Chocolate Goodies (14 page)

R
ansom wasn’t sure what he was going to say to Coco, but he knew that it was time for them to have a serious talk about their relationship.

He pulled into the driveway and parked the car.

Coco opened the front door just as he walked up to the porch.

“Hey,” she murmured in greeting.

He embraced her, holding her tight. Ransom inhaled deeply, sucking in the light floral scent of her perfume. “I’ve missed you so much.”

They stepped away from each other.

“It’s time we made some decisions about our relationship and where we’re going with it,” he blurted. “That’s why I’m here.”

Coco nodded. “I thought as much.”

They sat down in the living room.

“I love you with my whole heart, but I have to
know that we are on the same page when it comes to D-Unit.”

Her head snapped up. “I went to see Marcus at the jail. He told me everything. I’ve made a horrible rush to judgment, Ransom—I can’t deny that. I just want you to know that I’m truly sorry for everything I said to you the night Michael was shot. I hope that one day you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me.” Coco paused for a moment, before continuing. “I love you so much, Ransom, and I want to be with you.”

“I love you, too, Coco. Sweetheart, I never stopped loving you. I just don’t know if we can ever get past what happened. I honestly don’t know…”

She sighed in resignation. “Ransom, I know how much those boys mean to you. I know the heart you have for the youth. I won’t try to stand in your way. I will support you fully on this.”

“Honey, I know that you believe this, but what if something else happens? What then? I don’t want to put you or anyone else at risk.”

Coco began to cry. “I’m sorry. I said I wasn’t going to do this.”

He hugged her. “I hate to see you so sad. I don’t want to hurt you, Coco.”

She placed a finger to his lips. “I did this, Ransom. All of this is my fault.”

Ransom surprised himself when he kissed her.

Coco responded by kissing him back passionately.

Desire ignited in the pit of his belly, the flames growing. He had to fight the urge to take Coco upstairs and make love to her.

She must have sensed his withdrawal, because she
moved away from him. “Ransom, I want to be with you. I’m willing to take the risk if you are. Marcus isn’t a bad kid. I realized that when I read his letter. I came to that conclusion before I even went to see him. It’s why I went to the jail.”

“I know that not every boy will be saved, but Coco, I can’t give up on them.”

“I do understand that,” she told him. “Ransom, I applaud your dedication. The ones that I’ve met so far really have a desire to change, and they deserve a chance. But there are those that don’t want to do anything to better their lives.”

“I met with my staff and we’ve decided to implement a thorough screening process that includes notification of gang affiliations, criminal records, etc. Ray and I have talked, and he’s going to help me set everything up. I have a meeting with a friend of his, A. C. Richards, on Tuesday. I hear she’s looking to help teens stay out of gangs. She worked with Matt and is a very good detective, from what I hear. I’m hoping she’ll be willing to come on board.”

“She helped Matt get Kaitlin out of Mexico,” Coco told him. “She and her sister own a detective agency called Richardson & Associates.”

“I think I’ve heard of them. That’s good.” He paused. “I’m not going to lie to you. It’s going to get rough sometimes, Coco. Are you sure you want this in your life?”

“I want you, Ransom, and everything that comes with you. We haven’t lost our love for each other—the kiss proved that. I know I’ve said it before, but I truly mean it this time.”

“I believe you,” he said, smiling.

Coco met his gaze. “Ransom, I can’t see my life with out you in it. These past two weeks have been so miserable. I definitely wasn’t looking forward to Christmas.”

He broke into a smile. “To be honest, I wasn’t, either. I’m glad you called, because I was going to return all of your gifts tomorrow.”

She stepped away from him. “Are you serious?”

He nodded. “You didn’t think I was still going to give them to you, did you?”

“I’ve been good all year,” she said. “Well, most of it, anyway.”

“You’d have to take that up with Santa.”

“I don’t believe in Santa.”

Ransom laughed. “You’re gorgeous when you pout.”

“But you’ve changed your mind, right?”

“I’m considering it.”

“What do you mean by that?” Coco asked, her arms folded across her chest.

“I’m kidding,” Ransom responded with a chuckle.

“So what do we do now, Coco?” he asked.

“Get our relationship back on track,” she said. “We can start by you helping me prepare dinner. Then we can go to the mall and pick out some gifts for Cinna.”

He smiled. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

Pulling her closer to him, Ransom covered her lips with his, kissing her hungrily. “I’m so glad to have you back, sweetheart,” he whispered.

She loved Ransom more than life itself and never tired of looking at him.

