Broken: The sequel to THE PREACHER'S SON Page 15

  “How do we know your nephew’s wife wasn’t already pregnant and this wasn’t some sort of show?” Jennings asked.

  By now Reverend Ferguson was totally irritated. “Are you calling me a fraud, Deacon?” he said, his voice rising. “I don’t know if my niece is pregnant or not. She has not told us, but I do know this. I hadn’t told that man anything about my family. We received a blessing from God, and I will not let any of you discount it. Why not wait and see if the Lord will fulfill what she said?”

  “If she is pregnant, what does that prove?” Deacon Jennings remarked.

  “Are you going to be like the Pharisees when Jesus healed the man with the withered hand? You all had better be careful when you are scrutinizing the work of the Lord,” Reverend Ferguson warned.

  Several deacons grumbled in agreement, and then Jennings, seeing that the tide was changing, adjourned the meeting. For now Ferguson knew that he had won this round with the deacons.

  After the infamous dinner, Max did not see Matthew for several weeks. His visits to the gym became infrequent, and Eric told her that his mom had said Matthew was putting in long hours at the agency.

  Thanksgiving was quickly approaching, and a dispute arose as to where the dinner was going to happen. The Fergusons wanted to get together and have one huge dinner. The James family also wanted to have a dinner, and both families wanted Eric and Nadine along with the twins to be there.

  “What am I going to do?” Nadine asked Max. “I can’t please everybody.”

  “What does Eric say?” Max asked.

  “He’s copping out. He’s left it entirely up to me!” Nadine said, rolling her eyes.

  “We could always have our own dinner, and that way both families would be pissed off,” Max suggested.

  Nadine laughed. “We could, couldn’t we? However, if we did that, how would you get to see Matthew?”

  It was Max’s turn to roll her eyes. “I haven’t seen hide nor hair of him in weeks. I think he’s gone into hiding.”

  “Everyone wants to be with the babies for Thanksgiving. I don’t know what to do.” Nadine began folding clothes that she had just removed from the dryer.

  “I don’t mean to change the subject midstream, but we really do need to go and look at the house Jeremiah found for us. Our lease is up at the end of the year.”

  Nadine sat down on the sofa. “I know, so much to do, so little time.”

  Just then Nadine’s cell phone began to ring. She looked at it and then to Max. “It’s Eric’s mom.”

  She then answered it, and Max went to check on the girls. She found them playing with each other talking baby talk. She looked at her watch. Eric should be coming home soon and then Nadine could go to the shop.

  Both of them were really only working part-time because Eric was training as an electrician and Nadine was in cosmetology school. Max knew that she was carrying the heaviest load, but she didn’t mind. Besides, Eric’s parents and her parents were helping out. Everyone was doing a little something.

  Nadine came into the bedroom as Max was dressing to return to the gym.

  “Well, that was Rachel. It seems the Fergusons think they may have solved the problem. They have rented a hall for Thanksgiving, and they want everyone to bring something. Rachel has called my mom in hopes that the James’ side of the family will be willing to go in with them.”

  Max shook her head. “I don’t know. Sounds like trouble, especially since Eric found out that his Uncle Charles had a secret relationship with our Aunt Betty. What if they come? What about their children?”

  “Hell, it’s time to blow the roof of the sucka once and for all!” Nadine snapped. “Those hypocrites in Eric’s family are condemning us, but they were sneaking around doing the same thing. It’s time for them to come clean, and Aunt Betty too!”

  “So who’s going to call our family and tell them about this dinner?” Max asked, crossing her arms.

  “I’m going to do the bravest thing possible,” Nadine quipped. “I’ll let Dad handle that one.”

  Jesse showed up to the parole board for the hearing of James Rogers. He was surprised that there was no crowd, no television cameras. He guessed that everyone must have forgotten about what happened. He would never forget what that animal had done to his daughter.

  He came in and knew instantly something was amiss. The receptionist looked at him dumbfounded when he told her why he was there. He even showed her the letter that he had received.

  She ushered him into an empty conference room and had him wait. He wondered what was going on.

  Soon a gray haired gentleman came in and extended his hand.

  “Mr. James, I’m Ralph Cooper. I’m afraid there’s been a bit of a mix-up.”

  Jesse looked surprised. “What type of mix-up? The letter said specifically that I should come today if I wanted to speak to the board on Rogers getting his parole.”

  Mr. Cooper looked nervous. “Yes, I know. Unfortunately, the parole board changed the date of the hearing. You were supposed to have been notified.”

  Jesse shook his head. “I was not notified, Mr. Cooper. When is the hearing scheduled?”

  “I’m afraid that it’s already been done.” Mr. Cooper responded. “The board had the hearing on yesterday.”

  “Yesterday! What was the outcome?” Jesse said, standing.

  “I’m afraid that I cannot disclose that information at this time—”

  “You mean to tell me that my daughter who was raped at thirteen, who by the way is still trying to recover from the trauma of it all, did not deserve at least a phone call from you people letting her know what was going on?”

  “Sir, as I stated it was an oversight. We sincerely apologize.”

