MARRYING MR. RIGHT (The Brides of Hilton Head Island Book 3) (20 page)

              Kayla’s face contorted. “Ooouch! I think I’m in labor! Somebody call Richmond!”   

              “Call me for what?” Richmond asked, pushing through the front door of the bakery.

              A second later, Zeke and Braylon entered behind Richmond. Braylon shouted, “We’re here to crash the party.”

              “Do y’all need any help cleaning up?” Zeke kindly questioned.

              Kayla’s eyes squeezed tight. “Ahhh! Richmond, it hurts. Help!”

              “Are you in labor?” Richmond’s voice echoed.

              Kayla nodded her head over and over. “Yes. Yes.”

              Like a strong warrior, Richmond scooped Taylor up in his arms.
Gush.
Water splattered from Kayla’s entrance, saturating her dress. Taylor’s body tensed as she watched the scene unfold. Kayla squirmed. “Put me down! I feel the head coming! The head is coming!”

              Richmond lowered Kayla to the floor on her back, hiked her dress to her hips, and spread her legs. “Oh God. I see the head!”

              Scared out of her mind, Taylor snatched her cell from her purse and dialed 911.

              Ten minutes later, the paramedics arrived and hurried inside.

              Taylor, Sandella, Zeke, Braylon, and Willa stood outside of the bakery, eagerly awaiting the birth of Richmond and Kayla’s baby. Upon Kayla’s request, she’d wanted her mother-in-law, Leslie, to remain inside the bakery with her.

              While waiting outside for Kayla to give birth, a part of Taylor hoped she and Katherine would become close like Leslie and Kayla someday. Over the past couple weeks, Katherine had been really nice to her, making her feel there was indeed hope for the two of them.

              Thinking she needed to go buy a pregnancy test today, Taylor prayed Kayla was doing okay inside the bakery. “What’s taking them so—”

              Richmond burst from the front door with a huge smile on his face. “It’s a boy!”

              Taylor, Zeke, and the rest of the crew cheered.

Chapter Twenty-One

              B
ouncing the basketball in his hand inside the gym, Zeke longed to teach Jaheem and Evan a good lesson—although Zeke was older, he still could whip their little young behinds in basketball.

              Running down the court bouncing the basketball, Zeke juked past Jaheem, then Evan. Showing them who was boss, he shot the ball in the air. The ball plummeted through the net.

              In victory, Zeke punched the air. “Yes! You two can’t touch me!”

              Smiling handsomely, Jaheem fake coughed. “The only reason you scored was because I’m sick with a little something something.”

              Evan’s handsome little face smiled, melting Zeke’s heart. “Oh, I let you score. If I had some better shoes to play in, I would’ve beat you big time, mister.”

              Zeke’s gaze fell to Evan’s worn shoes. Torn and dirty, Evan needed some new shoes bad. “How about I take you to get some new shoes?”

              Evan’s brown eyes widened. “Mister, are you serious?”

              Zeke patted Evan’s back. “You should know by now that when I say something, I mean it. A real man always keeps his promises.”

              “What else does a real man do?” Jaheem queried.

              Zeke sat on the bleachers to tie his sneakers. Jaheem sat to his right, while Evan sat to his left. “Well, for starters, real men take care of their families. They also honor girls and treat them with the utmost respect. A real man puts God first, family second, and everything else thereafter.”

              “I want to be just like you when I grow up,” Jaheem said.

              Zeke’s heart warmed from the way Jaheem admired him. “Thanks for the compliment, Jaheem. But there’s nothing wrong with you being you. I see the good young man you are. I see your potential. It’s time for you to start seeing your own potential and believing in yourself.”

              Jaheem nodded. “I’m gon’ try to believe in myself.”

              “Don’t try. Just do.” Zeke touched Jaheem’s forehead with his index finger. “As long as you have your mind and you work hard, you can do anything in life you want to. The ability to think for yourself gives you power. Don’t let anyone put negativity in your mind. Believe in yourself, and be your own man.”

              Jaheem nodded. Leaning forward, he then looked over at Evan. “You gon’ tell him, or what?”

              Concerned, Zeke looked at Evan. “Tell me what?”

              “I told you to keep your big mouth shut, Jaheem.” Frowning, Evan huffed. “I got my progress report today, and…”

              “How did you do?” Zeke questioned.

              Evan reached into his pocket, retrieved a folded sheet of paper, and handed it to Zeke. “I did horrible.”