Standing by him in the kitchen, Coco openly admired Ransom as he prepared a roast to put in the oven. The man was fine, loving, had a generous heart and could cook like nobody’s business.

“You finished with the potatoes?” he asked.

“Almost,” she responded. Coco had forgotten what she was doing, caught up in eying Ransom.

“You got the invitation to the Christmas party?” Ransom asked.

“The one from Laine? Yeah. I wasn’t going to go, but now that we’re getting back on track, I think we should go together.” He agreed.

“That’s this coming Friday, right?”

“Yeah,” he replied.

She handed him the bowl of potatoes.

“Thanks, sweetheart,” he murmured, concentrating on the food.

It feels good to have him back in my life.

Coco smiled at the thought.

Ransom stuck the roast into the preheated oven.

Then he reached out and embraced her, the warmth of his arms radiating through her. Her lips turned upward even more as she leaned back against him.

The telephone rang.

It was Elle.

“Kaitlin’s at the hospital,” she told Coco. “She’s in labor.”

“Elle, Ransom’s here with me. We’ll be right there.”

“Don’t forget your camera.”

“I won’t,” Coco declared.

She hung up. “So much for dinner. We’ll have to grab something on the way to the hospital.”

They turned everything off, then rushed out of the house.

“I never knew that having a baby could be a family event,” Ransom stated. “I always thought of it as private—between the couple.”

“This is your family’s tradition,” Coco teased. “I’m all for the private birth event.”

Twenty minutes later, the two of them walked down the hallway to the maternity center.

Jillian was standing outside the room when they arrived.

“How is she?” Coco asked.

“She’s doing fine. Just begged the doctor for some drugs.” Jillian chuckled. “I told her she was going to need them, but she wanted to experience natural childbirth first.”

They heard the shrill screaming of a young woman in the room next door.

“Oh, my goodness,” Coco muttered. “The poor girl.”

They were at the hospital exactly one hour before Chandler St. Charles made his entrance into the world.

Matt was ecstatic and Kaitlin was relieved that the whole ordeal was over.

She smiled when she saw Coco and Ransom walk
into the room together. “I’m glad you both listened to me.”

Coco held up the camera. “Let me know when you’re ready for pictures.”

Kaitlin raised a hand. “Give me a minute.” She glanced over at Elle and said, “Could you do something with this hair on my head? Throw a little powder on my face and I’ll be ready to go.”

Coco couldn’t help feeling a little envious. Kaitlin, Elle, all of them except Ivy had the type of marriages people read about. She wanted that for herself. Coco found that she was yearning to be a mother, too.

She was ready, but what about Ransom? It was much too soon to bring up the subject now. They had just gotten back together.

Coco decided to just take one day at a time. If she and Ransom were meant to be, she wanted it to happen naturally, without any pressure.

The holidays were over and a New Year begun. It was time for Coco to start preparing for her biggest month of the year—February. Valentine’s Day was less than a month away.

Ransom had been spending a lot of time with his partner, writing songs for a debut artist. Between his hours at the center and with Jaye, he and Coco hadn’t been able to spend quality time together.

She didn’t complain, though. She had been busy with Michael and Daniel, brainstorming new product ideas. She had come up with new items for valentines and for her sensual line.

The door to the shop opened.

It was Jerome.

“Hey you,” she said in greeting. “Did you have a good time during your Christmas break? Ransom told me that you went to Florida to see your grandparents.”

“It was nice. We had a good time.” He walked over to the broom closet. “I’ma sweep up this place for you. You need to tell your customers to stop tracking in dirt. This is a high-class place and they need to treat it like one.”

Valencia and Coco exchanged amused glances.

“What’s going on, Jerome?” Coco asked. She had gotten to know him well enough to know that there was something bothering him. “Come talk to me. You can sweep later if you want, but you don’t have to—I can do it after we close.”

“Miss Stanley, I can’t find no job. I even asked your brother, but he don’t have any openings right now.”

“Has something happened?” she inquired.

“My mom lost her job. We might have to move to Florida unless she can find something else here. She was down there looking for a job.”

“Florida is a nice place to live.”

“If you like hurricanes,” he muttered in response.

“What is the real reason you don’t want to go to Florida?” Coco asked.

“I don’t want to leave you and Mr. Winters. You two keep me straight.”

She shook her head. “No,
you
keep you straight, Jerome. You purposed in your heart that you would become a better you. Ransom and I can’t take credit for that.”

“It might be good,” Jerome said after a moment. “I can get away from these knuckleheads.”

