Seduced by Moonlight (23 page)

She and Cherisse watched the girls leave. “She's a sweetie, your Danielle,” Susanne said. She looked serious. “Do you mind if I ask you a very personal question?”

Cherisse hoped it wasn't something about Charlie. Charlie was the unknown quantity in tonight's equation. She didn't know how he was going to react when she and Harry made their announcement. She hoped he remained as unobtrusive as possible, but didn't hold out much hope of that.

She smiled at Susanne. “No, I don't mind.”

“How old were you when you had Danielle? You look so young!”

“I was only twenty when Danielle was born,” Cherisse said. “I'm thirty-seven now.”

Susanne looked flabbergasted. “I'm thirty-seven, too! When's your birthday?”

“January seventeenth.”

“Mine was December tenth!” Susanne exclaimed. “I'm a little over a month older than you are. What else do we have in common? Did you pledge a sorority in college?” “No,” said Cherisse. “I just didn't have the time. I was already a mother of a seven-year-old and that sort of thing seemed like a luxury to me.”

“I went to college under different circumstances,” Susanne said. “Right after high school, and I was tempted to pledge but didn't because my curriculum counselor said it would take too much time from my schoolwork. So I didn't pledge a sorority, either.”

Cherisse saw Harry making his way toward her and Susanne. There was a serious expression on his face. He took her by the arm when he got to her, and said to Susanne, “Excuse us, Suse, I need to speak with Cherisse in private.”

Then he grabbed Cherisse by the hand and led her away.

W
hen she and Harry hit the stairs running, Cherisse asked, “Harry, what's the matter with you? Where are you taking me with such a serious look on your face?”

“I've got serious business to discuss with you, Ms. Washington,” Harry said grimly. He opened her bedroom door, pushed her inside then peered both ways down the hallway before shutting and locking the door behind them.

“Serious business,” he repeated as he bent his head and kissed her with such longing that it took Cherisse's breath away.

Raising his head, he said, “Good God, woman, don't you realize it's been twenty-four hours since we kissed? And four days since we made love? That's serious business to me!”

Cherisse laughed. “Then kiss me, you fool, but don't even
think
about making love to me here and now, not with sixty people downstairs!”

Harry smiled contentedly and did just that. He kissed her until they were melting in each other's arms. Until Cherisse fell against him with a sigh, and said, “Maybe we can get away with it if we're quiet.”

Harry laughed softly. “We could never get away with it. You're a screamer.”

Cherisse punched him on the arm. “I am not. You're the shouter.”

“Okay, we're both loud,” Harry conceded. He gave her a peck on the cheek. “Come on, let's go downstairs and tell everybody the good news.”

Cherisse was glad to. She had been on pins and needles all evening, worrying about how Charlie was going to react to their engagement.

She took Harry's hand. “I'm a little nervous.”

“So am I,” Harry said. “I don't think Charlie is going to take it well.”

“Well, there's no getting around the fact that he's going to be a part of our family. He's Danielle's father, after all. He's going to have to get used to you and I being together.”

“Forever,” said Harry as he opened the door and let her precede him.

Cherisse walked into the hallway and said, “Wait a minute, I want to get Danielle.”

She walked a few feet to Danielle's bedroom door and knocked.

“Who is it?” she heard Danielle call.

“Danielle, please come downstairs right away. Harry and I are going to make an announcement.”

Danielle opened the door in a matter of seconds. Grinning, she called to her mother's retreating back, “We'll be right down!”

When Cherisse and Harry reached the bottom of the stairs, Harry spotted Echo and called, “Echo!”

Echo hurried over.

Harry said, “Would you turn the music off? Cherisse and I want to say something to everybody.”

“Sure!” Echo replied and went to do as he was asked.

Harry and Cherisse moved to the center of the room. Danielle and her soon-to-be cousins by marriage came running down the stairs.

As soon as the music was cut off, the guests looked around expectantly. Jo looked up and saw Cherisse and Harry standing in the center of the room and said to Mildred, “Something's up.” She turned to the two gentlemen she and Mildred had been chatting with. “Please excuse us, professor, reverend.”

