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Authors: Shana Burton

BOOK: Flaws and All
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“I understand,” replied Duke, nodding. “Hey, what were you talking about earlier? What baby died?”
Angel brushed him off. “It's nothing. Don't worry about it.”
Duke let it go. “I hope you reconsider staying, but we'll accept your decision.”
Angel climbed into her car and fastened her seatbelt. “I won't lie and say it's nothing personal, because we both we know it is. I'll pray about it, but I don't think I'm going to change my mind.”
Duke stood in front of her door. “No matter what happens, it was good seeing you again, Angel.” He gently touched her face. “I'm glad life has treated you well.”
His caress was hauntingly familiar and gave her a jolt that made her feel uneasy. Angel waved before closing the door and pulling out. As she drove on, she wondered if his touch made her uncomfortable because she no longer had feelings for him, or because she did.
Chapter 24
“Revenge is best served cold.”
—
Sullivan Webb
 
Lawson checked her watch for the fifth time since she, Kina, and Sullivan sat down to eat at Huey's on the River. “I'm worried,” admitted Lawson. “It's not like Angel to run this late and not call anyone.”
Sullivan shook her head and closed her phone. “Still no answer. Her phone's going straight to voice mail. Maybe we should ask a waiter if she's called.”
“She probably hasn't found her phone yet,” Kina told them. “She thought she left it at a client's house and was supposed to swing by and pick it up on her way over here.”
“That was two hours ago. We should've heard from her by now,” said Lawson.
Sullivan cleared her throat. “Not that I'm complaining, but we do seem to be missing another person. Where's that incorrigible sister of yours, Lawson?”
Lawson skimmed her phone for any missed text messages from Angel. “Reggie's at home asleep. I'm so proud of her. She's only been working at that insurance company a few weeks, and she's already putting in overtime. Poor thing was too worn out last night to make it to her bed, and passed out on the sofa. She's sticking with it, though. I never thought I'd see the day Reggie was working at a nine-to-five job and liking it.” Lawson looked down at her watch again. “Even you have to give her credit for trying, Sully. A steady income and a solid future is what Mama always wanted for her.”
“At least she's working, which is more than I can say for some people,” mumbled Kina, directing her eyes at Sullivan.
“You people
have
to work. I don't.” Sullivan looked up and exclaimed, “Well, it's about time!” when she saw Angel approaching their table. “Where have you been?”
“We were starting to panic,” said Kina. “I thought that you had been in an accident or something. Why didn't you answer your phone?”
“Is everything all right?” asked Lawson. Angel shook her head. “What's wrong?”
Angel sat down, eyes glazed over. “Remember the new client I told you about?”
Kina thought back. “Theresa McNair, right?”
“That's the one, except her name isn't Theresa McNair anymore. It's Theresa King. More to the point, she's Mrs. Du'Corey Jamal King.”
Kina stopped chewing her food. “As in Duke's wife?”
“Exactly,” replied Angel. “Can you believe it?”
“I can't and I don't! This is no coincidence, Angel,” charged Sullivan. “It's obvious they've been setting you up the whole time.”
“That's sick!” declared Lawson. “Why would they do something like that? Does the woman even really have cancer?”
“That much of it is true,” confirmed Angel. “And
they
didn't plan it.
She
did. Duke didn't know anything about it.”
Lawson raised her eyebrow. “Says who?”
“She admitted that it was all her doing. Duke was just as shocked as I was.”
“Is she trying to prove something, or is she just demented like that? The nerve of her!” scoffed Sullivan. “I hope you told her where to go with that foolishness.”
“She claims that she just wants to make things right between us before she dies. She wants my forgiveness,” said Angel.
“That's fine. Tell her you've hidden it and that she has to go to hell to find it.”
Angel managed to smile. “You know I can't tell a dying woman that. I did tell her that I wouldn't be working with her anymore.”
“Good for you,” cheered Lawson.
Kina frowned. “Why not?”
Everyone dropped their forks at the same time.
