Love Don't Live Here Anymore (The Love Collection Book 3) (17 page)

Summer had to snicker. Her sister had just turned her attitude around with five sentences. She had been so consumed with worrying about what she couldn’t do that she hadn’t thought about what she needed to do. Summer had forgotten about the daycare at Emory. The thought alone made her feel ten times better.

“Big sis, you are the illest. I am the luckiest sister in the world. I have to call Mrs. Heyward and let her know what happened. How long are you guys here until?”

“Just till Monday morning. I knew Akia was coming and I wanted to be here to meet my niece, so Abaki said we could visit for the weekend.”

“Oh my goodness. You guys drove thirteen hours just for us.”

“Well, more like ten and a half. Abaki likes to drive at night because the roads are less congested,” Autumn clarified. “Plus, he needs to make a stop on the way back home. He’s meeting with someone Tuesday morning about a business venture.”

“Speaking of which, I have just the proposal for you two. Come on, let’s go back in here with Abaki and the kids and I’ll tell you two all about it,” Summer said.

She got off the bed and gave her sister the biggest hug. She looked up to the ceiling and thanked God for blessing her with Autumn because, at that moment, she had no idea what she would do without her. Time and time again, her sister had proven to be her guiding light and she didn’t want to imagine how dim her life would be without her.

Braxdon was another person she needed to call. He hadn’t deserved the way she’d spoken to him. He had merely stopped by to drop off her makeup case that must have fallen out of her purse and he got his face chewed off. After speaking with Autumn and Abaki about funding Braxdon’s schooling, she would call him with the news. Since her sister and brother-in-law were all about empowerment and Abaki had connections all over, she knew if anyone could assist him with his goals, it was Abaki. After explaining to them Braxdon’s interests, they agreed to help. She just hoped that he hadn’t written her off just yet.

“Good Morning, Pauline. This is Summer. I was just calling because I won’t be able to make it in this morning. I have an emergency I need to take care of today, but if all goes well I will be there tomorrow. Yes. Okay, thanks! Can you please transfer me to the switchboard? Thanks.”

Summer hummed a tune as she held Akia in her lap and waited for the operator to connect her to the daycare unit.

“Hi. Emory of Home. How can I help you?”

“Hi. This is Summer Hughes. I work in the trauma unit at Emory. I have a bit of an odd situation and was hoping you could help me.”

Summer told the lady everything that happened so she could have a feel for Summer’s dilemma. When she told Summer that there were openings for Akia’s age group, Summer knew that it was only God and her family opening doors for her. Summer was told to bring Akia the following Monday, along with all the supporting documents she had and they would get her set up.

Summer spoke to Akia about the new school and told her how she was going to meet some kids her age and get to play with them. No matter what she said or did, the little girl rarely smiled. A few times, she had cried for her mommy and that tore Summer’s heart to pieces. Summer hoped that would change as time went on because it was breaking her heart to think that maybe Akia was really missing her mommy, a woman who had literally dropped her off at the doorstep of a stranger. When Summer had called Mrs. Heyward and told her what happened, she told Summer that she and Mr. Heyward would be there the next day to meet Akia and spend time with her while Summer worked. Mrs. Heyward didn’t drive long distances. Since Mr. Heyward was a retired truck driver, he usually did all the driving. They had left Jersey at four that morning and were scheduled to arrive in Atlanta early evening.

Multiple phone calls to Braxdon went unreturned. She left him an apology message, a “Please forgive me” message and an “I miss you” message, but none had yielded a response. After feeding Akia and getting her dressed, Summer combed her hair into two neat ponytails and put on her favorite cartoon. After retrieving her cell phone, she called Eugene to see what was on his agenda for the day. When Mr. and Mrs. Heyward arrived, she wanted to give them some time alone with Akia to talk to her, so she wanted to step away for a little while. He told her that he had some things already lined up but was willing to meet with her the next day. Summer told him she would have to take a rain check and get back to him. Since it had been a while since she and Ginger had hung out, Summer sent her a text, letting her know that she would pick her up after school so she could meet Akia.

Ginger had crept into Summer’s heart and become a permanent fixture. Even though they didn’t see one another all the time, they communicated at least five times a week. Summer would text her to see how her day was going and Ginger would often do the same. Summer became like a big sister to Ginger at a time when she really needed it. Promising to do anything she could for Ginger, all she asked in return was that Ginger did well in school and stuck with her counseling; so far, they had both kept their side of the agreement.

