North Star (18 page)

“Enough!” Rick shouted, red-faced. “Get him into the car. And someone find my sister. Now!”

The officers escorted Keith out of the building. Rick touched Caresse’s shoulder. The look of deception was etched so deeply on her face that it halted him momentarily. He shook his head, then followed his men out of the building to take Keith and his accomplice to the station.

“He’s lying, Caresse!” Graham spoke in a low voice.

“I don’t think so, Graham.” She turned a hardened face toward him. “I have to change now. You should join your family inside.”

Chest tight, Graham watched as a stunned Caresse walked down the hallway alone.

Graham waited impatiently outside the dressing rooms backstage. When one of the dancers exited, he approached. “Is Ms. Aldana still in there?”

“Yes, but I’m afraid she isn’t feeling very well. She’s still in the restroom. I was going to get Mrs. Mason.”

“That’s all right. I’ll see if there’s anything she needs.”

Graham knocked on the door.

“Mama Mason?”

He heard the hope in Caresse’s voice. “No, Caresse, it’s me. Come out, so I can talk to you.”

“Why? I should have guessed by your shocked expression the other night when you learned I have children that that was the real you.”

“Wrong? I love children and always will. Rick’s sister, Infinity, was my fiancée a year ago. She never saw the point in us having children and convinced herself that I felt the same. I love children, Caresse. I can’t image my life without thinking about being a father one day.”

Caresse peered from behind the door.

Hope urged Graham on. “I’m telling the truth. The reason I broke off my engagement with Infinity had nothing to do with children. Although, she would like everyone to think that was the reason. The fact of the matter is she got jealous of my magazine and almost caused me to lose it by leaking issue concepts and interviews to our competitors. It was her deception that led me to fire many of my top people, only to discover she was behind the leaks all along.”

“So you’ve always known Rick?”

“Yes. The only reason I didn’t tell you was because I consider Infinity a part of my past, and I didn’t want her to color our time together. Do you forgive me?”

There was a pensive shimmer in her eyes as she stirred uneasily from the doorway. “I forgive you. As you can see, I have a part of my past I’ll be trying to forget about, too. I still don’t know how I’m going to explain Yvette’s accident and Keith’s arrest to my daughters.”

“Don’t worry about that tonight. Let’s try to enjoy the rest of the evening.”

Graham and Caresse spent most of the night dancing, talking, and flirting with each other, much to of the delight of his family and employees. They had never witnessed Graham so enraptured with anyone, and from the look in Caresse’s eyes, she was glad they approved.

Mr. Mason and his wife, Sadie, took the stage, beaming wildly. “We are happy to announce that we’ve raised seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”

Cheers ricocheted around the room, and Graham hugged Caresse tight to his side.

“Thank you all. In addition, we’d like to thank the volunteers who have put in over five hundred hours at this year’s fundraiser.”

More cheers.

Mr. Mason held up his hand, and the crowd silenced. “We owe it in part to the
Psyche
staff for promoting the center and the Mason Ball. Mr. Sheridan, could you step up here, please?”

After much prodding, Graham took the stage with Caresse by his side.

“I really can’t take any the credit for this,” he began. “I wouldn’t be up here if it wasn’t for a certain volunteer who inspired me to feature an article on the Mason Community Center.” He glanced at Caresse and grabbed her hand tight. “Ms. Aldana works closely with Yvette Mason to ensure the youth of our town have a place to develop their talents and reach their goals. And I think we should thank her for taking the time to give me and my
Psyche
team an in-depth view of the center. Without which we never could have captured the mission of the Mason Center.”

Graham kissed Caresse’s hand, then started clapping in her direction. The audience soon followed.

Caresse waved and blushed as Mr. and Mrs. Mason moved forward and gave her a warm hug.

“Thank you for making other Mason Ball a wonderful success,” Mr. Mason said, taking his place behind the podium. “This celebration is bittersweet for my wife and I since our daughter is still in the hospital, but I know her presence is here with us. Please honor her by keeping your commitment to the center. We can only continue to help the children if you do. Goodnight, and drive home safely.”

Just then, a projection screen lowered behind the Masons and the lights dimmed.

“Testing. Testing. Felicia, can they see me? Is Skype working?” Yvette asked, her face filling the screen. Caresse stared at her friend in awe. For all she’d been through, she looked wonderful. Her hair and makeup were perfectly done, while her best ruby necklace and earrings and red Marchesa dress enhanced Yvette’s coloring, making her appear as healthy as anyone in the room watching her.

