Sins of the Father (9 page)

L
eah drove around in her eight-year-old Nissan for half an hour before deciding to
go to the one place she wanted to be. She took a deep breath and turned onto Sycamore
Street. When she reached the fourth house, she opened her purse and pulled out the
garage door opener she rarely used. She pressed the button and the door went up. The
late model white Benz parked there confirmed that he was home. She breathed deeply
and pulled her car in next to his. The door to the kitchen opened just as she pressed
the button to lower the garage door, and she saw him standing there, a slight, balding
man sporting thick professor glasses.

When the garage door was closed, she got out of her car and walked directly into his
arms. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered, holding her close. “I’ve missed you a lot.”

She lifted her face for his kiss and then lost herself in it.

When it ended, he smiled down at her and said, “I guess you missed me, too.”

He’d worked his magic and made her laugh. How had she been so lucky to find him? “It’s
only been a couple of days.”

“Seems like weeks to me,” he said, leading her into the house. “I was about to fix
lunch. Are you hungry?”

She shook her head. Before she could explain, tears filled her eyes and she began
to cry.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, pulling her close. “Tell me what’s wrong so I can help.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. She held him tightly,
reveling in the comfort he provided. He was so good to her. She didn’t deserve him,
not really, but neither could she give him up.

“It’s going to be all right,” he said, leading her to the upholstered couch in his
living room. He sat down on the couch, pulled her down with him, and continued to
hold her close. “It’s going to be all right.”

Her tears and soft weeping continued until she emptied herself of them.

He tipped her chin up. “Feel better?”

She nodded. “I’m sorry for crying all over you.”

He pressed a kiss against her forehead. “I’d rather you cry all over me than all over
some other man.”

She chuckled. “No other man would put up with me.”

“Then I guess that makes me one blessed man. You know, I pray for you and thank God
for you every day. You’re a blessing to me, Leah.”

The words were hard for Leah to hear. A chance meeting at a reception for a visiting
lecturer at the community college had led to a relationship that fulfilled her in
more ways than she could name. It still amazed her that Melvin Reeves was in her life
when he could have any woman he wanted. She knew for a fact that sev
eral single women in his church were convinced that he’d one day be their husband.
Maybe one of them would be his wife someday. But for now, he was hers. “You’re the
blessing, Reverend.”

He tapped her nose with his finger. “That’s Reverend Doctor to you.”

She laughed again.

“I love to hear you laugh,” he said. “The sound fills my heart and makes me happy.
I never thought I’d feel this way about a woman again, but you changed that for me.”

“You make me happy, too. That’s why I had to come over. I needed to hear your voice,
feel your arms around me.”

He squeezed her shoulders. “Tell me what had you so upset.”

“Abraham.”

“Has he taken a turn for the worse? I was there with Saralyn this morning when she
got the news about the doctors inducing the coma.”

She shook her head. “Not really. It’s me. I feel so guilty, Melvin. My children are
hurting and it’s all my fault.”

“You can’t blame yourself,” he told her. “You made some mistakes a long time ago.
God has forgiven you, now you need to forgive yourself.”

“I was on my way to doing that until Abraham burst into our lives again. He’s turned
everything upside down, brought back a lot of painful memories.”

“I thought you were glad he’d finally acknowledged your kids.”

She eased out of his arms and got up from the couch. She couldn’t have this discussion
sitting down. “Of course I’m glad. It’s about time. But I’m also angry that it took
him so long. My feelings are all over the place.” She tucked her hands in the pockets
of her jeans. “Why does life have to be so complicated?”

“Because we have free will, which is a double-edged sword. We’re free to make good
and bad decisions. In exchange, we have to suffer the consequences of those decisions.”

“Sometimes I think God is laughing at us.”

Melvin shook his head. “Never. He’s crying with you. He doesn’t like to see you suffer.
That’s why He always makes sure your suffering is not in vain. You’ll benefit from
it or someone else will.”

“I understand that, but why do my kids have to suffer the consequences of my actions?
They’re innocent.”

Melvin got up and walked to her, pulling her into his arms again. “That’s why you
have to trust Him. There’s one thing you can be sure of: As much as you love your
kids, God loves them more. That knowledge should comfort you.”

