Guilty of Love (37 page)

Dre tried his best to act unfazed,
toying with the invitation.

“
It’s okay, Dre. You two
are safe there. Go on, you’re not in a prison,” Parke encouraged.
“When was the last time you played?”

A frown held back Dre’s smile. When
Sasha nudged him, he practically knocked over his chair pushing
back from the table. “I guess we can go and check it out.
C’mon.”

“
First, try on your new
clothes,” Parke ordered.

“
Nah, that’s all right,”
Dre said, shrugging as he grabbed his sister. When Kami protested,
he took her hand, too. Hesitantly, the trio headed for the door as
Cheney and Parke exchanged cautious looks.

Sunday night when the siblings were
still at Cheney’s house, she called Wilma to find out what
arrangement should be made about school. Wilma informed her if it
wasn’t a burden, she could take them back to their old school, and
Cheney agreed. She would have to leave earlier in the
mornings.

Cheney had fallen into another routine
with Sasha and Dre. They cleaned their rooms without prompting and
dressed without complaining. The counselor returned for a second
evaluation within a week because of the severity of Sasha and Dre’s
situation. “They’re adjusting well,” Wilma informed her.

On Saturday after lunch, everyone was
in the kitchen about to bake cookies until Parke showed up. Kami
raced to the door with Dre tagging along. Sasha was still
uncomfortable around him, so she stayed at Cheney’s side. Kami’s
giggles and loud talk, mixed with Dre’s excitement, filtered
throughout the house.

Parke stepped into the kitchen with a
bright smile and mischief written all over his face as he brushed
his lips against the top of Cheney’s hair. “Hey, babe.”

“
Hey. Why are you so happy?
What are you up to?”

He whipped out five tickets. “The
Cards vs. Cubs baseball game begins in two hours.”

Dre was standing behind Parke with
praying hands, pleading. Kami was holding on to Parke’s free hand,
sucking her thumb. Sasha wouldn’t meet Cheney’s eyes.

“
We just took everything
out to bake cookies, and the kids—”

“
Unless you want the
children to see how a man kisses the woman he loves, I suggest you
agree,” he leaned closer, murmuring against her lips.

She hated when Parke got the
upper-hand so she bit his bottom lip.

“
Ouch!” Parke yelled,
rubbing his lip. He looked around and all the children were
laughing, even Sasha. He turned back to her and mouthed, “I’ll get
you for that.”

Teasingly, Cheney lifted her brow and
threw him a kiss.
He makes me happy. God, thank You for Parke
and the children.

Dre tapped Parke on his shoulder. “Ah,
can you and Cheney get each other another time, so we can get to
the game, man.”

Sharing a laugh before Cheney breathed
a sigh of relief. She didn’t know what Dre was like before, but she
believed the game would allow him to be a kid again. Less than an
hour later, everybody was settled in Parke’s Envoy. Parke reached
across the seat and engulfed Cheney’s hand in his. She glanced in
the backseat and smiled. Kami had mimicked them and latched onto
Dre and Sasha.

Outside Busch Stadium, Parke purchased
Cardinal red baseball caps and jerseys for everybody. Kami giggled
as he swung her above his head, anchoring her legs on his
shoulders. Dre’s eyes lit brightly as he idolized Parke’s playful
nature. Sasha seemed less heavyhearted as she admired the new
purchases, but she remained by Cheney’s side.

They were several feet away from the
entrance when a petite, medium-brown-skinned woman decked out in a
red Cardinal T-shirt, white shorts, and bright red lipstick yelled
Parke’s name. He spun around and smiled at the gorgeous woman
coming their way.

“
Kelsi, it’s good seeing
you.” His smile was weak. Clearly he was lying.

She stopped in front of him, eyed them
and folded her arms. The woman was gearing up her Black sistah
attitude—rolling her neck, hands on hips, and spitting
daggers.

“
I can’t say the same. No
wonder you haven’t returned my calls. So this is the little
family.” She snarled before balling her hands into fists and
slapping them on her hips. The neck rolling came next. “You never
mentioned them before we—”

Kami bent down swinging her arms and
screaming, “Mine. Mine.”

