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  Zach ignored Dex’s inquiry. There was no way he’d ever tell Dex or anyone else that he’d fallen hard for his sister’s lover. He’d had a difficult enough time admitting it to himself. Things like that weren’t supposed to happen. It was a cardinal rule. You were never to fool around with a broad who had smashed a family member or a friend. That was the law in the hood. White folks did that stupid shit all the time, but black folks didn’t get down like that.

  “Who is she?” Dex asked again, with a little impatience in his voice.

  “I didn’t meet anybody. I’m just tired, and it feels like I may be coming down with something.” Zach removed his cell phone from his carry-on bag and smiled mischievously. “Ain’t nothing wrong with me that a buck-wild ride in the sack with Ayla can’t cure.”

  * * *

  “Wow! Somebody missed me,” Ayla purred naughtily as she straddled Zach. Then she collapsed on top of him and rested on him.

  Zach had not missed her at all. He missed Jill now, and he had thought of her every minute he had fucked Ayla’s brains out. All his energetic, expert moves had been inspired by his secret Jamaican sweetheart. Zach had done to Ayla what he wished he could do to Jill. The good loving he had just put on her was compliments of Jillian Bessette. He almost cracked up when he thought about sending Ayla a bill for services rendered on Jill’s behalf.

  Zach rolled onto his right side, lowering Ayla to the bed so that she faced him. He could feel her gaze on him even in the thick darkness. Zach closed his eyes, as he had no desire to talk or cuddle. He wanted to fall into a deep sleep so his mind could whisk him away to the fantasyland reserved for him and Jill.

  “How was Jamaica?” Ayla asked.

  “Fun and relaxing,” Zach replied softly.

  “What did you do over there?”

  “I got plenty of much-needed rest, ate delicious Caribbean cuisine, swam in the ocean, and toured the island.”

  “Mmm,” Ayla hummed. “Next time, you’ll have to take me with you.”

  That will never happen, Zach thought. One thing he’d learned as a young, handsome, smart teenager was never to take sand to the beach. And in Jamaica there was an abundance of sand. There were stunning native women and lots of pretty female tourists roaming about the tropical island, looking for a good time. Zach had had every intention of giving a select few of those sistas a hell of a good time during his ten-day vacation. But the moment he had laid eyes on Jill, he had become spellbound by her passionate presence, and his plans to chase and conquer had crashed.

  Anyway, Ayla had some nerve to suggest they take a trip together anywhere. Their fourteen-month friendship, or bed-buddy situation, or however she chose to classify it, was strictly no strings attached. Sure, they had made the occasional public appearance together, and their respective sets of friends, family members, and coworkers knew they were linked in some way, but not once had Zach ever indicated that they were exclusive, an item. Ayla knew damn well he wasn’t ready to settle down with her or any other chick. She and Zach had met at the disastrous ending of his two-year relationship with Tara, his ex. Tara had called it quits when she finally realized marriage was not a part of his agenda for the near future. Zach had cared deeply for Tara, and she could have easily become his wife if she’d been willing to hang around for another five to seven years. She hadn’t been.

  Ayla had entered the scene right after that and had eased her way into Zach’s life and his bed as merely a rebound. The cute and well-stacked neonatal resident had drawn lots of attention from male medical professionals all around Grady Hospital. None of them had made her juices flow. When the five-foot-six redbone with curly sandy-brown hair and doe-shaped eyes had met the handsome male nurse who could hold a premature infant in the palm of his hand, she’d been done. You could’ve stuck a fork into Ayla Fitzpatrick, the lovely resident, and served her on a plate. Inside his Plymouth Prowler at the end of their first date, she had nearly sucked Zach’s brains down through Mr. Wonderful, his dick. She had proceeded to mount him, wearing crotchless, leopard-print Wicked Temptations panties. The sista had had every intention of riding him like a rodeo queen until the cows came home. It had taken lightning speed, Herculean strength, and magician’s hands—all motivated by the fear of an unwanted pregnancy or worse—for Zach to protect himself. He’d thanked his lucky stars for the single condom he’d conveniently stashed in his glove compartment. That night in the parking lot of Ayla’s gated town-house community had sealed the deal on what was now their fourteen-month liaison and all the perks that came along with it.

