Only One for Me (16 page)

“
I just want you happy and
if anything were to ever happen to me, I don’t want you to be
alone.”

Yasmine’s heart broke. “Mom, please
don’t speak like that.” She sat down on the front step and placed
her head on her knees. “You’re not leaving me anytime soon. Your
cancer is in remission.”

“
I know, darling, but
sometimes I wish you had a husband and children. When I was sick,
all I kept thinking was who will take care of my baby if I
die.”

“
But you didn’t die, and I
know how to take care of myself. I don’t need a man for that. I’ve
been taking care of me for a very long time.”

“
I know. I just worry
about you sometimes being alone in Atlanta with no family. I know
you date, but when was the last time you were in a serious
relationship?”

“
A few years ago. You
remember Daniel, Mom.”

“
I was hoping you two
would get married, but as soon as he mentioned children, you
dropped him.”

“
Mom, I dropped him
because of his misogynistic and male chauvinist thinking. He wanted
me to quit work and be a stay at home mom until the children
graduated high school, all five of them by the way. I didn’t earn
four degrees to stay at home.”

“
Since Cannon, you’ve
broken up with guys before they got too close to your heart to
break it or found some reason why they weren’t good enough. I just
want you to be happy.”

“
Mother, I promise you,
I’m happy. I have a wonderful career, family, friends and a
beautiful home in Atlanta. Most importantly, I have you. A healthy,
cancer-free mother who isn’t leaving me anytime soon.”

“
You’re darn right, I’m
not. However, you seem happier since Cannon has been back in your
life. And who knows. Maybe it is fate.”

That was the second time in two days
she’d heard “maybe it is fate.” She didn’t see it like that. She
saw it as a cruel joke that she just needed to get through so she
could move back to Atlanta and back to her life without
him.

She looked up to see a black car slow
down and pull into the driveway.

“
Mom, I have to go. He’s
here.” She stood and grabbed her purse off of the step. Cannon got
out of the car and walked to the passenger’s side to open the
door.

“
Send Lacy my love. I’ll
call later to check on her.”

“
I will, Mother. Have fun
with your man.” She slid onto the heated black leather seat, which
was perfect after sitting on the cold porch.

“
Trust me, I am,” Emma
said in sassy tone. “You do the same.”

“
I’m ignoring that last
statement. In fact, I’m ignoring both.” She wanted her mother
happy, but she didn’t want to imagine her mother having “fun” with
her man.

“
You can’t ignore love, my
dear.”

They said their good-byes, and Yasmine
tossed her cell phone into her purse, setting it on the floor of
the car.

“
Hey,” Cannon said as he
closed his door and put on his seat belt.

“
Thank you so much for
doing this for me on your day off. Mother and I sincerely
appreciate it.”

“
You’re welcome, and a
doctor never has a day off.”

Cannon and Yasmine rode in silence on
the way to Lacy’s apartment. She was happy to know that Yasmine was
bringing a pediatrician.

She didn’t know what to
say especially after her conversation with her mother. She knew her
mother worried about her being happy, but overall life had been
good. Just because she wasn’t with the one man she’d ever truly
loved didn’t mean she wasn’t happy. It just meant she didn’t have
everything she wanted, but she had everything she needed.
Right?

Yasmine stared at Cannon. He was
definitely in doctor mode as he pondered over what could be wrong
with Lacy’s daughter just by what Yasmine had told him. She
remembered that mode when he was in medical school studying at her
kitchen table into the wee hours of the morning.

“
She doesn’t have
insurance,” Yasmine said, remembering what Lacy had told her. “She
works part-time because she’s in college, so just send me the
bill.”

He looked at her out of the corner of
his eye and chuckled. “Do you know me?”

“
I beg your
pardon?”

“
Yasmine, what have I been
doing practically all of my life? You think I’m a doctor because of
the money?”

She shook her head. “No. You’re a
doctor because you want to help people.”

“
Exactly. My parents
instilled in me and my siblings when we were growing up to always
give back, to be active and positive role models in the community.
My dad grew up in poverty. He watched his mother die when he was
only sixteen because she couldn’t afford proper medical care. Trust
me, my dad would ring my neck if I even thought about taking money
from someone who needs medical attention but can’t afford
it.”

Once they arrived at the apartment
complex, she caught him glancing at her neck and her
hands.

“
What?” she asked,
wondering why he kept looking over her body.

“
Take off your Movado and
your necklace.” He leaned over and opened the glove compartment.
“Lock them in here. You can leave your earrings on.” He reached out
and touched her sterling silver hoops. His finger brushed her cheek
and a sensual connection locked their eyes together before he
dropped his hand. “What kind of purse is that?” He pointed to the
bag at her feet.

“
A Coach.”

“
Place it in the back
under my white coats that need to go to the cleaners.”

“
Why am I doing all this?”
she asked, putting her jewelry in the compartment. She shut it, and
he pushed a button on the dash to lock it.

“
You don’t want to draw
too much attention to yourself.”

“
So what are you going to
do, push a button to turn your top of the line BMW
invisible?”

He laughed. “No, not quite. It will be
fine. I promise.”

She didn’t answer, but instead placed
her purse under his white coats and then got out of the car when he
did. He popped the trunk, grabbing a bag and a small ice cooler. He
shut it, looked around for a second, and nodded as a
bodyguard-looking guy strolled over. He had a “don’t-mess-with-me”
look and was at least six foot six.

“
What’s up, doc?” The men
shook hands. “How you living?”

“
Can’t complain. Glad you
were around when I called. Thank you.”

