Protect and Serve (8 page)

Jason decided not to leave his mother to her own devices and followed her over to Terrill and Penny.

“Oh, Mrs. Hightower, I don’t think that would be a good idea. Besides, I—” Penny’s words were cut off by his mother.

“Nonsense, Penny! Of course you and Terrill will come to Sunday dinner. It’ll be just like old times. It’s time to let bygones be bygones. I feel it. The Lord put it on my spirit, and after today’s sermon, I certainly don’t want to go around second-guessing the Lord.”

Leave it to his mother to make such quick use of the day’s sermon.

Jason didn’t want to say for certain that the Lord hadn’t put the desire to mend the fences between him and his former best friends on his mother’s spirit. But he wouldn’t have placed any money on it.

“Now, Mama, if Terrill and Penny have other things to do, then perhaps we should let them do that.” Jason knew it would take more than any of them had in them to sway his mother on this.

But perhaps if they all worked together…

“You know I’ve missed your Sunday meals, Mrs. Hightower. But I’ll be flying out on a red-eye tonight, and—” Terrill started in with his gentle refusal, only to be shot down midway in.

“All the more reason for you to come by for dinner, son. We haven’t seen you in years, and now you’re here. You’ve moved your mom to California, so you hardly ever come back to visit. When will we see you again?” His mother turned to Penny. “And I bet you’ll be moving Carla back to California with you. And
you
didn’t even visit when your grandmother was alive. We’re likely to never see either one of you again.

“Can’t you just grant this old lady one last dinner with you all, now that you’ve grown up? Penny, you can ride on over with James and me now. That way we can get in the kitchen together, like we used to. I’ve missed that. And I want to hear all about your life in Los Angeles.”

Jason narrowed his eyes. His mother was pouring it on thick, even for her. There was no way either Penny or Terrill would say no to the woman. Heck, he even found himself falling for the line.

“Mrs. Hightower…” Penny began.

“I remember those times in the kitchen with you. It was like I finally had the daughter I always wanted. I’ve missed you so much. Both of you.” Mrs. Hightower put the saddest little expression on her face, and sighed.

Jason heard a groan and realized that it was coming from him. All eyes turned to him, and he suddenly felt as if the walls of the sanctuary were closing in.

Penny took a deep breath. “I don’t think that, given the past, everyone would be okay with us coming to dinner. I miss you more than you know, more than I could ever express. But I just feel like we need to be sensitive to the feelings that—”

“Nonsense, Penny. Jason won’t have a problem with either of you coming. Frankly, you all need to grow up and let the past be the past. You all were friends. You were close. You loved one another, and in the case of you and Jason, you were
in
love with one another. It’s time to put the past behind us. So come on, Penny, James likes to beat the traffic getting out of the parking lot. We’ll see you guys later. Terrill, I mean to see you, too.”

His mother took Penny by the arm and actually led her out of the church. Jason watched them walk away and wondered how in the heck he was going to get through a dinner with Penny and…He turned to Terrill, who just shrugged.

“It’ll be awkward. But honestly, I don’t know how to just
not
show up when your mother has made her expectations so very clear.”

Jason wanted to tell Terrill he needed to figure out a way. He wanted to threaten him with bodily harm if he dared show up at his parents’ home.

But he couldn’t.

So he just turned and walked away.

As he headed back over to his brothers, he saw that all three of them were standing there watching everything.

“Mama invited Penny and Terrill to Sunday dinner.” Jason stared at his brothers, hoping one of them had some advice on how to handle this one. As the youngest, he normally couldn’t stand it when they offered up their two cents on his life. Today, he’d gladly take any advice they had to give.

“You could always not show up. I know I wouldn’t if Mama invited my cheating ex-wife to Sunday dinner.” Patrick folded his arms firmly across his chest.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that. Mama can’t stand your ex-wife. But I think Aunt Sophie still has lunch with her once a month. She’s still mourning the breakup of what she called the ‘perfect marriage.’” Joel let out a gut-busting laugh, only to stop just as quickly, when he realized there were still some other folks in the church.

Lawrence took off his blazer and slung it over his shoulder. “Well, I think he should definitely come to dinner and face them both. They were the ones who were wrong. And he can’t let them run him out of his own mama’s house. That’s just wrong. I’d have a real problem if he punked out like that.”