              Zeke unfolded the paper. As his eyes scrolled over Evan’s progress report, he knew he had to do something to help this poor kid out. “All Fs. Tell me, how does someone make all Fs?”

              “Because…” Evan’s words trailed off.

              “Because what?” In order to help Evan, Zeke had to get to the root of the kid’s problems.

              Jaheem told Zeke, “Because he can’t read.”

              Zeke’s heart dropped.
Whoa.
“Evan. Is it true you can’t read?”

              Eyes getting watery, Evan nodded. “Yes, mister. It’s true.”

              “How does a child get in the fifth grade and can’t read?” Zeke wondered, looking at Evan.

              Evan shrugged. “I don’t know.”

              Zeke draped his arm around Evan’s shoulder. “Well, you may not be able to read today, but it won’t always be that way. If it’s the last thing I do, I’m going to teach you how to read.”

              Jaheem smiled. “I told you he’d help you, big head!”

              “Yo mama got a big head!” Evan retorted.

              Jaheem came back with, “Well, at least I know my mama and she come visit me.”

              “Yeah, but she look like a walking stick. A freaking crackhead. My mama don’t have a car, so she can’t come visit me,” Evan stated. 

              Suddenly, both Jaheem and Evan laughed, but Zeke didn’t see a darn thing funny. They joked about each other’s mothers as if it didn’t bother them in the least bit.

              “Hey, ease up on the mama jokes,” Zeke warned.

              Clapping his hands, ignoring Zeke, Jaheem said, “Your mama so nasty, even the roaches won’t eat at her house.”

              Evan cracked up laughing. “Oh yeah? Your mama so nasty, when she open her legs, she smell like fish sticks!”

              Oh, no Evan didn’t.
Laughter eased from Zeke’s lips. He put his hands over both of their mouths. “No more jokes. Now let’s go shopping.”              

WHILE AT THE
shopping mall, Zeke bought Evan a pair of brand new white Jordans and Jaheem a pair of red ones. He also bought them two hoodies apiece, two shirts with collars, which they didn’t want, and a pair of jeans each.

              “Thank you, mister,” Evan said, licking his vanilla ice cream cone.

              Walking along the sidewalk at the outlet mall, Zeke patted Evans’s shoulder. “You’re welcome. If you bring your grades up, I promise to bring you back here again and take you on a bigger shopping spree.”

              Evan’s brown eyes rounded with amazement. “A shopping spree bigger than this one?! I’m gon’ try so hard to learn how to read. I’m gon’ study all day and night. I think all I need is for someone to take time with me.”

              “Well, like I said earlier today, I’m going to teach you how to read. I promise.” Zeke looked forward to tutoring Evan.

              Jaheem spooned butter pecan ice cream into his mouth and swallowed. “My teacher, Mrs. Lane, says no one should pay you to make good grades. She said you should do it because you want to.”

              Zeke thought before he responded to Jaheem’s teacher’s statement. “Your teacher is right, Jaheem; however, there’s nothing wrong with being rewarded from time to time for doing something good. You and Evan have had very hard lives and deserve to be treated well for your hard efforts.”

              Evan shook his head. “You’re right about that, mister. I’ve had a real hard life. My mother used to beat the skin off me.” Evan pulled up his shirt, exposing his side. “Look what she did to me.”

              Zeke’s heart clenched when he saw the long permanent scar on Evan’s side torso. “What happened to make your mother do something like that to you?”

              Holding the end of the ice cream cone, melted ice cream dripped down Evan’s small hand. “She just hated me because I was born, I guess. My mother is mean. She treated my brothers and sisters better than me, if you ask me. All I had to do was look at her, and she’d beat my butt.”
             

             
Upset, Zeke wondered what kind of person would beat a child to that degree. “Your mother should be ashamed for how she treated you.”

              Evan licked his ice cream cone. “Tell me about it, mister.”

              “How about we go to the park and play a round of football before I take you back to the shelter?” The boy’s cheers resounded in the air. “Let’s go—” Zeke’s cell rung, and he fished it from his pocket. “Hello?”

              “Hello, Zeke. This is Don. I have something I need to share with you. As soon as you get a moment, I need for you and Taylor to swing by my office.” A sens
e
of urgency was in Don’s voice.

              Zeke’s heart pounded inside his chest. “I’m all the way across town right now. How late will you be in your office today?”

              “What I have to tell you is important, so I’ll stay until you get here,” Don offered.

              “We’ll be there around five,” Zeke confirmed.

              “I’ll be waiting.” Don hung up, leaving Zeke wondering if he’d found his son Zavier.

