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The train ride to Bettina’s house went by quickly and I walked the several blocks from the station to her door, noticing a handful of cars parked in front of the house. Cedric’s Audi was not among them, so I breathed a small sigh of relief. I wasn’t quite ready to see him yet today. For all I knew, these cars could have also been visitors of the neighbors.
I knocked on the front door and waited for about three minutes before ringing the doorbell, which I wasn’t sure worked anyway. I seemed to hear people out back, but couldn’t tell if it was the neighbor’s yard or Bettina’s.
Just when I was about to turn away, the door opened. I was surprised to see Cedric’s brother Caleb open the door.
“Allison. My God,” he said, seemingly taken aback.
“Hi, Caleb.”
Caleb’s bright blue eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost and he briefly looked behind his own back and whispered, “What are you doing here?”
“I tried to call earlier, but there was no answer. I…uh…just got back from an extended leave and was hoping to talk to your mother and visit Callie. Is she home?”
“Yeah…um…” he said, looking behind his shoulders again briefly.
Caleb just stayed in front of me speechless.
What was going on?
Before I could think, I heard footsteps and a male voice come up from behind him and say, “Caleb, what the hell is taking so long? I’m fucking thirsty. Who’s at the door?”
I knew that voice anywhere.
Caleb closed his eyes defeated and moved out of the way.
Cedric stood frozen behind him and placed his hand over his heart upon seeing me.
The sight of him nearly knocked me down. Still standing in the doorway, I lifted my hand in a small wave and whispered, “Hi.”
Cedric looked at Caleb who continued to say nothing, then looked back at me and swallowed.
“Allison,” Cedric said so softly it was almost inaudible.
My heart skipped a beat at the sight of his handsome face, piercing eyes and the immediate recognition of his familiar scent. My body tingled in sudden awareness as if it found a connecting part that had been missing for five months.
I cleared my throat. “I am sorry for just showing up here. I…um…thought…I was just dropping in on Bettina. I had wanted to surprise Callie. I didn’t mean to startle you I—”
Cedric licked his lips and shook his head and interrupted me. “Don’t apologize…don’t ever apologize…God…It’s so good to see you,” he said as he continued to stare at me as his mouth turned slowly upward into a genuine smile that tugged at my heart.
But why were both of them just standing there and not inviting me in?
A few seconds later, I heard a female voice say, “Cedric, hon…where did you go?” and got my answer when an attractive Asian woman walked in the room.
CHAPTER 35
CEDRIC
“Ugh…I’m gonna be sick,” Denise said as the smell of the roasting pig wafted in the air. Denise was three months pregnant and the aroma of the meat was making her nauseous.
I was helping my mother rotate it as it sat on the stake over flames. This porker was going to taste damn good though, when the roasting was done and I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into it.
“I can’t believe you guys do this every year,” Stephanie laughed.
My mother smiled, salted the pig and said, “Twice a year, actually…Labor Day and Memorial Day weekends. You’ll see how good it tastes.”
“Well, this is definitely a first for me. Thank you for letting me experience it with you.” Stephanie smiled.
“You’re very welcome. Don’t thank me until you taste it.”
