The Rosaries (Crossroads Series) (19 page)

“Hold on, please, Mrs. Sanders.”

She was on hold for a few seconds, before Phillip picked up.

“What do you want?”

“Phillip, I was sort of hoping to be greeted with a ‘how are you’, or maybe even a ‘I missed you, Angie”. We haven’t seen each other in two weeks.”

“I’m thinking you should be jumping up and down with joy, Angela. Isn’t it what you wanted?”

Angela squirted a little extra liquid sugar into her voice. “Phillip, you know I love you.”

Phillip kept quiet.

“I mean it, Phillip, I love you. I am sorry about the things I said at my sister’s house. I was still overwhelmed from the funeral, and reading that letter sent me over the edge. I guess I was just surprised, that’s all. Let’s bygones be bygones.”

Phillip still didn’t say anything, but when he cleared his throat Angela knew she had gotten through to him – he always cleared his throat when he was overcome by emotion. So she continued her soft drilling. “Phillip, listen, I am really sorry. Please have dinner with me. We go back a long way, Honey, we can’t let something like this destroy all we’ve built throughout these years.”

Phillip sighed loudly. When he spoke, his words sounded heavy and tired. “I’m the one who should apologize, Angela. If you are willing to put this one single mistake behind us, I can only be thankful.”

Although she hated to admit it, Angela felt relieved of the outcome of the conversation. It wasn’t just about pride…after all these years she couldn’t envision being alone. In so many ways Angela was an insecure woman who needed constant reassurance. Maybe she should get a lover, she thought, laughing at her own private joke. She couldn’t do that because, deep inside, she still truly loved Phillip.

Happy that her evening was shaping up to be a rewarding one, she dressed quickly and headed to Catherine’s house. Now that the funeral was over, and Catherine’s will was scheduled to be read tomorrow, there was no reason to keep a housekeeper with a nursing degree. It was time for
Lakeisha
Jackson to go.

It was nearly ten in the morning when Ryan Wheeler woke up. Natalie was still sleeping beside him, and groaned softly when he sat up in bed. He got up and went to the kitchen to make coffee and possibly cook a little something for breakfast. He opened the refrigerator, but all he could find were cold cuts and tomatoes, along with half a bottle of white wine and two small containers of flavored coffee creamer. He started the coffee and peeked in the bedroom to see if Natalie was still asleep, then threw on some clothes and left to go out to fetch some breakfast. If his memory didn’t fail him, he remembered a donut store not too far from there.

He slipped out of the house, got in his car and drove around a few blocks until, discouraged, he gave up looking and stopped by a convenience store to ask for directions. Thankfully, the donut store was nearby. He parked the car and headed to the boardwalk, and suddenly, the aroma of freshly fried dough assaulted his senses, and became stronger as he got closer to the store.

He wasn’t sure how much Natalie normally ate for breakfast, so he decided to buy a whole dozen – better too many than not enough. The white bag he walked out with was more tempting than a siren singing for sailors, and he had to exercise some serious self-discipline to avoid stopping somewhere and eat half of the contents. When he got back, Natalie was just stirring, her coffee sensors on full alert. He poured two cups of coffee, added some sugar and cream, and brought one to Natalie, along with two donuts laid side by side on a plate. He passed the coffee and donuts under her nose and waited for a reaction.

“Oh my God! Is that coffee and donuts I smell?”

He laughed heartily, and sat on the bed beside her, while she adjusted her pillows.

“Wow! That was sweet of you, Ryan.”

“Anything for you, beautiful lady.”

“Do you know how long it has been since someone called me pretty? And, brought me coffee and breakfast in bed? Wait; let me think…oh yeah…never.”

Ryan laughed again and stamped a kiss on her forehead. “Well, somebody should…everyday.”

Natalie smiled and placed her coffee on the bedside table. “Come here, you. I might get used to this, which might be a scary, dangerous thing for you, because I may come to expect it every day.”

