Buried Secrets (SIN CITY HEAT SERIES) (24 page)

     Grinning, he kissed her again. “I love you, Mrs. Monroe.”
     “I love you too, Mr. Monroe - and that’s St. James-Monroe.” The correction was done to intentionally needle him. She knew he hated the hyphenated last name she’d insisted on.

     The grin fell from Darrell’s face as he gave her a mock glare of disapproval before breaking out into a smile. Kissing her nose and tapping her on the butt, he turned and joined Marcus on the couch. He immediately pissed Marcus off when he rewound the DVR in order to watch the parts he’d missed.
     “Man! Come on! He was just getting ready to make the winning shot!!” Marcus shouted at Darrell in disbelief.

     Darrell calmly met his gaze. “My house. My rules.”

     Without further explanation, he gave his full attention to the game. Jerra stood and watched them for a moment, all the while shaking her head as they continued the bickering. I swear, she thought before she closed the door behind her. Boys and their toys.
     As she walked to the family room to join Keisha and Aleesha, Jerra unconsciously smiled and rubbed her swollen stomach. Her joy briefly dimmed when her mind took her back to what seemed like another lifetime. Twelve years ago, she’d gone through the experience of carrying and nurturing a life inside of her, but that period had been one of the darkest times she’d ever experienced.

     Almost as traumatic as the night the baby’s father violently and brutally raped her…

     The decision to give the child up for adoption had been the only one she could’ve made. She could barely take care of herself, let alone a baby; she was little more than a child herself. But she still thought about it every single day and prayed it was living a safe and blessed life.

     Jerra briefly closed her eyes and pressed her lips tightly together. She didn’t even know the gender. Had she given birth to a son? A daughter? At the time, she hadn’t wanted to know. But still…she wondered.

     Hearing Keisha call her name, she determinedly came out of the painful revelry of her past. Feeling the baby kick, a smile crossed her face and brought her a sense of serenity. She would be meeting her son soon. She already loved him more than her own life.

     Inhaling deeply, she continued to the family room. Keisha and Aleesha were here through the weekend and had been fussing over a very pregnant Jerra the entire time. Although she protested, she secretly enjoyed the attention. They and Marcus, along with her husband, were her family now. In less than a month, she and Darrell would be increasing their little brood to three.
     Jerra reflected on everything she’d gone through. She knew things happened for a reason, and was no longer bitter or sad about her past because it was just that - her past. Her future loomed so much brighter. She eagerly looked forward to what was still to come, for her own personal eclipse had passed and all she saw were bright skies ahead.
Eclipse: [e-klips] : the concealing of the light of the sun by the intervention of the moon between it and a point on the earth; to cause the obscuration of; to darken or hide.