  Jesse could not believe what he was hearing. He did not even realize that he had raised his voice. “You people need to let me know now what the outcome of the hearing was. This was your screw up. I demand—”

  “Mr. James, you will lower your voice,” Mr. Cooper responded. “I understand you are upset, however, I will not hesitate to have you physically removed if you do not calm down.”

  “Man, how can I calm down? What am I supposed to do?” Jesse spat.

  “You can fill out this form, and we will notify you by mail of the board’s decision. That is all I can tell you.”

  Jesse felt like his head was going to explode. How could this have happened? He stared at the form and didn’t reply. Mr. Cooper stood there looking at him.

  “Mr. James, I will give you a few minutes to fill out the form, and then I’ll return.”

  Jesse looked at him. Cooper was about his age; his silver hair looked as if it had just been neatly trimmed. He was avoiding Jesse’s gaze.

  “Man, do you have a daughter?”

  “No,” Mr. Cooper replied, looking uncomfortable.

  “Well, just imagine that you did and some pervert snatches her, kidnaps her, and rapes her repeatedly. How would you feel? How would you feel when you see your baby changed forever, when she looks at you with blank eyes?”

  Mr. Cooper cleared his throat and looked as if he wanted to be anywhere else but in the room facing Jesse.

  “Look, Mr. James, I’m just the messenger. I will tell you off the record that I don’t know what the outcome will be. I think the board met today. Fill out the form, and you should get a letter within a week,” he explained.

  Jesse sat down and filled out the form. He didn’t know what he was going to tell Max if the board decided to grant Roger’s parole.

  CHAPTER 12

  She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. Proverbs 8:11

  Matthew took a deep breath and entered the gym. It had been two weeks since his visit to his grandmother and the dinner at Max’s, and his feelings for Maxine James hadn’t died down one bit. Perhaps Max would not be there. After all, he gathered that she rarely closed and he deliberately came at 8 p.m. knowing that the gym was going to close at 9:30. He glanced around an
d saw that only a couple of people were still there.

  Satisfied after not seeing Max, he walked confidently into the locker room. He had been working long hours at the agency trying to tire himself out so that he would fall asleep quickly when he got home. Business was pretty good, and his profits were increasing at a rapid pace. He’d opened a new office in Charleston, and it was doing well. He knew that he should be happy because he was surpassing his goals. He had money, more money than he’d ever dreamed of. He had his own home and car. He had everything he needed except someone to share it with. He pushed the thought from his mind.

  He had to admit to himself that he was not that happy. He thought about what Grandma Nellie had said about the Ferguson men.

  “If things aren’t right in the bedroom, then things aren’t right anywhere, and they get so cranky!”

  She had never spoken a clearer truth. He knew he was cranky and things weren’t right in the bedroom because the only person in his bed was himself. He had no desire to call any of his usual one-night stands to satisfy his urges because he knew that it was useless. Every night thoughts of Max filled his mind.

  He thought about dating, but he had to admit that there wasn’t anyone that he wanted to be with at the moment, and his old hookups were now downright unappealing. Why had he gone to Grandma Nellie’s in the first place? Everything she had spoken to him that night was being fulfilled, and her words were always on his mind. He knew that he had to come to terms with the fact that he was one of those Ferguson men who had fallen hard for a black woman.

  Y’all are not the type of men that can lie down at night beside a woman they don’t really want. It won’t work!”

  No, he didn’t want to lie down with just any woman. He wanted Max. He knew he had to make one last-ditch effort to get her out of his system. Hard work and exercise were the key, he thought. He knew that he had to get past the fact that he’d shot his mouth off and now he had to eat his words if he wanted to be with her. Still, his father was the one who had insisted that interracial relationships were taboo, although he’d gone along with it. Now his own father had done a complete about-face and loved his granddaughters.

  He came out of the locker room and onto the gym floor. He felt that he needed a good workout to exhaust his body and keep his libido in check. He’d never gone this long without a woman. It had been months! Damn you, Maxine James!

  He decided that he would travel the circuit of weight machines first and then get on the cross-trainer for thirty minutes. He put his iPod on and began to work out.

  Sweat was pouring off of him after he was done, and Matthew could feel the fatigue. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was almost nine. He decided that he could do fifteen minutes on the treadmill before heading to the locker room. He hoped that he would be so tired that when he got home he would just fall in the bed and go to sleep at least that was the plan.

  Matthew was drenched when he completed his run and ran the towel over his face as he tried to catch his breath. He had just had a great workout and knew that it had done the trick. He’d sleep like a baby tonight for sure.

  He looked around and realized that he was the only one left on the floor. He quickly removed his shirt, his shorts hanging low because he had lost weight. He hadn’t been eating like he should while working long hours. He put the towel on his head and was headed to the locker room.

  “Hello, Matt.”

  He turned around and saw that Max was standing right behind him. His eyes seemed to have a mind of their own as they roamed over her body, taking in every delicious inch of her. She had on her polo shirt with the gym’s logo and a pair of orange shorts that he thought looked good against her dark skin.