              As promised, Zeke took the boys to the park, and the three of them played football. The entire time they were there, Zeke had problems focusing.

              On the widespread grass at the park by the ocean, Zeke gripped the end of the football and threw it in the air. Running sideways, Evan leapt up in the air and caught it. Evan had natural athletic ability, and so did Jaheem. Shoot, if someone invested enough time in these boys, there was no telling what they could do.

              Zeke felt he had to be the one to invest time in these two boys, who had become a regular part of his life. More than that, Jaheem and Evan had become a major part of Zeke’s heart. For the rest of the day, the boys and Zeke played football, then he later took them to the shelter and dropped them off.

RIGHT AT FIVE PM,
Zeke steered his Porsche SUV into the parking lot of Don’s office and parked. Pulling his key from the ignition, Zeke glanced over at Taylor. Her eyes met his; his wife looked distraught.

              Zeke reached over the console and cupped Taylor’s hand. “Regardless of what Don tells us, I’ll be here for you.”

              Strain shone on her face. “I’m so nervous, Zeke.”

              “I know. I can look at your face and tell.” Zeke grazed Taylor’s cheeks to find them rather warm.

              “You feel hot.” He placed the back of his hand to her forehead. “You’re burning up, Taylor.”

              “I know. I haven’t felt like myself in a very long time. I thought I might be pregnant, but as you know, unfortunately, I’m not. If this continues, I’m going to see a doctor.”

              “Let me know when you make your appointment, and I’ll come with you.” Taylor gave her head a slight nod. More than concerned about his wife’s constant illness, Zeke pushed open the SUV’s door, then walked around to get the door for his loving wife. He pulled the door open for her, and Taylor stepped out onto the pavement. “Oh, by the way, the contractor called, and they started putting the stucco up for our home today.” Taylor stepped to the side, and he shut the door.

              Her eyes smiled. “Now, that’s some very good news. I can’t wait to see what it looks like.”

              “I can’t wait ‘til it’s finished being built so we can move into it.”

              Zeke and Taylor emerged inside Don’s office to find him sitting behind his desk, writing on a yellow legal pad. When Zeke cleared his throat, Don lifted his eyes. He then stood to greet them and shook their hands.

              “Have a seat,” Don gestured to the chairs in front of his desk.

              Zeke and Taylor sat. Waiting on Don to explain why he’d called an urgent last-minute meeting, worry chewed away at Zeke’s insides. Determined not to let Taylor see him bothered, he pushed back his shoulders and made sure he sat upright in his chair. Regardless of what Don told them, he would remain strong for his wife.

              Don steepled his hands together. “Thank you for dropping everything to come here this evening.”

              “You’re welcome,” they said in unison.

              “I called you here because I have some good news and some bad news to share with you. Which one do you want first?” Don asked, looking over the rim of his black square glasses.

              “I want to hear the good news first,” Taylor said, and Zeke agreed.

              Don continued. “I was able to get a hold of all the evidence inside your kidnapper’s house where you were held hostage. Inside the bag was a peculiar looking key. Come to find out, the mysterious key belonged to a locker at the train station in Walterboro. I drove to Walterboro to see if the key still worked in the locker, and it did. There was cash inside the locker, and passports for Mildred and Kelvin.” Don turned his computer toward Zeke and Taylor. On the screen was a picture of Taylor that she’d taken when she was a little girl. Don stated, “This picture of you was inside the locker at the train station, too.”

              “I took that picture in the eighth grade,” Taylor confirmed.

              “Where is all this leading, Don?” Zeke wondered.

              “Mildred and Kelvin had a photo of Taylor in their locker. This confirms that Taylor’s kidnapping wasn’t random. Taylor didn’t just happen to be a few weeks pregnant, walking along the train tracks, and then some mysterious man just jumps out of the woods and grabs her. No.” Don’s eyes traveled to the computer screen. “Someone gave Kelvin this picture. The money in Mildred and Kelvin’s bank accounts, and the money at the train station…added up to half a million dollars.”

              “Half a million dollars?!” Zeke shouted.

              “Yes, half a million dollars,” Don reiterated. “Both Mildred and Kelvin were unemployed and disabled. The sudden large deposit to their bank accounts happened the day after Taylor vanished from Hilton Head. Someone hired Mildred and Kelvin to kidnap you, Taylor. And that someone knew you were pregnant. Whoever paid to have you abducted either didn’t want you to have the baby, or they wanted the baby for themselves. Now the questions are…who wanted your baby, and why?”