When Ginger texted back, saying that she would love to meet up after school and was looking forward to meeting Akia, Summer beamed with delight. She knew that Ginger’s caseworker wouldn’t have a problem with it because they liked that Ginger had such a positive role model. Summer quickly called her worker and told her that she was getting Ginger for a couple of hours and would drop her off when they were done. Her caseworker agreed to notify the facility and okayed Ginger’s evening pass.

She took a nice, long shower but made sure she kept the door open so she could hear what was going on with Akia. She was such a good girl, but Summer knew from the many times she’d kept Stacey’s son, Sebastian, that kids were curious.

She could hear her cell ringing in the background but didn’t get to it on time. Once she dried off and got dressed for the day, she called Vincent back.

“Hey, you,” Summer cooed. Vincent was so sweet and Summer actually looked forward to talking to him.

“Hey, back at you. Were you busy?”

“No. I was in the shower.”

“Mm, sounds erotic,” Vincent said flirtatiously.

“You are too much at times,” Summer said. “What can I do you for?”

“Well, I haven’t seen you since Friday morning and I was just thinking about you.”

“Aw, Vincent. You are the sweetest man I know,” she teased. “I was thinking about you too. I was going to call you Saturday, but my day spun so out of control that I couldn’t even get my head together.” She opted not to go into details right then and there but did give him a summary of what had taken place, so he didn’t think she was bullshitting him.

“Wow! I’d say that was quite the weekend. Well, I would love to see you this week. Maybe we could link up and do dinner or something.”

“That would be perfect. Now that I’m a mom, who’s to say when I will have extra free time.” Summer giggled.

“Touché, Ms. Hughes. I’ve been meaning to ask you: What does your middle initial stand for?”

Summer giggled. “Love.”

“Love? Really! Wow, that’s a beautiful name.”

“Yup! Thanks. I’m Summer Love, and my sister is Autumn Romance.” Summer beamed but then her smile faded. “We had twin sisters, but I—”

There was a knock at Vincent’s office door. “Summer, please hold a moment,” he said as he announced for the person to enter.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Mr. Stokes but you have a visitor who is very insistent about seeing you,” his secretary stated.

Before Vincent had a chance to answer, the visitor revealed herself and left Vincent momentarily speechless. “Umm, hey, can I call you back later?” he said to Summer.

“Yeah, of course,” Summer replied as she looked at the phone, puzzled. And it didn’t take her long to figure out that Vincent hadn’t completely hung the phone up on his end.

“Hello, Meisha,” Vincent said. “I have a meeting in a half hour, so please tell me, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

“Oh, Vincent, you have always been about business. Which is a big part of the reason why I called off the engagement.”

Vincent seemed to ignore her statement. “Why are you back in town so soon?”

“I miss you! I want you back. I want
us
back. After that amazing time we had during Thanksgiving, I was reminded of what we had, and all I can say is I’m sorry. You’re the one I want.

“Meisha, you left me, someone you knew you loved, for someone you thought you loved, simply because he gave you what you wanted, attention! Do you know how that made me feel? Everything I did was for us. All those sacrifices were so that you could live the life you’ve always wanted. I worked hard because I loved you. And you abandoned me.”

“I know. I know that now, especially, and I’m so sorry. My pleas for more time and attention fell on deaf ears and I knew I couldn’t live like that forever. I just wanted you, Vincent. Instead, we were reduced to late nights at work and, often times, me being home alone.”

Vincent sighed. “I’m in the process of running for district attorney. That’s going to require me to be working a lot harder and longer than before. How do I really know you’re ready for that?” he asked.

“Because I know what I want now. And that’s you. Plus, that guy was a scumbag. I found out he was cheating with his male intern the whole time.”

“Oh, really?” he asked slyly.

“Yup! And let’s just say that it’s gonna cost him a lot of money for me to keep that secret!”

“And exactly how much did it cost him?”

“Enough to fund your entire campaign and then some!” she paused. “Let’s just say there is no way you’re going to lose this election.

Summer arrived at Ginger’s school ten minutes early. She told Akia that she was picking up her friend and she wanted them to meet. While waiting for Ginger to exit school, Summer watched a very attractive young woman cross the street. During her observation, a man got out of the car and greeted the girl with a kiss and a hug. When Summer saw that it was Eugene, she almost spit the juice she’d just sipped out of her mouth. She couldn’t believe that grown-ass, old-ass Eugene was fraternizing with a minor. Had it not been for the way he hugged and kissed her, she would have thought it was his daughter. But the way they interacted left no question: they were intimate with one another. Wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt, she figured that the woman may be a student-teacher, fresh out of college.

