Preacher's Wifey (12 page)

“I am positive he won't have a problem with it, because before he hung up, those were the instructions he gave me.”

Melanie frowned. “Do we even know who this woman is? Why do we trust her again?”

“Melanie, you are getting beside yourself. I have never known you to be so defiant. Please show our guest to her room for the night. My goodness, it's just for one night. What is the harm in that? If Seth trusts her, I trust her also.”

“Follow me,” Melanie snapped as she glared at me.

We left the room and turned the corner, and a few feet away was an elevator.
He has an elevator in his house?
I was more than impressed with Seth's quality of living. The part of me who loved nice things—okay, adored nice things—was more than excited. I could barely contain my enthusiasm. If I could somehow figure out a way to end up with Seth, I would be one happy camper. My mind raced a million miles per second. Not only could this work out for me, but my mother would be happy too. Actually, this would be a serious upgrade for us both.

As the elevator carried us to the third floor, I tried to shake my head of those thoughts, because as wealthy as he was, right now he was a hurting man seemingly on the run for his life.

On the third floor was the most beautiful bedroom I had ever seen in my life. Decorated in hues of black and gray, it had to be at least the size of five of my bedrooms. I had never seen such a big room. Surely this was not the guest bedroom.

“This is Seth's room. He usually never allows anyone on this floor, so it speaks volumes that he has requested that you be on this level. Over here is the guest bedroom,” Melanie said, walking me over to a bedroom that was half the size of Seth's. It had the same color scheme as Seth's room. “Actually, the room was built to be a nursery. But after things did not work out with his ex, it became an extra bedroom. The only time he allows anyone up here . . .” She paused. “Matter of fact, I was the last person to sleep in this room,” she said. “Shortly after, I was hired on as the estate manager, and now I have a bedroom on the second floor.” A certain sadness came over her.

Oh, I get it
.
She is worried I am here to replace her
. She was so far off, she had no idea.

“I appreciate Dr. Carson's hospitality. I can assure you I will be gone before anyone gets up.”

“I doubt that. The farmworkers are up when the roosters crow.”

“Farmworkers? Roosters?”

“Yes, this is a full-fledged farm.”

“Ms. Todd told me he re-created his childhood life, but I did not think she meant that literally.”

“That is how they have made their wealth. They sell cows for thousands of dollars. They sell organic eggs produced by their roosters and chickens. This family is very wealthy not because he is a doctor, but because these one-hundred acres of land produce. From strawberries to steak, it is all on Carson Land.”

“Wow. This is pretty amazing.”

“Yeah, it is. Dr. Carson is a brilliant man. When he was building this place, he slept in the hospital where he worked. His vision for Carson Land was so great, he was willing to sacrifice until it was completed. This entire place is paid for. Debt free. Isn't that amazing?” she said.

I studied her face, and it was almost as if she had drifted into another place. She was in love with him.

“Yeah, that is pretty amazing.”

She turned to face me. Her expression went from soft to hard in a matter of seconds. “So what is your story, Allyson Ward? Why are you here?”

She had just thrown the first ball. It was official—the game had begun. What she did not know is that I was the master at game playing. My current role as the preacher's wifey did not require me to play games, but if a game was what she wanted, a game was what she would get. I still remembered how it worked.

“I am not sure what you want to hear, Melanie, but I have no story to tell you. As far as why I am here, I am here because Seth asked me to be here. What more do you want to know?”

“I have seen women like you. I have had to turn away quite a few of them in order to protect Seth. You find out he is superrich, and you sink your gold-digging, crippling claws into him, and then you turn around and break his heart. Therefore, if you are here for any reason other than to be a support system for him, I will find out and I will put a stop to it. Understood?”

Wow, this chick came into the game giving her best. I had underestimated her.

“Melanie, I can assure you, you have seen no one like me. You do not know me, and I would appreciate it if you reserved your false pretenses and premature assumptions about me before you get the facts about me. And here are the facts. Seth is a good friend of mine. I do not need to dig his gold, because I have my own gold. And the only way I could break his heart is if he gave it to me to do so. And here is something else you can be assured of. . . . If he gives me his heart, I will not break it. Last, no matter what the situation is or the circumstance surrounding it, I am not one who is easily stopped. Understood?”

She walked closer to me and stood toe to toe and eye to eye.

“Mrs. Ward, let's get an understanding. This is my turf and—”

“I'm sorry. I thought this was Carson Land. Are you a Carson?”

“Not yet. I will be soon. It's just a matter of time,” she said as she walked over to the window and looked out at the lake. “I'll be Mrs. Seth Carson really soon,” she said just above a whisper.

She sounded really scary—almost stalkerish. Something about this woman gave me the creeps. I couldn't put my finger on it just yet, but I intuitively knew all her dots did not connect. Her mental elevator stopped at the second floor, where her bedroom was. She wasn't all there. I did not believe for one minute that Seth was about to marry her, but what I believed did not matter. She believed it.

“I really need to use the restroom. Can I have some time alone?” I had to get this woman away from me, and while I was good at intimidating women back in my day, this woman was of a different breed. You couldn't outdo crazy.

“This home, with the exception of the third floor, is under video surveillance—all twenty-three thousand square feet of it. Please don't let me see you roaming, Mrs. Ward.”

Yeah, she was really off her rocker.

“Melanie, I just want to use the restroom. That is it. I can assure you I have no reason to roam. If I want a tour of Carson Land, I am certain Seth would have no problem giving it to me. So can I please get a few minutes to myself?” She looked as if she was ready to choke me, which meant she had given me control of her emotions. So I let her down easy. “Besides, I do need to call my husband and let him know where I am.”