“Hey, lower the camera a little so they can see my gown. I paid too much money for it not to get in the shot.” Yvette preened for the camera with much diva attitude.

“Oh, we’re on?” she questioned someone off camera. “Okay, hi everyone! There’s no way I was going to miss one of the best social events of the season. I want to say a few words before the doctors kick my camera crew and glam squad out because it’s after visiting hours.”

Yvette stroked her cat Cleo and continued. “I’m so thankful for all of the well wishes from community patrons and community leaders. The outpouring of love is overwhelming, and I can’t express how truly touched I am.” She took a tissue from a hand off-camera and dabbed the corners of her eyes.

“It’s times like this that a person realizes their purpose in life. I know that God’s hand is in the work I do at the Mason Center, and your donations tonight makes the pain of recovery much more bearable.”

A loud knock, heard off camera, made Yvette’s eyes dart toward her door.

“Okay, to wrap things up, I want each of you to stay in touch. You can reach me on Facebook between 7AM and 7PM and Twitter all the rest of the time, except when these doctors are poking and prodding me.”

“Ms. Mason, it’s against hospital policy to keep this door locked!” a male voice bellowed.

Yvette posed proudly at the camera before replying, “One moment, I’m getting decent. You don’t want to catch me in my unmentionables, do you?” She winked at the camera.

The crowd laughed.

“Don’t worry, I’ve seen worse,” the male voice returned.

Yvette frowned. “What the hell does that mean? I tell you, he has the worse bedside manner. Goodnight, everyone. Enjoy the Ball,” Yvette whispered as she tried to cover her ball gown with the hospital sheets.

Graham drove Caresse home and escorted her inside, where her Aunt Jacqui greeted them.

“So how was the Mason Ball?”

Caresse rushed into her aunt’s extended arms and beamed about the money raised this year. “It will mean more computers for the computer lab, and we’ll be able to get the pre-school program started this fall. Yvette will be so happy.”

“Yes, she will be Carè.” She hugged her niece warmly. “While you two danced the night away, I had quite a time with those grandnieces of mine.”

Giggles from the stairway caught Graham’s attention. “You don’t say?” he asked.

“They wanted to stay up to see if they could get a peek at the handsome Mr. Sheridan from
Psyche
magazine. Apparently Diane showed them who their mother was dating when we read the Mason Center articles, and they made up their minds they had to check you out.”

“I believe they’re doing that now?” Graham turned and pointed toward the stairs.

Caresse rose from the couch and peered into the dark staircase. “Come on down, you two. I guess you won’t go to bed until we get your introductions over with.”

Nyla and her little sister, Messina, crept slowly down the stairs.

“Are you mad, Mommy?” Nyla worried as she walked closer.

“No, but I don’t like that you gave Auntie Jacqui a hard time. Come here and meet Mr. Sheridan.”

Messina jumped to grab her mother’s hand as Nyla moved quietly to her side. “Graham, these beautiful girls are my daughters, Nyla, age nine, and Messina, age seven. Girls, this is Mr. Graham Sheridan.”

“He took you dancing tonight?” Messina asked as she fingered her mother’s bracelet.

“Yes, Mr. Sheridan and I like spending time doing things together,” she answered.

Nyla stepped forward and gazed into Graham’s face. “Are you gonna make sure Mommy isn’t lonely anymore?”

“Nyla?” Aunt Jacqui replied, appearing shocked at her grandniece’s directness.

“It’s okay.” Graham could tell she was concerned. “How could your mother be lonely? She has you and your sister.”

Nyla crossed her arms and frowned. “Having kids isn’t like having a boyfriend.”

“It’s not?”

“No. Not having a boyfriend makes Mommy cry sometimes. And put cold spoons on her eyes.”

“Nyla, I told you I have a difficult time sleeping. Lack of sleep makes my eyes puffy.”

Graham noticed the color rising high on Caresse’s cheeks.

“No, Mommy, crying makes your eyes puffy. We stayed up for New Year’s once, and your eyes didn’t get puffy at all. I remember.”

“Okay, little detective,” Aunt Jacqui said, rising and taking Nyla’s hand. “It’s late. Say goodnight to Mr. Sheridan and Mommy. I’m going to put you two back to bed for the last time.”

Nyla and Messina said their goodnights and hugged their mother warmly.

“I’ll be up in a minute,” Caresse whispered as she kissed Nyla on the forehead. She watched as her aunt hurried her daughters up the stairs. “I’m sorry, I had no idea she would say that.”

“Kids are unpredictable, but truthful.”