Ginger got into the car. She greeted Summer and said hello to Akia.

“Ginger, does that lady work at your school?” Summer asked.

“Who, her?” Ginger asked, pointing to the same girl Summer had seen with Eugene.

“Yeah.”

“No. She’s like a second-term senior. She just turned nineteen and is supposed to graduate in January,” Ginger said.

Summer didn’t ask any more questions and went on to introduce Ginger to Akia until they were all able to sit down and become more acclimated. Summer couldn’t ignore the queasiness she felt in her stomach. She never took Eugene to be the type to prey on young girls, but then again, it just went to show that you never quite know folks. Even though the young girl was of legal age, she was still a stone’s throw away from being a minor. Eugene was well into his forties. It was a major turn off for Summer, so much so that she vowed there wouldn’t be any more sex between the two of them. Eugene was cool and someone she could consider a friend but they would never go beyond a casual friendship again.

Mrs. Heyward had called Summer and told her that they were getting off the thruway and should be at her place in about a half hour. Summer dropped Ginger off at the group home and made her way back to her house. She was excited for AJ’s parents to meet his daughter. She was certain that they would grow quite fond of Akia and look forward to spending even more time with her.

~~~

Two days came and went and Mr. and Mrs. Heyward planned to leave Atlanta Friday morning. Mrs. Heyward was scheduled to attend another church function and she was determined to get back home in a timely manner. Summer contacted Larita and the two of them made plans to go out Wednesday to get Akia some stuff for Christmas and in general. This would be Summer’s first Christmas at her new place and she was feeling anxious.

It was Wednesday, hump day, and the day alone made her think of Braxdon. He still had not returned her calls and she was starting to feel horrible for the way she’d treated him. After she thought about things more, it dawned on her that she wasn’t upset at the fact that Braxdon had popped up at her home, but he had popped up at a place that she once shared with AJ. Even though it seemed petty, Summer didn’t want to violate their space by allowing another man inside. That’s why whenever one of the guys took her home, she never invited them in. And to see Braxdon at her doorstep, asking to come in, put her in a strange place.

Tomorrow was Thursday, so she really hoped that when she went to check on Ms. Honey, things wouldn’t be awkward between them. In fact, she hoped that he wouldn’t be there when she arrived. But on second thought, she secretly hoped he would. She couldn’t deny the fact that she did care for Braxdon and truly wanted the best for him. Plus Abaki had agreed to fund his schooling, and she wanted to let him know sooner than later.

Summer completed her day at work and went home to shower and change clothes for her shopping trip with Larita. She already had her list and knew where she wanted to go, so it wouldn’t take long at all for them to get what they needed. Three hours and a trunk full of goodies later, Summer pulled up to Larita’s house and followed her inside.

“Girl, I’ve been holding my pee for hours,” Summer said as she rushed inside and headed to the bathroom. When she exited, she heard her cell phone ringing and hurried to answer it.

“Hey, Mrs. Heyward.”

“Summer, baby, I am sorry to bother you, but Akia has been crying for the past hour and nothing we do is consoling her.”

“Oh, dear. Okay, I’m on my way. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“Everything okay?” Larita asked.

“Yeah, I guess Akia is crying and they can’t get her to stop.”

“Oh, damn. Well okay, chica. You handle your business,” Larita said as she walked her friend to the door and gave her a departing hug.

Summer rushed home, feeling bad that Akia had to go through that. She had thought about counseling, but Autumn told her that there was nothing a one-year-old could gain by sitting on someone’s couch. Akia was going through a phase and she had to cry her mom out of her system. Even though their relationship was no longer, Jessica was still all that Akia knew. The fucked up part was when they called Jessica on Sunday to try and soothe Akia, her phone was already disconnected.

Vincent hooked Summer up with a family law attorney so they could work on Summer getting legal custody of Akia. The attorney told her that the judge would go through every channel and give Jessica every opportunity to step up to the plate. She said that things should be handled in a couple of months, at best.

Summer entered her house and her heart melted at the sight of little Akia crying loudly as tears streamed down her face. When Summer went over to pick her up, the little girl stopped crying. Not only were her grandparents surprised, but it also shocked Summer. Akia laid her head on Summer’s shoulder and allowed Summer to console her. For the first time since Akia had been with her, Summer finally felt like there was hope for their relationship and it made her feel good about their future.