  Zach enjoyed Ayla’s company, and the sex was bananas! She was a decent cook, for the most part, as long you didn’t request anything fancy. And her hectic work hours made it less complicated for Zach to do his thing whenever he felt like it, with whomever he chose to do it. Although Ayla was high maintenance, she had her own money and resources. Basically, Zach was content with their arrangement and didn’t see the need to change a damn thing. Ayla knew their situation was casual, and she seemed okay with it. Most important of all, they’d agreed at the very beginning of their association that marriage would not be the end result, and Zach reminded Ayla of that at least once a month.

  Chapter Seven

  “Uncle Z! Uncle Z! Uncle Z!” Nahima shouted and ran toward Zach with outstretched arms. “I missed you!”

  Zach scooped her up and spun her around, and like always, she laughed and squealed. “I missed you too, pumpkin. Who is Uncle Z’s favorite girl?”

  “I am!”

  “Who has the key to Uncle Z’s heart?”

  “I do, and it’s right here,” Nahima said, reaching for the key-shaped diamond pendant Zach had given her when she turned a year old. She held it up and smiled.

  Zach fingered it with care and gently nuzzled Nahima’s neck with his nose. She wiggled and laughed. Then he pulled one of her thick, long pigtails, and she laughed even more.

  Venus stood in the middle of Zach’s spacious den, holding her daughter’s pink overnight bag, and watched them with a smile on her face. The love they had for each other was special, and it ran deep. Venus was grateful to Zach for playing such a huge role in Nahima’s life. He had been the only father figure in her little world until Charles came along, and even with Charles’s involvement, Uncle Z was still her main guy.

  Zach lowered Nahima to the floor. “You should go check out your room, pumpkin. There are lots of surprises on your bed. Uncle Z bought you some souvenirs from Jamaica, and you have a new friend from Heritage World who’s been crying to meet you.”

  “Did you buy me Imani or Timia?” Nahima’s smile and wide, curious eyes made Zach’s heart do a flip. He loved her like she was his very own.

  “Go and see for yourself,” he said and swatted her playfully on the bottom.

  Nahima tore off down the hallway, toward her The Princess and the Frog-inspired bedroom, leaving Zach and Venus alone. He motioned for Venus to sit with him on the brown Italian- leather sofa. Their relationship could have been awkward and forced, but it wasn’t. Whatever had gone down between Venus and Jay had not involved Zach whatsoever. It hadn’t been until Nahima was born that he rowed into the flow, and he’d had every right to do so. Since then, he had committed his life to the little girl, with no intentions of ever turning back.

  “How are you, Venus?” he asked as they both took a seat.

  “I’m well. How are you?”

  “I have no complaints.”

  “How is Jay?” she asked.

  “My sister is fine. I enjoyed my visit with her. The resort she manages is off the chart!”

  Venus touched Zach’s thigh and searched his eyes. “Did she even ask about Nahima?”

  This was a sensitive subject for all who were involved. It had been that way since the day Nahima entered the world. It was all Jay’s fault, and Zach would forever hold her responsible for the mess she’d made and left behind.

  “Um . . . no, she didn’t. I showed her some new pictures and gave her the f
ramed one you sent for her desk. She placed it in a drawer and kept right on doing whatever she was doing. That’s Jay, Venus. You know her better than anyone. You can’t share four years of your life with someone and not learn who they really are.”

  “Did you tell her about Charles and me? Does she know we’re getting married?”

  “I couldn’t come up with one reason why she needed to know,” he replied. “It’s been four years, Venus. You don’t owe Jay anything. I appreciate you trying to keep her in the loop, but the truth is my sister isn’t interested whatsoever. She’s still bitter, although she’ll never admit it.”

  “I did love her, Zach. I want you to know that. I never meant to break her heart. I hope Jay will forgive me someday and find happiness. There’s a woman out there somewhere who will love her the way she wants to be loved, and who’s willing to live by her rules.”

  Zach wanted to tell Venus about Jay and Jill. But for what? he asked himself. Their lopsided relationship wasn’t worth mentioning. It was one hot mess, as far as Zach was concerned. Jay couldn’t be faithful to Jill if her life depended on it. Six months from now, he wouldn’t be surprised if he got a call from his sister about her new woman. That thought bothered Zach, because such a development would crush Jill. She had given up everything to be with Jay and would be left with nothing in the end.

