Devoted - The Complete Series: A BWWM Romance Boxset (22 page)

“Sir, I have Dwight Noble on the line. He’s stressed that it’s urgent, would you like me to put him through?” Rachel intrudes on my thoughts over my intercom. I snap the lid shut on the jewelry box and slip it into my desk drawer.

“Yes, certainly.” I wait the line to flash on my phone and pick it up, wondering what my lawyer wants.

“Bradley? I’m glad I caught you. I can never be sure with the hours you keep.” Dwight sounds frazzled, which is completely unlike him.

“One of the perks of being the boss, I guess. Everything alright?”

“Have you heard from the police yet?”

So, no, every thing’s not alright. “The police? About what? Is Brooklyn ok?” My heart starts thumping blood to my ears as I begin to imagine the worst.

“No, no, I’m talking about Eileen. She’s gone missing, there’s been no sign of her at her group program and her parole officer says it looks like she split her apartment. Has she tried to contact you in anyway?”

“Missing? No, she hasn’t called. We haven’t spoken in months.”

“Called, texted, e-mailed, Christ even if she’s sent you a smoke signal you’ve gotta get in touch with the Florida PD. Her checking out like this is a serious offense, it violates every term of her conditional sentencing. I mean, she’s really screwed that one up. No judge is going to keep her out of prison now. The jail diversion program was her one freebie and now she’s burned it up.”

I run my fingers over my temples trying to think of what could’ve possibly possessed her to do something so stupid. Possessed her. The words send a chill down my spine as I recall her conversations about Satan and Moses. One thing is certain, if Eileen is missing in her state, someone could get hurt. Most likely, Eileen. “I haven’t heard from her at all, if I even catch a whisper I’ll contact the police. I would guess that she’s on some kind of bender, it wouldn’t surprise me if she rolls into her parole officer’s office with a hang-over and a sob story in a few days.”

“Well, it better be one hell of a story because I’m pretty sure she’s just cinched her fate. She’ll be serving time now, the courts don’t take too kindly to having their good will thrown back in their faces.” Dwight chirps matter-of-factly.

“Ok, well thanks for getting a hold of me. Let me know when any new information surfaces, and I’ll do the same.”

“I’ll be sure to do that, oh and Bradley, just be cautious. From all accounts, Eileen is a very unstable woman and there’s no telling what she might do.”

I can’t disagree with him given that there’s a YouTube video with over nine million hits proving his case. However, the only person I think Eileen is really in danger of harming is herself. “Thank you, Dwight. I’ll keep that in mind if she contacts me.” I hang up the phone and run my hand through my hair. Why would she throw away her second chance like that? It just doesn’t make any sense, but then again, not many things do make sense with Eileen. Sighing, I feel a wave of exhaustion wash over me, beating against me like a tide pounding a rock into sand.
Why Eileen? Why would you do something so stupid?

Chapter Ten

Bradley

“My goodness, come in! Come in! You don’t need to knock, just walk right in here.” Brianna’s mother emphatically waves us through her front door.

“Thank you for having us over, Mrs. Hendricks.” I hand her a bouquet of wild flowers and her eyes grow wide.

“Well, would you look at that, Henry. What a gentleman, bringing flowers. You’ve got a keeper there, Brianna.” She smiles.

“I know,” Brianna answers her distractedly. Brooklyn is clinging to her skirt in an attempt to hide from the unfamiliar faces and it’s nearly knocking Brianna over.

“Very nice.” Pastor Henry flits his eyes over the newspaper he’s reading. He hasn’t bothered to move from the couch to greet us. I have a feeling this isn’t going to go well.

“You can call me Evelyn, by the way Bradley. There’s no need to be so formal with family.” We follow her lead into the living room and take seats in the scattered, retro chairs around the room. Brooklyn practically claws her way up into Brianna’s lap which actually warms my heart to see, despite the fact that she’s doing it out of fear. “I hope you like ham, Bradley,” Evelyn announces nervously. “It’s Brianna’s favorite so I made it up for her. I figure there’s nothing like a home cooked meal when you’re pregnant, right?” Her eyes dart over to Brianna, but she’s preoccupied with Brooklyn.

“Yeah, sounds good, Mama.” She answers flatly.

“I don’t like strangers!” Brooklyn pouts, hiding her face against Brianna’s chest.

“That’s ok, you can just look at me if you want.” Brianna answers her kindly, softly stroking her bouncy brown curls. “I’ll tell you what, how about we play ‘eye spy’? Does that sound like fun? I’ll start, ok? I spy with my little eye something that is brown.”

“Everything is brown!” Brooklyn looks around the room exasperated. I stifle my laughter, but she’s right. This house definitely had it’s heyday in the seventies with the brown on brown decor.

Brianna’s father finally decides to acknowledge that we’re sitting in the room by neatly folding up the paper and laying it next to him on the end table. “Henry, why don’t you chat with Bradley while I go put these lovely flowers in some water and check on the ham,” Evelyn directs her husband. From the pinched look on his velvety face, I can tell that he is only following orders to keep the peace.

“So, Bradley, did you grow up in New York?” Henry asks me half-heartedly. His eyes can barely stay on my face long enough for me to answer, instead being pulled back to his daughter and Brooklyn playing together across the room.

“No, sir. I was born and raised in Florida. I only moved to the city a few years ago for my job.” I feel like I could’ve told him that I’m an ex-convict and I’d get the same distracted nod of the head I’m getting now. Clearly, his attention is being divided between me and the tender scene unfolding between Brianna and Brooklyn. I’d have to say that they’re winning, and rightly so.

“Ah, Florida, huh? So, I take it you aren’t a Giants fan then?” He finally zones back in on me, a small smile beginning to twitch at the corners of his lips.