In the back of the room, Charlie was still engaged in conversation with Kendall and Kendall, Jr., Susanne had joined their group when Harry had dragged Cherisse away but she hadn't contributed much to the conversation, choosing to sample the fare on the buffet table instead.

Charlie also looked up when the music stopped and, spotting Cherisse and Harry obviously about to say something to the guests, got a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Kendall, stating the obvious, said, “Looks like Harry and Cherisse are about to make an announcement.”

“Everybody gather 'round!” Harry said in a loud voice. “Cherisse and I want to say something to you.”

Once the group had moved in closer and the murmuring had died down, Harry said while putting his arm around Cherisse's waist, “As you know, Cherisse and I have been seeing each other exclusively for a while now.”

“Oh, yeah, we're aware of that,” Charlie muttered under his breath. Kendall, Kendall, Jr. and Susanne looked at him strangely but he didn't care.

Gazing into Cherisse's upturned face, Harry continued. “We fell in love almost instantly and four nights ago I asked her to marry me.”

“And I said yes!” Cherisse said to a group of people who stood stunned, yet happy to be privy to their friends' happiness.

Clapping, whistling and shouts of “congratulations” filled the room.

“Wait, that's not all,” said Harry. “Since we see no reason for a long engagement we're getting married at the resort next Thursday, January first. You're all invited.”

Gasps arose among those present and everybody started talking at once.

“No!” Cherisse shouted above the din. “I'm not expecting. We just didn't want to wait.”

Dead silence.

“That
is
what you were thinking, right?” she asked, grinning.

Some nodded, embarrassed. Others laughed uproariously. Then she and Harry were rushed by friends and family, being hugged within an inch of their lives. Afterward, the guests parted to let Mildred and Jo through.

Mildred grabbed Harry and hugged him. “Well, I didn't expect this, but I'll take it!”

Jo squeezed Cherisse tightly. “Do you love him, baby?”

“Ma, I love him to death!”

“Okay, then. I'm happy for you. I just don't see why you can't get married in the church, though. Reverend McLeod is right here, we could ask him now.”

“That's fine, Ma. He can marry us at the resort. There isn't enough time to prepare the church for the ceremony but Harry has it all worked out at Karibu.”

Jo sniffed back tears. “Okay, just so you're married by a man of God.”

Cherisse kissed her cheek. “Then it's settled.”

Mildred tapped Jo on the shoulder. “May I hug my soon-to-be daughter-in-law?”

Jo relinquished Cherisse and as if they'd choreographed it, Cherisse hugged Mildred while Jo accepted a warm hug from Harry.

“Welcome to the family,” said Jo.

“I knew you were the one when Harry told me you loved my quilt,” Mildred said in Cherisse's ear.

Cherisse had tears in her eyes, otherwise she would have seen Charlie when he came barreling through the guests, eyes flashing fury and hands balled into fists.

“You son of a bitch!” he yelled just before he hit Harry right in the mouth.

Harry was nearly knocked down by the punch. Jo stumbled backward out of his embrace. Mildred and Cherisse both gave gasps of surprise and horror at the attack. Only Harry maintained a clear head. Relying on his honed reflexes, he immediately went on the defense and stepped backward, got his bearings and let loose with a right cross that sent Charlie sprawling onto the floor on his back.

“My mother's standing right there!”

Charlie, dazed, slowly got to his feet. At this point the other guests had formed a circle around Harry and Charlie. Cherisse had to push her way into that inner circle.

“Harry, Charlie, stop this! No more fighting!”

Charlie, rubbing his jaw, glaring at Harry, ignored Cherisse. “You had to tell her, didn't you? You couldn't play fair. You had to deal dirty with me.”

“You're wrong, as usual,” said Harry menacingly. He was bleeding from the corner of his mouth where his lip had been split.

Charlie growled and launched himself at Harry but was prevented from doing so by Gerald Cramer, who put him in an unbreakable headlock. Taz Coffman stood on the sidelines, ready to step in if further assistance was needed.

“Cheri, what do you want me to do with him?” Gerald asked calmly.

Cherisse was confused. What had Charlie been accusing Harry of telling her, some seedy secret from the past that Harry was aware of but she wasn't? That didn't make any sense to her.