“Yeah, but if he gets up in there and starts fisticuffs with Terrill at Sunday dinner…” Joel began.

“Jason isn’t stupid. He can be the bigger man. He’s a Hightower. We’re honorable men,” Lawrence cut in.

“We don’t back down,” Patrick added.

“And we always do things the right way,” Joel continued.

“
Our
way,” Jason finished, and they all laughed.

“That’s right. So we’ll see you at dinner. And remember, never let them see you sweat.” Lawrence loosened the tie he only wore in church and started walking off.

“Yep. Stay cool.” Joel winked and followed Lawrence.

“And remember, no woman in the world is worth all this stress. She cheated. It’s her loss. You’re the bigger man. You’re a Hightower.” Patrick patted Jason’s back awkwardly.

Jason sighed. He must have looked pretty pathetic if his older brother had taken to expressing affection. The move was certainly atypical of the eldest Hightower son, to say the least. Jason decided to brace himself for a stressful dinner. His brothers were right.

He wasn’t missing Mama’s Sunday dinner for anyone.

After telling Penny she didn’t feel like doing the whole church scene, Carla waited for her daughter to leave the house before making her way down the hill to the Temple Street boardinghouse where she knew Gerald McEarly was staying.

She knocked on the door to Gerald’s room. She was taking a great risk by coming there. But she had to somehow convince Gerald that it was a bad idea for him to just keep showing up at her place. Even if he wanted to get to know Penny, it was too late for all that. And if Clyde found out Gerald stopped by, then it would make things all the worse.

Clyde “C-Money” Markum didn’t hand out idle threats, and she had to convince Gerald to stay away until she could convince Penny to get her out of town.

Gerald opened the door and her heart skipped a beat. How could she possibly be having the same fluttering feelings she’d had when she was just a girl and she saw him for the first time?

After all she’d been through, the rough life she’d had, how could she be responding to him like a young girl in love?

Better yet, how did she turn it off and do what she needed to do, when the older man was so much bigger, stronger and finer than the young man had been. And the older man
still
looked at her with that same sparkle in his eyes.

He smiled at her and stepped aside for her to walk in.

And why the heck was he smiling at her when she’d tried to get him locked up last night? He wasn’t making it easy for her to do what she needed to do at all,
not at all
.

The small room had a twin bed, a tiny chest of drawers with a hot plate on top and a corner table with a wooden chair in front of it. There wasn’t much in the way of decorations, unless you counted the brown blanket and the odd-shaped yellow crocheted doilies on the table.

“Hey, girl. This is a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting you here, after the way you acted last night.” He smiled, and his whole face lit up.

She loved the way his face brightened when he looked at her. Nobody had ever been able to look at her and make her feel more special.

Nope, this wouldn’t be easy.

“That’s why I’m here, Gerald. You can’t come back over there. Just stay away, please. I’ll tell her where you live and she can come see you here or whatever. But I can’t have you showing up at my place. Okay?” Carla rushed her words out and quickly did a U-turn toward the door.

Yep, coming here was a bad idea. But at least she’d said her piece. Now she had to get the hell out of Dodge.

Gerald’s hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder before she could make her great escape. He spun her around, and he had that same glimmer in his eyes, that same way of looking at her that made her heart go all out of whack.

“Baby, what’s wrong? What has you all scared? When I first got out and we met up, you seemed open to me getting to know our daughter. And I even thought—”

“There’s nothing wrong with me, Gerald. And I ain’t scared of anything. I just don’t need you sniffing around my place, that’s all. The past is the past. If Brat wants to have a relationship with you, then that’s her business. But I don’t. So stay away.”

“I can’t do that.” He bent his head down and covered her mouth in a hard, soul-penetrating kiss, a kiss that wouldn’t yield. One that offered no outs…only ins….

Carla couldn’t help it. She opened her mouth and gave everything she felt, everything he made her feel. And feeling again, after so many years, had an amazing effect, took her higher than any drug ever had or ever could.

It wasn’t a rush her addictive personality could easily pass up. And as she allowed him to lead her to the bed, she knew she would have to figure out a way to control the situation, and her desire, to get Gerald to stay away. But when his strong hand cupped her breast and his demanding mouth claimed her nipple, she found it harder and harder to remember why she had to let him go.