“That is, until they become teenagers. Then they’re just unpredictable.”

Graham hugged Caresse and kissed her softly. “I better go. I’ll call you.”

“Okay.”

As Graham drove away from Caresse’s home, he replayed Nyla’s question in his mind. The way she’d stared at him reminded him of the look Mr. Mason had given him last week. Two daughters, whose father will be going to prison, would be a lot to handle. And from the frown on Nyla’s face, she’d made it quite clear she was skeptical and didn’t take kindly to having her question avoided.

He had to think. So much had happened in the past couple weeks. Maybe a few days away from Caresse was needed to clear his head.

Chapter 16

Many weeks later, Caresse sat on her bed reading the Sunday comic section with Nyla while Messina played in her jewelry box. She had said goodbye to her Aunt Jacqui and resumed their old routine and her caregiver responsibilities. It was hard to explain the accident of their honorary Aunt Yvette and the arrest of their father, but she did it...alone.

She’d called Graham at work and at home, but he was always unavailable, so she stopped. She had been here before. A man would be interested until the reality of her children hit him square in the face, then he would walk away. But just because it had happened before didn’t make it hurt any less.

What she couldn’t understand was his lack of empathy. He knew how much pain she’d been through, and he didn’t have the decency to tell her his feelings had changed. Last week, Mrs. Mason told her Graham didn’t seem like the type to walk away without a word. “He’s probably busy,” she exclaimed.

“Mommy? When did you get this necklace?” Nyla asked as she draped the Tiffany star pendant around her neck.

“Mr. Sheridan gave that to me a few months ago.”

“You don’t date him anymore, do you?” Nyla asked as she glanced into her mother’s face.

“We haven’t gone out in a while, but we’re still friends.”

Before Nyla could ask another question, Caresse asked, “Hey, when was the last time we made chocolate chip cookies?”

“Cookies!” they screamed in unison and jumped into her arms. “Can we make them now?”

“Yes, let’s get in that kitchen.”

It was a beautiful Saturday and one of the few times the weather was perfect for spending time outside. Graham watched as his sisters Janet and Laila spread newspaper across the picnic tables on his father’s massive deck. He hadn’t felt like attending a family gathering, but when his father, Nathan Sheridan called his children home, they came. No questions asked.

Janet talked about the cookout preparations and directed the serving staff while Latrell and Jaiden tended the grill and Roland stocked the outdoor bar with ice.

“Why don’t you stop torturing us and invite her over here? I bet Caresse and the girls would love an old-fashioned Sheridan barbeque,” Janet yelled to Graham as he sat watching his nephews swim with his feet dangling in the pool.

“Caresse? Is that lady he’s dating?” their father asked as he adjusted the volume on his outdoor speakers.

“The lady he
was
dating, Daddy,” Laila answered. “Talk around the office is he’s avoiding her calls. Coward!” she spat.

“Stay out of it, La La.”

“You’re acting like a jerk, Graham. You would think after what I went through with Malcolm, you would know better than to treat a woman like crap.”

“Cool off before I throw you into the pool,” he snapped.

“Do it, and you’ll find your balls on that grill!”

“Ouch!” Latrell whispered as Jaiden laughed at the sight of Laila’s face glowing with rage.

Graham ignored his siblings and returned his attention to his nephews playing Marco Polo in the water.

Nathan watched the exchange and prompted Laila to tell the cooks to bring out the lobster and set up the side food dish station. Nathan Sheridan was a sixty-seven-year-old retired Navy man with the body of a forty-year-old. He loved participating in triathlons in the memory of his beloved late wife, Sharon. Her death years ago had been hard, but he refused to let the family fall part.

He sank into one of the chaise loungers and motioned Graham to sit with him out of earshot of his other children. “So you decided she wasn’t the girl for you, huh? And I didn’t even meet her.”

Graham rubbed his hands together and tried to avoid his father’s gaze. “I don’t think it’s going to work out, Dad. She has expectations I’m not ready for. I tried the ‘engaged to be married’ thing and you know the hell Infinity put me through.”

“I thought they said this girl’s name was Caresse?”

“It is, Dad.”

“Then what the hell does Infinity have to do with this? I taught you better than to compare one person with another. If you don’t want Caresse, then avoiding her isn’t the answer. You need to talk to her.”

“It’s too late for that. She stopped calling weeks ago.”

“I guess you’re telling me these fancy cell phones you children carry don’t dial out anymore?”

“Dad, you don’t understand.”