“Charlie, if Gerry lets you go, will you go somewhere and talk with me and Harry rationally? No more fighting?”

Charlie grunted, “Yeah.”

“Let him go, Gerry,” said Cherisse.

She looked at Harry. She wasn't too happy with him at this moment, keeping secrets from her. Then she regarded Charlie. “I want to see both of you in the kitchen, now!”

“Handle your business, girlfriend!” Susanne called out.

“Susanne, please!” said Kendall, aghast at his wife's outburst.

“Loosen up, dentist-man,” said Susanne. She turned to eye the buffet table. There was a piece of pecan pie with her name on it. A good fistfight always made her ravenous.

Mildred and Jo comforted each other. “I'm sure they'll work it out,” said Jo.

“I'm not worried at all,” Mildred lied. She
was
worried. Harry had been so close to becoming a husband and, hopefully, a father. It was obvious that Charlie Washington was still in love with Cherisse. What if when the three of them came out of that kitchen something will have been revealed to Cherisse to make her choose Charlie Washington over Harry? She had never known Harry to love a woman the way he loved Cherisse.

She felt like crying.

A few feet away, Danielle
was
crying. Echo, Sandrene and Sage tried to comfort her with softly spoken assurances that everything would be all right. But Danielle couldn't shake the feeling that all of this was her fault. If she hadn't insisted that her dad come stay with them until he found a place to live maybe he wouldn't have started fantasizing about getting back together with her mom. And when he had come to her to recruit her help in his mission, maybe she should have warned her mother about what he was up to. Instead she had chosen to remain silent, hoping that her dad would come to his senses on his own. She would never understand the workings of her parents' minds. Sometimes they behaved more like children than children!

“Echo,” she said through her tears, “please go turn the music back on, maybe everybody would stop standing around gossiping about my parents!”

Echo was happy to do her bidding.

Sandrene and Sage led her over to the bottom step of the stairs and they made her sit down. They flanked her.

“Parents can be buttheads sometimes,” Sandrene said. “But they usually figure things out in the end.”

“Yeah,” Sage said, smiling at Danielle, whom she liked a great deal after knowing her less than two hours. “Our parents argue all the time and they've been married forever.”

Their brother walked up and cleared his throat. They moved aside and he went and sat down on a stair above them. “Mom and Dad are arguing,” he said.

“See what I mean?” said Sage to Danielle.

When the music came back on, Danielle saw that Echo had decided to switch up and eliminate the Christmas music. He'd put on a Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals CD.

He knew she loved Ben Harper's music. She smiled.

In the kitchen, Cherisse paced the floor alternately glaring at Harry and Charlie, both of whom looked uncomfortable under her scrutiny. Harry leaned against the kitchen sink. Charlie was sitting at the table with one leg crossed defiantly over the other.

Cherisse didn't feel calm enough to start asking questions. She thought she would end up shouting at them if she didn't first control her temper. Charlie and Harry trading punches, on Christmas Eve! In front of everybody!

She truly could not believe it. She had never seen Charlie hit anybody except on the football field. As for Harry, she never would have thought he had it in him. He seemed so together all the time.

She took a deep breath and slowly released it. Looking at Charlie, she said, “Let's start with you, shall we? First of all, Harry hasn't told me anything about you.”

“Told you so,” said Harry.

Cherisse shot him a silencing glare.

Harry crossed his arms over his chest and fumed.

Turning back to Charlie, Cherisse said, “What was it you didn't want me to know, Charlie?”

Charlie looked away. His back stiffened. His lips tightened and Cherisse knew he was going into a pout. Oh, she hated it when he would pout like a spoiled child. It was one of the things she certainly didn't miss about their marriage.

“I hate you, you know that!” she shouted. “At this moment I hate you with a passion. I was beginning to consider telling you I forgive you for the past. I forgive you for not loving me enough to fight your addiction, because that's what it amounted to, Charlie. You just didn't love me enough to sacrifice your pleasure for me!”

Charlie looked at her with a hurt expression. “Pleasure?” he asked plaintively. “I got no pleasure from gambling. Do you get pleasure out of something you hate but can't quit doing? Gambling was destroying our marriage. Gambling made me do things I would never have done if I were not addicted.”