Forget Me Not (37 page)

“No, I really am this time. I’m not saying it to make you feel better. The surgery went well. I’ll have to do a lot of rehab, but I’m ready.” Gideon smiled to let her know he would be okay.

She helped him sit on the bed. Once he did, she removed his pants and his shoes. “What do you need for your knee?”

He stared at her.

“Does it need to be elevated? Do you need pain medication?”

He nodded. “Elevated would be great.”

Gideon positioned himself on one side of the bed and allowed Janelle to put pillows under his right knee.

“Good?” She looked at her handiwork.

He nodded. “Now come to bed.” She slipped under the covers and nestled next to him.

“Thank you.” She wrapped her arm around his waist and held him.

Gideon had more to thank her for than she thought. She complemented him in every way. He had to ensure that she would remain in his life forever.

Janelle woke up to find Gideon gone from the bed. How a man with
a
bum knee could manage to move around unnoticed baffled her. Had she truly been that out of it? The memories of her former business came flooding back into her head. She’d lost it all. In losing it all, she’d gained her man again.

She slipped out of bed and strolled to the bathroom. Before she could do anything else, she had to get the smoky smell from her hair and body. She started the shower, stripped
,
and ducked into it.

After the shower, she realized very quickly that she didn’t have any clean clothes with her. She’d left the scene of the crime to Gideon’s home. She opened a closet door and found it filled with Gideon’s clothes. He knew he would be living in this room for a while. She found an oversize sweatshirt and put it on. It came down to her knees like a dress, not even a
mini
dress. So that her feet wouldn’t get cold, she put on her sneakers.

She opened the door and tiptoed out into the open area.

“Come over here, darling.”

The sound of Queen Elizabeth’s voice startled her. She hadn’t expected to see the matriarch sitting like royalty in the living room while clutching a heart-shaped pillow to her chest. Janelle walked into the room and sat on the sofa that faced Elizabeth. She didn’t want to be in swinging range of her if the woman wanted to hit her.

“How are you feeling?” Janelle asked.

“Getting stronger each day. Coughing is hard.” She patted the pillow. “That’s why I have this.” She took a deep breath before she spoke. “Gideon told me about your store. I’m so, so sorry.”

Janelle mustered a smile and nodded. “Thank you. It’s the worst feeling in the world to see your dreams go up in smoke.”

Queen shook her head. “No, darling. The worst feeling is losing a loved one. You can rebuild.”

“I had a very special plant in there. I was going to enter it into the upcoming plant show.” She slipped her feet out of her shoes and curled her legs onto the couch.

“You will come back stronger than ever. I know that. In the meantime, I do have some questions for you.” Elizabeth coughed in the lightest way she could. When she settled down, she addressed Janelle again. “What did you hope to accomplish by doing your interview?”

Janelle had known she would be questioned about it. “I read all of these horrible things online about Gideon. I wanted to set the record straight. If it wasn’t for Penny giving me a great backup plan, people would still think he’d done all those bad things.” She found her voice to keep talking about Gideon. “Queen, I love your son. You may think I have a strange way of showing it, but I do love him. He understands me. I hope he knows that I truly understand him. I used to be the woman content to hide in the shadows.” She shook her head. “No more. Now I want nothing more than to shout to the world about how much I love him. Hopefully, he feels the same about me.”

“I do.”

Janelle turned and saw Gideon standing behind her. She stood and ran to him.

“Easy. Don’t tackle me.” He smiled.

“I would never hurt you. Not ever again.” She hugged him and gave him a long kiss. She only broke from him when she heard Queen clearing her throat.

“Dear, I think you forgot to put something on underneath your shirt.” Elizabeth pointed to her.

Janelle peered down and found that the back of her sweatshirt had risen above her backside. She brought her hands down and tugged on the garment. “Sorry.”

“No apologies necessary. I know you came here with the clothes on your back.”

“That’s why I want to make a few offers to you.” Gideon led Janelle back to the couch and sat her down. “I was talking to Mom about my duties at Pick ’N Clip. With the surgery and my rehabilitation, I won’t be able to be there as much as I want to help out. Until your store gets rebuilt, we would like to offer you a job as manager. What do you think?”

Janelle smiled. “I would love it. I already miss being around flowers.”

“Good. We already hired Penny. She’s there driving Victor crazy right now,” Queen said.

Janelle laughed. “She is an acquired taste.”

Gideon held Janelle’s hand. “I talked to Penny for a while this morning. She shared with me some disturbing news. Baby, why didn’t you tell me you were getting evicted?”

Janelle blinked. She would have to fire, rehire, and fire Penny again for breaching her trust. “I didn’t want you to know. It happened the morning after the whole police incident. The landlord saw me as a liability. I never want people to feel like they have to take care of me.”

“Hmm, sounds like someone else I know.” Queen nodded toward Gideon.

“Yes, Janelle and I have deep stubborn streaks.” He stared at Janelle. “That’s why Penny is going to your apartment right now to pack everything for you and ship it all here. You’re moving in with me.”

She started to open her mouth when Gideon cut her off.

“No objections. I can’t have the woman I love living on the streets.” He kissed the back of her hand. “Now you need to come with me so I can show you this last thing.” He rose to his feet with the help of his cane and led her to his greenhouse. “You remember when you were here and I showed you my greenhouse? At the time, you noticed something in the corner that I wouldn’t let you see.”

“I remember.”

He held her hand and led her to the corner. There sat a white rose bush that had something special about it. The roses all had a gradient black-to-white color scheme. Janelle reached out and touched the petals.

“I was going to enter it in the plant show. I was going to call it Janelle’s Rose after you.” Gideon put his hand to the back of her neck and rubbed his thumb across the base.

