that you have been in my life has made me a very happy man. The sheer idea of waking up beside you every single day I open my eyes to face this world, fills my heart with a joy I can’t even describe. Please, do me the honor and be my wife. Share my world. Share my home. I am asking you to become the center of my universe. As your husband, you will never want for anything. Will you marry me?”
He asked as he opened the small velvet box with a perfect quarter carat pink diamond ring. It had to be the most perfect thing she’d ever seen in her life. He’d gone and picked it out for her when she was being tortured by his Aunt. Shanice’s heart skipped three beats, her skin flushed, and her mouth became dry.
“Yes,” she said as he came to his feet. He kissed her lips with a bit of ardent promise of what was to come then let her go.
“Gabriel?” He called out into the other room. “We are ready.”
In less than three minutes, she was Mrs. Nathaniel Mann. The newly created Sharon Mann stood next to her new husband as Gabriel threw rice at them. She cut her eyes at him causing the Arch Angel to give a belly laugh that was just as sexy as he was.
Holding a new Georgia driver’s license that belonged to Mrs. Sharon Mann, she placed the license in her wallet along with new social security cards and new birth certificates for both her and Rocky, she climbed in the car sitting beside her husband. A credit report with a 750 score, a credit card, and a bank account with $850 dollars in it from Bank of America also belonged to her.
Nathaniel handed a thick envelope to Gabriel, shared a handshake, and they were off. “Let’s head home, but first some food,” he told them.
She could barely eat the meal as thoughts of what would occur in the next few hours made her nervous. He is going to expect me to be his wife in every sense of the word. He has done so much for us. I would seem so ungrateful to refuse him, but Rocky will be in the room with us. What if he wakes up and sees him going at me like we did on Saturday night? It would traumatize my child for life.
“Sharon, stop worrying about the small stuff,” Nathaniel demanded. “It will be okay.”
Maybe it would be okay. He’d thought of everything. The dress. The perfect ring. The shoes. The new hairstyle, the pedicure, the manicure, and the ID’s. Nathaniel even got a suite at the hotel they stopped at for the night, which gave Rocky a separate sleeping space.
Her husband prepared Rocky for bed. She’d never noticed the tablet he had with him until now as he sat reading a story to the boy as she soaked in the tub. The wedding rings on her fingers felt foreign as she eyed the new band with diamonds and the quarter carat pink diamond ring on her finger. It was just the right size for her small hands. Subtle, yet brilliant.
Like her husband.
I am married.
If Sugar Bear could see me now.
She missed her Mama. It had been nearly four years since she’d gotten the news about her mother’s death. Unable to attend her own mother’s funeral because of Eric, she hid like a coward. No more. I am done hiding. That man had already taken too much from me. He wasn’t going to over shadow her happiness any more. I deserve better. Rocky deserves better. Nathaniel, she hoped that was his real name, offered her a life. I am going to take it and make the best of this.
Pulling the plug in the bath, she washed down the tub and headed to the bedroom wearing only a towel, since she didn’t have anything more than the dress she’d gotten married in, plus one and a half changes of clothing. She was surprised to find a pretty negligee with matching lacy undies lying across the bed. He’d thought of everything including a woman’s fashion magazine and a glass of red wine for her to sip as he showered. Nathaniel also doubled checked on Rocky before he joined her in the bedroom.
“I am bone tired,” he told her as he sat on the side of the bed.
“I can drive some tomorrow if you’d like,” she said, feeling suddenly nervous.
“After breakfast, it is only five hours to home. I can do that with one eye closed,” he smirked.
“It depends on how late you plan to stay up tonight,” she said softly, wringing her hands. Saturday night flashed in her mind. As much as she wanted to make love with him again, he was an untamed stallion in bed. There was no way they weren’t going to wake up Rocky.
Blind Date Page 9