Journals of the Secret Keeper (21 page)

BOOK: Journals of the Secret Keeper
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CHAPTER 52
"I, Jean Myers, being of sound mind and
body, leave my entire estate to my son, Andrik
Thompson and my daughter, Willetta Jones. If they
should decide to marry all should go well. If they
have not married within six months of the reading
of this will, half of all cash revenue attached to the
property of Thompson Estate shall immediately go
to Vivica Townsend for the care of Chance Jones.
The other half should be placed in a trust and split
amongst any offspring of Andrik Myers or any
other offspring of Willetta Jones. Andrik and
Willetta may not sale Thompson Estate ever and it
should remain in their joint possession as long as
they both shall live and should be bequeathed to the
youngest of each of their offspring upon their death
and they too shall serve as joint owners."
"I will tell you how much cash there is now,
before you ask," Samuel said. He pulled out an
envelope and opened it. His eyes scanned what
looked like a bank statement. "There is exactly ten
million, five-hundred thousand, three hundred and
thirty-seven dollars and ninety-six cents."
No one said a word for several minutes.
Even Chance was disbelieving. Vivica's heart felt
like it was going to jump out of her chest and she
looked from Willetta to Andrik. If they didn't
marry, she would have over five million dollars.
"Where did all that money come from,"
Andrik asked calmly.
"Mama Jean had an insurance policy worth a
million. There was a lawsuit regarding Maureen's
untimely death and the cause of her sickness, which
was determined to be from illegal use of a pesticide
in the jurisdiction where she lived. The settlement
was substantial and went directly into her estate.
Stanley made investments with money from
farming the land. Most of this money has been
sitting for many years in the hands of some pretty
competent investors."
"Are you finished? Are there anymore
surprises," Andrik asked calmly.
"Uh, no. That's it," Stanley said. "Except
there has to be a decision as to who will take care of
Chance. There is a six month time frame allowed
for that decision to be made."
"There's no hurry," Vivica said anxiously.
"We'll see how things go."
When both Willetta and Chance looked
noncommittal and no one had anything further to
say, Andrik walked over to Willetta and lifted her
off the couch. He hefted her up into his arms and
tumbled her against his chest.
"We'll be back in a couple of hours," he
said to no one in particular.
"Andrik!" Willetta yelled. "What are you
doing?"
He didn't answer. He mounted the stairs
with her held close in his arms and made a right at
the landing heading to his bedroom. He kicked the
door open and strode across the room to the bed
where he dropped her and went back to the door to
lock it.
Willetta watched as he approached the bed.
He pulled his shirt over his head in mid stride and
tossed it across the room. She watched as he
stopped briefly and kicked off his shoes.
"What are you doing?" she asked again.
Andrik stared at Willetta. His chest rose and
fell with his heavy breathing. She suddenly realized
that he was angry.
"I don't like being told what to do. I've put
up with all of this because you asked me to,
Willetta. I know she cared in her own way, but that
doesn't make any of this right. It's still just as crazy
as what Etta did. You can't take someone else's life
in your own hands and decide what's good for
them," he said.
Andrik unbuttoned his pants and tugged
them down his legs. Then he reached for Willetta.
Without her consent, he pulled her shirt over her
head and bent to untie her tennis shoes.
"What are you doing?" she whispered again.
Her mind wasn't functioning any longer. Her eyes
were glued to Andrik's thick, muscular legs and his
hard buttocks and huge erection. She felt his warm
hand against her naked back as he steadied her to
slide her jeans down her legs.
"You're so beautiful," he whispered in her
ear as he reached to pull the covers back. "I need
this," he said huskily.
"I…I didn't tell you I would do this," she
murmured. He pushed her back onto the mattress
and lay beside her in the bed. His hand lay against
her stomach.
"Are you going to marry me, Willetta," he
asked.
"Of course. You know we ain't fixing to let
ten million dollars go nowhere," she said without
hesitation. Andrik fell out laughing.
"It helps that I love you," he finally was able
to say. "But I may have married you anyway even
if I didn't."
With his admission of love, Willetta's skin
came alive in a way she'd never felt before. The
hand he held against her stomach seemed to burn
and she moved beneath it. Andrik's eyes became
hooded and lazy and she waited. It seemed an
eternity before his lips touched hers. He just
pressed his lips against hers and didn't ask anything
from her. She breathed in his essence and
committed it to memory. This would be her
husband.