“Kina, this woman slept with Angel's husband and got pregnant by him,” said Sullivan. “Why would she want to have anything to do with either one of them?”
Kina flung her hand. “That's all water under the bridge now. We're supposed to be operating in forgiveness. I know I do.”
“You have to be forgiving, you're married to an idiot,” reasoned Sullivan.
“I'm going to operate in forgiveness right now and ignore that,” replied Kina. “
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you
. Helping her is the right thing to do.”
Lawson differed. “It would be a big mistake. There's too much bad blood there.”
Sullivan spoke up. “Wait a minute. Kina might be on to something,”
“See, even Sully agrees with me,” said Kina, vindicated.
Sullivan nodded. “Who says that this can't work out for the best? You know, Angel could add a couple of extra milligrams to her medicine here, a few extra pills there, and if Theresa
accidentally
overdoses . . .”
“That is
so
not what I meant!” insisted Kina. “Now who's demented?”
“I don't want to kill her,” affirmed Angel. “I just don't want to treat her. I don't know why I even told Duke that I'd pray about it.”
“Don't even waste God's time or your energy with that one,” suggested Sullivan. “Tell both of them to kick rocks and keep it pushin'.”
“Don't listen to Sully,” advised Lawson. “What is God leading you to do? Listen to your heart.” Lawson put her arm around Angel. “That's the part that He speaks to.”
Angel sighed. “My heart is saying that I need to help her. Health and healing is the ministry that God gifted me to do. I just wonder if I'm strong enough to carry it out.”
“That's why you've got our shoulders to lean on when it gets rough,” said Kina.
“Kina, you can't expect her to be all clowns and smiles with the very people who nearly drove her to kill herself,” insisted Sullivan. “Angel, you still have your therapist's number, don't you? You're going to need her if you keep listening to Kina.”
Kina held Angel's hand. “God wouldn't have placed this on you if He wasn't going to give you the strength to carry it out.”
“You've got all the answers, don't you, Kina?” Sullivan asked snidely. “But what about the answer to the most important question, the one everybody's scared to bring up?”
“And what question is that?” asked Lawson.
Sullivan faced Angel. “When it's all said and done, how do we keep the nurse from falling back in love with the patient's husband?”
It was the one question that no one could answer.
Chapter 25
“We're just kissing, right? It's no big deal, no crime committed.”
—
Sullivan Webb
 
“I've got a surprise for you,” said Vaughn, after letting Sullivan into his apartment. “Close your eyes.”
She beamed. “What is it?”
“Didn't I tell you to close those pretty eyes first?”
She did, and then Vaughn placed something hard and heavy in her hands. Sullivan opened her eyes. “Oh my God, Vaughn, you bought me a canvas! That is so sweet. This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. Thanks . . . I'm touched.”
Vaughn downplayed the gesture. “It ain't nothin'. I'm sure your husband could buy you a whole gallery if you wanted him to. I'm sure he'd do almost anything to keep you happy. I just want you to start back painting again.”
“That means a lot, Vaughn. More than you know.”
Vaughn cupped her face and moved to kiss her. Before he could, his phone rang. Sullivan was both relieved and disappointed by the disruption. “I'll let it go to voice mail. Now, where were we?”
Sullivan reached for one of his paint brushes. “We were talking about art. No time like the present to start painting, right?”
Vaughn filled a palette and sat down to paint next to her. “What you got going on over there?”
“Why? Are you trying to steal my ideas?”
“No, just trying to get inspired.”
She blushed. “And just what is it that I inspire you to do?”
“This . . .” Vaughn took the brush from her. Sullivan knew what was coming next. If she were honest with herself, she'd have to admit that she longed for it. He set his lips on top of hers, and his kisses were everything that she imagined that they would be—intense, lingering, passionate. Every place on her body that was ignited by his touch seemed to scorch with desire. Whenever he looked at her, she could feel herself dissolve.
“You're trembling,” he whispered.
“I'm f–fine,” she stuttered. “You broke my concentration, that's all.”
