Southern Admirer (Southern Loving Book 2) (16 page)

“Everything is fine,” she whispered.

Shane eyes opened wide as he sat up in bed. “Do
you need a bottle? Does Shay need to be changed?”

“No.” She smiled looking at him. “You’ve been
allowing me to sleep in since this little one came into the world...thank you.”

He scooted closer to Jasmine, peeking over at the
baby, Shane smiled. “We’re a family, the three of us.”

Jasmine was about to say something when she heard
the doorbell rang. “Are you excepting someone?” she asked looking over at the
clock it was only 6:00 o’clock in the morning.

“No.” Shane crept out of the bed and walked across
the hall to his bedroom.

Jasmine placed Shay inside the crib and followed
Shane to his bedroom. She watched as the protectiveness showed, he unlocked his
gun safe and took out his gun. “What do you need a gun for?” she asked.

“It’s early in the morning, Jazzy. I don’t know
who the hell is standing on the other side of the door. I plan on protecting my
woman and child.” The click sounded as he placed the clip in the gun. “Now get
back to the room with Shay.”

When she didn’t budge, he gave her a glare that
spoke more than words. “Fine,” she conceded and went to the room and locked the
door.

Shane toted his gun to the door as someone pounded
on the door again. Looking through the peephole, he spied three people who he
didn’t think would ever want to grace his front porch ever again.

***

Jazzy sat on the bed tapping her foot impatiently
waiting for Shane to come back. When the door opened, she jumped up, the look
on Shane’s face was grim.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, quickly rushing to his
side.

“Go to the living room.” He gave her a reassuring
hug. “I’ll be right behind you…I’m going to turn on the baby monitor.”

Jasmine narrowed her eyes at him. Instead of
questioning him she went to the living room and stopped dead in her tracks. It
was six o’clock in the morning and somehow her parents and brother thought this
was an ideal time to come visit her.

“Did someone die?” she gasped. “Is it Stacy or the
boys? Grandfather or Grandmother?”

“The person that is going to die is that son of a
bitch standing behind you if you don’t pack you and the baby’s items and come
with us.” Benjamin threatened with his eyes trained directly on Shane.

Dena St. Clair stood there with her arms crossed
across her chest. “Everyone is fine and no one is dying.” She stepped forward
and touched Jasmine's arm. “We thought it would be more fitting for everyone if
you come back home with your father and I.”

Shane who was standing against the wall, spoke up
for the first time. “Why is that?” he asked.

Jasmine looked over at Shane and then her parents.
“I second that,” she said.

“Because you know damn well that I’m not allowing
my daughter and granddaughter to live here,” Reginald said in a tight voice.

Jasmine pressed her lips together and stared at
the people who gave her life in disbelief. She pinched her arm to make sure she
wasn’t still dreaming. “I can’t leave.”

“Yes, you can and you will leave with us,” Benjamin
barked.

“Hold up.” Jasmine raised her hands in the air.
“Lower your voice, our daughter is sleeping in the room down the hall. Secondly
this is our home—”

Dena's lips were curled as she pointed her finger
at Jasmine. “Your problem is that you are selling yourself—”

“Enough!” Jasmine sighed exasperatedly, running
her hands down her face she looked at her mother. “You’re disrespecting Shane
in his house and I can’t allow that, it’s not even eight o’clock in the morning
and we’re fussing about some stupid sh—stuff…now why don’t we all take a seat
and talk like we have common sense that the lord blessed us with.”

Reluctantly her family took a seat on the
sectional, Jasmine wisely took a seat in the chaise and Shane stood erect near
her. She looked over at her mother who shoulders were slumped, her father kept
looking back and forth between Shane and her. Benjamin’s hand was balled into a
tight fist. Jasmine didn’t know how long there in silence, she could hear the
clock ticking on the mantel.

“We came here to bring you back home,” Dena said,
breaking the awkward silence.

“I’m not leaving—”

“Do you honestly hear yourself?” Benjamin spat
pointing his finger at his baby sister. “I will not stand for you shacking up
with
him.”

Jasmine looked up at Shane and noticed the vein in
his neck was throbbing. There was something in the way her brother referred to
Shane as him. “What do you mean by him because last time I check Shane has a
name…use it…it’s very unnerving and surprising how you people are viewing
things,” she said, standing up. “Shane is good enough to be your partner, but
not good enough to be with me or be the father of your grandchild?”

“You said it, not us,” her mother said. “I have a
problem with the fact that you are not in Denver working, I have a problem that
our hard earned dimes went to waste… I have a problem that you got pregnant and
didn’t tell me.”

Her father stood up and looked at her with
disgust. “Don’t play the race card! I have plenty of friends who are different
races than me, but I do believe that one should date within their own race. I
have the utmost respect for Shane, but he is not good enough for you.”

“It’s time you guys get the hell out of my house!”
Shane left the living room and went into the kitchen leaving Jasmine alone with
her parents.

“You’re throwing your life away for him! You gave
up having a career to be barefoot and pregnant!” Her mother’s shoulders slumped
in defeat when she realized her words were falling on deaf ears.

“Shane McBride will never do right by you, baby
sis.” Benjamin’s face softened as he stepped toward her. “The day you were born
I stood over your bassinet and promised that I wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt
you nor disrespect you. I wouldn’t be a good brother if I stood by and let you
venture down this road of no return.”

“Jazz, we didn’t come here to argue. I want you to
consider everything, including the fact only a black man can appreciate you
more than a white man.” Her father said standing up and patting her gently on
the back that caused her to jump. “I don’t have anything against anyone, I just
prefer my kids to stick with their own kind.”