And after an hour in Gerald’s bed and a half hour trying to talk him into staying away, Carla rushed home trying to think of better ways to get Penny to let her come to California. She decided she would show Penny she’d changed by cooking a nice Sunday meal, or at least fixing up some of the many leftovers from all the food people brought over after Mama’s funeral so she could have a nice meal after church.

The last thing she expected as she walked up to the house was to find Clyde standing there, with that mean and ugly glare on his face. Something about the way he looked at her told her he knew exactly where she’d just come from.

He walked up to her, grabbed her by the hair and pulled her toward the house. “You have got to be one stupid, hardheaded little slut!”

B
eing in the kitchen with Mrs. Hightower again felt surreal and just right, all at the same time.

Stately and opulent, the Hightowers’ large Tudor home on Eastside Park Drive in Paterson looked pretty much the same on the outside. On the inside, the decorations and furnishings had changed. But the warm and welcoming aura remained the same.

Penny knew the homey feel of the Hightower minimansion must have been the only thing that saved her from feeling out of place and overwhelmed when she visited as a child. Although class differences weren’t as pronounced in Paterson as they were in other places she had lived and visited through the years, they did exist.

The distance between the Hightowers’ humongous home with a view of the park and Big Mama’s small three-bedroom Colonial with no view and no park in the heart of the ’hood might just as well have been light years. When it came down to it, their big home, family legacies and community standing made the Hightowers as close to the elite as a small inner city such as Paterson, New Jersey, could lay claim to.

Penny didn’t have any illusions that James and Celia Hightower’s easy acceptance meant anything more than that they were two really nice salt-of-the-earth folks. She still found herself wanting to bask in the comfort she felt in their home, especially since she had a feeling the easy calm would disappear as soon as Jason and Terrill showed up.

“Here, I’m gonna let you take over the dressing and the potato salad. I know you remember how to do it. I’ve got to get these pies in the oven. I’m making my sweet potato pie. I wonder if Terrill can still polish off an entire pie all by himself.” Celia chuckled softly and shook her head. “I better make a few of them, come to think of it.” She buzzed around the kitchen with a bright smile on her face.

Penny got busy breaking up the corn bread Celia had already made and moved on to the slicing and dicing of celery, onion and—Celia Hightower’s secret ingredient—bell peppers. Before long the two women had the majority of the spread for the Sunday meal all done.

Penny couldn’t help but remember the wonderful times she used to have with Mrs. Hightower growing up. She had really been like another mother figure, next to Big Mama. With Carla constantly MIA, Penny had needed the added attention.

She couldn’t believe Celia still made the majority of the dishes exactly the way she’d taught her to make them. Between Celia Hightower and Big Mama’s training in the kitchen, Penny could hang with the best of cooks. As she mixed together the fixings for the potato salad, Penny found herself wishing this nice, quiet afternoon with Celia didn’t have to end.

“So, when are you planning to head back to California, baby? I hope I get a chance to see you again before you go back.”

Celia moved gracefully around her state-of-the-art kitchen. The kitchen had clearly been upgraded, outfitted with stainless steel appliances, marble countertops and beautiful cherrywood cabinets, since Penny had last been there. But even with all the new things, the kitchen still felt as down home as it always had.

“I’m not sure now. I was planning to head back as soon as I settled up Big Mama’s affairs. But some unexpected things have come up, and I may stay a week or so longer than that.”

“That’s good. We can go out for lunch or something. Maybe spend the afternoon at the mall. Remember our trips window-shopping at Garden State Plaza?” A wistful and nostalgic expression crossed Mrs. Hightower’s face.

“Yes, I certainly do. Those were some fun times.” Penny smiled, remembering the many times Mrs. Hightower’s input had saved her from Big Mama’s very old-fashioned taste in clothes.

“Yes, indeed they were. Then you had your sweet sixteen and started dating my son and forgot all about me. All your time was spent with
Ja-son
.” Mrs. Hightower chuckled, and Penny cringed.

“That’s not true. I still hung out with you! And even before Jason and I started dating, he, Terrill and I were always together, anyway.”

“Mmmmm…If you say so…All I know is, once you fell in love, you didn’t have time to be hanging out with this old lady.”