“Dang, girl, you just can't admit it, huh?” They were close enough that she could hear his heart beating, or perhaps it was her own, which started to race whenever he was near her the way he was at that moment.
“Admit what?”
He leaned into her, his lips inches from hers, “That you want me.”
“I don't know how you fit such a massive ego in this tiny apartment.”
“Look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't want me, that it's not taking every ounce of willpower you have not to kiss me right now.” He stroked her face. “I know you felt it from that first day we met.”
“What makes you think that?” she asked breathlessly.
“Because I felt it too.”
Sullivan could feel heat radiating from his body. “I told you . . . I have Charles.”
“You also said that he's busy. Yeah, I see him all over the TV, making speeches and organizing rallies. Meanwhile, his woman is all alone, waiting for someone like me to scoop her up and show her what she's missing.” He pulled her closer to him. “Relax. Kiss me.”
Sullivan did, and with every liplock, her resolve and vows to Charles grew dimmer. “We're just kissing, right? It's no big deal, no crime committed.”
“It can be whatever you want it to be.” Vaughn slid his hand underneath her shirt and traced the outline of her body with his fingertips. His mouth soon followed. There wasn't an inch of her body that didn't crave to be kissed by those forbidden lips.
He pulled her into a long, passionate kiss and into a place where her husband, her vows, her morals, and her God no longer existed.
She pulled back from him, realizing that he had leaned against her canvas. “I'm getting paint all over your clothes.”
“Then I guess you better take them off.”
Sullivan peeled off his shirt and physically consummated that which had transpired in her mind a long time ago. It no longer mattered that Vaughn was someone she knew she should have nothing to do with. He was the type of man who'd leave a girl sprung and a quivering mess of her former self, while he moved on to the next lovelorn victim. She wanted more of him, and she didn't care that she belonged to someone. Sullivan's mind and her body already belonged to Vaughn.
Chapter 26
“A true lady never kisses and tells.”
—
Sullivan Webb
 
“Wow, Sullivan, you're glowing!” noted Lawson over lunch the next day, poolside at Sullivan's estate. “I guess ol' Chuck hasn't lost his touch.”
Angel lowered her shades. “She does have that morning after look, doesn't she?”
Sullivan grinned and stretched out on the lounge chair next to Kina. “A true lady never kisses and tells.”
“But a freak details it blow by blow!” jeered Reginell, laughing and slapping hands with Angel. “Go on and tell us what happened.”
“Yeah, Sullivan, tell us which of the commandments you broke this time,” pushed Lawson, biting into a ring of pineapple.
Sullivan pinned her hands behind her head. “I can't. It's personal.”
“
Personal
gets checked at the door. You know that. Now, start talking.”
Sullivan cleared her throat and sat upright in her chair. “Well . . . I cheated on Charles,” she revealed.
Lawson nearly choked on her pineapple. “You did what?”
Reginell leaned back and crossed her legs. “Umph. I always knew there was a straight-up ho underneath all them designer clothes and foreign weaves.”
“It takes one to know one,” fired Sullivan.
“Sully, I can't believe you would do that to Charles,” said Kina.
“Oh, I can believe it,” said Angel. “I just want to know with who.”
Sullivan smirked. “Vaughn.”
Lawson's jaw fell. “The same Vaughn you said was rough around the edges?”
“He's not so bad.” Sullivan giggled. “Actually, he was quite good!”
“It looks like Skankville just got a new resident,” muttered Angel.
“Hold up, now,” cut in Reginell, raising her hand. “I've got to side with Sully on this one. Sometimes you need to switch it up some. Variety is the spice of life.”
“Good. She can put that on a T-shirt. It'll give her something constructive to do while she's roasting in hell,” said Angel.
“God knows my heart,” rationalized Sullivan.
“You have one of those?” asked Reginell.
“Look at you. You don't even feel guilty, do you? No repentance, no remorse,” charged Lawson.
Sullivan shook her head. “I can't explain it. I do feel guilty, but it's only because I feel bad about not feeling guilty at all. I feel . . .
liberated
, if you can believe that.”