“Didn’t you tell me at one time that you wanted to go to college in Florida?” He nodded.

“Well, Florida can’t be too bad, then.”

“I’d miss you and Mr. Winters.”

“There’s e-mail,” she said with a chuckle. “And you love texting. He and I both have unlimited texting.”

“I know that you were real hurt when Marcus and his brother came here. Marcus an all right dude. He just got a crazy brother.”

“I’m glad Ransom was able to get him away from here,” she said. “His brother is going to prison for a long time.”

“Miss Stanley, thank you for seeing me as a person and for not thinking that we’re all thugs. I’m not the clothes I wear.”

“No, you’re not,” she said. “Most times, people don’t take time to look past the clothing. You, Benjamin and even Marcus have taught me to look past the outer shell to the inner man. Thank you for that gift, Jerome.”

“You’re not gonna start crying now, are you?” he asked with a frown.

Coco laughed as a tear ran down her cheek.

I
t was Sunday.

Ransom, his brothers and Michael were in Miami for the Super Bowl.

Coco surfed through the channels on her television, searching for something to watch, but there wasn’t a whole lot to choose from. She had a slight temperature and felt weak from a spell of the flu. She’d had enough of Lifetime movies and wasn’t interested in watching the pregame events.

Her mother walked into the room. “How are you feeling, sugar?” She sat down on the chair across from her.

Coco could feel her mom’s eyes on her and met her gaze. “I wish Ransom was here.”

“They’ll be back tomorrow.”

“I know.” She sighed.

“Are you hungry?”

Coco shook her head. She didn’t believe she could keep anything down. She hated being sick.

“Mama, you don’t have to stay here. I don’t want
you
getting sick.”

“I had my flu shot. I keep telling you to get one.”

“Maybe next year,” Coco said. She leaned back against the sofa, her eyes closed. Ransom had offered to come home when he found out she was sick, but Coco knew how much he had been looking forward to the game.

Her mother’s words broke through her musings. “You’re sure you don’t want to try eating something?”

Coco shook her head again. “Not right now, Mama. Maybe in a little while.”

February 1

Coco was feeling stronger, but decided to stay home for another day. Actually, Ransom insisted that she take one more day off before diving back into her work.

Michael assured her that Valencia had everything under control.

The knock on the door surprised Coco.

She opened it and smiled. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be at the studio all day long.”

“I wanted to make sure you were behaving.”

“I’m here,” she said. “I’m bored to tears, though.”

Ransom held up a bag. “I brought you some lunch. You need to eat so that you can gain back some of the weight you lost.”

Coco frowned. “I hope that’s not soup.”

“It’s not.”

“Good. Because I’m really sick of soup.”

“It’s from La Maison. Matt told me that you love the red beans and rice.”

“Yes!” she squealed.

Ransom laughed.

They sat down at the table and talked while she ate her lunch. When she was done, they went into the den.

“I have something else for you,” Ransom announced with a smile.

Her eyes grew hopeful. “Dessert?”

He shook his head.

She tried to hide her disappointment.

Ransom handed her a box.

“What’s this for?” she asked.

“The first day of February,” Ransom said. “And the first of fourteen presents. I’m giving you one a day until Valentine’s Day.”

Excited, Coco unwrapped her gift. She laughed when she saw the gleaming set of ebony chopsticks. “This is from our first date. When you tried to teach me to eat with them. I ruined that beautiful silk shirt of yours.”

“I was enjoying your company so much that I barely noticed,” he said. “It was one of the best nights of my life.”

She kissed him. “Mine, too.”

Coco had already purchased a gift for him—tickets to join his siblings on their annual family cruise. This year they were sailing the Mediterranean. She was joining him, although they were going to have separate cabins.

She had learned a long time ago never to ponder what she was getting for Valentine’s Day. That way she didn’t have to deal with disappointment. However, it was hard to escape the excitement and anticipation of daily presents until “V” day. Coco was touched by his creativity.

The next day, when he picked her up for dinner, Ransom gave Coco another gift.

Without saying a word, she tore into the package. “It’s a CD of the concert we went to,” she exclaimed. “That was our second or third date. I love it.”

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

“I’m glad you like the gifts.”

“I’m warning you, Ransom, you’re spoiling me with all these presents. A girl could get used to this very quickly. I love receiving gifts.”

“Good,” he responded. “I love giving them to you.”

He was looking forward to Valentine's Day, because that was when he would give her the most important gift—the gift of his heart and soul.