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Prologue
Spirit
Jackson, Mississippi
From the first moment I saw him, I was hooked. Granted, I was eight, and he was ten. Still, I knew I loved him. I remembered watching his two younger brothers run around their parents instead of helping them move. He seemed more serious and responsible as he carried boxes in and out of their ranch-style home. My stomach fluttered like hundreds of butterflies as I watched him and his family build a life next door. I looked out the bay window in the kitchen at the tall boy with the prettiest wavy dark hair. I imagine his hair would grow down his back if he were a girl. I stared so long that he must have sensed me and looked directly at me. He waved without a smile. I waved back, positively smitten.
“Snookie, stop staring at Jace Legend. That boy don’t care nothing about you.” My big sister, Trinity, said from behind me.
“How do you know his name already?” I continued to watch the family move in box after box.
“Because he stays in trouble at school.” The refrigerator closed behind me.
“He goes to Henderson?” Henderson was our neighborhood elementary school around the corner that she and I attended.
“Yep.” She joined me at the window. “I guess you wouldn’t know him since your class doesn’t eat lunch with the rest of us.” I was in the gifted program, and the ten of us ate lunch together in the library. I only knew my sister and whatever student we saw as we walked back and forth to school every day.
I started to smile and then caught myself as I commented, “I guess he’ll be walking with us to school.”
“Ugh. He likes to tease too much. And he’s nasty. Already in trouble for kissing and touching girls.”
“Did they want him to do that?” I asked, hoping she said they did. I’d hate to think that the cute boy next door was a bully to girls.
“Well, yes. I suppose. Those be the fast girls Mama told us about.” She moved away from the window. “Come on, you’ll make me late for cheer practice.”
I remained at the window, hoping to see him again. When he walked out of his house this time, he glanced toward me and smiled.
My heart skipped, and I returned his smile before Trinity yelled, and I finally left the window.
Chapter 1
Jace
33 years later
“I’m about to go into this meeting and work everything out once and for all. We have less than four months to get Embers off the ground, and I don’t have time for this shit,” I complained to my daughter, Jalisah, as I parallel parked my Hennessy Goliath Silverado truck behind a dark blue Tesla.
“Daddy, don’t go in there with your temper. Remember, your New Year's resolution is to work on your patience, and it’s her restaurant, too,” reasoned my twenty-one-year-old. “Maybe she’s still not too keen on this cannabis idea. We are in Houston, and she might be a church girl.”
“She has no choice. She needed money to remain open and said she welcomed all ideas. Well, this is the idea we’re going with. No ifs, and, or buts. I’m here. I’ll call you once I leave.”
I opened the door to the spacious, closed restaurant, past the white linen-covered tables, and strode toward the kitchen, where music blasted and a woman sang loudly. Her throaty voice appealed, though she probably only sang in the comfort of her home and, at best, at some karaoke bar. Still, her alluring voice singing Free by Deniece Williams drew me to her.
Long, thick braids flowed down over her ample ass as she rolled her hips seductively to the music while she organized the large pantry. Her hands were crossed at the wrists in the air like the sexiest genie I’d ever seen, showing me a glimpse of the gold waist beads around her brown skin, and I had yet to see her face. I glanced around the kitchen, which needed repair from the cracking ceiling to the old counters before my gaze settled back on the woman who’d yet to notice me. I started dancing to the music while I moved closer to her.
She made a spin move and screamed the moment I reached her. I placed my hands up apologetically, “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
She placed her hand over her heart. “You move like a panther. I swear I didn’t hear you.”
“Naw. You were enjoying your music. All good.” I grinned flirtatiously. She had the kind of natural pretty that only grew prettier as she aged to match her sexy body. My new business partner. Although I knew who she was, I announced with a smirk, “I’m looking for Spirit Kimble.”
The edges of her mouth curved down, and the joy she’d just emanated dissipated, replaced by indifference. “That’s me.”
I frowned, wondering about the shift in her mood, and held out my hand. “I’m the...
“Legend. Used to play for the Texans. Yes, I know.” She ignored my hand and walked out of the kitchen, pulling down her tight t-shirt that barely covered her ass, hugged in black leggings. “What are you doing here? The restaurant is closed on Mondays.”
I followed behind her, admiring her thickness and the sway of her hips. “I wanted to stop by and actually see the place since I’m your new silent partner.”