Jasmine put her hand to her mouth, was she
honestly hearing her parents. She didn’t recognize the people who were
responsible for bringing her into this world. “Those some strong words, Daddy,
including the fact that Mama’s family has so much disdain for us that no one in
her family can even breathe her name.” She looked over at her mother. “Since
we’re speaking about sticking with our own kind, ya’ll didn’t stick with your
own. Apache to Apache or black with black…if you ask me I’m hearing a bunch of
bullshit.”

Crack!

Jasmine face was stinging and hot from the slap
her mother delivered. “I don’t want my daughter around ya’lls bigotry.”

Shane stood protectively in front of Jazz. “I will
not allow you to disrespect Jazzy in her own home or allow you to put your
hands on her again.” He glared at them. “Lay your hands on her again and I will
haul your ass downtown and that’s a fucking promise.”

“I’m done.” Jasmine's voice was like a whisper. “I
will always love and respect you guys but I’m finished. All you guys had to do
was just allow me to make my own footprints in life; if I stumble and fall
along the way…I know how to get back up and dust myself off because that’s what
I was taught to do…instead you came here to berate me.” Her lips trembled as
she walked away from everyone and disappeared down the hallway.

Shane could tell that Jazz was visibly shaken from
the altercation with her parents. He wanted to pull her into his arms and let
her know that everything was okay. “Jasmine is your only daughter and
sister—you guys just pushed her away with your hatred. Take pride that you
raised this young beautiful, intelligent woman. As her parents, you should want
her to find a man who makes her happy.”

“Let me guess…that’s supposed to be you?” Reginald
said with sarcasm.

“Everything I do from this moment forward I do it
for Jazz and our daughter…I love her.”

“Question.” Benjamin eyed his former friend. “Do you
plan to make her an honest woman?”

“That’s all we needed to know,” Dena shook her
head. “If you are not going to do right by our daughter, let her go…we
understand she is grown but she deserves to have a man who loves her and want to
place a ring on her finger.”

The unwanted guests left him standing there with
their words etched in his head. Going to check on Jasmine and baby, he stood by
the crib watching his precious daughter sleeping peacefully with no idea of the
quarreling around her.

His ears perked up when he heard sobbing coming
from the bathroom. Opening the door, his heart dropped when he saw Jasmine
sitting on the rim of the tub crying her eyes out. Leaving the door ajar, he
kneeled down in front of her.

“Please don’t cry,” he said softly. He didn’t know
how long he knelt there on the cold hard tile floor before her sobs turn into
crying and then eventually turned into hiccups. Pushing her hair off her face,
he stared into the brown eyes.

“I’m such a mess,” she said, trying to move away
from him.

“You’re gorgeous,” he replied, allowing her to
move away from him. He took her seat on the rim of the tub and watched as she
finger combed her hair. Slowly her finger grazed the left side of her cheek
that held the imprint of her mother’s hand. “Jazzy, I would never come between
you and your folks.”

Jazzy twirled around and looked at him. “I don’t
want to talk about it, please.”

Standing up, Shane kissed her forehead. “I’ll make
your favorite for breakfast— waffles with butter pecan syrup, bacon and eggs.”

“Shane?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know that I like waffles with butter
pecan syrup?”

“I pay attention,” he replied, walking out the
room.

 Later that morning they sat on the patio
near the pool enjoying a leisurely breakfast together. He enjoyed the light
summer breeze with his two favorite girls, at that moment Shane felt
semi-complete as he looked over at Shay snuggled in her baby swing sucking on
her pacifier.

Every so often, Shane would steal glances at
Jazzy, he could see she was beyond heartbroken over the choice of words her
parents used toward her.

“While you were in the shower, I called Farrah and
Austin and asked them if they could babysit Shay.”

“For what?” Jasmine’s expression went tense, like
she didn’t want to be anywhere near him. When she looked up at him, Shane
noticed her eyes were still red from crying.

“I thought we could go out on a date.” When
Jasmine opened her mouth to protest, he lifted his hand up to silence her.
“Before you say ‘no,’ Farrah and Austin already said yes to babysitting this
little one.”

Jasmine frowned and picked over the stack of
waffles and bacon on her plate. “Mmmm…can I think about it?”

“Nope. Shay will be in great hands with Farrah and
Austin…plus those two need all the help when it comes to changing dirty
diapers.” Shane took a drink from his steamy cup of coffee.

“What does a date mean?” Jasmine threw him a
suspicious glare. “I mean we did skip first base and stuff sort of went to
third base.”

“Technically, it was more like a home run,” he
grinned like a Cheshire cat.

“Whatever…you know what I meant.” She smiled
around the straw as she drank her orange juice. “Answer the question, what is a
date?”

Shane chewed slowly on a piece of bacon. “Well,
sweetheart you know I’ve been dilly-dallying around lately and it’s ‘bout time
I get my act right…So I’m asking, Jasmine Bly St. Clair to allow me the honor
of courting you.”

A smiled tugged at the bottom of her lip. “Gosh
you sound so old fashioned right now.”

“I know what I want and how to get it.” Reaching
across the table he took her hand into his. “I want the chance to show you how
much I love you and want to make you happy.” He looked into her big brown orbs,
waiting for a definite answer.

“A date?” Jasmine repeated. It should have been an
easy answer. They lived together, had a daughter together, and ate breakfast,
lunch and dinner together not to mention the passion and fire between them.
“Okay, we can go out on a date.”

Shane smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. “You
really know how to keep a man waiting.”

Wiping her mouth, she stood up from the table and
pinched his cheeks. “I think I like when you’re sweating it out.”

“We’re going on a picnic to the lake to feed the
ducks.”

“Great, I’ll be ready in an hour.” She kissed him tenderly
before picking up Shay and walked into the house.

Shane continued to sit at the table, his posture
changed to a little more confident. He felt like he and Jazzy was headed in the
right direction.