When Hell Freezes Over (31 page)

“Just whose yacht is this, Keaton? It's like a house on water.”

Grinning, he said, “A couple of teammates bought it together. Now come on so I can give you the complete tour.”

After the tour, Meridan kicked off her shoes and lay lazily across the bed. The champagne relaxed her.

Keaton smiled and asked, “Tired?”

“Not really. I think this champagne is making me sleepy.”

Keaton climbed onto the bed next to her, pulling her closer. She buried her face against his warm neck and closed her eyes.

He softly said, “Meridan, we need to talk.”

Kissing his neck, she asked, “About what?”

“About us,” he answered as he played with her braids.

Keaton had finally found the courage to propose to her.

“What about us?”

“Meridan, I never thought I would find a woman that would fit me so well. I love you so much and I want to be with you…forever.”

Oh my God! He can't mean what I think he means.

He kissed her lips tenderly. “How much do you love me, Meridan?”

She nervously kissed him back. “I love you a lot, Keaton.”

“How much is a lot?”

Meridan's heart was full and she was speechless. She did love Keaton and wanted to be with him more than anything in the world, but she couldn't. She would never be able to give him the family she knew his heart desired. She now realized she had let things go too far. She should've told him about her condition a long time ago. She never expected Keaton to invest himself emotionally into their relationship, even though she already had. At this
point, she didn't know what to do. Trying not to panic, she said, “Keaton, you know I love you, but—”

Damn it, Keaton! Why are you complicating things?

Cutting her off, he ran his hand up her arm and asked, “But what?” He'd always loved the feel of her skin. “Meridan, I don't think you understand what I'm trying to say.”

He took her hands into his and caressed them. Tears streamed out of her eyes as she tried to form words but, once again, she was unsuccessful. She leaned forward and kissed him. Keaton welcomed Meridan's aggressiveness. Their kisses spoke for both of them as they became even more passionate. She unbuttoned his shirt as he slid her skirt over her hips. Kissing his chest she closed her eyes and inhaled his scent. She knew in her heart that he was on the verge of proposing to her, but she just couldn't let him. Making love to him was the only way she could distract him from saying anything else. The truth was she was afraid. In the morning, she would tell him their relationship could never be more than it was right now.

Keaton picked up on the fact that Meridan didn't want him to finish what he was trying to say, but why?

He thought to himself,
Meridan St. John, I will make you mine. It was obvious you didn't want to talk about us tonight, but you'll have to eventually. This ring in my pocket is for you and only you.

 

T
he next morning, Keaton found Meridan sitting out on deck sipping coffee. She seemed to be in deep thought. They didn't get much sleep the previous night from being entangled in each other's arms. They had run out of condoms near midnight, but that didn't stop them from continuing to show their affection for each other. That simple act tested all the faith Meridan had in him. She knew he would never put her at risk and she also knew there was no reason to worry about him getting her pregnant.

Kissing her cheek, he said, “Good morning, sweetheart.”

Looking up, she blushed. “Good morning.”

Joining her at the table, he asked, “Why are you up so early? I missed you.”

“I just couldn't sleep. I have a lot on my mind.”

Pouring a cup of coffee, he said, “I figured you did. Look, Meridan, I know I acted irresponsibly last night. I want you to know that I would never take a chance with your life because you mean too much to me. I don't have any diseases and I've never made love to
any
woman without protection until now.”

She looked at him. “I know you wouldn't put me at risk, Keaton, and I could've stopped you if I wanted to. I didn't want any barriers between us anymore.”

Reaching across the table, he held her hand. “Meridan, if I've gotten you pregnant, I'm here for you and my child because it was conceived out of love and that's what is important.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Keaton, and I appreciate you saying that.”

“You know, that's a nice thought. I wouldn't mind having a couple of kids
with you. I never really gave it much thought until now. Then again, it took me a while to find you, didn't it? I'm in love with you, Meridan.”

The sadness crept into their conversation the moment he mentioned having children. She stood and he came around to her side of the table and embraced her lovingly. He kissed her slowly.

She smiled and said, “That was nice.”

“I'm glad you like. Can I ask you something?”

She swallowed hard. “Sure.”

He continued to hold her in his arms. He sighed and said, “Did you understand anything that I was saying to you last night?”

She looked away and answered, “I think so.”

“What are you so afraid of?”

She looked up into his eyes. “You don't understand, Keaton. It's complicated.”

“It can't be that bad,” he added as he played in her hair.

Meridan was trying to find the courage to tell Keaton the truth about her inability to have children.

“Keaton, there are things out of my past that haunt me, even now. Things have happened to me that have left me incomplete and I've been trying to find the courage to explain everything to you but it's so hard,” she said as she visibly struggled with her words.

He caressed her back. “I'm sure whatever it is, I'll understand.”

At that point she started trembling uncontrollably in his arms. She was so afraid of losing him.

“Calm down, Meridan, it's okay. We don't have to talk about it any more today. I'm not letting you go and if you're trying to run me away, you're wasting your time because I'm not going anywhere. Do you understand me?”

She nodded in agreement because she knew she would eventually have to stop hiding the truth.

He leaned down and kissed her tenderly on the lips and asked, “Are you hungry?”

“After last night, I'm starving,” she answered as she tried to compose herself.

Teasing her, he said, “You were sort of wild, Miss St. John.”