  An excited Nahima came bouncing into the room with the latest addition to her Heritage World doll collection. “Mommy, look at my brand-new baby doll! Uncle Z bought me Timia! Isn’t she pretty?” Zach had bought her very first doll for her second birthday. Since then, he’d given Nahima a grand total of eleven of the thirty expensive brown dolls created especially for little girls of color.

  Venus removed the doll from Nahima’s hands and examined her closely. “She sure is pretty, sweetie. What should you say to your uncle?”

  Nahima hopped on Zach’s lap and threw her short arms around his neck. “Thank you, Uncle Z, for my new baby doll! I love you so much.” She placed a tender kiss on his face. Then she filled her cheeks with air and blew it out all over the right side of his face. “That’s a bubble kiss! Did you like it, Uncle Z?”

  Zach smiled and pinched Nahima’s cute nose, which bore a striking resemblance to his own. He gave her two bubble kisses, one on each cheek, and she chuckled and screamed.

  “I loved your bubble kiss. Did you like both of mine?” he said.

  “Yeah!” she shrieked. “Do it again.”

  * * *

  A few mornings later, an early telephone call yanked Zach from a peaceful slumber. His hand roamed across the nightstand, as his eyes were closed against the rising sun, until he found the receiver. He snatched it up quickly, hoping he wouldn’t wake Nahima, who was lying next to him upside down.

  “Hello,” Zach whispered into the mouthpiece.

  “Good morning, Zachary! How are you?”

  He sat straight up in bed at the sound of Jill’s angelic voice. Nahima did a flip onto her back and kicked Zach in his lower abdomen, just inches away from his jewels.

  “Whoa!” he drawled and pushed the tiny wayward foot over. “Jill, is that you?”

  “It is me. Did I call at a bad time? If you are busy, I could call you later, ya know?”

  “I’m not busy. I was sleeping, and my bedfellow is a wild one.”

  “Oh . . .”

  “It’s Nahima, Jill. She’s here with me for the next few days, before I return to work. I tucked her in her bed last night and stayed in her room until she dozed off. When she got up and came in here is a mystery.”

  “Did I wake her too?”

  “No, she’s still asleep. It’ll take a tornado to wake this one.”

  “I miss you, Zachary. Things haven’t been the same since you left. I’m lonely. Jay has been in Ocho Rios for the past two days, but she may return home tonight. I wanted to go to Kingston to spend some time with my family while she’s away, but . . .”

  “But Jay said you couldn’t. She doesn’t want you to go there alone.”

  “She’s going to take me to Kingston for a visit one day next week. She promised, Zachary. I spoke with my mommy and brothers on the phone last evening. They are all fine. Oliver has his glasses, and he’s doing much better in school. Edgar and Paul are playing football . . . I mean soccer. Christian is keeping Mommy very busy at home. Angelina has two new teeth, and Papa will come home from the ship in three weeks. What have you been doing since you returned home, Zachary?”

  Zach wanted to tell Jill he’d been thinking about her every waking moment of the day, but he knew that was inappropriate. Instead, he told her all about the activities he and Nahima had been enjoying on the final days of his twenty-one-day leave from work. Jill was in awe when Zach recapped their visit to the Georgia Aquarium and the day they’d spent at Six Flags, riding every ride possible. When he mentioned their afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese’s the day before, Jill asked a million questions. She wanted details, and Zach obliged her.

  “You and Nahima have been having lots of fun. She’s a lucky little girl to have a godfather like you, Zachary. I hope to meet her someday. Please give her a kiss for me.”

  “I’ll do that. Take care of yourself, Jill, and tell Jay I said hello.”

  Chapter Eight

  Zach held Nahima’s hand and strolled composedly down the center aisle of Refuge Pentecostal Temple, his lifelong house of worship. Jackie Dudley Brown, his devoted maternal aunt who had single-handedly raised him and Jay after death and incarceration robbed them of their parents, spotted them right away. She smiled brightly from her front-row seat in the soprano section of the choir stand. They waved and smiled back. Zach’s relationship with the Lord was nowhere near what it should be, but he did attend church regularly. It had been a weekly tradition when he was growing up, and he had continued it as an adult. He had sung in the youth choir and had served on the junior usher board right up until he left for college, and so had Jay. Their father, Reverend Wallace F. King, had been the pastor at Refuge Pentecostal Temple back then. He probably still would be today if it hadn’t been for that unforgettable tragic day one week after Zach’s seventh birthday.

