The Prodigal Son (A Reverend Curtis Black Novel) (18 page)

D
illon almost wanted to laugh out loud at how easy this all had been. This morning, he’d gotten up bright and early, left the house to run a few errands, and then he’d actually gone by the church to see his dad. He had dropped by unannounced, and as usual, his dad had been too busy to talk to him and had hurried into some staff meeting—but not before introducing Dillon to Matthew’s wife, Racquel. Now, lo and behold, she and Dillon were in bed together. They were at a suburban Chicago hotel, recovering from the best sex Dillon had experienced in his life. This girl had done things to him that women in their late twenties and early thirties had never been able to accomplish, and although he normally had no respect for any woman who slept with him this quickly, there was something special about Racquel. There was something mesmerizingly attractive about her, and he couldn’t get enough of her.

As it was, they’d only been together for two hours, yet they’d already had sex three times. Maybe it was the liquor she’d drunk that had her so turned on. Dillon didn’t drink, but he certainly hadn’t had a problem buying a bottle of brandy for her prior to their meeting at the hotel. Racquel had made it pretty clear that she wanted something to calm her nerves and that she wanted to have a good time—especially once he’d asked her what she knew about Charlotte and even more so once he’d told her that he couldn’t stand Charlotte either.

So now, here they were, lying in bed, butt naked, like they were longtime lovers.

“I can’t stand that tramp,” Racquel said matter-of-factly while slurring her words. “She’s so not who everyone thinks she is. Such a phony trick.”

“Wow, you must really hate her.”

“I do. She took my son away from me and ruined my marriage. Don’t you know about that?”

“Bits and pieces.”

“Well, long story short, she paid some people to say my mom and I were abusing my son, and they took him from me. Then she got away with it. When she got caught, they locked her up, but she never went to prison. That’s what having money will do for you, though.”

“That’s too bad,” Dillon said. He’d known Charlotte was a snake, but taking someone’s baby was low even for her.

Racquel slipped from under the covers, lifted the bottle of brandy from the nightstand, and poured herself a drink. “Charlotte is the reason I’m so messed up in the head. She’s the reason I became depressed and ended up stabbing Matt. And, of course, now he wants nothing to do with me.”

Dillon wasn’t sure what to say, so he didn’t say anything.

Racquel took a long swig of her alcohol like it was water. “I’ve done my best to apologize to him, but he won’t listen. I even called him late this afternoon, but all he did was dismiss me. That’s when I decided to call you,” she said, getting back under the covers. She turned on her side and faced him. “I’m so glad I finally met you, Dillon.”

“I’m glad, too, but I’m sorry you’ve got so many problems right now.”

“And then some. This court thing really scares me because there’s a chance I could get time over this.”

“Well, let’s just hope you don’t.”

“My parents hired me a really good lawyer, but who knows what will happen.”

“You haven’t been in any trouble before, have you?”

“No.”

“Then, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Especially since it’s not like you killed anyone.”

“Matt isn’t making things any better. He won’t even let me see my son. I mean, who does something like that?”

“I’m sure that witch, Charlotte, is behind it, though. And hey,” Dillon said, realizing that this might be the right time to find out what Racquel knew about her. “Do you think Charlotte has more skeletons she’s hiding? Some huge secret that still hasn’t been exposed?”

“Hmmph. Trust me. If there is, I’m not aware of it, because I would have already used it against her. I would have done that a long time ago.”

“I can imagine.”

“There is one thing, though.”

“What’s that?”

“This whole last year, I’ve made sure to stay in touch with one of the assistants at the church. She doesn’t care all that much for Charlotte, because of how full of herself she is, so if Charlotte ever does do something she shouldn’t, my friend will definitely tell me about it. I know Charlotte has more secrets, though. She’s too sneaky not to.”

Dillon just listened as Racquel continued.

“I hate that woman. Charlotte is by far the most evil woman I’ve ever known, and she’s also the reason I’ve been so out of it. I even have to take medication now.”

Dillon raised his eyebrows. “And you’re drinking alcohol?”

“I haven’t taken anything in two days, so I’m fine.”

