More Than He Can Handle (21 page)

The next morning, Cleveland struggled to pull himself out of Freddie's arms and head to work. But she pushed him out of bed.

“Don't let me be the cause of you losing your job,” she said. “You get in the shower and I'll start some coffee.”

Cleveland groaned as he glanced at the clock. It was ten minutes after five. “All right,” he said as he rolled out of bed. As he walked into the bathroom, Freddie grabbed Cleveland's T-shirt, put it on and headed downstairs to brew him some coffee and scramble a few eggs. While she cooked, Freddie thought about her situation. She didn't have a job, she wasn't going back to New Orleans and she couldn't live off Cleveland. Maybe Lillian would help her find a job somewhere in Atlanta.

Lillian isn't going to be happy about Cleveland and me being together, but she's going to have to get over it,
she thought as she heard Cleveland walking down the stairs.
I think I love this man.

“Breakfast and coffee? Don't get me used to this, I may never let you leave,” he said as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Don't get used to it,” she said as she turned around and kissed him on the tip of his nose. “I'm not a morning person and hopefully I'll be employed soon.”

“So, you're going to make Atlanta home?”

“For a while, I guess,” she said. “I don't want to go back to New Orleans right now, especially with all of that stuff going on with my family.”

“When do you want to move your stuff in?”

Freddie crinkled her nose. “Move my stuff in? Cleveland, I don't want to be dependant on anyone, including you. I've got to make my own way.”

He sighed as he dropped his hands from around her waist. “Dare I say it?”

“Say what?”

“That you're being difficult again?”

Freddie threw her head back and groaned. “Cleveland, eat these eggs before you end up wearing them.”

“You're just not used to someone helping you out, are you? You don't have to live here forever. Do you even know how much a decent place in Atlanta is going to run you?”

“So, I haven't thought this whole thing out,” she said as she walked over to the stove and moved the pan with the eggs in it from the burner. “But, you have to let me do this my way. I'll stay here for a few weeks, but I am going to get my own place, all right?”

Cleveland raised his hand in mock salute. “Yes, ma'am.”

“Good, now get some plates so that we can eat and you can make it to work.”

He glanced down at his watch. “Um, I'm just going to have time for coffee on the run. I want to head to the hospital before I go into the station.”

She poured him a mug of java and kissed him on the cheek. “Have a good day,” she said. “And be careful.”

Cleveland winked at her and headed out the door with his coffee in his hand. Before he left, he told Freddie that she could use his truck if she needed to go somewhere and that the keys were in the utility drawer in the kitchen.

When he was gone, Freddie leaned against the kitchen counter questioning what her next move should be. Maybe she could live with Cleveland until she found something more permanent. But Freddie was scared, afraid that loving him would lead to heartbreak. Even though he'd offered safety, love and support, there was still a part of her that was waiting for the other shoe to drop. There was no way she could be happy, especially when her past showed her that it's always the ones who love you the most that lie to you and break your heart.

Freddie cleaned the kitchen after eating some of the eggs and toast she'd cooked, then headed upstairs to take a long hot bath. As she luxuriated in the oversized tub in the master bathroom, Freddie closed her eyes and wished that she was still on her pleasure trip with Cleveland and they were upstairs in the bed making love this morning. Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, the loud chiming of her cell phone jarred her awake. Freddie sprang from the tub, wrapped herself in a towel and dashed into the bedroom where her phone was. She grabbed it without looking at the caller identification. “Hello?”

“Chere, I'm a free man,” Jacques said happily. “Well, save for the electronic bracelet on my leg. But now that I don't have to go back to prison until a new trial is ordered, I can finally clear my name.”

“Am I supposed to rejoice because one parent is free and another one is on her way to prison?” Freddie asked sarcastically.

“Your mother may not even go to prison. Can you really blame me for wanting to clear my name?” he asked. “I'm innocent. Sure, I made some bad decisions, but I gave up my life for your mother. The least she could do is be honest about her role in the whole thing.”

“Maybe you're innocent of murder, but from what I understand, you set all of this in motion, didn't you Dad?”

Jacques chuckled. “Then your mother got to you first, huh? I really did love your mother, she was the one who thought I had an ulterior motive for marrying her.”

“So, this war with you and Nolan Watson had nothing to do with you getting Mom pregnant?”

“At first, I wanted to be with her because he loved her and I wanted him to crumble. You don't understand how hard it was for us after my mother died and he wouldn't pay out the insurance policy that she'd been paying for all of those years.”

“That doesn't make it right. I don't really want to hear your spin on this,” she said. “I guess between your story and Mom's the truth is in there somewhere.”

“The truth is, your mother and I made mistakes and . . .”

“And I paid for it,” Freddie said. “That's the one thing that you and Mom don't seem to understand. I needed both of you.”

“Chere . . .”

“Don't give me that ‘chere' bullshit! While you and Loraine played games, I was suffering. I needed a father and a mother who could protect me. I grew up in a city where I couldn't tell anyone who my father was because everyone hated him. My mother would never tell me about you and I walked around my entire life feeling as if part of me was missing.”

“What do you want me to do? I can't change the past. We're going to have to find a way to get past it or . . .”

“Or maybe I should pretend that I don't have parents. I have to go,” Freddie said then clicked her phone off. She tossed the phone against the pillow and exhaled loudly. She couldn't accept one version of what happened without wondering if she was being lied to by one of her parents. Since she couldn't unravel the mystery herself, she was going to have to put it behind her and move on.

Once she calmed down from her father's phone call, she dressed and headed for Lillian's. She knew that this was going to be another argument, but she felt as if this was the time to get it over with.