“Oh, so do you think I should run?”

Natalie was about to take the plate of donuts but she changed her mind and reached her hand out to touch Ryan’s chest instead. “Maybe you should, Ryan. The more you keep hanging around, the harder it will be to let you go if you decide this is not what you want.”

The light in Ryan’s eyes changed, and they suddenly looked fluid and aroused. “Don’t worry about that, Natalie. Let me be the one who decides what I want.”

He ran his hand gently on her cheek, and slid it back behind her head, drawing her close to his face. His breath was hot and inviting, and even if she was lying down, Natalie felt her legs wobble and a seed of yearning settled in her lower abdomen. He kissed her then, and his tongue snaked into her parted lips and teased the inside of her mouth. Her body responded by instinctively arching toward him, the light cotton sheet dropping off her naked skin as she pushed up toward him. He ran his hand down toward her breasts and cupped one firmly, lightly squeezing her nipple between thumb and forefinger, until his mouth found the exposed treat.

Natalie moaned and threw her head back, her hands blindly reached for him, a drowning woman seeking to hang on to anything that would prevent her from being swept away by the wave of passion that was threatening to swallow her. Ryan’s mouth traveled down, his tongue drawing circles around the pulsating center of her feminine being. He tortured her until she begged him to take her, and right when she thought she would die, he entered her slowly, and began to rhythmically push deeper and deeper inside of her.

Their breathing increased in unison, and finally graduated into a simultaneous scream as both reached orgasm and lay over the crumpled sheets, their souls dancing together above their heavy, spent bodies. It took Ryan a full two minutes before his breathing finally slowed down and his heart stopped thumping. He rolled off of her, and pulled himself up on an elbow looking at her while she sat up. Beads of sweat were still adorning his upper lip and more were glazing his chest.

“Natalie…I don’t think I ever want to leave, if you don’t want me to.”

Natalie’s face lit up. She smiled at him and planted a kiss on his lips. “That’s good. I don’t want you to leave.”

“Really? You don’t say that to all the guys you sleep with, do you?”

“All the guys I sleep with? Ha! You give me too much credit…seriously, Ryan, I don’t date much and I don’t usually get this close to people. You are…you are kind of special, I guess.”

“Well, that statement could be interpreted in a number of ways…some not too flattering.”

She playfully punched his chest. “You know what I mean, Ryan.”

He laughed with her. “I’m just messing with you, Sweetie. Listen…what do you think your family is going to say when we tell them we are together?”

Natalie raised her eyebrow. “I’m not sure. Are we
together?
What do you mean by being together, exactly?”

Ryan cleared his throat before he continued. “I was thinking that maybe we could get to know each other better, and if things work out, maybe we could go out exclusively. I know I’m rushing a little, but I am a grown man, Natalie, and I know what I want; I don’t see how waiting would help anything.”

Natalie was blown away – she stared at him without speaking, and took a sip of her cold coffee to wet her suddenly parched throat. After a moment of heavy silence she replied.
“Wow…Ryan…I don’t know. We barely know each other. I think maybe it would be best to keep our relationship to ourselves and not involve families, at least until we have a chance to see if we are compatible.”

“I thought it was pretty obvious we are compatible.” Ryan said, winking.

Natalie felt dizzy. Her head was spinning and her heart was beating at crazy speed. “It’s obvious we are attracted to each other physically, Ryan, but we can’t be sure we’ll get along. Also, I’m getting ready to go to London. I don’t know how long I will be gone.”

Ryan looked at her a bit puzzled. “And why does that matter? Are you planning on meeting someone else there?”

“Of course not. That’s not the point.”

“Look, why don’t you take a couple of days and give it some thought? I know it’s a big thing to decide right now, but please promise me that you will think about it.”

“Oh…ok…I promise I will think about it.”

“That’s all I’m asking. Now, what about seconds?”