“Sullivan, even if Charles never finds out, God knows, and He was watching you in the very act,” scolded Kina.
Sullivan poured a glass of juice. “Kina, that thought is disturbing on so many levels. Vaughn is so amazing, and I'm not just talking about the sex. He's an artist, and he's so intuitive and creative. He makes me feel more alive than I ever felt in my whole life. In the past three weeks that we've been spending time together, I haven't had a single drink. I get love-drunk instead.”
“Enjoy it now. It may be hard to feel alive once Charles finds out, because he's going to kill both of you,” replied Lawson.
Sullivan kicked back her heels. “I don't even care if he finds out. I might even tell him myself. Maybe then he'll finally divorce me.”
“All right, be careful what you wish for,” prophesized Angel. “The Bible says that you shall have whatever you say. Life and death are in the power of the tongue.”
Sullivan sighed. “Don't even get me started on the power of
Vaughn's
tongue.”
“Sully, you're nasty,” said Kina with a frown.
“That's not all she is,” reproved Lawson. “Sullivan, you're an adulterer! I've seen you do some questionable things in your life, but this is outright wrong. Do you know what God says happens to people who are unfaithful in marriage? Don't you know how seriously He takes the marriage covenant?”
“Isn't Charles just as wrong for putting me out there?” shot back Sullivan.
Lawson rolled her eyes. “He hasn't put you out yet. Just wait. As soon as he finds out about Vaughn, you can say good-bye to this house, this pool, and everything else his name is attached to.”
Sullivan stood firm. “Charles knows what kind of woman I am—at least he should after ten years. I need passion, I need excitement. He chose to stop providing that a long time ago.”
“Regardless of what Charles does or doesn't do, you still have vows and a covenant to keep,” admonished Kina. “Now, I'll be the first to admit that things are not always perfect between E'Bell and me, but I would never cheat on him. God takes a special offense to sins against your own body.”
“That includes gluttony too,” retorted Sullivan. Kina pushed her plate away.
“If nothing else, Sullivan, you saw what infidelity did to my marriage to Duke. Why would you want to put Charles or yourself through that?” asked Angel.
Sullivan sat up and griped, “I thought this was supposed to be my sister circle! I tell you something in confidence, and you blast me for it. What kind of friends do that?”
“We're still your friends, but as your friends, we have to tell you when you've screwed up,” said Lawson.
“And you
have
screwed up,” stressed Angel. “You have to end it with Vaughn now! You need to stay as far away from him as possible before anyone gets hurt.”
“Sully, what you did was foul even by my standards,” weighed in Reginell.
“You said you understood,” objected Sullivan. “You said variety is the spice of life.”
“Yeah, but that was before I thought about how wrong it was to do that to Charles. He's a decent man, and you didn't even have the good sense to cheat up.”
“Don't you recognize the tricks of the enemy when you see them, Sully? The devil knows the best way to the church is to attack the leaders and their families. You need to get on your knees and start repenting right now!” beseeched Kina.
“Might as well,” agreed Reginell. “She's been on her knees for everything else.”
“Obviously, I won't be going to Sullivan for marital advice,” said Lawson.
“Oh, did you and Garrett finally set a date?” asked Kina.
“We're working on it. At least I have something to wear for the occasion.”
“You got the dress?” exclaimed Angel.
Lawson nodded. “I bought it a couple of weeks back.”
“You should've called me,” whined Sullivan. “I would've gone with you.”
“You were probably sinning that day. I didn't have to shop alone, though. Mark went with me.”
“And you're talking about me?” mused Sullivan.
“Who takes their baby's daddy wedding dress shopping?” raised Angel. “Is this a part of the ‘something old, something new' tradition that I don't know about?”
“It's not like that,” said Lawson. “Mark and I are friends . . . sort of.”
“Uh-oh, I smell trouble,” said Reginell.
“There's no trouble brewing,”—Lawson avoided eye contact—“aside from him trying to kiss me.”