 

 

Cleveland sat back on the leather sofa in the lounge area of the fire station and closed his eyes. He'd been at work for three hours after stopping by the hospital to visit Roland. Seeing his buddy in that hospital bed with all those tubes and machines hooked up to him, affected Cleveland in a way that he hadn't expected. Much like Darren, he was beginning to question if he wanted to continue to be on the front lines of firefighting. He'd already faced death and won. But would he be that lucky again if he was in Roland's shoes?

“Hey man, you're not falling asleep already are you?” Louis asked when he walked into the lounge area.

“Nah, I'm just thinking,” he said.

“About?”

“Life, Freddie, Roland.”

“Freddie? Aw, shit,” Louis said as he took a seat on the end of the sofa. “What's up with you and that chick? And think before you answer that, because whatever is going on with you two has an effect on my marriage.”

“What?”

“Lillian doesn't want you two together.”

“It really doesn't matter what Lillian wants. Freddie and I are adults.”

“Uh-huh, I wish someone would tell my wife that,” he said. “She seems to think that she's Freddie protector and I've never understood that.”

“I can,” Cleveland said. “Freddie's been through a lot, but Lillian needs to mind her own business.”

Louis nodded in agreement. “Well, at least Freddie's tucked away in New Orleans and I don't have to worry about . . .”

“Well, that's not exactly true,” Cleveland said. “Freddie came back to Atlanta with me yesterday.”

“What? Are you kidding me? All right, Cle, tell me the truth, are you in love with her?”

“I love her more than I thought I would ever love a woman. She's different. She's more than I ever thought I wanted. You know how you just feel that something is right and your life isn't going to be complete until you make sure that you have that person with you?”

Louis's right eyebrow shot up and he peered at his friend. “Who are you and what have you done with Cleveland Alexander?”

“This is me, man. Isn't this what you and Darren have been trying to get me to see? How many times have you all talked about how great love and marriage is? Now that I've found someone I want to spend my life with, you want to have my head examined?”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he said. “Just make sure that this is what you want and you're really ready to commit.”

Cleveland sat there silently for a moment. He'd never thought about committing to one woman, never thought about spending the rest of his life with one woman and never making love to anyone else. That is until he met Freddie. He was ready, he was ready to commit to her, but was he ready to be a husband?

“Cleveland?” Louis asked. “Are you ready?”

He exhaled loudly. “Yeah, I'm ready. I've never felt this way before. Man, I drove all the way to New Orleans to get my woman. Do you think I would've done that if I wanted a playmate? There are enough of those in Atlanta and trust me, it was fun but I want more.”

“More what?” Darren asked as he entered the lounge with a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts and three cups of coffee.

“More Freddie,” Louis said. “Is this breakfast?”

“Yeah, it's a tribute to Roland,” Darren said as he set the items on the coffee table. “I was at headquarters meeting with the chief. He said that we're going to get a few more men in here.”

“Great,” Cleveland said as he picked up a cup of coffee. “When is this going to happen?”

Darren sighed. “Right after you guys get a new battalion chief. I was offered a position with the Fire Marshal's office for arson investigations.”

“What?” Cleveland and Louis said simultaneously.

“It's not official, so I'd appreciate it if you two keep this under wraps for a while,” Darren said. “But, I have a family I have to think about these days. I won't be any good to you all if I'm worried about going in to back you guys up because I don't want to get hurt.”

Cleveland stood up and walked over to his brother, clasped his hand on his shoulder and nodded. “I understand, but I can't say that I'm happy about it.”

“You will be.”

“Why?”

“Because you may be promoted,” Darren said.

“What? Why me?” Cleveland asked.

Louis laughed. “Duh. Your last name is Alexander. You guys are AFD royalty. Your life is just changing at every turn, huh?”

“Life changing? Ah,” Darren said as he opened the box of doughnuts and pulled out a chocolate-covered one. “This is about Freddie.”

Cleveland smiled and sipped his coffee. “This is about Freddie and how much I love her.”

Darren nearly choked on his doughnut, and Louis patted him on the back. “Love?” Darren said. “Did I just hear you?”

“Since you married Jill, you've been trying to shove love down my throat. Now I tell you that I'm in love, and you're choking.”

“It's just that you and love don't exactly go together,” Darren said then chuckled. “What did that woman do to you?”

“Must be voodoo,” Louis quipped.

“Oh, so that's how Lillian got you?” Cleveland asked.

“Ha, ha,” Louis said as he reached for a doughnut. “I love my wife and it has nothing to do with voodoo.”

Before the men could say anything else, a fire call blared over the PA system. The pastries were forgotten as they ran to get their gear and head to the call.

 

 

“Freddie, what are you doing here?” Lillian asked when she opened the front door.

“I'm finally taking your advice,” she said as she and her friend embraced.

“What advice is that?”

“I'm starting over in Atlanta.”

Lillian stepped back from Freddie and eyed her suspiciously. “Hmmm, I've been trying to get you to move here since you told me that the hurricane destroyed your house. This wouldn't have anything to do with Cleveland, would it?”

Freddie smiled. “Well, he's part of the reason,” she said. “But it's more than that.”

“More? Are you pregnant?!”

“No, drama queen. Can we sit down and talk?”

Lillian stepped aside and Freddie walked into the living room then took a seat on the sofa. “All right,” Lillian said. “What's this ‘more'?”

“My parents.” Freddie closed her eyes and leaned back on the plush sofa. She told Lillian the sorted story of the murder her mother finally admitted to, the revenge plot that set everything in motion, and the media frenzy that was building around the sordid case.

“Ooh,” Lillian said. “I think I would've come here too. But from one sordid case to this sordid man. If you're going to be living in Atlanta, then you need to know that Cleveland Alexander isn't the man you need to be planning to make your life with. You should let me introduce you to some nice men that go to church with Louis and me. There is this one brother that . . .”