“
No problem. If I wasn’t
here, I would’ve made sure one of my boys would be. Don’t worry. We
got you.”

“
I appreciate
it.”

“
Your pops and Dr. Raven
were down to the community center with some other doctors last week
doing free health screenings and physicals. My levels still look
good.”

Cannon nodded. “He mentioned that to
me, but I wasn’t able to get down here. Had an emergency at the
hospital.”

“
Well, I’ll be right
here.”

“
Thank you. We’ll be
back.”

As they walked toward Lacy’s apartment
building, Yasmine stopped them halfway. “Is he watching your car?”
she asked, as she glanced back to see the guy sitting on a bench
near the parking lot. They continued walking and Cannon didn’t
answer.

“
So apparently they know
you and your dad over here?” she acknowledged as she saw some other
people wave and nod their heads toward him.

“
Yes. This is where my dad
lived in his teen years. He promised to come back and help in any
way, so we all do. The guy that’s watching my car, I saved his
daughter’s life two years ago. However, my car was broken into
while I was doing so and my rims were stolen as well. Watching my
car is his way of paying me.”

An hour later they were back in the
car and headed to Yasmine’s house. She was glad she called him
after all. Lacy’s daughter had a stomach virus that was going
around at her school. Cannon gave her some Pedialyte and children’s
Tylenol with instructions and his work cell phone number should she
need anything else.

“
Thank you. I’m so glad
you were available on a Sunday afternoon,” Yasmine said as they sat
in her driveway.

“
No problem. When’s your
mother coming back in town?”

“
Tuesday. They’re in Fort
Lauderdale.”

“
Are you hungry? I’m
starved. You called right when I was going to make lunch and now it
is dinner time.” He glanced at the clock on the
dashboard.

“
I was going to make
salmon today. There’s plenty for the two of us along with a
salad.”

“
No wonder you’re pretty
much the same size as when I met you. You eat like a
bird.”

“
No, I eat what I want and
work out, but I have a dress fitting next week. Carbs go straight
to my hips.”

“
How about I take you out
to eat?”

“
I don’t mind making
dinner. It will be my way of saying thank you for helping Lacy. I
can add baked potatoes to the meal, and I believe there’s still
some Oreo cheesecake left.”

“
Now you’re
talking.”

*****

Cannon sat on a barstool at the
kitchen island while Yasmine cut up cucumbers for their salads.
They made small talk while she cooked, staying on topics related to
politics and education. However, tonight they were going to have it
out whether she wanted to or not, he decided.

“
The salmon should be done
in about fifteen minutes,” she said, taking off her apron and
setting it on the island. She gave him his bowl of salad and
retrieved a bottle of wine from the refrigerator.

“
White zinfandel?” she
asked, showing him the bottle.

“
Perfect. I’ll open it for
you.”

She handed him the wine and the
corkscrew while she took two wine glasses from the
cabinet.

“
I can’t believe this is
the same house.”

“
Yep, my mother had
everything remodeled,” she said, looking around the updated kitchen
with cherry wood cabinets, black granite counter tops, and
stainless steel appliances. “She should’ve just bought a new home,
but she has memories of my dad here and didn’t want to leave. Plus,
she loves living by the river.”

“
How does it feel to be
back home with your mother?” He poured the wine as she sat on the
bar stool across the island from him.

“
Well at first, I didn’t
think about it because I was here for her chemo treatments. Before
I decided to take the sabbatical from work, I would drive up every
week and stay a few days, but I hated leaving her afterwards. I
know she has her boyfriend, and he’s been wonderful, but she’s my
mother. She’s all I have. So I decided to move back temporarily.
She’s been in remission since November, but I didn’t want to leave
until I felt as if she had truly recovered. She’s stronger now,
gaining some weight back, and her hair is starting to grow again. I
cut mine really short when hers began to fall out.”

“
I was wondering why you
cut your hair. I know you’ve always preferred it long.”

“
It’ll grow back. Anyway,
it does feel weird sleeping in my old room. Besides college breaks,
I haven’t really lived here since I was eighteen.”

“
I remember when we used
to come visit our families when we lived in Nashville. We slept in
your twin canopy bed because you just had to sleep in your own room
and not the guestroom.” Cannon laughed as he remembered the pink
walls, pink and green comforter set with the huge pink flowers,
pink fluffy pillows and the pink canopy over the bed. “All that
damn pink. I felt like I was in a bottle of Pepto
Bismol.”

“
It was hilarious, both of
us trying to fit in that bed.” She laughed, taking a sip of her
wine. “But there’s a queen bed in there now with no canopy, and the
walls are beige.”

“
Didn’t we break the bed
one time?”

“
Ha! Yes. One of the bed
rails came unattached from the headboard.”

“
Yeah, I remember. I fixed
it and then pulled you down on the floor to finish making love to
you.”

She lowered her eyes. “Cannon, let’s
not do this right now.”

He slid off of the barstool and pulled
her into his arms, deciding to forgo Bria’s suggestion of giving
Yasmine space. He needed her and besides, if she wanted space, she
wouldn’t have invited him to stay for dinner.

“
You mean you don’t
remember? I do. We didn’t want to wake your mother, so I started
off with slow strokes so you and the bed wouldn’t make a
sound
.
More so
you. Then you kept telling me how damn good I was making you feel,
and I got a little faster and the rail came loose, but luckily your
mother didn’t hear. We waited a few minutes to make sure, and then
I put the comforter and the pillows on the floor. I was able to
give you long, deep thrusts from behind as you buried your head in
the pillow to muffle out just how good it was.”