“I understand everything just fine. You found a girl that made you happier than you have ever been in life, and she has to deal with her best friend’s accident, because of a selfish ex-husband, and losing her boyfriend, due to his selfish pride. If you ask me, I think you did her a favor.”

“Dad?”

“I mean it! Someone who gives herself so unselfishly should never be linked to a man that can only see the negative. And that’s what you’re doing, son. My sweet Sharon must be turning over in her grave.”

Nathan rose from his seat and stared down at his oldest son. “I agree with you, Graham. You’re right. It would never work, and she’s probably better off without you. I’ll make sure no one mentions her name again. That’s what you always preferred when you’re done with a woman, right?”

Graham opened his mouth to answer and then closed it when the ‘yes’ caught in his throat. His father nodded and headed toward his other children, who were all watching the exchange with varying degrees of interest. Laila’s arms crossed around her chest, and she nodded. Latrell, Roland, and Janet appeared sympathetic, while Jaiden could barely smother his laughter.

His younger brother was right. He was a joke. He’d been chewed out by his father, a man he had the utmost respect for. And he deserved every bit of criticism. He had to make this right with Caresse, but how?

Caresse helped her daughters pass out cookies and milk to the younger children attending the Sunday story-time hour at the Mason Center. After Sunday service at church, Caresse had promised her daughters they would drop off the extra cookies they baked. It was Mrs. Mason who made sure ice-cold milk accompanied their contribution.

As happy children munched on cookies, Caresse and her daughters walked to the parking lot to head home.

“Hey, girls!” a male voice yelled from the sidewalk. “How come I didn’t get a cookie?”

“Office Rick!” Nyla shouted.

Messina extended a small bag with four remaining cookies. “Here, we have some for you.”

Rick grabbed a cookie and nodded his thanks. “Thanks, ladies. So, how have you been, Caresse?”

“I’m fine. The girls and I overdid our baking yesterday, so we wanted to bring the cookies to some of their friends.”

“I’m sure Graham did his best to persuade you to bring some of these cookies to
Psyche
.”

“Graham and I don’t speak anymore.”

“What happened? You two looked like you were hitting it off.”

Caresse placed the empty cookie containers and her children in her car. Messina and Nyla sang cheerfully as their Hanna Montana DVD drowned out her conversation. “Looks can be deceiving, I guess.”

“Caresse, can I say something?” Rick asked as he finished his cookie and motioned her toward the rear of her car. “I’m not sure if Graham is emotionally ready to handle a ready-made family. When he was with my sister, they never talked about having children. And to tell the truth, my sister was adamantly against it.”

“Graham wants children, Rick.”

“Apparently not, Caresse.” He took her hands into his. “I don’t want to cause you any pain, but it’s better to know this now than when you’re a few months away from marrying, like my sister was. You’re better off without him.”

“You couldn’t wait to move in could you?” a loud voice growled as footsteps sounded behind them.

When they turned around, Graham stood inches from Rick’s face.

“Speak of the devil,” Rick said as Graham yanked Caresse’s fingers from his grasp. “We were talking about you. Do you want the play by play or the condensed version?”

“What I want for you to do is get lost,” Graham fumed.

“I’m sorry. That’s your specialty, not mine. Right, Caresse?”

Caresse yanked her hand from Graham and turned to Rick. “I don’t want anyone fighting in front of my daughters, so please walk away, Rick.”

Rick tipped his head. “Out of respect for you, Caresse.”

As Rick went back into the center, Caresse shook her head and started to enter her car. Graham placed a hand on her door, preventing her from closing it.

“What? What do you want now?” Caresse cried. “You’ve avoided me for weeks and now you show up and try to act like you really care about me. You’re rude and callous, and I don’t know why I thought I was ever in love with you.”

Caresse felt heat flash to her face. Had she really said that out loud? The stunned expression on Graham’s face and the silence coming from the backseat confirmed that she had.

“We need to talk,” Graham said, using the same no nonsense tone she’d heard him use with his employees.

That wouldn’t work on her. “Oh, how convenient for you, after days, I mean
weeks
of no contact, you waltz back into my life, and I’m supposed to be accommodating and happy about it. Sorry, Mr. Sheridan, I didn’t get that script.”

“I know I was wrong, but—”

“You made it very clear, I was the only one feeling anything and now that you scared Rick off, you can go back to acting like I don’t exist.” Caresse tugged on the door, forcing Graham to release his grip. Blood roaring in her ears, she practically squealed away from the curb. No man was worth what Mr. Graham Sheridan had put her though.

