A Touch of Cinnamon

  “Sure, I heard about it, how else would my son be able to pay for college and get his shit cleaned up enough to find himself a pretty, privileged white piece of ass to stick it to.”

  “I’m hanging up,” I said, my blood boiling even as I felt a cold sweat hit. I never thought I’d hear her voice again, let alone have to listen to her mouth. I was sure she’d be dead by now, either from drugs or prison.

  “Not before we set up a time to meet, Ric. I want to see my boy, and we need to talk about that money. See, I ain’t got no job, and although I’ve been crashing on a couple couches, I sure could use a place of my own.”

  “Fuck that. I don’t want to see you, and you aren’t getting shit from me.”

  “It’s a boy’s job to take care of his mother.”

  “I took care of you enough when I was too young to take care of myself. I want nothing to do with you, you need to figure shit out for yourself.”

  “Listen here, Jericho Roger Smythe, your daddy took all my good years then disappeared without so much as a fuck you. No child support or nothin’, leaving me with our son and no way to live. The way I see it, that money’s just as much mine as yours, if not more. So, I’m coming to see you, and if you want me to leave you alone, you best have my check ready when I do.”

  “If I see you on my property, I’ll have you arrested for trespassing, and I’m not giving you a goddamned thing. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll forget I exist and get on with your miserable life.”

  “I’ll be seeing you,” my mother promised, then hung up the phone.

  “Fuck,” I whispered, looking blindly around the small bathroom and wanting to hit something, to break something so bad that it took every ounce of my control to keep my fists at my side.

  My mind raced as I wondered what my next move would be. The last thing I needed was my mother coming here and ruining everything I’d worked so hard to build. And, I didn’t want her toxicity touching Natasha.

  I couldn’t let it happen.

  I lifted my hand with my phone and searched my contacts, then hit call.

  When the gruff voice greeted me on the other line, I said quickly, “Mick, I need your help.”

  Natasha ~ Present

  I WAS AT MY DESK, going through the event book, double checking it against the accounts, and trying to finalize our schedule for the next three months. It was a few days since we’d come back from our trip, and I still felt like I was playing catch up.

  Tanisha was great, but I was still getting used to her presence, both professionally and personally.

  Millie was giving Claire more of the workload in the kitchen as her wedding date drew near, and with her living at Jackson’s, I felt like I hardly got to see her.

  Both Dru and Jericho were just acting . . . off.

  I’d tried talking to Dru about what had happened at the inn, but she’d just waved me off and changed the subject.

  And, Jericho? He’d been distant.

  No, I didn’t expect him to spend every waking second with me. In fact, I’d been the one talking about how we needed to still live our lives, but, since we’d come home, I hadn’t even seen him. Not once.

  I was trying really hard not to freak out.

  We still texted, and talked on the phone. But he hadn’t spent the night, or invited me to do so at his house. Sure, I probably could have taken it upon myself to go to his house and invite myself to spend the night, but I found his distance was making me question things.

  Plus, I’d gotten sick after we came home, and had been fighting dizziness and fatigue.

  All in all, things currently sucked, and trying to distract myself with work wasn’t helping. Maybe I needed to take over an event, or go help Claire in the kitchen. I was no chef, but I followed directions really well.

  I stood up, eager to take a minute away from my desk, when another wave of dizziness had me sitting back down.

  “You okay?” Tanisha asked as she stepped into the room.

  Millie was off today, and Dru was out doing God knows what, so it was just Tanisha and me in the office.

  “Uh, yeah,” I said, waving my hand to indicate it was no big deal. “Just too many hours at this desk with no food. I was thinking of walking down to Rooster’s to get some tea and a muffin or something. Do you want anything?”

  Tanisha walked over and sat down across from my desk. She looked fabulous in a bright-red suit jacket and A-line skirt, her dark braids pulled back and secured at her neck.

  “Still feeling . . . off?” she asked gently, her dark eyes probing.

  “Yeah, nothing a little food and shut-eye won’t fix,” I replied with a shrug.

  “Natasha, is there any possibility you could be pregnant?” Tanisha asked, and my eyes flew to her face in shock as I lost all feeling in my body.

  “What? No, I mean, yes . . . but, I’m on the pill,” I said desperately, my mind reeling.