That statement simultaneously pleased and comforted her. If only for a moment, she no longer felt threatened by me.

“But, of course,” she said, smiling. “I am not married yet, but I know I would be doing the same thing,” she said in a tone that suggested we were best girlfriends engaging in girl talk. I made a mental note to talk to Seth about her when it was the appropriate time. “All right, I will leave you alone. Just get back on the elevator, and come down when you are done.”

“Thanks, Melanie.”

Finally she left. I immediately went over to sit down on the king-sized canopy bed, which had a beautiful satin purple, black, and ivory comforter on it. I dug through my purse to retrieve my phone. As expected, Byran had called a few times, as did my mother. I decided to break down and call Byran. Although I was still upset with him, I knew I was pushing my luck by continuing to ignore him.

I dialed his number.

“Allyson!” he exclaimed. “Where the hell are you? Have you gone insane? I have been worried sick about you.”

“Byran, I apologize. There's just been a lot going on. You and this baby thing have taken up most of my head space. It really is too much for me. I just need some space—some time to process all of this.”

“I understand you being upset, but you are still my wife and—”

“Wifey,” I corrected.

“What?”

“I am your wifey, not your wife. There is a big difference.”

“I cannot and will not have this conversation with you right now.”

“All right, Byran. Why have you called me so many times?”

“You are really pushing me, Allyson.”

“And you have already pushed me! What are you expecting me to do? How do you want me to be? You left me last night to go and be with another woman while she gave birth to your son. You left me. Do you hear that? You left me. What was I supposed to do? Sit at home and cry enough tears to fill up the Grand Canyon? No, Byran, you are the one who's insane.”

I was breathing so heavily, I thought my heart would erupt from my chest. I could take a lot, but I was nearing my breaking point.

“You win. I am not in a position to address this right now. I am coming home tomorrow for a few hours to get some clothes and to handle a few things at church. I expect to see you there. I need some help with a few things while I am away handling the crisis here at the hospital.”

“What crisis at the hospital?”

“BJ is in NICU, and his mom is in ICU. She developed an infection, and we”—he paused for a second—“we don't know if she will make it.”

That was sad, but did he say, “BJ?”

“BJ, as in Byran, Jr.?”

“Yes.”

“Oh,” I sighed. “Well, like I said before, I will be praying for you all.”

“Thanks. I expect to see you tomorrow, when I get home.”

“Okay.”

“I expect to see my
wife
there. Whoever this is I am talking to now, leave her wherever you are.”

Sometimes you just had to know when to leave things alone. After the day I had had, I honestly had no power in me to argue and fight.

“Okay.”

“I should be home by noon,” he said, but my mind was in another place.

“Okay.”

“I see you have few words, so I am going to let you go. See you tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

He exhaled loudly before he hung up. If that was his way of releasing frustration, then maybe I would try it too. Not one time did he ask me if I was okay. Not one time did he ask how my day had been. Yeah, it was time for me to exhale.

Without moving from the bed, I was able to look out the window. I was grateful for the lights that were shining brightly outside, affording me the opportunity to enjoy the astounding views of the pool and the lake. What I would not do to go for a swim or even just wade in the water.

I looked around the well-decorated room. Whoever was Seth's interior designer knew their stuff. So far everything I had seen in the house was done above par. He had spared no expense. The only thing I did not like about this room was the absence of paintings on the walls. But that could be overlooked, given the expensive furniture, the exotic trees in each corner of the room, and the huge Oriental rug in the center of the floor. The window treatments were done in the same fabric as the comforter.

Just as I was getting up to walk into the bathroom, I heard a loud noise. Initially, I thought it was thunder, but as the noise got closer and louder, I realized it was a chopper.

Oh, Lord, the media,
I thought.

It was appalling to me how far some people were willing to go in order to get a story. I was willing to bet that more than a few people were parked outside the gate, hoping to catch someone coming or going.

I wondered how Miss “I Can Get Rid of Anyone” Melanie would handle dismissing them. The chopper got lower, and I realized it was actually about to land in a field about three hundred feet away.
The nerve of some people.

As the chopper landed, I went into the bathroom to see if I could find some things to freshen up with so I would look presentable when Seth arrived. To my surprise, there was an array of assorted face washes, creams, shower gels, lotions, body sprays, oils, and perfumes on the counter. I was taken aback. Who did Seth have all this stuff for? Melanie had said he never let anyone on this level, but if that was the case, why would he need so many feminine products? The bathroom itself was about the size of my entire bedroom. It was a woman's dream. There was a huge Jacuzzi tub that looked as if it seated six to eight people, a flat panel just above it, and candles were sitting everywhere. On the vanity was a blow-dryer and finishing products, and above the vanity were bright lights and a huge mirror—perfect for doing makeup and hair.

I continued to roam around the bathroom and opened a door within it to find a closet full of gowns, lingerie, and bedroom shoes. I looked through the clothes and realized none of them had been worn. Everything, including the shoes, still had tags on it.

“You find everything you need?”

Startled, I jumped back and released a loud scream.

“Sweetheart, it's just me,” Seth said.

My hand flew to my chest. He had scared the living daylights out of me.

“Seth, what in the world are you doing here?”

He flashed me the most perfect smile I had ever seen in my life. Were his teeth always perfect? “Last time I checked, I lived here.”

My breathing slowed, but only for a moment, because Seth walked over and kissed me until my breathing was dependent on his.

“This is how I want to come home every day,” he said, releasing my swollen lips.

“When did you get here?” I said, still caught up in a daze.

“A few minutes ago.”

“Did you see the media?”