“I hope it won’t be awkward for you and Jeb to be alone in the house. You can always lock yourself in your room and read,” she said.
“Oh, don’t worry about me. I can handle him,” I flat out lied.
“Good. I’ll let you get back to your breakfast. I was just worried about you,” she said.
“Sorry about that. I’ll let you know where I am from now on,” I said and hung up.
I finished the rest of my toast and coffee and left the corner market heading back to the mansion where I stayed in my room most of the day, resting and reading.
“We’re about to leave, Tameka,” Kemara said as she walked into my room that evening.
“Have fun,” I said, smiling at my sister. “And bring me a niece or nephew back.”
“We’ll try our best,” Channing said from the doorway. “Try not to kill my cousin,” he added.
“Please,” Kemara chimed in. “I don’t know how we would ever explain it to your parents if one of you died tonight.”
Jeb snuck up behind Channing and said, “We’ll live. You guys go and have fun.”
I glanced towards him and turned back to my sister and brother-in-law. “What Jeb said,” I replied.
We all walked downstairs, talking about the restaurant Channing was taking Kemara to. Jeb and I waved them off, and when the door closed, I headed back upstairs, but Jeb stopped me before I reached the steps.
“Hey, you’ve been up there all day,” he said. “I know you’re trying to avoid me, so I’ll go to my room, and you can stay down here in the entertainment room.” He went trekking up the steps before I could reply.
Seeing him run up the steps in a pair of jeans that fit him so snug that my mouth watered was a treat in itself. And he didn’t have on a shirt. The muscles rippling off his back sent a zing of energy right through me. Mercy.
Once he reached the top of the stairs, I tore my eyes off his backside and looked at the book sitting on the side table. I sat on the couch, opened the book Kemara had been reading, and attempted to start a new read by J. McCreary. I was halfway through the heart-wrenching story of a girl who was falling in love with a sexy brute who helped her bury the corpse of the man who molested her when she was a child when I yawned and looked at my watch. This book was so good, I’d been reading for three hours nonstop.
I s
tretched out on the couch for some much needed eye rest. I couldn’t recall the last time I ever read this much in one day. I heaved a sigh and closed my eyes, trying to relax and let every worry wash away.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been napping when I heard my phone ring. It sounded so far away that I thought it was a dream. The tone rang out again, and it was definitely not a dream.
“Tameka, wake up… Tameka, your phone is ringing.”
I jerked, and my eyes opened. Jeb was standing over me, holding my phone out to me. “What?” I asked, confused.
“Your phone has been ringing back to back. It might be important,” he said.
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
Still dazed, I looked at my screen and saw that there were four missed calls from Eva. I called her back, and she answered on the first ring.
“Where were you?” she asked frantically.
“I was sleep. What’s going on?”
She sniffled. “I want to go home.”
A knot formed in the pit of my stomach. “My trip is almost over, honey. What’s going on? Where’s your dad?”
“I don’t know where he is. Why do I have to stay here? Did you know he was marrying that skank?”
“Don’t call your dad’s girlfriend names,” I scolded.
“You do!” she shot back.