Penny could only laugh. Part of what Celia said was true. Once Penny admitted the feelings she’d probably always had for Jason, she’d been a goner. Thinking about how much she’d loved him caused a tremendous lump to form in her chest.

“What happened, Penny? You could tell me to mind my business if you want. But I’ve always wondered. Jason said you broke things off with him after you lost the baby and decided to be with Terrill. But something about that always seemed odd to me. I watched you three grow up. And I know you all like the back of my hand. And you were
not
in love with Terrill, Penny. I know that.”

Penny could only stand there with her mouth hanging open. She couldn’t believe Jason hadn’t told his family the entire lie she’d told him, the lie that the baby was Terrill’s.

Why had he left that out? Could that be why he was still hounding her to admit it had been a lie?

She closed her eyes and swallowed. Could she lie to Mrs. Hightower, too?

No, she couldn’t.

“I did love Terrill, Mrs. Hightower. I still love Terrill.”

That wasn’t a lie. She would love her best friend forever. The sacrifice he’d made for her was a debt she could never repay. She would always love him for it.

“You’re playing with words, Penny. I know you love Terrill. I know you’ve loved Terrill and Jason from the time you all ran around here in the backyard playing and calling yourselves the Three Musketeers. But you were
in
love with Jason. Something must have happened when you lost the baby. I saw the change in you when you realized you were pregnant. You were scared. And maybe you even thought you dodged a bullet when you lost the child, and you didn’t want to chance it happening again…. I don’t know your reasons for breaking my son’s heart. But I do know you were in love with him and
not
Terrill.”

Penny felt her jaw drop even farther, as if it were possible for her mouth to open any wider.

Mrs. Hightower was pulling out the big guns, and she was doing it in her smiling and pleasant way.

Mrs. Hightower continued to move around the kitchen, cooking and humming. “My, my, my, I’ve got to get these pies out of the oven. Finish up that green bean casserole and then set the dining room table for me, please, sweetie. I’d appreciate it.” She gave Penny a hug and a peck on the cheek.

Penny let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and finished up her tasks deep in thought. Her hopes of leaving Paterson with her secret intact seemed to be dwindling away right in front of her eyes. Between Jason’s pushing and his mother’s subtle prodding, there was no way she wouldn’t fold. If she were a betting woman, she wouldn’t even risk gambling on herself. She didn’t like the odds.

Well, that means no lunch and shopping with Mrs. Hightower.

No matter how much she’d missed the woman’s company, spending more time with her would be a huge mistake.

After today’s sermon in church, her secret was weighing on her more heavily than it normally did. She just didn’t know how to go about making things right.

Jason let himself in his parents’ home through the front door, and the first thing he saw as he made his way toward the family room was Penny setting the dining room table. The desire to follow his old pattern and help her proved to be one he couldn’t resist.

They worked in silence until they’d finished the task. When they were done, she glanced at him with a nervous expression on her face.

She cleared her throat, her eyes shuttered, and her voice took on a husky edge. “Thanks for helping, Jason.”

“You’re welcome.”

He kept staring at her, because he couldn’t believe how damn beautiful she still was and how badly he still wanted her. He actually wanted to kiss her right there in the dining room. He had been thinking about the kiss at Big Mama’s house and wanting to taste her lips again ever since. It was as if all it took was one kiss to make him want her again with a passion that tripled anything he had ever felt. He still wanted Penny,
bad
.

She let out a sigh. “Look, I know this is really awkward for you. But I just wanted to say I’m glad you’re being understanding about things. I hadn’t realized how much I missed your mom and—”

“She missed you, too, Penny. You could have come to see her anytime in the past fifteen years and she would have welcomed you with open arms.” The edge in his voice would not be contained. As much as he desired her, he realized he was also still very angry with her.

The source of his anger both worried and confused him. Instead of being angry that she might have slept with Terrill or that she’d actually lied about her relationship with Terrill, Jason felt heated because she had stayed away so long, because he hadn’t had the pleasure of seeing her beautiful face regularly in fifteen years. How could she have stayed away for so long?

She cringed. “I know, Jason. But you know it wasn’t that simple. I—” She paused. “Oh, forget it. You’re impossible, Jason.” She turned to walk out of the dining room.

