“I have so much to tell you.So much to share that I’ve never told anyone before, but you make me want to believe that I really can be the woman I want to be.Have the life I want to create.”
His hands lightly squeezed her fingers in support, and she walked quickly, head down, unbothered by the cold as her mind raced as the words she needed to say churned over in her head—how could she make him understand?
Be honest.
She crossed the parking lot and saw the bellman at the top of the stairs, watching them approach, his hand on the golden handle.A man moved toward them.
“Hello, son.Have fun at the bachelor party?”
Ayana felt like she’d been splashed with cold water.She jerked to a stop and now it was her fingers that tightened on his in reassurance.He didn’t mean them physical harm.Whatever he wanted, she and Telford would handle this so that Cash didn’t have to right before his wedding.
So she had been right.He’d been stalking them from the shadows.So weak.
“Why are you here skulking around like a frontier villain in a spaghetti western movie?”She demanded.“You are an adult.Take responsibility.”
“You’ve been to the ranch.You’ve seen all I’ve been cut off from.”
“Ayana,” Telford said, his voice cool and steady.“Head up to the room.I’ll be there shortly.”
Tarek’s lip curled in a sneer—an expression she’d never seen on either Cash or Telford.
“I’ll stay with you,” she stated.
He was her husband.Hers to protect and support.Plus, now there was Petal and Bronte.
“Thank you.”He brought her hand to his lips and looked deep into her eyes.“But please, go to our room.It’s cold.And I don’t want this to touch you.I’ll be up soon and we’ll talk all about it.”
“Pussy-whipped you, son.”
She ignored the barb, her gaze searching Telford’s trying to see if she was missing anything.But he seemed calm.In control.And she didn’t want to undermine him privately or publicly.
She nodded and stepped around Tarek Telford, resisting—barely—kicking him in the back of his knee just so she could hope he’d stumble down the elegant stairs and land in a painful heap like he deserved.
“It must burn your ass to know that without your interference, both your sons grew up strong, successful, honest, and admirable.Men who are responsible.Men who are admired.”
She wanted to say more.But Telford had asked her to wait for him, and she owed him her loyalty.She walked into the hotel trying not to worry.Trying not to feel shut out.Hard to do when the custom-carved wood doors with historic restored stained glass swung shut behind her.
She made her way toward the staircase, mind whirling.Should she stay downstairs and wait for Telford?But if they came back into the lobby, it would look like she didn’t trust him to take care of his business.And Tarek was his father.Maybe he wanted to try to forge a relationship.He didn’t need to feel like she was judging him for that.
If the Family came back, would she want Telford to be by her side, or face them alone?
She shuddered just thinking about it and wanting to be alone in the privacy of the room so she could think about what Tarek’s appearance might mean, she turned toward the stairs.And in her struggle to give Telford what he wanted, combined with the thought of facing her past, she tripped over the rich, vibrantly patterned lobby carpet when two men and a woman rose up from a small grouping of chairs in the lobby.
Father Josiah.Pastor Jacob.Her mother.
“Greetings, Ayana.It’s been too long.”
She stared mutely at the triad—too stunned to move.Inside, she could hear herself screaming like the child she’d once been.Why were they here?How had they found her?
No.No.No.The word was a drumbeat.She’d been too lax.The social events this week.She’d been happy.Not as focused on keeping her anonymity because she’d felt safe.She was changing her name again.This time legally.
“It’s time to come home to your family, Ayana.Do your duty.Serve your husband and God.”
She felt the nachos she’d nibbled at Grey’s churn in her stomach, burn the back of her throat.Her vision tunneled, and her hearing was muffled.Blindly, she turned and fled through the lobby to the fancy restaurant and through the ballroom and out the side door into the small garden.She had her go-bag in her room in her work bag, and it was the one time she hadn’t brought it, but she had cash sewn into the small clutch purse she carried in case of emergencies.She could get away.Go dark.Hide.She didn’t have to bring another hell down on Telford.
*
“Why do youkeep hiding?”