Horrified, Kelsi stepped back. “You
can have him, honey.” She twitched her nose and sauntered away into
the crowd.

Sasha gripped Cheney’s hand tighter
after the confrontation. Kami was now in Parke’s arms, smothering
him with kisses; Dre was rubbing the make-believe hair on his chin,
grinning. “Man, she sure was fine,” he said with his eyes on a
retreating Kelsi.

Parke patted the teenager on the back
before squeezing his neck. “Not as fine as Cheney.” He focused on
her and mouthed, “Past trash and you know I love you.”

Cheney shivered; Kelsi’s drama didn’t
faze her. She mouthed back, “I know.”

Inside the stadium, and sitting behind
third base, Parke stuffed the kids with hot dogs, peanuts, and
popcorn.

“
We just ate at home,” she
scolded Parke.

“
I like hot dogs, Miss
Cheney,” Sasha confessed with mustard smeared on her chin. Since
the girl didn’t participate in their conversation frequently,
Cheney shut her mouth and smiled.

During the seventh-inning stretch,
they escorted the kids to the bathroom. When she and the girls
stepped out of the ladies’ room, Dre and Parke were waiting by a
concession stand. As Cheney approached them, a honey-colored sister
cut off her path.

“
Parke!” The woman waved,
rotating her hips with each step.

Sasha whispered, “Oh no, not
again.”

Cheney was thinking the same thing
when Kami broke free from Cheney’s hand and charged toward Parke
yelling, “Daddy, Daddy’s mine.”

The woman stopped in mid-strut with
shock written all over her face. “You’ve been busy, Parke,” she
said accusingly.

Scooping Kami up in his arms, he
grinned. “Hey, Nyla, yeah, I have.”

“
Well, she looks like you,
you two-timer, unfaithful, slimy dog.” She stormed off.

Parke kissed Kami, mumbling, “You make
a great bodyguard, girl.”

Two women within hours? Whew. Cheney’s
head was spinning. Parke met her eyes held hers and held it in a
trance. “We can’t change our past.”

Cheney nodded. “Boy, don’t I
know.”

“
Did you hear her call me
Daddy?” He grinned like he had just given birth to her.

Ignoring him, Cheney rolled her eyes
upward and walked ahead.

***

Parke knew it didn’t look good, but he
loved beautiful women. He still did, which was why he had fallen in
love with Cheney. A shocker, considering he fought the losing
battle. The others were flings so he didn’t owe them an
explanation. They needed to talk.

Once they were reseated and the game
was underway, Parke turned to Cheney. “Those ladies were my past.
Please don’t hold it against me.”

“
How can I hold anything
against you? You’re not holding my past against me.”

Yeah, it took him a while to come
around, but the good thing was he did. Parke forced her to bite off
a piece of his hot dog before sealing her lips with a
kiss.

Dre nudged him in the side. “You two
sure do kiss a lot.”

He pulled the baseball cap over Dre’s
eyes. “Ah, eat your peanuts.”

One of Cubs’ outfielders hit a double
and threatened to tie up the game, but the Cards came back in the
bottom of the ninth with a three-run homer to win, seven to
six.

Standing to leave, Parke gathered his
crew. He hoped he wouldn’t run into any more of his lady friends.
Just in case. Parke planned to keep Kami by his side. They filed in
line with other fans to leave the ballpark.

Parke was preoccupied, thinking how
Cheney’s dream of being a foster parent—even if it was limited to
thirty days under her emergency care status—had become a reality,
although it was cramping their dating time. What could he do about
her guilt?

While waiting for a light to change at
the corner of Broadway and Market Streets, Parke heard a familiar
voice screamed his name. He cringed. He would recognize Annette’s
voice anywhere, even in his sleep.

Dre clapped his hands and mumbled,
“All right.”

As usual, she was expertly dressed in
the red and white team colors with red sandals. The heels made her
almost as tall as Cheney. Her shoulder-length brown hair matched
her healthy caramel skin. She wore a bright smile and spoke in the
softest, sweetest voice. She fell into his arms, hugging him for
dear life.