Dillon wondered if that was a good thing or a bad thing—good maybe, because clearly no one on antidepressants should be drinking liquor, but bad because if she’d been diagnosed with depression, she likely needed to take her medication on schedule. The thing was, though, she didn’t seem depressed to him at all, not even earlier when he’d first met her at the church. She seemed pretty normal.

Racquel went on and on about Charlotte and Matthew, but then Dillon’s phone rang. He hoped it wasn’t Melissa, but he doubted that it was because he’d told her not to call him. She had, of course, wanted to know where he was going, and after telling her it was none of her business, he’d gotten in his truck and left.

Interestingly enough, though, it was his father.

“Hello?”

“Hey son. I know it’s late, but I just left a ministers’ meeting and before I knew it, it was almost eleven o’clock. Anyway, I wanted to apologize again for not being able to talk to you today.”

“No problem,” Dillon said.

Actually, it was a problem, but he didn’t want Racquel to know he was having issues with his dad.

“Why don’t you come by the church tomorrow around ten o’clock.”

“Works for me. I’ll see you then.”

“You have a good night, son.”

“You, too, Dad.”

“So tell me,” Racquel said, sitting up and pouring herself another drink. “What was it like meeting your dad for the first time?”

“Weird. Scary. Strange. You name it.”

“Matt never talked much about you, but then he never really got to meet you either.”

“No, we just met yesterday at my dad’s.”

“Are things going well for you?”

“For the most part. I wish I could see my dad a lot more than I do, but it’ll happen.”

“I’m sure Charlotte can’t stand you, though, right?”

“Nope. Hates everything about me.”

“I’m not surprised. She doesn’t like any outsiders, and although you’re Pastor Black’s son, she’ll never see you as family.”

“I can tell.”

“What about Alicia and Curtina? Are you close with them?”

“Not really.”

“Even when Matt and I were just dating, Alicia was always very nice to me. She’s a really good person.”

Dillon didn’t bother telling her that just yesterday Alicia had been the one advising Matthew to get rid of her. He didn’t like Alicia, and nothing would make him feel better than turning Racquel against her, but right now he didn’t have the energy to focus on his sister.

“You know…” she said, scooting closer to him. “I really like you, Dillon. I like you a lot.”

“I like you, too,” he said, caressing the side of her face.

But it wasn’t like he had to do anything more, because Racquel was already showcasing her skills again. She was good, and Dillon lay back, letting her do whatever she wanted.

He wasn’t sure why exactly, but sleeping with his brother’s wife gave him a certain sense of satisfaction. Matthew didn’t know about them, but Dillon still saw this as the perfect way to get back at him for stealing his dad’s attention. Before Matthew’s stabbing, everything had been going so well. Curtis had flown to Atlanta with Dillon for his aunt’s funeral, but Matthew had been the reason his dad had hurried back home, leaving him to mourn all alone. So
what
if Matthew had been rushed to the hospital? Dillon had lost the only mother he’d known, and that should have counted for something, too. But it hadn’t, so again, this was all Matthew’s fault, because had he been a better husband to Racquel—a man who had the guts to stand up to that slut of a mother of his—Racquel would have never had a reason to stab him in the first place. If Matthew had defended his wife from the very beginning—before they’d ever gotten married—they’d be living happily ever after the way they should, and Curtis would be free to focus a lot more on Dillon.

But that was okay because sooner or later Dillon would get everything he wanted. Even right now, he wasn’t doing too badly. Just yesterday, he’d become a minister, and today, here he was sleeping with his very talented and attentive sister-in-law. She’d already proven that she knew how to take care of a man, so to him life was good. For the moment, he had absolutely no reason to complain about anything.

I
t was well after eight a.m., yet Matthew hadn’t slept more than a couple of hours. For the life of him, he just couldn’t shake this guilty feeling of his. On the one hand, he couldn’t have been happier about making love to Stacey, but on the other, he was consumed with regret. He’d also been shocked to learn that she was still a virgin, so he felt bad about that as well. In high school, she’d always insisted that she didn’t want to have sex until she got married, yet now he was the reason she’d changed her mind about it. There was no doubt that most guys his age would feel very proud of themselves, but Matthew felt nothing more than confusion.

