Marrying the Millionaire (33 page)

BACK AT THE ESTATE ON Spaulding Drive,
Richmond put on the movie “Frozen” for Isabelle and CJ, and they
happily sat on the floor inside the living room, watching it for
the umpteenth time. Wondering why it’d taken Kayla so long to go
back to her home just to get an overnight bag, he walked over to
the window and closed the blinds.

Thunder crackled. Lightning flashed.
Sheets of rain poured from the sky, drenching the land. Becoming
worried about Kayla driving in the nasty weather, an eerie feeling
swept over him. Chills engulfed him. He’d be so glad when Kay
returned and walked through the back door.

Listening for the sound of the kitchen
door to open, he turned and headed for the front. Standing inside
the living room, he eased the drapes to the side and put two
fingers between the slits in the blinds, separating them. Wishing
Kay would hurry up and pull into the driveway, knots twisted at the
top of his stomach. “The weather is terrible. Hurry up and get
home, Kay.” Trying to shake the bad feeling wrestling inside him,
he shook his head.

Thunder roared, shaking the house.
White lightning zigzagged over the estate. Weary, his heart thudded
in his chest.

Terrified, Isabelle and CJ
came running inside the living room. Right when he hefted them in
his arms, he gazed out the window and saw lightning strike an oak
in his front yard.
Yikes!
Backing up into the foyer, holding the children
tight, he watched in horror as the huge tree fell on the house with
a loud bang, puncturing the roof.

Splinters of bark protruded through
the ceiling. The outside rain now poured into his living room.
Suddenly, the lights blew out.

On edge, Richmond’s cell buzzed inside
his pants. Placing the kids on their feet, he told them everything
would be fine. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I
promise.” Without looking at the Caller ID, he hurried to answer
the call. “Kay. Where are you?”

“
Richmond. It’s me,
Chelsey. Your father has had a heart attack. You need to get to the
hospital now.”

A heart attack? Jesus
Christ!
“Russell had a heart
attack?”

“
Yes.”

The bad news shook him to the core.
“How’s he doing?”

Chelsey’s voice cracked. “Not good.
Just hurry up and get here. Get here as fast as you
can.”

“
I’ll get there as soon as
I can.” Richmond’s whole body stiffened.

“
It’s raining horrible
outside!” Kayla burst through the side garage door. A second later,
she entered the room and walked up to Richmond. Water soaked her
hair and clothing. Tilting her head, she observed his face. “I
pulled in the garage right before the tree fell on the house.” The
skin on his face strained. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

Richmond’s heart tempted to shatter.
“It’s Russell.”

Her round eyes grew wide with concern.
“What about Russell?”

“
He had a heart
attack.”

Kayla slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Oh God. When? Is he okay?”

“
I don’t know. I’m on my
way to the hospital now.”

“
I’m coming with
you.”

“
No. You need to stay here
with the kids. I don’t want them going to the hospital, especially
in this bad weather.” After Richmond placed several candles
throughout the downstairs part of the house, he returned to the
living room, where Kayla and the kids still were. He pulled his
keys from his pocket. “I’m glad you made it home safe.” Kissing her
on the cheek, gloom ate his insides up.

In a hurry to get to the hospital, he
flung open the front door and jogged down the stairs. Rain pelted
his scalp as he scurried to his Range Rover. Sliding between the
steering wheel and seat soaking wet, he stuck the key in the
ignition and drove away.

Driving down Spaulding Drive,
Richmond’s mind flashed back to the night he’d found Salina in
their bed dying. Salina’s death had destroyed the relationship he’d
had with God prior. Halfway believing in God and halfway not, he
hadn’t really spent much time with God since that horrible night
she’d died in his arms. Now, he needed God. He needed God to save
his father.

“
Dear God. If you save my
father…I promise I’ll never doubt your existence again.”

KAYLA HUDDLED WITH THE
CHILDREN on the sofa inside the dark family room. Hugging CJ to her
left and Isabelle to her right, guilt made her sick to her
stomach.
Oh God
,
had she caused Russell to have a heart attack? Had thinking about
her grandfather’s death pushed him over the edge? Made him go into
cardiac arrest?

Sniffling, Kayla’s nose burned as she
fought back her tears. If Russell died, it’d be all her fault. She
should’ve never went over to his home to question him about the
night her grandfather had died and their friendship. Now, not only
had she put his life in jeopardy, she’d put her relationship with
Richmond at stake as well.

If Richmond found out that she’d lied
to him about her whereabouts and had been with his father tonight,
right before he had the heat attack, he’d think she was a big liar
and probably end their relationship. Even worse, if he found out
her grandfather had killed Salina while on one of his doctor house
visits, he’d hate her for all eternity. Her life was quickly
spinning out of control, and it wasn’t a darn thing she could do
about it.

Terrified of Russell’s outcome, Kayla
closed her eyes and prayed harder than she’d ever prayed before.
She prayed Russell pulled through. Prayed for God to save
him.

