Loving True (3 page)

With a long, exhausted sigh, he rolled out of bed. If he kept his promise his son might still be alive. He didn’t know a single thing about being a good husband or father when he married Brooke. Back then; Brooke came into his life at the wrong time. Unfortunately, he was still caught up in his past and trying to prove a point. He had to show everyone in that town he was no longer poor white trash; especially his fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Kelly. It was she who pointed out each and every day, how much he and his brother lacked.
 
His blood raced with uninvited memories as her Minnie Mouse voice still rung in his ears after all these years.
 
I feel so sorry for
Hayward
and his brother. They’re such handsome boys, but they’ll never amount to much with the family they have. I can’t believe their mother let her family disown her to marry that cop.

After overhearing her conversation, with another teacher in the hallway as a child, he promised himself that he would succeed no matter the cost. His eyes darkened with pain. He knew his family couldn’t afford expensive things back then, but he and Clinton never went to bed cold or hungry. He paced back and forth in the air conditioner room. The plush beige carpet cushioned his heavy footsteps.

“Well, I showed all of them.” He studied hard all through college. After graduation, he worked at corporate jobs that he hated, just waiting for his chance to succeed. When his employer wanted to retire for a better life in
Florida
and decided to sell his business, he had made an offer and bought it.

Three and a half years later, he became the youngest CEO and founder of his own architectural firm Campbell Construction and Design. A faint smile pulled at his mouth. Four years later, he had a successful business and became a billionaire.

Back then, he thought only one thing was missing from his perfect business plan, a trophy wife on his arm.
God, I was such a fool.
He didn’t want to think about Brooke. Why won’t she stop haunting him? He’d never forget the first time he saw her in the strapless red dress in the sea of black dresses. The silky clingy dress drew his attention the second she walked in the crowded dining room.
 
Her dress demanded attention, and his competitive streak didn’t back down from the challenge. A light sweat broke out on his body as he took a deep breath, and the memory of the smell of Channel No. 5 filled his nose.

Brooke never went anywhere without it splashed all over her body. She wore it to seduce him. Sex was her weapon of choice when it came to him and getting what she wanted. His stomach turned at how many times, he fell into her well-laid trap. His hands tightened into fists at his sides. Why had he married her? Hell, he knew why. She was the perfect asset to his business and bedroom. The perfect lady at work, but the sexy siren every man wanted at home in the bedroom. They got married in Vegas on the way back from a business trip. Seven months later his precious son Tyler
Brison
was born.

His expression clouded with pain, he couldn’t think about the last time he saw his son lying on the cold hard ground by the river’s edge.
Hayward
ran from the room, his bare feet pounding down the staircase into the kitchen.

Downstairs he jerked open the refrigerator door and blinked as a cool gust of air hit him in the face; he shoved aside a container of leftover lasagna. Reaching in the very back, he grabbed a beer and pulled it out. The cool moisture felt wonderful to his warm skin. Twisting off the lid, he flung it into the trashcan. His lips took a long deserving sip from the tall thin green bottle. Scratching his chest with his free hand, he braced his bare shoulder on the wall by the window. His tired gaze noticed a dim light in his neighbor’s house. Taking another sip, he wiped the extra moisture from his mouth with the back of his hand.

She was more beautiful up close than from a distance. He had never noticed African American woman before, but the beauty of her was exquisite, almost fragile. Yet, a hint of toughness shined through and called to the deepest part of him. Her smooth flawless rich deep mahogany skin made his fingers itch. He wanted to see if she was as soft as she looked. He knew he should apologize for yelling at her. The incident at the store had been his fault not hers. But the second her deep brown eyes, behind those adorable wire-rimmed glasses, clashed with his, every rational thought disappeared from his mind.

They looked so dim and alone, for some odd reason he wanted to put a spark back in them. He shook his head. What in the hell was wrong with him? He didn’t want to get involved with his sexy neighbor.

Chapter Two

True woke up early the next morning, as two small house sparrows chirped below her open window. Their musical voices talked to each other; in a language only they understood and weren’t meant for her to know. She rose up in the middle of the bed and watched as they flew off the deck back into the woods. “God, why did I move out here in the boonies?” She groaned falling back down on the rumpled bed and flung her arm over her eyes.

She wrestled between the cool sheets for another hour and tried to get back to sleep, but she couldn’t. “Well, I can’t stay in bed all day,” she mumbled tossing the light cream sheets off her body. She rolled out of the four-poster mahogany bed and walked into the bathroom. After a quick shower, she got dressed then went downstairs and worked on placing the rest of empty boxes by the front door.

An hour later, True gathered all the empty brown boxes along with three bankers’ ones and carried them outside to the trashcan by the driveway. “Whew, I’m finally done with all those boxes,” she muttered closing the lid to the green trash tote. Wiping her sweaty palms on the front of her jeans, she spotted her neighbor in the middle of his fresh cut lawn.