There was one thing, though, that he was sure about and that was the fact that he had fallen in love with Stacey. He hadn’t planned on it, and he wasn’t sure how it had happened so fast, but he definitely loved her. They were so good together, he could talk to her about anything, and the chemistry between them was incomparable.

Matthew went down the hall to check on MJ and smiled. He wasn’t in his crib, but just looking at the beautiful nursery that his mother had built gave Matthew peace. He knew she hadn’t built it with the right intentions, but now that he and MJ were back home, he appreciated it a lot more.

Matthew walked back into the hallway and went down to his parents’ room, and of course MJ was sitting in the middle of their king-size bed, playing with one of his toy trucks. Charlotte sat against a stack of pillows admiring her grandson.

“I’m surprised you’re not holding him,” Matthew said, teasing her.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be holding him soon enough, and I won’t feel bad about it either.”

They both laughed.

“You know you’re spoiling him, though, right?”

Charlotte nodded. “Yep, and I’m not going to apologize for that either.”

“Very sad, Mom. Pitiful.”

“I know,” she said, her tone turning serious. “But, Matt, I’m so glad you and MJ are here. I missed you both so, so much, and I will never fully forgive myself for what I did to you.”

Matthew sat on the edge of the bed, and MJ chuckled with joy. He was certainly a daddy’s child. He knew how much his father loved him, and Matthew was very proud of that. He guessed maybe it was a generational thing, because no matter what had happened in the past, no matter what terrible thing his own father had done, he knew Curtis had always loved him. It was the reason Matthew had been more of a daddy’s child as well.

“It’s okay, Mom. A lot of mistakes were made, a lot of hurtful things were said, but now we have to move forward.”

“You’re right, son, but I just want you to know how sorry I am, and that I take full responsibility for my actions. I’ve done some truly horrible things in my life, but lying on Racquel and having little MJ taken away from her was the worst. It was completely uncalled for, and I hope you can forgive me.”

“I already have, Mom. It took me a very long time, but you’re my mother and I love you.”

“I love you, too, honey, and I hope you never forget that.”

Matthew smiled.

“And I’m so proud of you. You were always a good child, but to see how great of a father you are to MJ makes me even prouder. Especially since I know things haven’t been easy for you.”

“MJ is everything to me, Mom, and so are you and Dad.”

Charlotte’s eyes welled up with tears. “So,” she said, wiping her face and changing the subject. “Did you enjoy yourself with Jonathan and Elijah last night?”

“I did,” he lied.

The one thing Matthew rarely did was lie to his parents, but there was no way he could let them find out he was spending time with another girl. His marriage to Racquel was practically over, but he also knew he shouldn’t be seeing anyone else until he divorced her. What he was doing behind closed doors was dead wrong, and the guilt he felt was overwhelming. He also thought about his vow to never become like his parents. He’d promised God, Racquel, and himself that he would never be unfaithful to her, yet he had done exactly that. He was so ashamed of the choice he’d made, and although for years he’d never understood how either of his parents could sleep around on the other, he sort of understood it a little better now. There was still no excuse for it, but for the first time, he saw how desire and temptation could consume a person and how it could cause them to do things they shouldn’t. Not only had Matthew committed an awful sin, he’d broken one of God’s commandments, and he was very sorry about that. What worried him, however, was that although he’d already repented and asked God to forgive him, he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t do it again. He knew his thinking was selfish and sinful, but he couldn’t help the way he felt about Stacey.

Matthew thought he heard his phone ringing and sprinted down to his bedroom. “Oh boy,” he said when he saw that it was his mother-in-law.

“Hello?” he answered.

“Hey Matt, how are you?”

“I’m good. You?”

“So-so I guess,” Vanessa said, sounding sad. “Racquel is still very upset, and she really misses you. She misses you and MJ, and Neil and I do, too.”

Matthew wasn’t sure what she wanted him to say.

“Then there’s this whole court situation, so I was just wondering if you’d thought more about trying to help her.”

“Not really.”

“Matt, I know you’re upset, but if you could just sign that affidavit we talked about, it could really make all the difference. At least then the prosecutor will realize you’ve forgiven her and you don’t blame her for what happened.”