“Be careful,” Brianna interrupts, “it’s a trap. Dad thinks that Sundays are for two things, God and football.”

“Is that right?” I glance over at her and give her a wink. “Well then it’s a shame that he’s stuck with two of the worst teams in the NFL here in New York.”

“Oh, I’m sorry but how many championships have the Jacksonville Jaguars taken, young man?” Henry sits up a little straighter on the couch and leans in toward me.

“Now you’ve done it,” Brianna groans loudly. “Come on, Brooklyn, let’s go see if we can help Mama in the kitchen.” She carries my niece out on her hip, giving me a smile on her way out the door.

“Ok, you’ve got me with the Jaguars.” I hold my hands up in surrender. “But you’re forgetting that we still have two more teams who dominate the league.”

“Dominate the league? Son, have you even watched a football game? Are we talking about the same sport?” He ribs me. “You know what, I know from experience that there’s no sense that can be talked into a fan, so I’m gonna let this one go.” His eyes twinkle.

“Well, I appreciate that, sir. I wouldn’t want to insult a man’s team when he’s about to feed me,” I smile.

“Call me Henry, young man. Save the ‘sirs’ for the man who cuts your paycheck.” He leans back and rubs his eyes like he just woke up for a long afternoon nap. “Although, in your case, I suppose you’re that man. Aren’t you?”

“No, sir. I mean, Henry. I have more bosses than anyone who works for me, believe me. I have to answer to the shareholders, and let me tell you, they’re not easy to please.”

“I imagine you’re right about that. I have to admit, I’m not up on all that wall street stuff.” Henry rubs his hands down the legs of his black slacks. “You know, Bradley,” he clears his throat loudly and runs his hand down the back of his hair, “I can see you’re a good kid. I’m sorry about the last time we met, I know I lost my temper there, and it didn’t make for a very good first impression.” He stares past me to the collection of family photos that are hanging on the wall.

“I appreciate that, Henry. However, if I’m honest, I really think it’s Brianna who deserves your apology more than me. If you don’t mind me saying, you were awfully hard on her.”

Henry nods, but doesn’t respond. He just keeps looking at the photos of his family in a less complicated time. An era where Brianna and her sister still dressed up for Halloween and where Henry had less of a belly and more hair.

Th-wap!
“Waaahhhhh!” I jump to my feet as Brooklyn’s cries fill the house.

“What happened?” I scurry into the kitchen to see a chair knocked over and Brianna crouched down beside Brooklyn on the floor. With a scraped knee, Brooklyn is wailing like an ambulance as Brianna scoops her up and carries her over to the dining room table, sitting her in one of the seats.

“It’s just a little ouchie, it’s going to be ok. I’ll get you all fixed up here in no time.” Brianna soothes her, as Brooklyn sniffles.

“Oh my goodness, this is my fault. She wanted to watch me at the counter so I pulled a chair over here for her. I should’ve known better.” Evelyn twists her hands up in the dishcloth she’s holding.

“Don’t worry about it, kids fall. She’ll be fine,” I reassure her, but it doesn’t look like it’s working.

“Mama, stop fretting and get a band-aid, please.” Brianna directs her mother. “Would you like to help me be a doctor and put a band-aid on your knee, Brooklyn?”

Still not entirely convinced that this isn’t a life-threatening emergency, Brooklyn sniffles a yes. As soon as Evelyn returns with a box of band-aids, her eyes light up and her tears evaporate. “Stickers?” She asks gleefully, quickly forgetting the small cut on her knee.

“Sort of, you’ve used these before. Remember?” Brianna quickly wipes down the injured knee with a clean cloth and pulls a band-aid from the box. Once she has it securely fastened to one side of the scrape she looks up at Brooklyn. “Oh, this is a big job for one person. Do you think you can help me attach this on the other side?” Guiding Brooklyn’s hand to the sticky side, they flatten the band-aid down over her knee.

“I all better now!” Brooklyn smiles with tears still drying on her cheeks. It’s amazing how children can have such big, conflicting emotions within seconds.

Brianna looks up to see that she has an audience. Her parents and I are all watching from the doorway as she patches up the minor injury and saves the day. Brooklyn suddenly realizes that she’s the center of attention and jumps down off the seat, ready to impress. “Wanna see me dance?” She doesn’t wait for a response, bouncing around in a circle with her arms shaking.

“Wow, now those are some moves.” Evelyn relaxes a little and enjoys watching the toddler put on a show. I look over at Henry, but his attention is firmly fixed to his daughter. His eyes have softened as he wordlessly watches her. “Ok, well this wasn’t how I wanted to start our dinner,” Evelyn points in the direction of the band-aids. “However, the food is ready, if everyone wants to dig in.”

“I sit with Brianna!” My niece exclaims, stopping dead in her tracks and clinging back onto Brianna’s leg.

“Sure, you can help me cut up my ham. I need a big girl to help me out.” Brianna smiles.

“I a big girl.” Brooklyn puffs her chest out proudly.

Taking our seats around the table, everyone passes the food around until all the plates are full. I pick up my fork and knife to dig in and the family stares at me in disbelief. “Bradley, we’re going to say grace.” Brianna hisses at me, bowing her head over her folded hands. Brooklyn follows her example and hangs her head over too, squeezing her eyes shut tight.

I drop my cutlery and look down and Henry begins, “Lord, I would like to thank you for this food that we are blessed to eat while others struggle to fill their belly. We are thankful for your grace and hope that we can share your example here on earth. Heavenly father, I would like to especially thank you tonight for bringing my daughter home to me, and with her a beautiful family of her own. Thank you for giving us, for giving me,” his voice cracks, “the opportunity to seek salvation and share our love. Amen.”