Reopening her eyes, Kayla stared at
the wick on the candle burning inside the jar on the table. Wishing
the lights would hurry up and come back on, her cell buzzed on the
table next to the candle. She leapt up and answered it. Swiping the
screen, she barely had the phone to her ear before saying, “How’s
he doing?”

“
I’m doing great now that
I’ve heard your voice. Your voice is like sweet music to my ears,”
Carson said in a chipper tone.

Disappointed, Kayla sucked her teeth.
Call her ungrateful, but a part of her wished he’d never moved to
Hilton Head. Although she wanted what was best for CJ, Carson was
really getting on her nerves with his constant attempts to pursue
her.

“
Hi, Carson.” There wasn’t
any enthusiasm to her voice.

“
Have you given any more
thought to us getting remarried so we can raise our son together?
Before you answer, think about what’s best for CJ. Kids benefits
from being raised by both of their parents in the same
home.”

“
Carson, I’ve had a rough
night. So if you’re not calling about CJ, I’m going to hang up.”
Pain throbbed at her temples.

“
You sound terrible. Did
you and Richmond get into an argument?”

“
No. It’s nothing like
that,” she choked out. “His father had a heart attack.”
And it’s all my fault.

“
Who, Russell?” Carson’s
voice pitched.

“
Yes.” Wait a minute. How
did Carson know Russell’s name? Knowing him, he probably looked it
up on the Internet. All in her business like this made her
uncomfortable. Oh, well maybe he met him at Isabelle’s birthday
party.

“
How is he
doing?”

“
I don’t know.” Her cell
buzzed. She spied the Caller ID. Richmond’s name and picture glowed
on her screen. “Hey, this is Richmond. I gotta go.”

“
Call me—”

Before Carson could finish his
sentence, she’d clicked over. “How’s Russell?”

“
Not good. It’s bad, Kay.
Real bad. The doctor’s said if he makes it, it’ll be a miracle.
Chelsey said he had a visitor right before he collapsed. I wished I
knew who it was, because something tells me his visitor is
responsible for him lying up in this damn hospital bed. Fighting
for his life.”

Chelsey was there; she saw
me.
“We have to believe that your family
will be fine. Let’s pray.” Kayla tried to keep her fragile control
and not think the worst. Not cry. Or get discouraged.

“
Other than a few words,
I’m not good at praying, Kay,” Richmond muttered.

“
Just listen to me, and
I’ll guide you.” Kayla got down on her knees in front of the sofa.
Clutching the phone between her shoulder and ear, she put her hand
in a prayer symbol and told the children who were on their knees
beside her to do the same. Bowing their heads, she led Richmond,
CJ, and Isabelle into a heart-tendering prayer for
Russell.

Two hours later, Kayla lay in the bed
downstairs, sandwiched between the children. Finally, they’d fallen
asleep. Listening to the unrelenting rain continuously clank on the
ceiling, her eyes drifted closed. Draping her arms around CJ and
Isabelle, she released a long yawn.

Their young bodies felt warm snuggled
into her as they lay beneath the thick comforter. As little as they
were, they gave her mild comfort. Refusing to keep a secret from
Richmond any longer, she made up her mind that as soon as he
returned from the hospital, she was going to tell him everything.
Tell him that she was the last person to see Russell before he had
his heart attack. Tell him that her grandfather may have killed
Salina. And tell him she’d buried the murder weapon at the river
down the street from her house after Jason caught her holding it in
her hand. Hopefully, Chelsey wouldn’t beat her to the punch and
tell him about her visit with Russell first.

Thunder roamed lightly over the
estate. Kayla’s eyes fluttered open, and she looked straight across
the room towards the door. Lightning flashed inside the room, and
she could’ve sworn she saw Chelsey standing in the doorway of her
room with her hair soaking wet, holding a sharp knife. Terrified,
she leapt up in bed.

Blinking, lightning flashed
again. Like magic, Chelsey had vanished. Please let her be seeing
things, she thought, scampering across the room, then locking the
door.
Where’s Richmond’s dog, Killer, when
I need him?

Kayla’s phone buzzed on the
nightstand. She darted across the room to answer it. Spying the
screen, she saw it was her sister, Alana. “Alana.” Her hands
trembled as she held the phone to her ear.

“
I made it home for break,
Sis! I love the way your man fixed up the house. It’s beautiful,
Sis.”

Heart thundering inside her chest,
Kayla peeped through the slits in the blinds to see if she could
spot Chelsey out there, but it was too dark. “I think someone broke
inside the house,” she whispered.

Alana’s shocking gasp came through the
phone. “I’m on my way over there. Call the police from your house
phone while you’re on the phone with me.”

“
I can’t; the electricity
is out.”

“
Well, click over and do
it.” Alana’s worrisome tone did very little to soothe the fear she
was experiencing. “I’m in the car now. Lock yourself inside a room,
and don’t come out.”

“
Okay. I’m going to click
over now.”

“
Wait. Who do you think may
have broken in?”

“
I know for sure it was
Chelsey Wimberly.”