“I was on the bridge when our call dropped. He pulled up beside me and tried to force me off the road, but I hit the brakes, and he veered off to the right at full speed onto the field, hitting a tree. I saw his car go up in flames as I looked in the rearview mirror, so I went to the gas station down the road to call the police because I couldn’t get a good signal on my cell.”
“I can’t believe I was married to a man that stupid,” I said.” “I’m glad you’re okay. When the phone cut out, I thought something had happened to you. I came as fast as I could. All I could think about was getting here to help you.”
He looked at me with the most loving expression in his eyes. “My little shero.”
I sucked in a breath of fresh air, relieved this nightmare didn’t end worse. “I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you,” I said.
“You’ll never lose me,” he whispered against my lips.
At that moment, I felt pure love for Jeb. “Will you spend the night with me now?” I asked softly.
“Tameka, this proved my theory about rules. They are made to be broken. Not only will I stay with you tonight, I want to stay with you always.”
Epilogue
Tameka
One Year Later
We were finally at peace. Rodney’s visitation rights were halted while he nursed broken ribs, his right leg, and his memory. As well, immediately following the accident, he had looming legal charges for vehicular assault that the judge took sympathy on him and dropped. In the meantime, Rodney had been dealing with extreme memory loss from his head injury during the accident.
As it turned out, his medical problems were more than his young fiancée could bear, and his pretty young thang bailed on him, taking her gifted BMW, and every other material thing he ever gave her, along with her. Rodney was left with only his mother to care for him, and that was sad in itself.
I hated that Rodney was hurt in the accident and shafted by his new woman, but it was perfect Karma for the way he treated the kids and me, and the harm he intended to inflict on Jeb. I must admit the peace I’d gained as a side effect of it all had been welcomed like a fresh breeze of air on a summer day. Life had been much simpler with Rodney out the picture.
“We’re here!” Eva screamed as Jeb pulled into Channing and Kemara’s driveway. She and her brother were out of the car, running up the stretch toward the door before the car was switched to off.
I took Jeb’s outstretched hand, and we watched Kevin and Eva run ahead of us in amusement. “They’re anxious to see their aunt, uncle, and new cousin,” I said.
“You think so?” Jeb chuckled. “It’s hard to believe Bryce is five months,” he said, speaking of Channing and Kemara’s new baby boy.
“That trip to Aruba created a lot of beautiful things for our family. They had a baby, and sparks flew for us,” I said, biting down on my lower lip as my eyes hooded over remembering the many great moments Jeb and I shared that week.
“You’re right, but you’re going to have to stop looking at me like that,” he said in a rasp.
Kemara opened the door, and she was beaming at us. “Hello, family! I’m so happy you guys came to visit,” she said in a squealing voice.
“Sis, you don’t know how hard it is to keep the kiddos away from little Bryce,” I said, laughing. “And we were excited to see him too.”
Kemara chuckled. “He just woke up from a nap, so he’s bright and ready for you guys.”
We entered the living room, and Jeb walked over to Channing, who had the baby cradled in his arms. He looked like a pro dad already.
“Awe, he’s so handsome, wandsome,” I said in a baby voice. “You’re a cutie wootie. I thought you were going to be a girl, but you came out as my handsome wandsome nephew!”
“Hey, no baby talk around Bryce. We’re going to start him off talking like a man,” Channing said with pride. Then, he looked at Kemara and said, “And we’re working on getting B
ryce a sister every free moment we get…”
“Channing!” Kemara swatted at him as she smiled widely.
I giggled. “Oh, really,” I said then continued to babble in baby language I knew Bryce could understand.
Kemara laughed as Channing frowned at me doing my babble talk. “Have you guys been to see Rodney lately? He’s still in the nursing home, right?” Kemara asked to switch gears.
I nodded. “Yeah. He’s still there. The kids have seen him once, but it’s tough for them to see him like that, so I haven’t taken them back.”
“Can I hold him, Chan?” Jeb asked.