"Tell me now if you want to wait until we're
married. In about thirty seconds I'm going to be
inside you unless we stop now," he said huskily.
#
Andrik was on the warpath. Samuel was
tickled. Whatever had transpired between him and
Willetta most definitely had not been to Andrik's
satisfaction. There was no talk of money and no
talk of whom Chance would live with. This was
surprising to Samuel. Instead Andrik seemed
almost desperate to marry Willetta and slink off into
a corner to have his way with her. He was watching
her unashamedly and making everyone in the house
uncomfortable.
"Would you like for me to wed you guys
right now," he asked innocently, while everyone
was eating.
Andrik tore his eyes away from Willetta.
"What did you say," he asked.
"I am a Justice of the Peace and I can
officiate your wedding right now. I have a marriage
license in the truck."
"Oh, that's wonderful," Willetta said. "But
maybe I should wait until--"
"No more waiting, Lettie. We will have it in
the living room. You have an hour to get ready. I'll
go get Martha and Mr. Ricky," he said firmly.
Willetta and Vivica looked at each across
the table and tried to keep from laughing.
EPILOGUE
(Six months later)
"Sweetie, you look like you're having
twins," Vivica said laughingly, as she met Willetta
by the fence. They were about to take a thirtyminute walk down the dusty road of Thompson
Estates. Willetta was exactly six months pregnant,
which means she must have gotten pregnant within
hours of marrying Andrik.
"I don't remember being this big when I had
Chance," Willetta breathed heavily. "This baby is
going to be huge."
Vivica hooked her arm with Willetta's and
they took off at a slow but steady pace. She and
Willetta had become as close as any mother and
daughter ever could. Although she and Chance
technically lived down the road in the new, but
modest home she'd had built, they spent more than
half their time at Thompson Estates with Andrik
and Willetta. Mr. Ricky and Martha still lived in
the little house that belonged to Mama Jean. Vivica
didn't have the heart or the desire to disturb the two
old people. So, she simply built her house next to
theirs. The arrangement had worked out
wonderfully for everyone.
As for Willetta and Chance's relationship, it
was rather interesting how it had developed into
more of a sister and brother bond than anything
else. This seemed to satisfy them both and Chance
blossomed with the love of all the new people in his
life.
"Did Andrik get any response from the
private investigator yet," Vivica asked. Andrik had
been busy the last month or so trying to find
answers to some of the mysteries of the journals.
He wanted to know who Aunt Olivia's real people
were. He also wanted to find out if William had
killed the old white lady who owned the house and
land or if Etta had been lying when she wrote that in
her journal. To that end, he had investigators
searching for any family or connections that may
still be alive to pass on a bit of gossip concerning
the old white woman and the young black man who
lived on Thompson Estates many years ago.
"He did find out who Aunt Olivia's momma
was. There was an old archived newspaper article
about a white woman who had gone to a store in
Earle, Arkansas where her baby had been abducted.
It said the baby was snatched right out of her young
son's arms as he stood on the sidewalk. She has to
be the one. The dates match that in William
Thompson's journals of when Etta came home with
the white baby."
"So, what's Andrik's next step," Vivica
asked.
"He's going to help Aunt Octavia and Olivia
reunite with them. I wish Aunt Olivia had lived
long enough to know all this," Willetta said sadly.
"She was a good woman," Vivica said. "I
wonder how finding their lost relatives will affect
Olivia and Orlando. I hope it will be for the good,"
she said quietly.
"I think Olivia has potential, but Orlando is
a lost cause," Willetta said.
"Well, we shall see," Vivica said softly.
"It will be interesting to see how they feel
about the journals," Willetta said. "I think Andrik
made the right decision to allow them to read them.
Mama Jean was right about everything. We needed
to read all of that history no matter how sordid it
was. It helped us to see things clearly and appreciate
our opportunity to make better decisions. Maybe it
will do the same for Olivia."
"And Orlando," Vivica said.
"As you said before, we shall see," Willetta
said noncommittally.

THE END…..FOR NOW!
BOOK: Journals of the Secret Keeper
7.8Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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