“They’re beautiful.” She put her nose into one open bud and took a deep sniff. “So sweet. How did you get them to be black at the bottom?”

“Black food coloring in the water.”

“Too bad it’s not organic. I wish something like this actually grew in nature.”

“If you think that’s weird, take a look in that center flower.” Gideon pointed to the biggest flower in the arrangement.

Janelle looked at it and noticed something shiny in the center. At first, she thought that extra water had landed on the plant. On closer inspection, she saw that her
assessment didn’t hold water either. She covered her mouth and took a couple of steps back.

Gideon reached into the flower and pulled out an exquisite engagement ring. “If I could get down on one knee, I would. Since I can’t, I’ll do the best I can.” He held her hand and stared into her eyes. “Janelle, you are the woman I need in my life. You’re strong, smart, beautiful, and have the same love of plants that I have. Make me the happiest man in the world by marrying me.”

Janelle’s constricted throat prevented her from speaking. She simply nodded.

Gideon slipped the ring on her finger. He framed her face and kissed her so passionately, Janelle felt her body trembling.

“Let’s tell Queen the great news.” Janelle took Gideon’s hand and pulled him back out to the living room.

“Easy. I can’t run. Not just yet.” Gideon laughed.

Queen had turned the TV on and left it on Gideon’s go-to station, ESPN. It seemed Dennis had called a press conference.

“Is that your teammate?” Janelle asked.

“Yeah. This ought to be good.” Gideon stood behind his mother as he watched the TV.

“The Wolves’ quarterback, Gideon Wells, had surgery on his ACL. I don’t know about the coaches and managers, but I can tell you”—Dennis paused before he continued speaking
—
“I will not play another game as a Virginia Beach Wolf without Gideon Wells.”

Gideon blinked at that news.

“Gideon is the heart and soul of this team. Even hurt, that man ran a play during the Super Bowl because I wasn’t there for him. I looked away at a moment when he had a chance to throw me the ball. He had to pick up my slack. He truly is the MVP.”

Gideon nodded. “I didn’t expect him to say that.”

Janelle put her hand to the side of Gideon’s face and kissed him.

“The stellar team of Gid the god and Dennis the Menace may still hold strong for Virginia Beach,” the sports analyst said.

“It was awfully nice of Dennis to say that, huh, Mom?”

Queen didn’t answer.

“Mom?” Gideon touched her shoulder and she slumped down. “Call nine-one-one!” He dropped his cane and hobbled over to his mother as best he could. “Mom, talk to me. Mom!”

Janelle found her cell phone and called for an ambulance. She couldn’t go from having the best day of her life to potentially losing her mentor.

* * * *

Gunnar paced in the waiting room at the hospital. Gideon knew his brother must have worn holes in the carpeting by now.

“Tell me again what happened.” Gunnar kept moving even as he spoke.

“She was fine. She was up talking to both of us. Janelle and I went to my greenhouse. When we came out, she wasn’t responding. It happened that fast.” Gideon almost felt guilty leaving her alone for even that short while.

Her doctor appeared in the room. He pulled Gideon, Gunnar, Janelle, and Eboni into a consultation room.

“What’s going on?” Gideon started in on the questioning first.

“It looks like your mother had a stroke. It’s not uncommon for heart patients, even after surgery. With her vitals all being so strong while she was here, we didn’t think she would have a stroke after being discharged. We’re going to hold her here until she stabilizes.”

“What can we do?” Janelle asked. She hated feeling helpless.

“Be here for her. Offer her love and support. If you’re religious, pray for her.” The doctor headed to the door.

“Is it that bad?” Eboni covered her mouth.

“It may not be. But she’s not young. She just had major surgery. It’s touch and go right now.”

“Thanks. Whatever you can do for her, do it. No matter the cost. Save her.” Gideon shook the doctor’s hand.

When he left the room, Gideon remained silent.

“She’ll be fine.” Eboni firmed up a smile even though tears streamed down her face. “She’s so strong.”

“Yes, she is.” Janelle held Eboni’s hand.

“And you know she wouldn’t miss two weddings.” Eboni held up Janelle’s hand. “Beautiful ring.”

Janelle looked back at Gideon. “From a great man who made me a better woman.” She held Gideon’s hands. “I love you.”

Gideon wrapped his arm around her. “I love you.”

With all the love in the room, it had to be enough to save Queen Elizabeth. Janelle’s love had certainly saved him.

Crystal Bright
graduated with a B.A. from Old Dominion University with a major in Creative Writing, a minor in Communications, and an emphasis on Public Relations. She earned her M.A. from Seton Hill University in Writing Popular Fiction. She is a member of Romance Writers of America. For more information about Crystal and her writing, please visit her website at www.CrystalBrightWriter.com. You can also find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/crystal.bright.397, or follow her on twitter: https://twitter.com/CrystalBBright.

Don’t miss the first book in Cyristal B. Bright’s Mama’s Boys series!

You can’t fight love…

There’s only one thing MMA fighter Gunnar Wells is more devoted to than his career, and that’s his mother, “Queen” Elizabeth. An elegant African American woman who adopted Gunnar and his two white brothers, Elizabeth was there when they needed her, and they’ll do anything for her. For Gunnar, that means running her hair salon when she suddenly falls ill. And if that’s not awkward enough for the champion fighter, he’ll have to work alongside Eboni Danielson, the other love of his life. The one he left behind to pursue his dream. The one he’s never forgotten…

Between the salon and her volunteer work, Eboni keeps busy to keep her mind off the man who broke her heart. So when Gunnar shows up again, she does her best to stay cool—on the outside. But the more she watches Gunnar step up and help out, the less she can deny her feelings. Soon Gunnar is doing everything he can to convince Eboni to give him a fighting chance. Can she trust him again—even when old secrets and new dangers come between them once more?