  “Birth control isn’t a hundred percent. Have you missed a day here and there? The only reason I ask is that’s what happened to me, and your symptoms look the same.”

  “I didn’t know you had a child,” I managed, even though I was trying to remember everything I’d done over the past weeks.

  “I don’t,” she replied sadly. I looked up and focused on her for a second. “I actually lost the baby about six months ago. That’s part of the reason I moved here and changed jobs, I needed to get away from the memories. Start fresh.”

  “I’m so sorry,” then asked, curious, even though I didn’t want to pry, “And, the father?”

  “He’s moved on as well, although he’s still back in the city. Anyway, I didn’t tell you that to make this about me . . .”

  “The first time,” I muttered once my mind finally finished cataloging events. “With Jericho . . . It had been years so I wasn’t on anything. And, we didn’t . . . I started the pills again after the first time.”

  I think she saw the panic setting in, because she said, “Why don’t you go and get a test and find out for sure, before you get yourself worked up. It could be just a bug.”

  I nodded, although now that she’d put the thought in my head, the more it made sense.

  Oh my God, what am I going to do?

  “Hey,” Tanisha said, standing and coming around my desk to place her hand on my shoulder.

  I stood and accepted the comfort she offered.

  “Get the test first,” she said again, and I nodded against her shoulder. “No matter what happens, you have a great support system. Your sisters, Jericho, and I’m happy to help in any way I can.”

  Jericho. What is he going to think about all of this?

  “Test,” I said aloud, telling myself not to worry until I knew I had something to worry about. Tanisha was right, I did have a great support system. I’d be fine and figure out what to do once I knew the results.

  Still, as I walked toward the door, my body felt completely numb.

  “Do you want me to come with you, or call one of your sisters?” Tanisha offered.

  “Could you?” I asked gratefully. “Can you come with me, and ask them to meet us at my apartment?”

  “Sure can,” she said, and started calling as we walked out the back door and headed toward the pharmacy.

  “Hey, Millie, yes, it’s Tanisha. Do you think you can meet us at Natasha’s apartment in thirty minutes? No, nothing is wrong, she just needs a . . . family meeting. Thanks.”

  I listened as if through a tunnel as she made the same call to Dru. Once we reached the pharmacy, I stood in the street, staring at the door, but unable to put one foot in front of the other and go inside.

  “Do you want me to get one?” Tanisha asked.

  “Yeah, or two . . . maybe five,” I replied.

  Tanisha chuckled and said, “You got it.”

  I stayed there, standing on the sidewalk in front of the store, half afraid I’d find out I was pregnant, and half afraid I wouldn’t.

  Jericho ~ Present

  ANY OTH
ER TIME I WOULD have kicked back, had a beer, and enjoyed the cool vibe of Mick’s office/man cave.

  Today, all I could think about was finding my mother and keeping her away from everything I held dear.

  “Nothing?” I asked Mick from one of his plush leather chairs.

  “Not yet, man, but I’ve only just begun. Don’t worry, I’ll find her,” my friend assured me. “Last known address, Riverside Correctional Facility. I’ve been in contact and have the name of her parole officer, who said she hasn’t missed a visit yet. He gave me the address for the halfway house she listed as her residence, but if what she told you is correct, and she’s bunking with old friends, she’ll be a little harder to track.”

  “Old friends?” I scoffed. “She’s burned every bridge she ever had. More than likely, she’s bunking with new clients, or strangers she meets while looking for her next fix.”

  “I’ve got a recent photo, and, man, she looks like she’s put some miles in; you wanna see it?”

  “No,” I replied curtly. Certainly not mad at Mick, but pissed about having to deal with this situation at all.

  “Got it. Okay, I’m leaving for Philly right after this, so if you think of anything else pertinent, text me.”

  “All right, and seriously, man, thanks again.”

  “You can thank me once I find her and serve the restraining order,” Mick replied, then stood up behind his desk. “I’ll keep you up to date on my progress. Let me know if she contacts you again.”

  “Will do,” I said, rising as well and sticking out my hand. “Thanks again, it means a lot.”

  Mick just nodded and I saw myself out.

  I’d spent the week getting information to Mick and working on getting the restraining order. Between the shit with my mom and dealing with the restaurant, I’d gotten home late each night and had fallen into bed exhausted, only to average three hours of sleep a night.