His broad back was to her and his left hand was shoved in the back pocket of his jeans. The sunlight shone off his hair, its black richness gleamed in the morning sunshine. A T-shirt, similar to the one he had on yesterday, stretched across his wide shoulders. Her heart raced at the sight of him despite his rude behavior at the grocery store last night. “Well, I guess it’s now or never.” She squared her shoulders and moved in his direction.

* * * *

Standing in the center of his yard,
Hayward
stared at the front of his house. Yesterday, his secretary called with a suggestion from
Clinton
about adding a closed in Jacuzzi to the side of the house. The thought crossed his mind a couple of times; however, he didn’t know if he wanted to spend the money.

“Good morning,” a feminine voice said behind him. The soft sound sent a jolt through his body.

He turned and saw the problem of his sleepless night behind him. He raked his eyes over her; again, her beauty blew his senses away.
Hayward
’s eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses, the muscles in his stomach tightened as the light vanilla scent drifted toward him. Why was she over here? His heart jolted in his chest and his pulse pounded at the instant attraction. It scared the hell out of him.

“Can I help you with something?”

Staggered by his rudeness she blinked and took a stepped back “Umm… I wanted to come over and introduce myself.” She muttered.
 
“Hi, I’m True Williams, your new neighbor.” She held out her hand, but he didn’t take it. Instead, he stood there and looked at her with his sunglasses over his eyes.

True dropped her hand, “Sorry I bothered you.” She turned away from him.

“Good morning,” he mumbled as she started back toward her house. Slowly, she spun back around and faced him, a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
 

“Do you have a name?” She asked.

“
Hayward
Campbell
.”

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you Mr. Campbell.” True held out her hand again for another handshake. He wrapped his fingers around her small hand. He resisted the urge to pull back as electricity coursed through his entire body. He brushed his thumb over the inside of her wrist and he noticed how the slow movement made her pulse race.

“Can I have my hand back?”

Pushing his sunglasses up with his free hand,
Hayward
looked down and studied her upturned face. He slowly released her soft hand. As soon as her fingers were gone, he missed their warmth immediately.
 
She radiated a sweetness that drew him like a magnet. There was something in her demeanor that could soothe him if he would let it. Her soft-spoken voice and scent affected his lonely body in a way a woman hadn’t in a very long time. He couldn’t let that happen.

“I’m a very busy man. I don’t have anymore free time so if you don’t mind could you go back home?”
Hayward
swiveled his body, turning his attention back to his house.

* * * *

True was so pissed that she could barely lifted her voice above a whisper; “You’re the most arrogant man I’ve ever had the displeasure to meet. I hope we don’t see each other that often, but if we do please don’t look my way.”
 
She spun around and stormed across the dew-covered grass. Her hands shook so bad, she could barely unlock the front door.

Slamming the door shut behind her, she made a beeline for the kitchen. Yanking open the freezer door, she shoved several assorted plastic containers to the side and grabbed the pint of ice cream from the very back. Her fingertips tingled from the light covering of frost on the container. Closing the door, she snatched a clean spoon from the dishwasher. “You’ll never disappoint me,” she whispered at the carton. True removed the lid and flung it into the trashcan by the back door. Her eyes closed in ecstasy as she shoved the first delicious spoonful into her mouth. Who needed Hayward Campbell when she had Chunky Monkey ice cream?

* * * *

Five minutes after hearing
True’s
door slam;
Hayward
stared across the grass at her house.
Would it have killed me to be nice to her?
 
“I can’t live next door to her and not speak,” he muttered. The faint scent of vanilla still lingered in the air, the warm fragrance matched her fiery personality. Her silky challenge to leave her alone had sent shock waves through his body. She didn’t know how much her dare turned him on.
 

Hayward
shook his head; he massaged the back of his neck with the palm of his hand. “I really need to apologize for the way I acted.” He shouldn’t have taken his frustrations out on her. Sighing he walked across the thick grass, the low crunch sounded wonderful to his ears. “Okay, here goes nothing.”
 
Hayward
paused at the front door and brushed a lock of his hair off his forehead. He raised his hand and knocked once.
I wouldn’t blame her if she slammed the door in my face.

* * * *

Pulling the spoon from her mouth,
True’s
eyes darted to the front door. “Who in the world could that be?” She groaned sitting the half-empty ice cream container on the table. She stood up and went to answer the door. “Wait a minute, I’m coming.”

True flung open the door, her mouth tightened at the sight of
Hayward
standing on her step. “What do you want?” She crossed her arms under her breasts. He didn’t want to be bothered with her earlier, so why in the hell was he on her doorstep now?

Hayward
dragged his eyes away from the intensity of
True’s
unblinking stare. The quick flash of raw hurt he saw in her rich brown eyes made him feel even worse. He slowly brought his eyes back to her face, a frown was etched across her forehead and distrust blazed in her eyes. God, why did he come over here in the first place? From the expression plastered across her face, she didn’t want him anywhere near her and he couldn’t blame her after the way he dismissed her earlier.