Graham blew out the breath he’d been holding. He’d had that coming. He’d suspected Caresse would be mad, but she was downright furious. Man, his gut hurt and his chest was tight. But it was his own damn fault.

Caresse had called and emailed him, and he’d refused to answer her. He’d acted like his feelings and emotions superseded her own. He had to make her see what a fool he’d been, maybe share that he had his own inner demons to wrestle with, and that loving her was making them rear their ugly heads.

He thought about the first time Caresse had sat on his desk and agreed to work on the Mason article with him. She’d smiled and flirted with him because she knew she had no intentions of loving him. But he’d made up his mind to gain her trust, her body, and her love, and once he’d had all three, he’d thrown them back in her face.

Could he have picked a worse time to be such an ass? Caresse’s best friend, Yvette, was recovering and her ex-husband was in jail, but he’d decided to add more salt to the wound by breaking her heart. I wasn’t thinking straight
,
he thought as he got into his car and drove out of the parking lot.
I guess I wasn’t thinking at all.

Graham thought about his father’s words. Was he capable of loving someone as unselfish as Caresse?  He didn’t know, but he needed to dismiss the anguish of watching her drive away. The raw pain in Caresse’s eyes had proven he had failed, and Nyla’s angry stare from the backseat of her mother’s car during their exchange cut him to the core.

Later that evening, Caresse sat at her kitchen table sipping a mug of warm of warm milk as she reviewed the photos Diane had sent of the girls’ vacation. The house was quiet since the girls had been put to bed hours ago. She knew she should be in bed, too, but seeing Graham had shaken her. She hadn’t intended to ever tell him she loved him, but seeing him made everything that was raw and unfinished bubble to the surface.

She tried not to cry in the car, but her shaded eyes didn’t hide the truth from Nyla. She was a smart girl, and Caresse could tell that she partly blamed herself for scaring away Graham. Caresse reassured her that wasn’t the case, but with no explanation from the man himself, the words rang hollow.

As Caresse rose to place her empty mug in the kitchen sink, the doorbell rang. She glanced at the clock. A little after ten. She tightened the belt on her white terrycloth robe and walked to the door.

Graham stood on her doorstep wearing a tan Sean John polo shirt and dark blue jeans.

Her heartbeat spiked. She folded her arms tightly under her breasts and jauntily cocked her head to the side. “What are you doing here, Graham?”

“I would like to talk to you. Can I come in?”

Caresse stepped forward and closed the door behind her. “If you have anything to say, it would be best if you say it out here and go.”

Graham locked his hands together behind his neck and nodded complacently. “Okay, I guess I deserve that.” He walked back down her front steps, sat, and gazed up at the star-studded sky. “The last time I gazed up at these stars was that night we danced under them on my friend’s estate. Do you remember?”

Caresse leaned against her doorjamb. “Vaguely. That’s official black history. I live in the present now.”

“I’m sure you do, Caresse, but I’ll never forget that was the night I knew I had fallen in love with you.”

Caresse clenched and unclenched her right hand as she avoided looking at his back.

“I didn’t intend to walk away from you. I wanted a few days to get my head together, but then a couple days turned into a couple more, and before I knew it, too much time had passed, and I thought ending our relationship was for the best.”

“If that’s what you think, then why are you here?”

“The day before I saw you at the center, I was up all night thinking about what my father had said about me being selfish. I honestly never looked at my actions from your point of view, so I decided to apologize.” He turned to look up at her. “But you weren’t home, so I drove to the center, and when I saw Rick holding your hands in his, something in me just snapped. It was like someone dumped cold water on my head.”

Graham reached for her hand. “The image of someone else making you smile and laugh made me sick to my stomach. I love you, Caresse. I always have and always will.”

He loved her? Had Graham really said he loved her? Caresse accepted his hand, then covered her tearing eyes with her other trembling one. “Don’t! I won’t fall for another game, Graham.”

“I’m not playing a game, sweetheart. I do owe you an explanation, so all I ask is that you hear me out.”

“Yes.” Caresse removed her hand from his and crossed her arms firmly under her breasts. “You do owe me an explanation. And it’d better be good.”

“I have to admit I’ve always doubted if I could be a good husband and father. As a child, I would watched my father’s naval career take a toll on my mother. Even when he was home, he was always yearning for his next assignment, instead of enjoying his time with his family. I guess I made up my mind to not fully commit to anyone until I could put my family’s needs above a career.”

Her throat constricted. “So you wanted my body, and once I, or the people who loved me, demanded more, you choked.”

“I’m not proud of it, but yes.”