When Cheney noticed Annette’s male
companion smiling, she seemed to relax. Even Kami appeared calm.
“Annette, believe it or not, I’m really glad to see
you.”

She laughed and punched him in the
arm. “Sure you are, liar.” Annette smiled at Kami as she reached
out and rubbed the child’s arm. “What a beautiful little girl.
Parke, I know you don’t have any kids, but she could pass as
yours.”

Instead of Kami snarling, she leaned
her head back against Parke’s shoulder as if she were shy. Parke
tickled the toddler’s stomach. “This little monster is Kami,
Cheney’s foster child, and I guess you can say mine,
too.”

Kami stuck her tiny finger in Parke’s
neck. “Mine.” She showed a toothy grin.

“
She’s adorable,” Annette
cooed before staring at Cheney.

It appeared Annette was gathering
strength. No telling what was about to come out her mouth. Parke
made the introductions.

Annette acted as if she was meeting a
world-famous celebrity. “I’m sure you’re behind the change in this
knucklehead.” She flung herself at Cheney and hugged her like she
had known her for sixty years instead of sixty seconds.

The shock on Cheney’s face was
priceless. She had no choice but to succumb to Annette’s hearty
embrace.

Dre leaned over and whispered. “She’s
fine, too. I’m going to have to hook up with you when I’m
older.”

Embarrassed, Parke elbowed Dre into
silence.

“
You’re a very special
woman who has entered Parke’s life. I feel it.” She leaned close to
Cheney’s ear, but loud enough for him to hear. “Tie him down,
honey. He’s a good man. He just needs Jesus in his life.” Annette
gave him an award-winning smile.

“
Since I don’t have Him in
mine, I can’t help Parke,” Cheney explained.

“
God has always been there.
We find Him at different stages in our lives, but the most
important thing is we find Him. You will,” Annette said
convincingly, then moved on to Dre. “You sure are a handsome young
man. Jesus loves you and so do I.” Dre didn’t look convinced. She
gently held Sasha’s shoulders. “What’s your name,
sweetie?”

“
Sasha,” the girl uttered
under her breath.

“
That’s such a beautiful
and classy name for a sweet and beautiful young lady. Jesus loves
you, too.”

Making eye contact with Annette’s
companion, Parke offered a handshake. “Parke Jamieson. Annette’s
not only nosy, busy, and talkative, but she has taken on a rude
quality and didn’t introduce you.”

“
I’m Dyson Kidd. Nice to
meet you, man. Annette said I had to meet you outside church
territory, since you wouldn’t step foot inside ours.”

Not two church folks at one time on a
street corner. Parke braced himself.

“
Sorry, I’m just happy to
see Parke. He’s cut ties with me ever since I decided to follow
Jesus,” Annette explained as sadness filled her eyes.

“
That’s not true. Cheney
and the kids have been keepin’ me busy,” Parke argued.

“
Not that busy,” Cheney
instigated.

“
Cheney, you’re supposed to
be on my side.”

She gave him an indifferent shrug as
Dyson pulled Annette closer. He recognized the look of love they
exchanged. Parke was amused.

“
Well, if a certain person
hadn’t been avoiding me, maybe you would’ve met Minister Dyson
Kidd,” Annette paused. “I’ve been inviting Parke to church, but he
won’t come. Hopefully, Cheney, you can convince him and bring these
lovely children.”

“
Sorry, I’m not the one to
convince anybody to attend church,” Cheney said.

Dyson interjected, “Please, be both
our guests this Sunday.”

“
Annette, we have plans
with the kids, but thanks anyway. We better get these rugrats
home,” Parke replied, checking his watch. It was one thing to end a
conversation with her over the phone, but how could he get rid of
her now?

“
Do you mind if we pray for
you before you leave?” Dyson asked.

He knew it! Parke would rather face
more of his ex’s than Annette. Looking around, no one was paying
them any attention, but Parke didn’t want to start a revival on the
street corner. He was about to decline when Cheney softly answered,
“Please.”