“I know it should, and most times it does. But when I see them suffer and know that
my decisions caused it, it’s hard. It’s real hard.”

“That’s why I’m here, so that you can lean on me during the difficult times. I’m God’s
gift to you.”

“I know,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “I know there are other women better
for you than me, but I’m so happy that you’re in my life.”

“There is no other woman for me, Leah, and I want to shout it to the world. How many
times do I have to tell you?”

She wished she could be as open with their relationship as he wanted her to be, but
for now she was much more comfortable keeping it a secret. She hadn’t even told Deborah
or Michael. “People would talk,” she told him.

He snorted. “People always talk. That’s a given. Talk doesn’t bother me, and it shouldn’t
bother you.”

“You’re a preacher,” she said. “You need a woman who’s above reproach, as the Bible
says.”

He chuckled. “You’re above reproach.”

She pulled out of his arms. “You know what I mean. You need a woman without a past,
especially a past like mine. Melvin, I have two kids and have never been married.”

“So? That was then; this is now. You can’t live in the past. You can’t keep beating
yourself up about it.”

This was a conversation they’d had many times. He was patient with her, but she wondered
how long his patience would endure. “Once the women in your church find out you’re
seeing me, they’re going to beat up on you.”

He pulled her close again. “I’m tough. I can take it.”

She met his eyes. “Can you take Saralyn Martin? She’ll enjoy running my name down
to your congregation.”

“Let me handle Sister Martin.”

Saralyn and Abraham were big shots at Faith Community, where Melvin pastored, and
they wielded a great deal of influence. If her relationship with Melvin became common
knowledge, she had no doubt Saralyn would use it against him. She’d either try to
ruin the relationship or try to get Melvin kicked out of his job. Maybe she’d try
both. Looking at Melvin and the naive smile he wore, Leah decided to change the subject.
“Now that I’m feeling better, I’m getting hungry. Still wanna fix me lunch?”

He met her eyes. “You’re going to have to stop hiding one day, Leah. You insult God
when you reject His forgiveness. And you insult me when you think gossip will change
my feelings for you. That’ll never happen.”

“I know,” she said, but she really didn’t know. “Now let’s go eat.”

D
eborah sat in her plush leather desk chair in her twelfth floor office in the MEEG
Building in downtown Atlanta. The first floor lobby, while lush, gave no hint of the
luxury found on this floor. She’d first come to this building when she and Michael
were in high school. Both of them were curious about their absentee father and thought
a trip to his building would offer some insight. They had read about MEEG in the papers
and in the magazines their mother tried unsuccessfully to hide from them. She’d returned
from the trip in awe of the wealth her father had amassed. Michael returned angry
at what he considered the scraps Abraham tossed their way when he obviously had so
much more.

As she sat taking in her surroundings, from the gold nameplate on her massive mahogany
desk, to what she suspected was museum-quality art on the walls, to the magnificent
view of the At
lanta skyline through the floor-to-ceiling windows, she couldn’t help but acknowledge
that Michael had been right to be angry.

While they had not been poor growing up, neither had they been well-off. Sure, Abraham
provided money, but both she and Michael had needed scholarships and loans to get
their degrees. They’d both gone to Georgia State in downtown Atlanta and lived at
home to keep expenses low. Looking at the opulence that was MEEG, she had no doubt
that Abraham could have easily paid their full ride. Why hadn’t he?

A knock at her door got her attention, and she looked up to see a smiling Alan standing
in her doorway. “How do your like your office?” he asked.

To be honest, she thought it was a bit of overkill. “Let’s just say it’s a few stories,
not steps, up from my cubicle at Pearson Entertainment. I’ll have to invite some of
my old colleagues over here so they can see how the rich live.”

Alan walked fully into the room and slid easily into the guest chair in front of her
desk. “What can I say? Abraham and Saralyn believe in going first class all the way.”

Except when it came to us, she thought. “So I see. It’s going to take some getting
used to.”

He chuckled. “Believe me, it won’t take that long. Did you get everything taken care
of in Human Resources?”

She nodded. “Very efficient group. I didn’t have any problems. I’m now an official
MEEG employee.”

“Don’t be modest,” he said. “You’re more than that. You own a part of this company,
or you will one day.”