“I came over to apologize for being so rude a few minutes ago.” The words almost lodged in his mouth, he hated to admit when he was wrong.

Bracing his shoulder against the doorjamb he watched her face for any sign of forgiveness or understanding. The pull he felt for her was still there. For some reason, he couldn’t ignore her like the others. He wanted to know what made this beautiful woman in front of him click. What did she possess that scratched at the deepest part of him? The part he had kept hidden all these years? “If you would like to finish the conversation we were having I’ll be glad to listen more closely now.”
 

“Do you really call that an apology,” True scowled. “I’ve heard a lot of apologies in my life and without a doubt, yours is the worst!”

Hayward
folded his arms across his wide chest causing his muscles to ripple under his light gray shirt. The movement raised her pulse rate. Nonetheless, she wouldn’t let him know how much he affected her. She took a step back until the heel of her shoes hit the beige carpet. “Look, I’m sorry I bothered you and it won’t happen again.”

She stared up at him and blinked at the amusement that flickered in his eyes. “T
hank
s for the apology.” She closed the door with a snap.

Hayward
laughed. The deep sound echoed through the forest and bounced off the trees. “Damn, I love her fire.” She had looked him directly in the eyes and didn’t back down. The way she stood up to him made his blood burn. His face brightened at the challenge True presented him. She wasn’t about to stroke his ego. Over the past two years, he forgot how much he enjoyed the thrill of the chase. Whistling softly,
Hayward
contemplated his next move on the short walk back to his house.

* * * *

Inside his house, he couldn’t stop thinking about True. She was a very complicated woman. His first impression of her at the grocery store was a young, timid, naïve girl, but the feisty woman ten minutes ago proved him wrong.
 
Hayward
ran his hand across his jaw. He thrived on a good fight; if nothing else True provoked the fire within him. He wanted to see how far things could go between them.

Walking into the kitchen,
Hayward
grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator and strolled into his den. He tossed his big body down on the couch, the leather cracked under his weight. His eyes dropped down to the two black and white pictures displayed on the oak table. Brooke and Tyler stared back at him from sterling silver photo frames.

Everyone thought they had been the perfect family; he let them believe in the fantasy.
 
In reality, he and Brooke never loved each other. He took a long gratifying sip of the bitter liquid. “My marriage was a business deal,”
Hayward
muttered, lifting the beer as to his mouth for another quick swallow. His wife never loved him. Brooke loved money, power and men in that order. Pain swelled up in the middle of his chest, it devastated him when he found out
Tyler
wasn’t his son. “But it doesn’t matter I’ll always love him like he was my son.” Alcohol numbed his pain for a while, until the nightmares came back at night. Would he ever get over this feeling of the guilt?

He drained the rest of the beer. The cold liquid felt good to his suddenly dry mouth.
 
He placed the empty beer bottle on the table. His fingers picked at the wet paper curling up at the sides. The phone rung on the table beside the couch, he picked it up his eyes rolling at the number flashing back at him.

“Yes,” he snapped into the phone, after the third ring. It was Sunday and
Clinton
’s day of the week to check up on him. When would his brother learn that he didn’t need a babysitter?

“You think I called to lecture you, don’t you,”
Clinton
questioned.
 

He heard the anger in his brother’s voice and smiled.
Clinton
was two years older than him, so he thought that gave him the right to meddle in his affairs. Sometimes he was worse than their mother. “So, what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?” He tossed his empty beer bottle into the trashcan next to him.

“I wanted to check on you and see how things were going,”
Clinton
sighed. “You know how much Mom and Dad miss you,” he complained. “You never want anyone to come for a visit.
Hayward
you need to stop hiding up there in
Montana
. The accident wasn’t your fault. How did you know Brooke would leave the house in that storm? It’s time for you to come back home.”

Rubbing the side of his head with two fingers,
Hayward
slumped forward on the couch. “I’m not ready to be back in the office or around a lot of people.” He barked. “I‘ve started working from here and I’m happy with that for the moment.”

“Okay I’ll leave it alone, but remember we love you and want you back with the family,”
Clinton
confessed. “I don’t understand how you can live out there, in the wilderness, without any sexy females around for miles. I couldn’t live there for one day.”

Hayward
shook his head as
True’s
sexy face flashed in front of his eyes. He didn’t want to discuss her with
Clinton
. His brother loved beautiful women and he would want
True
. Running his fingers through his hair, he was taken back by his thoughts
.
Why did he care if
Clinton
met
True?
She wasn’t anything to him.

“Are you still there?”

“Yes, but it’s late and I better go,”
Hayward
sighed. He quickly hung up the phone before
Clinton
could stop him.

His swung his gaze to the clock beside the pictures of his family.
Six o’clock
flashed back at him in big green numbers. “I think I’ll fix a steak tonight.” Pushing his body off the couch,
Hayward
strolled from the living room into the kitchen.
 
He loved eating out on the picnic bench on a warm July night, underneath the stars, because they sparkled like tiny crystals in the sky.