Jason reached out and touched her shoulder. He couldn’t let her walk away.

She turned and stared at him with those huge copper eyes, and he was done.

He pulled her close and covered her mouth without even thinking someone might walk in on them. He didn’t care if they did. He had to taste her again. Her mouth opened and her tongue forged into his mouth and wrapped around his so precisely, it felt as if they had never stopped kissing, as if no time had passed.

The soft, welcoming warm heat of her mouth sent shock waves to his groin. He nibbled and feasted on her lush, delicious lips with all the desire and intensity he felt. Her hands went up to his chest and caressed. His hands moved to her behind and pulled her closer, but she stopped and shoved him away.

The wild expression on her face, a mix between passion and anger, made him think he might have jumped the gun by kissing her again. She panted as she shook her head, spun around and went running from the room.

Not surprisingly, watching her storm out of the dining room only made him feel more confused and frustrated than he’d been before he kissed her.

Something had to give—but what? His detective’s brain kept telling him something was wrong. Penny was lying. He could feel it. His heart, the eighteen-year-old heart he had shielded for the past fifteen years, told him she had lied and she really loved him. While he didn’t know what he would do if his mind and heart were right, he knew he had to find out.

Soon all of his brothers were there, and then Terrill showed up, bearing flowers for his mother. Looking at his ex-best friend, the suave record executive, made Jason realize the dinner would be even harder than he’d imagined. Being the bigger man was not supposed to screw with his guts and make him gnash his teeth. Wasn’t it supposed to be a good feeling?

The doorbell rang as soon as they all sat down at the table. His mother went off to answer the door and came back with his aunt Sophie right behind her. The slight tilt of his mother’s nose and the twist of her lips let him know that she probably couldn’t think of any person she would less like to have at her dinner table.

He couldn’t help but think that his mother was getting her own medicine served back to her. If he had to sit through a dinner with Terrill because of his mother’s meddling, it seemed only fitting that his mother should have to deal with her own archrival, Aunt Sophie.

Jason felt a smile take over his face for the first time that evening, and it actually felt good.

Aunt Sophie made herself comfortable at the dining room table. “I figured I’d stop over here and see what you all were up to.”

“You know you’re always welcomed here, sis.” James Hightower smiled at his sister until he caught the sour expression on his wife’s face.

Jason didn’t envy his father’s role as lifetime referee between those two. Although they were subtle most of the time, and their battles had never become knock-down-drag-outs, he had a feeling one day the two women would either come to blows or spontaneously combust.

Everyone ate in awkward silence, the tension almost palpable.

“Mama, you really outdid yourself on this dressing!” Lawrence said as he scooped a second helping on his plate.

“And this potato salad,” James added, clearly trying to get out of the doghouse with his wife. “You know I
love
your potato salad. You make the best, babe.”

“I didn’t make the potato salad or the dressing. Penny did.”

“Mmmph.” Aunt Sophie made a show of pushing her potato salad and dressing off to the side of her plate.

Lawrence grinned. “I forgot ’lil sis could cook. I always said, if I couldn’t get a hold of my mama’s cooking, I’d take a plate from Penny any day. So what you been up to in Cali?” Food was the ultimate bridge over troubled water, and the only thing Lawrence easily succumbed to. Feed the man a great meal and he would be won over for sure.

Jason narrowed his eyes on Lawrence, and his brother shrugged, still grinning his silly grin, and shoving more dressing on his plate.

“I own an image consulting business. I’m a stylist and a publicist.” Penny smiled at Lawrence.

“Image? Mmmph. Stylist? Mmmph.” Sophie twisted up her face like she was sucking on a sour lemon.

Jason frowned at his aunt. He’d seen her be a snob before, but she was bordering on rude with Penny today. He was shocked by how much it disturbed him and made him want to protect Penny.

His mother rolled her eyes at Sophie and then turned a smiling face on Penny. “I’ve seen stories in various magazines mention your business. You have a lot of high-profile clients. That must be so exciting.”

Terrill added his two cents. “Yes, Penny and her partner, Maritza Morales, have really built an amazing company. Topnotch. Can you please pass the greens and the macaroni?”

Joel’s face lit up. “Maritza Morales, the former video girl? Wow. She is one beautiful woman.” He passed the bowls to Terrill.