Lady had taken almost a hundred grand from me on my birthday while I’d been celebrating with the MacKenzies. By then, she and I hadn’t set eyes on each other for months. Lady had papers and forged my signature. Nan wielded her gun, looked me in the eye, and said it was only fitting she die.
I’ll never know why I declined the offer. It was almost three months later when the MacKenzies found Lady and less than half of my inheritance.
“I could have stayed with the Nix, Leith,” I say out of the blue. “There were so many families willing to take me in. All of them came from the same church.”
There’s a questioning glint in his eye.
“Because of my mom and the pastor. That bastard never admitted to adultery—to being a fucking man whore. Lady told me all about it.”
“Och, Chevelle, I’m aware. Forget the bloody pastor. The Nix couple looked like good people. Anybody would have been better.”
“Okay then. We weren’t always poor. The lady and I had money in the beginning. I was some dumb, conceited child. Instead of overeating the pain away, we spent like crazy. I suppose that makes me sound reckless.”
“Nae, hen,ye were a kid.” He nods. “That bitch took advantage of ye. She should’ve known better.”
“Humph, sheknewalright. Everyone has a button. That lady pushed mine. The manipulative witch only had to say, ‘if you go with the Nix or the Jones, they’re gonna take you to church and mention your father.’ ” My voice cracks. “Or talking about what my dad did, how he got his money. ‘Where do you think all the money came from,’ she’d say. Or how the people hehelpedweren’t in need. That he wasn’t benevolent.”
Leith’s palm smooths over the heated, jaded flesh of my cheeks. “Ye got this, Chevelle.”
“All she had to do was say my father’s name. I was done for.” My shoulders fall, defeated. “I’d recall how I felt when this one officer came to our beautiful home in Chicago.” I pause, licking my lips. “People remember feelings. I know I’ll get mad at you for something, and it’s the emotion that holds me—not even the action.”
His calloused hand slides around, and his knuckles are threading over my tears.
“She’d sayhisname.” As I begin to pour out old emotions, Leith’s attentive gaze never leaves mine. “And I’d remember the cop and the look on his face. He reminded me that my life was over. Had I lived with the Nix family, that feeling would’ve been a daily occurrence. So, I was a stupid kid, slapped a Band-Aid over my heart. It was the only way to write the narrative of my life without getting caught up in the past. I sacrificed a little to keep my sanity.”
Silently, Leith nods. His eyes fix on something off in the distance as he mulls over what I’ve told him. Finally, Leith presses his lips over my tears then exhales. “Hen, ye need to conquer yer past. I see ye’re getting restless. Can we talk about this again in ahunneryears from now?”
Through the haze of tears, I smile, adoring his accent.
“Good. For now, I do understand yer perspective as best as I can without walking in yer shoes. Ultimately, yer decisions ledye to me.”
A ghost of a smile nudges the edges of my lips. “Same year I found out she had spent the money, well, the money designated for raising me as a kid.”
Leith holds me tighter, his skin burning in a rage he won’t admit to. I know there’s a difference between the man that he is and the one he could’ve been.
He wasn’t all that funny when we met. Truth be told, my ultimatum to make Leith live a peaceful lifestyle created this. It was either go funny orgo postal. As I said, the MacKenzies can be civilized, but they’re a loyal, cutthroat bunch. So, when I saw Leith beat down a bully who spoke out of turn about his accent, I had a taste of his abilities.
He was almost expelled, but Nan put on her Sunday best and showed the principal a different side of the MacKenzies. The good side.
Since Leith became the funny guy and vowed never to kill, never to commit a crime unless provoked, I decide to gulp down my embarrassment about my family and speak a little more.
“Hedid the unforgivable, baby. I grew up—till the age of eight or nine—not being spanked. I set my eyes on something pretty. It then belonged to me.”
I cling a little tighter to Leith and continue.
“My mom was a housewife. The damn house was so huge she had a maid. She could spend her time baking cookies for any event I had at school. Or cooking meals for less fortunate women and children at a shelter in Chicago. Or inviting the congregation over for Sunday dinner. There was nothing she ever wanted for . . .”
Chapter 32
Leith
Sunlight filters through the blinds,pulling me from a restless sleep. My heart’s torn over the disappearance of Hen Two and my jaded Queen Hen. I hadn’t a moment to search for thearseholelast night. Although, I heard more stories from Chevelle about her parents than we ever had our entire relationship. She talked until the wee hours of the morning.
With eyes closed, I slink from the bed. Running my knuckles over my mouth, I pray that I’m headed in the direction of the bathroom.
Half asleep, I’ve pissed, washed up, and I’m brushing my teeth while leaning against the doorframe. At the sound of the doorbell, one of my eyes peels open.
“The doorbell rang, babe,” Chevelle grouses.