She smiled at his effort to cheer her up.

At that moment they heard the phone ring.

He smiled. “Don't move.”

She looked around at the blue water surrounding the boat. “I won't.”

He laughed and disappeared downstairs. Seconds later he came back out. “That was your telephone ringing.”

He handed it to her and she answered, “Hello?”

“Yo cuz, this is Keyshaun. You don't have to worry about that punk ass Jacob anymore.”

Standing up, Meridan asked with worry in her voice, “Why? What did you do?”

“Let's just say me and Devon let him know that he doesn't mess with anyone in our family.”

“Keyshaun, did Daddy tell you what happened?”

“It doesn't matter. We just let Jacob know where we stand. Aight?”

“Keyshaun! Stay away from Jacob and you two keep your heads in your books. Do you hear me? You and Devon stay out of this.”

“I hear you, Meridan. I'll holler at you later. Love ya.”

Sighing, she said, “I love you, too. Just stay out of trouble. Okay?”

“Aight. Bye.”

Meridan hung up and rubbed her temples.

Keaton took the phone out of her hand and said, “I'm sorry, Meridan. Keyshaun told me what happened. I told them to stay away from him. I think they'll listen.”

“Those knuckleheads have an uncontrollable temper. They're too young to mess up their future over Jacob. Daddy was wrong for telling them my business.”

“They're family and they're trying to look out for you. No more than what I'm trying to do, Meridan.”

“This is getting out of hand. I don't want anyone getting hurt over this. I wish everyone would just forget about everything!”

He folded his arms and calmly said, “It's not that simple, Meridan. It's a man thing.”

“Well, it's ridiculous,” she said angrily. “Look, I'm going inside to take a shower.”

She stood and went back inside the yacht, clearly upset. Keaton smiled as he watched Meridan's hips sway as she disappeared into the yacht. Her fiery temper was another thing he loved about her.

He turned and looked out over the blue water, then mumbled, “Looks like hell has frozen over.”

 

A
couple of days later in Philly, Nichole made her daily stop at Meridan's house to check on things. She gathered the mail, then pulled into the garage. When she entered the house and sat her purse on the counter, she quickly filled a pitcher with water so she could water the plants. Making her way upstairs, she decided she would start at the top and work her way back down.

After watering the plants upstairs, she decided to check Meridan's messages for her. There were about twenty hang-up calls and a few calls from Meridan's coworkers.

After listening to the last message, she went into the family room to water the last of the plants and check the doors to the deck. When she returned to the kitchen, what she saw made her drop the pitcher and scream out in fear.

Keaton needed to conduct some interviews at his restaurant. He was reluctant to leave Meridan alone, but she assured him she would be fine. After a small verbal battle, Meridan won. Still dressed in her robe, she dropped his car keys in his hands and pushed him out the front door.

He smiled. “I can't believe I'm letting you kick me out of my own house.”

“Keaton, contrary to what you might believe, I don't need a babysitter. All I'm going to do is read, make a few calls, and snack out in front of the TV. Don't worry about me. Go handle your business.”

“Are you sure? I could get Momma to come over and keep you company.”

“I'm sure, but thanks.”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. He unconsciously started untying her robe.

Smacking his hand, she laughed and yelled, “Keaton Lapahie! You are so bad.”

Backing away, he put his hands in his pockets. “You can't hurt a man for trying.”

She folded her arms. “I guess not.”

Walking closer to her, he tilted her chin upward and said, “I won't be long and, remember, I do want to finish the conversation we had on the yacht. I know you're struggling with something serious and all we need to do is talk it through. Okay?”

She leaned in and kissed him lovingly on the lips. “I know, now go!”

He laughed and walked down the steps to his car. Before climbing inside, he said, “Lock the door and set the alarm.”

“Yes, dear.”

Meridan did as she was told before retiring into the kitchen to make herself a sandwich. As she prepared her sandwich, she thought this was a good opportunity to check in with her office. She was relieved to find out that everything was going smoothly in her absence and she was grateful. When she hung up, her cell phone immediately rang.

“Hello? Hello?” Meridan could hear the person breathing, but they wouldn't say anything. The caller ID was blank so she had no idea who was calling. “Hello!”

Still no answer, so she hung up. The telephone rang again and she yanked it up answering, “Hello!”

“Why are you yelling, Meridan?”

Solemnly, she said, “I'm sorry, Daddy. Someone just called here holding the phone. How are you?”

“Do you think it was Jacob or Sam?”

“Who knows, Daddy. How are you?”

“Oh, I'm doing well,” he answered. “I guess you know that Jacob had the nerve to call here last night.”

“What? What did he want?”

William angrily said, “We never got around to much talking. He asked where you were. I told him to stay away from you; then I hung up on him.”

“Daddy, you shouldn't have told Devon and Keyshaun what happened. I don't want them to get into any trouble. Keyshaun called and said they got into some type of altercation with Jacob. Please talk to them and I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell them anything else. You know what kind of tempers they have.”

Mr. St. John sighed. “I didn't directly tell them. I told your Aunt Sugar so she must have relayed the info back to them. I'll be more careful in the future. I'll call the boys and calm them down.”

“Thanks, Daddy.”

“No problem. How are Keaton and his family?”

“Everyone is fine but, Daddy, I think I need to get back to my office.”