But that’s just it, I do blame her
. Matthew would never say what he was thinking, but he was sort of having a hard time understanding why his mother-in-law thought it was okay to ask him to do something like this. He knew Racquel was her daughter and she loved her, but Vanessa was acting as though Racquel hadn’t snapped and tried to kill him. She’d inflicted him with serious bodily harm, yet Vanessa didn’t seem to think it was important. All she wanted was for her daughter to walk away with no punishment.

“Matt, please say something.”

“What I want is for Racquel to get some help.”

“She is. She started seeing a doctor the day after she showed up at your parents’. We told her that driving around drunk and causing a scene was the final straw, and she agreed. She’s also on medication, and she’s doing a lot better.”

Matt didn’t see where she was doing better at all, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

“She really is very sorry for what she did, Matt. She’s sorry for everything. So, please…I’m begging you to give her another chance. Do it for little MJ, because he needs both his parents.”

Matthew wanted to tell her that this was never going to happen, but she kept talking.

“I was also hoping that maybe we could come get MJ for a visit.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“We really miss our grandson, honey, and you know we’ll take good care of him. And it would be good for Racquel to spend some quality time with him.”

Matt didn’t want to be rude, so he said, “Maybe once Racquel has been on her medication a little longer, because just yesterday, she called me and said some really awful things. She even threatened me again.”

“What? I can’t imagine why she would do that. Although she really is hurting right now. She doesn’t wanna lose you and MJ. That’s why I keep pleading with you to take her back.”

Matt heard his phone beep. “Mrs. Anderson, one of my coworkers is calling, so can I get back to you?”

“Sure, but please think about what I said.”

“I will,” he said and then answered his other call. “Nicole?”

“Hey Matt, how’s it goin’?”

“Pretty good. So what’s goin’ on with you?”

“Same ole same ole. I hadn’t checked on you since last week, so I thought I’d see how you were doing.”

“I’m glad you did. I’m planning to be back on Monday.”

“That’s great. I sort of wondered if maybe you were gonna quit. You know, since you’re back with your parents.”

“No, my son is still my responsibility, so I wanna keep working.”

“Wow, I’m impressed. But then again, I’m not surprised. I’ve always admired you because even though your parents are very wealthy, it hasn’t changed you as a person.”

“Thanks for saying that.”

“I’m serious, and if you wanna know the truth, I’d do anything to be with a guy like you.”

“Thanks for saying that, too,” he said, laughing. “You’re just full of compliments.”

“Look, Matt, I know this might sound strange and sort of out of left field, but I may as well tell you. I’ve been attracted to you since the first day you started working here.”

Matt was stunned. He wasn’t blind or oblivious to her good looks or the way she subtly flirted with him from time to time, but he also wasn’t aware that she was seriously interested. Or at least that was how she sounded, anyway.

“I know you’re going through a tough time right now, but I really would like to get to know you better—outside of work and on a more personal level.”

Matt wasn’t sure how to respond. Nicole was a lot older than him, so he’d never imagined she’d be interested in dating a twenty-year-old. He had to admit, he’d be lying if he’d said he wasn’t proud to know that an older woman wanted to be with him, but at the same time, he’d already fallen in love with Stacey.

“I guess I don’t know what to say,” he said.

“Don’t say anything, because like I said, I know you’re going through a tough time right now. Just think about it, okay?”

“I will,” he said, wondering why he hadn’t just told her thanks but no thanks. He guessed, though, he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. As it was, she’d already been traumatized by her abusive husband, and Matthew didn’t want to add even the slightest disappointment to that.

“Okay, well, I won’t keep you,” she said. “I’m glad you’re doing great, and I’ll see you on Monday.”

“See you then, and thanks for calling.”

Matthew set his phone on his dresser and hoped this conversation of theirs wouldn’t make things awkward at work. He pushed the whole thing out of his mind, though, when his phone rang again. This time it was Stacey, and he could barely contain himself. Just seeing her number gave him a warm, peaceful feeling. As a matter of fact, whether he spoke to her on the phone or saw her in person, she brought him much hope and contentment. It was the reason he had to start his divorce proceedings as soon as possible. His mother wanted that, so did Alicia, and so did Jonathan, and now Matthew wanted it more than all of them. He needed to move on and plan for his future. More than anything, he wanted to start a new life with Stacey.