“Did he
try,
or did he succeed?” asked Kina.
“He
tried
,” Lawson stressed. “I told him I'm one hundred percent committed to Garrett.”
“And are you?” pressed Reginell.
“Yes! Who do I look like—Sully?”
Sullivan refreshed her glass. “Not even on your best day.”
Kina scooped up a handful of pralines. “Now that the two of you are friends, have you thought anymore about telling him the truth about Namon?”
Lawson shook her head. “I'm invoking the ‘don't ask, don't tell' policy.”
Angel's phone rang. She glanced at the phone number registering on the screen and decided to ignore the call. “I'm not in the mood to deal with those two today!”
“I take it that's Duke's wife calling,” inferred Lawson.
“I haven't been able to force myself to talk to them yet.”
“Angel, every day that you go on ignoring them, Theresa gets worse. Do you really want that on your conscience?” asked Kina.
“You at least owe them a response,” said Lawson. “If you're not going back, let them know.”
Reginell yawned.
“Are we boring you, little sister?”
“No more than usual. I'm just sleepy.”
“I keep telling you that you're working too hard,” cautioned Kina.
“Reggie, sleep deprivation is a real thing. It causes memory lapses, slows down your reflexes and your thought process,” forewarned Angel. “You need to take better care of yourself.”
“I'll be able to get all the sleep I need now that I'm getting my own place,” Reginell announced.
Lawson looked up. “Reggie, are you moving out?”
“It's time, don't you think? I mean, you and Garrett will be getting married soon, and you're going to want the place to yourselves. And I know that Namon is tired of fighting me for the bathroom. I'm twenty-one now. I'm old enough to strike out on my own.”
“Can you afford to do that?” asked Kina.
“Are you kidding?” spat Lawson. “She's making so much money that we find bundles of cash stashed around her room all the time.”
“Have you been going through my stuff?” Reginell rolled her eyes. “Now I
know
it's time to move out.”
“No, but if you don't want me going in your room, stop leaving all the dishes in there; then I won't have to go in there searching for them.”
Kina stopped chewing. “Have you found an apartment somewhere?”
Reginell nodded. “I'm signing a lease at The Links.”
“The Links?
I
can't even afford to stay there!” exclaimed Sullivan,
Lawson spoke softly. “Honey, isn't that a little out of your price range?”
“I'm making good money now, Lawson.”
“You must be making
great
money,” added Kina.
Sullivan scratched her head and asked, “Exactly what do you do at this insurance company? My cousin James works out there, too, and he's never even heard of you.”
“I'm in customer service,” boasted Reginell.
“So is he, but he's still living with his mama. What are you doing that he isn't?”
“Working my butt off, that's what!”
“Well, give him some tips. According to him, y'all barely make minimum wage.”
“I will. I need to start making some new friends while I'm at it,” hinted Reginell.
“What's that supposed to mean?” Lawson wanted to know.
“It means that I need to start hanging out with people who think like me and won't try to be all up in my business every five minutes. All you people do is sit around and gossip. Get a life!” snapped Reginell then flashed a wad of cash. “I believe this ought to be enough to prove that you all can stop worrying about what I can and can't afford.”
“Who does she think she's talking to?” asked Sullivan in a raised voice.
Reginell pointed her finger and replied, “I'm talking to you and every other meddling person at this table. Lawson, I'll be out by the end of the week.”
“Dang, Reggie, my period's on too, but you don't see me biting everybody's head off!” cried Angel.
“Whatever. I've wasted enough time with you females as it is. Later.” Reginell snatched up her purse and jacket and stomped out.
Kina watched as Reginell rudely brushed up against Sullivan on the way out. “What's her problem?”
“It's gon' be me if she doesn't watch it!” called Sullivan loud enough for Reginell to hear.
“I don't know what's going on with her,” said Lawson. “But I know my sister, and when she starts acting like this, it means one of two things. Either she's hiding something, or she's in trouble. Knowing Reginell, it's both.”

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