AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jasmeka held her breath, hoping her sister would believe her. She didn’t want to get into talking about the arrangement she had made with Miguel. Back when she told Katrenda about her feelings for David, her sister had had a fit. It grew worse when Katrenda learned David rejected her. Afterward, her sister kept pushing her to leave her job and do catering fulltime. Jasmeka knew she could be successful at her dream even now with her current clients, but she wasn’t ready to make the move.
“Oh, well, anyway, there’s no way Laredo is going to take the hint.” Katrenda might be younger than Jasmeka by a year, but she had always stood in defense of Jasmeka because of her more forceful personality. “He’s not going to leave you alone until he thinks there’s somebody else.”
Jasmeka busied herself with pulling out a bowl of ambrosia from the fridge. “That or you get violent. Stay away from him, Tren.”
“You make me sound wild.”
Jasmeka cut her eyes at her sister.
“What?”
“Tren!”
Katrenda held her hands up. “All right. I was just going to threaten him, but I’ll wait until after he pays the rest of what he owes you.”
“If you threaten him, I’m going to fire you.”
“You wouldn’t!”
Jasmeka straightened and tucked a hand on her hip. She bit back a smile and kept a stern look on her face. The truth was, she had fired Katrenda twice before—both times because her sister didn’t know how to keep her lips together. This was why she was just an extra pair of hands when Jasmeka needed her.
“Fine. If you’re going to be like that, I won’t say a word.” Katrenda was never offended or truly mad at Jasmeka. Her sister went far beyond loyal, and she loved her for it.
“Thank you.”
“Until you beg me.”
“Tren.” Jasmeka snorted with laughter.
“Just sayin’.”
“I don’t know what to do with you. Take this outside, please. The sooner this party is over, the better.”
They worked the rest of the party, and to Jasmeka’s relief, Laredo kept his distance. He handed her a check for the balance of what he owed her, and she was able to get off her feet to drive home.
* * *
The shower felt good after a long day, and Jasmeka let the water run over her skin until it cooled. She scrubbed her aching muscles, rinsed, and hopped out to find a change of clothes.
Something rustled, and she glanced around to find a note sliding beneath the door. Her heartbeat kicked up a few notches as she strolled over to pick up the note.
Meet me down at the river near the hollow tree.
Don’t keep me waiting.
She rolled her eyes. Bossy much? She wondered how he knew about the hollow tree with all the running around he’d done since he arrived in town.
“Oh, yeah, he grew up here.” She shook her head at her forgetful mind. Maybe he didn’t know his brothers liked hanging out down there. Who didn’t, especially at night? With silver light from the moon, a peaceful song from the crickets, and warm weather with a slight breeze coming off the river, it was the perfect spot.
Jasmeka slipped into a sundress and flip-flops instead of her usual shorts and T-shirt. She puttered about the house, pretending to clean up some more. The truth was, she had taken care of everything earlier. They were all pretty good about considering her workload and straightening up after themselves.
The boys had gone out right after dinner, and Thiago shut himself in his study as he often did. When Aunt Rosa retired to her private room on the first floor, Jasmeka wiped her hands on a dishtowel, and took off the apron she’d been wearing. She poured herself a glass of ice tea and took it to the porch. Slipping her feet out of her flip-flops, she sat down on the swing and began to rock.
“Jas.”
She jumped and peered into the shadows. Two figures dislodged themselves from the darkness and walked toward her. She’d known they were waiting until no one was around and was glad her eagerness hadn’t driven her straight to the meeting spot.
“You scared me, Tony.” She rested a hand on her chest. “Don’t do that.”
