Driving Heat (26 page)

 

Byron, Cynthia, and Jayden entered the Carter household to the sound of raucous laughter. Her heart warmed when her son was greeted by Douglas’s daughter and two cousins, and promptly whisked away to parts unknown inside the Carter home. Once the kids stopped arguing, they each realized the other wasn’t so bad and could even be liked at times. Cynthia was thrilled. Jayden loved Bobby and his schoolmates, but this was the closest he’d come to experiencing family who were near his age. Moments inside the door and she, too, was enveloped in the love.

“How the hell you walking in here empty-handed?” Liz boomed before rocking Cynthia in a massive bear hug. “You must think you over to Cynthia’s folks’ house. You can do that when you visit rich people. But for those living in the Wood”—she leveled her gaze at Cynthia—“you’ve got to pay to play.”

“Actually, Mrs. Carter, I do have two bottles of wine in the—”

“Two? Did you say two? Okay, me and the mister are set for the day, what are y’all going to drink.”

Byron, who’d walked farther into the house greeting people now came to Cynthia’s rescue. “Mama, when are you going to stop teasing this girl? She still doesn’t know that you’re playing.”

“I’m not!”

He put his arm around Cynthia. “That’s all right, baby. Hang with me and you’ll be going toe to toe with one Mrs. Elizabeth Carter in no time.”

“Uh-huh, just for that I’m going to take the sweet potato pie I made just for you and give it to the neighbors.”

Liz winked at Cynthia and walked off, with Byron on her heels. “Wait a minute, Mama . . .”

Cynthia walked into the living room. “Hello, everyone. Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Douglas, Nelson, and various cousins and neighbors replied. Both brothers had invited female guests to dinner and introduced her to them. Ava walked in just then and gave her a hug. With her was a guy she’d met online. She’d joined the site on a twenty-dollar dare. Not only had she taken Byron’s money, but within a month of being on the site she’d met her first steady partner since before her son’s death. Cynthia didn’t have to ask Ava if Phil made her happy. It showed on her face.

Not long after she’d sat down to the sound of multiple conversations happening at once accompanied by a football game playing in the background, Leah arrived in her snazzy white pre-owned Honda Accord. With her was a nice-looking young man, well-mannered, and wearing slacks that fit him around the waist. Cynthia took note immediately.

“She met him at
college,
” Ava later explained, her pursed lips suggesting that she, too, was pleasantly surprised at her daughter’s choice. “It’s a shame, but I could almost kiss that girl for getting pregnant with Aaron’s child and causing the breakup between him and Leah. She moped for a while, but Tashan seems to be helping her forget her first love. He’s nineteen, studying to be an engineer.”

The two women high-fived.

“You had a lot to do with that, Cynthia. You’ll never know how much I appreciate everything you did for her.”

“I think I have some idea.”

While sitting on the couch, she engaged in a group text with her BFFs. Lisa and Dynah had remained in Chicago for the holiday, getting ready to enjoy dinner with their families. Gayle, who’d finally accepted Byron in a kinda sorta way, was in Virginia, meeting the prominent family of Mr. Metrosexual, her fiancé of three months. During a conversation between the two of them, Cynthia had asked Gayle if she was happy. Gayle had responded with a reminder of how many carats were in her ring, and how the band had belonged to her fiancé’s great-grandmother, one of the country’s Talented Tenth. Cynthia chose to let the moment pass, hoped for the best, and wished her friend well.

She put away her phone and joined Liz in the kitchen, Mrs. Carter’s favorite spot, and after admitting that she didn’t really “cook” cook, asked Liz if she wanted any help.

“How are you going to tell me you can’t cook, then ask if you can help me do it?” She turned to the others in the large, airy room. “Did y’all hear that?”

Barry grabbed a soda out of the fridge. “I heard it, Mama. Damn shame, too.” He winked at Cynthia, who tried to swat him as he walked by.

Liz shook her head. “You’re going to have to learn to cook, Cynthia. What you have beneath your navel isn’t the only thing Carter men love to eat.”

Cynthia promptly turned as red as the velvet cake sat perched on a cake stand and ran from the kitchen with the peals of Liz’s raucous laughter chasing her.

Two hours later, eighteen adults and children stood in a circle in the Carters’ backyard. Mr. Carter had just said his once-a-year prayer.

“Amen!” the group said in unison, ready to attack two tables of food, assembled and ready on the patio.

“Wait! Hold it.” Byron released Leah’s hand, who was to his right, and instead of letting go of Cynthia’s hand pulled her into the middle of the circle. Her face showed her obvious surprise. “I know everyone is ready to eat, so I’ll make this quick.” He looked at Cynthia, his expression a mixture of conflicting emotions. The dominant one, love, made the others disappear.

His siblings started to murmur.

“What are you doing, bro?”

“Is this getting ready to be what I think?”

“Uh-oh. Somebody’s pregnant.”

This brought on chuckles and a stern look and clearing of throat from Mr. Carter.

“Thanks, Dad.” The lightness was just enough for Byron to regain his nerve. He turned to Cynthia. “When I first saw you standing at the bus stop, I thought, what the hell is a woman like that doing standing at a bus stop like mine?”

Everyone laughed.

“Hey, that’s what I thought.” He became serious again. “But right after that thought came another, that you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. By the time you got off the bus, I knew that there was no way anything would come of the encounter. Even though I knew I’d never see you again, you stayed on my mind.

“Then fate stepped in and made my wish come true. Not only did I see you again, but something crazy happened. You were feeling the same thing I was feeling and even though there were obstacles, our being together was never a doubt in my mind. I want to put to rest how long we’re going to be together right now. I only have one more wish, and you can make it come true.” He pulled out a box and went down on one knee. “Cynthia Hall, will you make me the happiest man in the world by becoming my wife?”

Tears streamed down Cynthia’s face as she looked into the eyes of love that came when she least expected. She began nodding, as she held out her hand and watched a beautiful solitaire ring being slid on her finger. “Yes,” she whispered.

“What?” Liz placed a hand behind her ear. “We didn’t hear you.”

“Yes!” Cynthia yelled, acting more like Liz than Anna Marie. “I’ll marry your son, Mrs. Carter. Because y’all know what? I love this man like a muh fuh.”

 

 

 

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DAFINA BOOKS are published by

 

Kensington Publishing Corp.
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New York, NY 10018

 

Copyright © 2015 by Zuri Day

 

 

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If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

 

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ISBN: 978-1-6177-3425-0

First Kensington Mass Market Edition: April 2015

 

eISBN-13: 978-1-61773-426-7
eISBN-10: 1-61773-426-8
First Kensington Electronic Edition: April 2015