  “Let the church say amen!” Reverend Broadus shouted. “Clap your hands if you love the Lord this morning! At this time, we’ll be blessed with a selection from the choir. Say amen, church!”

  Zach guided Nahima to their seats on a pew close to the front, on the right side of the aisle, just as the musicians ripped into an upbeat song. The little princess flopped down with her new baby doll and pink patent-leather purse in tow. Zach stayed on his feet and started clapping his hands and swaying to the dynamic music along with many other worshippers. The small band, made up of an organist, keyboard player, drummer, bass guitarist, and saxophone player, was jamming.

  Aunt Jackie grabbed the microphone and belted out the first line of her solo. “I’ve got a reason to praise the Lord!” Folks instantly started dancing, jumping, and shouting all over the sanctuary.

  The choir answered in perfect three-part harmony to each one of Aunt Jackie’s leading lyrics. She had an amazing, soul-stirring voice, one that brought the house down Sunday after Sunday at Refuge Pentecostal Temple. Zach’s face beamed with pride as he continued to clap and rock his body to the rhythm of the music. Aunt Jackie was singing her heart out to God, strutting back and forth across the pulpit. The saints were having a hallelujah good time. The V-shaped collar on Aunt Jackie’s red-and-black choir robe had turned completely around, but she kept making a joyful noise, like it might be her last time. The audience danced and shouted to the musician’s lively instrumental composition long after the choir had sat down.

  * * *

  “You don’t have to serve me, Auntie. I can fix my own plate and Nahima’s too. Sit down. I got this.”

  Zach pulled out the chair at the head of the dining-room table. Aunt Jackie smoothed the lower part of her bright yellow muumuu against her thick thighs and eased her plump body down. She and Nahima watched Zach fix three
plates of fried chicken, collard greens, corn-bread muffins, and potato salad. The overflowing plate with two breasts belonged to him. Nahima quickly pulled the one with a drumstick and no potato salad onto her place mat. Aunt Jackie loved chicken wings, no matter how you cooked them, so Zach put two on her plate, with a double serving of greens.

  “I’ll get the tea from the refrigerator, and then we can eat,” Zach said. When he returned to the table, he poured the sweetened Southern liquid delight into each glass of ice. Aunt Jackie offered a short blessing, and then the threesome dug into the mouthwatering meal.

  “Jay called me yesterday,” Aunt Jackie announced, her mouth filled with food. “She wired me some money. I’ll go down to Western Union in the morning to get it. I don’t understand why she insists on sending me money every month.” Aunt Jackie pinned Zach in place with her eyes. “I don’t know why you do it either. I can make it on my disability and Julius’s pension.”

  “We love you, Auntie. You took us in at a time in your life when you should’ve been having fun, without a care in the world. But instead, you were strapped down with a toddler and a first grader at the age of twenty. You put your life on hold and missed out on so much because of Jay and me.”

  “I didn’t miss nothing but my sister. God rest her soul. I only did for you and Jay what Belva would’ve done for my children if I’d had some. Your mama would’ve taken my babies and raised them too if I had died and left them behind. You and your sister added meaning and purpose to my life.”

  “You always say that, but you could’ve had a different life if you hadn’t been stuck with us. I remember when you dropped out of nursing school and went to work at Cascade Convalescent Home. You would’ve made a great nurse, Auntie. Jay and I know you turned down Larry’s marriage proposal because of us. He loved you with all his heart, and he promised to adopt us and become our father. We heard him that night he gave you the ring.”

  “Ooh-wee! Y’all were some nosy, sneaky children!” Aunt Jackie snapped and threw a meatless chicken bone onto her plate. “I ought to beat your behind right now, Zachary King. I didn’t marry Larry, because he wanted children of his own and I didn’t. You and Jay needed all my attention, and if I’d had kids . . . I . . . I don’t know how it would’ve affected y’all.”