She shook her head. “I still can’t believe that. After all these years, Abraham remembers
he has two other children. It doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t know,” Alan said. “Sometimes a man reaches a point where he has to take stock
of his life. When he doesn’t like what he sees, he tries to right some of his wrongs.”

Alan’s choice of words stung. Somehow they made her and Michael seem like the wrongs,
when Abraham’s desertion was the real wrong. “Is that what you think Abraham is doing?”

He nodded. “Don’t you?”

A part of her hoped that it was more than duty driving him. She wanted to believe
that he cared for her and Michael. Maybe it was wishful thinking. “You said you’ve
known him for twenty-five years. Did you know about us?”

He shook his head. “Not until earlier this year.”

So Abraham had kept them a secret from the people who’d known him longest. That knowledge
made her heart ache, if only a little.

“I’m sorry,” Alan said. “I shouldn’t have been so matter-of-fact about it.”

Deborah realized then she was wearing her emotions on her sleeves. She’d have to watch
that in the future. “You don’t have to be sorry. How did you end up working for Abraham?”
she asked, seeking to change the subject.

“It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time,” she said with a grin. “I’m the boss’s daughter.”

He chuckled. “You’re going to be a breath of fresh air around here. I’m glad to have
you on board.”

“Thank you,” she said, “but you haven’t answered my question.”

“Pretty and sharp, too.”

Deborah lifted her brow at the “pretty” as she wondered if Alan was flirting with
her. Not that she’d mind. In fact, he was just her type. She glanced at his left hand.
No ring, but that didn’t mean anything. “Are you married, Alan?”

“No, why do you ask?”

“Because I think you’re flirting with me. Are you?”

“Would you mind it if I were?”

She wasn’t ready to answer that one yet. “It would depend
on why you’re flirting with me. You still haven’t answered my question.”

He chuckled again. “Abraham may not have raised you, but you definitely have his genes.
Like you, he gets what he wants.”

She leaned back in her chair. “Does that mean you’re going to answer my question?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“I guess not.”

“Your father and I were classmates at Morehouse. He looked me up when his business
began growing and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I’ve been with him ever since.”

“You must be good at what you do.”

“The best.”

She laughed. “And modest, too.”

“That’s something else you’ll learn about your father. Modesty is not a trait he possesses
nor is it one he respects. He’s self-confident to the point of being arrogant, and
respects self-confidence in others.”

“I’ll have to remember that.”

“You won’t have a problem. Abraham would not have bought Running Brook and put you
in charge if you didn’t have traits he respected, daughter or no daughter. It’s not
in his DNA. Ask your half brother, Isaac. Abraham is a hard taskmaster and he has
high expectations.”

“I have a lot to learn about him, don’t I?” she asked, praying that she’d have the
opportunity.

“Don’t worry about Abraham,” he told her, as if reading her mind. “He’ll probably
be kicking around here long after you and I are gone. He gives new meaning to tough.”

“There’s so much about him I don’t know,” she confessed. “And I want to know everything.
You’ve known him a long time. What kind of a man is he?”

Alan leaned forward and rested his palms on his knees. “I think you already know the
kind of man he is. He’s driven. He’d have to be to build MEEG. He can be selfish.
He’d have to be to have ignored you and your brother all these years. What kind of
man is he? He’s human, with all the flaws and frailties we humans have. Sometimes
he does the right thing; other times, he does the wrong thing. To his credit, he’s
a man who admits his mistakes when faced with them. He’s just a man, Deborah. Take
what he has to offer, but don’t expect more than he gives. He’ll undoubtedly disappoint
you, but then so would any man. Rarely do fathers live up to the expectations of their
daughters.” He sat back in his chair and studied her. “Did that answer your question?”

Deborah nodded. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Alan said, standing. “Why don’t I take you home and you can get a fresh
start in the morning. I’ve arranged for you to meet with the current Running Brook
team at ten
A.M.
They’re a good group but you’re not going to want to keep them all. We can talk about
all that tomorrow. You’ve had a full day.”

Deborah dutifully followed him out of her office. Alan had answered some of her questions
but raised many more. There was still much she wanted to know about Abraham, and she
also wanted to know about Alan. But she’d have to wait until another time to ask.
She didn’t want to scare him off by asking too much too soon.