Natalie
laughed,”Seconds
? I’m still tired…”

“I was talking about coffee, Natalie. The rest will come later.”

She laid her head against the fluffy pillows and wallowed into that moment of bliss, while Ryan went to fill their cups. Why not? She thought as her mind floated on a sea of wellness. Maybe being in a relationship with Ryan was the right thing to do.  

Chapter Twelve

Catherine
Bouvier’s
Last Will and Testament stunned everybody. 

Through the years, Angela and Phillip never saw Catherine show an ounce of affection toward their adopted daughter, Natalie, so when they heard that Natalie was named executrix of the will, everybody’s mouth dropped.

The will stated that Natalie should search for Catherine’s natural daughter. If she was successful, and could find her, the daughter would inherit her mother’s estate; in the event, instead, that the daughter could not be found, Natalie would be the sole beneficiary.

Nobody in the room was more surprised than Natalie. She sat in one of the burgundy leather chairs and swallowed hard. She already knew that Aunt Catherine had hoped Natalie would find the daughter she had to give up over thirty years ago, but she wasn’t prepared to be second in line in inheriting such a vast estate.

“Natalie doesn’t know the first thing about executing a will, Mr. Dillard. Is there anything that can be done to turn that power over to my husband?”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Sanders, but Ms.
Bouvier’s
instructions are quite clear. If Ms. Sanders has any questions, I’ll be here to help her.”

Natalie smiled. Mr. Dillard’s tone was southern-bred and firm enough to shut Angela up.

“Well, this is about all, Ladies and Gentleman” Mr. Dillard said with the flare of a story teller, “Ms. Sanders, I will probably need you for a few extra minutes to sign all the papers. Of course, if that’s inconvenient, we can schedule another appointment to finalize everything.”

“Oh no, Mr. Dillard; I will stay and finish. Thank you for your consideration.”

“Very well, then.” The old attorney stood up and saw Natalie’s parents out before coming back to sit in front of her. He closed the door, and waited a few moments, before he dropped another bomb. “Natalie, you are an artist…have you ever heard of a painter by the name of Marcie Walker?”

Natalie looked at Mr. Dillard a bit surprised – this was the last question she expected from him. “I’ve heard of her, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her work. Why do you ask?”

Mr. Dillard took off his glasses and focused his old myopic eyes on Natalie’s. “Well, no reason to beat around the bush. I might as well come out and say it…Catherine
Bouvier
was Marcie Walker.”

It took Natalie a moment to process the information. “Is this a joke? Are you telling me that my old, spinster aunt was a world-known artist?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you, Young Lady.”

“Did Aunt Catherine tell you that?’

“She did more than just tell me, Natalie. I have cared for her affairs as Marcie Walker for years. She didn’t want anyone to know until now. She called me the night before she died to finalize her will and to ask me to tell you.” The attorney shook his head, “It’s almost as if she knew she was leaving this earth. Your aunt was a lot more intuitive than any of us ever gave her credit for.”

“I don’t know that I could handle any more surprises for today, Mr. Dillard.”

The attorney laughed. “Don’t worry, Natalie. There won’t be any more, at least from me. It will be hard to find Ms.
Bouvier’s
daughter, but if I can help with anything let me know. Catherine and I were friends, aside from having a professional relationship. As far as Marcie Walker is concerned, there is a foundation in place to manage the proceeds from the sale of the paintings and donate the money to charitable venues.”

Natalie stood up and reached out to shake hands with Mr. Dillard. “Thank you Sir. I will do my best to honor Aunt Catherine’s will. I promise that I will begin to search for her daughter immediately. Aunt Catherine has left her a little something more she would like her to have – a rosary which, I discovered, is very old and priceless.”

Mr. Dillard walked her out and he went back to his desk. Neither of them noticed his secretary scramble away from the door where she had stood listening to their conversation.  As
soon as he closed his door, she picked up the phone and dialed a number. The man on the other side of the line listened eagerly.