  “Hey, Max,” he replied, trying not to focus on the tight buds of her breasts that pressed against her form-fitting shirt and the orange shorts that emphasized her round, luscious bottom.

  “We’ll be closing in fifteen minutes,” Max said with a smile. She ran her eyes over him. His body was glistening with sweat. His shorts were too big and were hanging off of him. Unlike his brother, he did not have an abundance of chest hair, but there was a line of hair running from below his navel to the band of his shorts. The gym suddenly felt much warmer than normal as she perused his slim but muscular frame.

  She looked up and saw him watching her. She was immediately embarrassed and didn’t understand why she was obsessed with looking at him, but she couldn’t help herself. She had never perused men’s bodies until Matthew came along. She could hear Dr. Nelson’s voice in her head asking her if she looked at the men in the gym. Well, she hadn’t even considered doing something like that before Matthew; and now here she was staring at him like he was her last meal or something. She cleared her throat and tried to keep her focus on his face.

  He didn’t say anything about her ogling him, but stared at her a moment. “How have you been?” he asked finally.

  “I’m fine,” she said, smiling at him. Her heart hammered in her chest and she rubbed her sweaty hands down the side of her thighs.

  “You look good,” he said, his eyes following her movements. Max could feel the attraction between them drawing her closer. Nothing had changed even though it had been weeks since they’d seen each other.

  “You don’t look bad yourself,” she replied. “You look like you’ve lost weight.”

  Max didn’t know what came over her. It had been so long since she’d seen him and now he was standing in front of her shirtless and the sight of him was doing something to her, making her feel warm all over.

  There was a time the sight of an almost naked man would have filled her with fear. Now the feelings she was experiencing were totally different. She felt herself grow warmer still, like the time she had spied on Eric and Nadine.

  Without even thinking about it, she reached out absently and ran one finger down his hard chest to his navel, following the line of fine hair to the elastic band of his shorts. The sweat on his body glistened and seemed to beckon her to touch him. The smell of him seemed to intoxicate her and she couldn’t understand why, but she knew that she liked it and wasn’t ready to leave his presence just yet.

  Matt felt that finger glide over his body, and his long-neglected member immediately betrayed him and jumped to attention. What was she doing? He hadn’t been with anyone in a while, and seeing her hard nipples and perfectly round ass was driving him crazy. Now she was touching him, and he knew he couldn’t take much more. He quickly grabbed her hand in a firm grip.

  Max gasped at his actions, and he knew that she was embarrassed. “I’m so sorry, Matt! I don’t know what got into me.”

  He didn’t respond immediately but pulled her into his arms. Who was he fooling? He wanted her more than ever, damn her!

  “Matthew, I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” she babbled, but he ignored her and quickly covered her lips with his, silencing her.

  He heard her moan as he deepened the kiss. This woman was driving him crazy! He knew that he should stop because they were in the middle of the gym floor and she had to close up, but he found his hold tightening around her waist as his long-neglected body responded to her soft curves pressed against him. He inhaled a hint of strawberries and something else he couldn’t decipher mixing with her own unique scent.

  His hand found its way to her breast and squeezed it as his lips moved from hers to her neck. He felt her shiver as he licked her ear and savored her responses. He knew that he should stop, but he couldn’t help himself. She wasn’t pushing him away; she was accepting all he was doing to her, and it only made him want her all the more.

  “Matt!” she moaned.

  She suddenly pushed back from him, looking up at him her expression filled with desire mixed with fear. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair after releasing her.

  Matt backed up a bit, remembering what she’d been through. He didn’t know what he was going to do. She was looking at him like a scared virgin again, which reminded him of her limited experience and the trauma sh
e’d endured. He knew that he had to get out of there before he did something he’d regret.

  “I’d better go shower so that you can close up,” he said, getting himself together.

  She took a deep breath and looked at her watch. “Yeah, let me lock the door.”

  He watched her as she quickly locked the door and turned on the Closed sign.

  “If you want to take a shower, I’ll wait. Just let me know and come to the office,” she said, not meeting his eyes. He watched as she practically ran into her office and shut the door.

  Matthew walked back into the locker room, totally frustrated. He didn’t know what to do about this situation. He was glad that the gym was empty. He willed his body to behave as his member throbbed from neglect. Damn that woman!

  He hurried and took a quick shower. He then dressed and packed up his things and headed to her office. He had to get out of there before he lost control again. This was the craziest situation he’d ever been in. He’d never in his life dealt with a woman with no sexual experience, a virgin. He hadn’t wanted a virgin! He didn’t want the responsibility. He certainly didn’t want Maxine James and all her obvious issues. Then why was he constantly thinking about her? Why did the thought of bedding another woman no longer appealed to him?

  He pushed the thought from his head and walked back onto the floor. He made up his mind that he was going to clear the air between them once and for all.

  He found her putting some papers in a briefcase after he knocked on the door and walked in her office.

  “You ready?” he asked, not meeting her eyes.

  “Yeah,” she said. “Look, Matt. I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I shouldn’t have put my hands on you.”

  He stared at her as she nervously shifted her feet in front of him. Were they in high school, he wondered?