  I hadn’t seen Natasha since I’d dropped her off in The Beast after our trip. I’d called and texted her, but I knew if she saw me, she’d know something was up, and I was so fucking embarrassed about my mother.

  I didn’t want any of this shit to touch her.

  Still, I missed her, and I didn’t know how long I’d be able to keep her at arm’s length. I could tell by her tone that she was getting frustrated and maybe a little hurt, but I felt like I was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and I didn’t know what to do.

  “How come you’re dealing with this shit on your own? Where’s Natasha? Did she bail at the first sign of trouble?” Hector had asked last night when he stopped by my office at eleven at night after closing down the kitchen.

  “Watch it,” I’d warned him, too exhausted and pissed to put up with his shit. “She doesn’t know anything about it.”

  “You didn’t tell her?” my friend asked with a frown. When I shook my head, he said, “How are you going to move forward with this relationship if you’re not being honest? Do you think she can’t handle it? Do you think she’ll run?”

  “No, it’s not that, it’s just, you know my ma . . . She’s a hot mess. Everything she touches turns to shit. I don’t want her anywhere near Natasha. She doesn’t get to ruin any other part of my life,” I said, dropping my head in my hands with a frustrated groan.

  “I understand your mom’s a piece of work, but you’ve talked to the cops and Mick is gonna handle it. If you don’t let Natasha be there for you when you need her the most, you’re doing her, and your relationship, a disservice.”

  “Oh, now you want me to make the relationship work?” I asked sarcastically, my bad mood making me an asshole.

  Hector shook his head and crossed his arms, unaffected by my nastiness.

  “I’m not convinced yet, but if you are, then you need to let her in. If she’s the woman you say she is, she won’t want to be protected or coddled from your life, she’ll want to be there by your side. At least, that’s what I hope will happen . . . for your sake.”

  He’d left me then, alone in my misery, but I hadn’t gone to her last night, or this morning.

  Now that Mick was on his way to Philly to serve my mother the papers, and things would hopefully get resolved, I realized Hector was right. I was doing Natasha a disservice by keeping her in the dark.

  She already knew about my mother, our past . . . my history, and it had never changed the way she saw me.

  I just hoped she wouldn’t be pissed that I hadn’t told her as soon as my mom had phoned me. Lord knew, I would be if something like this was happening in her life, and she hadn’t told me about it. Let me help her.

  “Shit,” I muttered as I turned my car toward Main Street. I was an asshole.

  As I was about to pick up my phone and dial Natasha, it rang.

  “Millie? What’s up?” I asked as I answered, since I’d never gotten a phone call from Millie before. I hadn’t even realized I had her programed into my phone.

  Natasha must have done it . . .

  “Can you come by Natasha’s apartment?” she asked, her tone not cause for alarm, but still I had to ask, “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, it’s fine, I just think you should be here. Hurry?”

  “Be there in three minutes,” I replied, wondering what was going on now.

  Natasha ~ Present

  I WAS STILL IN THE bathroom.

  I’d heard Millie arrive, then Dru, but I hadn’t yet come out of my cocoon.

  As long as I stayed in, and kept the results to myself, then they weren’t a living, breathing truth that I had to deal with.

  But, then I heard another knock on the door, this one kind of frantic, and heard Jericho come into my apartment. That’s when I stood and crossed to the door and swung it wide open.

  I probably looked a bit crazy, standing in the doorway holding a pregnancy test in my fist like a lifeline, a stick I’d peed on only a little while earlier. But then, I was feeling a bit crazy, after all, I’d just been smacked in the face with another major life change.

  “Hey, what’s going . . .” Jericho’s eyes locked on my hand. “Is that what I . . . ?”

  Before he could get it out, I ran at him full speed. Past my sisters’ shocked faces, and Tanisha’s smiling face, right into Jericho’s arms.

  I was crying and babbling, not really sure what to say or do, but needing his comfort.

  “Oh my God, we’re having a baby. We only just found each other again, and said we were going to try and take things slow . . . get used to being in each other’s lives again. But that first night, after Millie’s engagement party, when you followed me here, and we, and we didn’t . . . it happened. Holy crap, this is really happening.”

  I took a deep breath and was about to go on another rant, when I felt myself being spun around and the sound of Jericho’s happy laughter registered.

  I picked my head up off of his chest and looked up into his smiling face.

  “You’re pregnant?” he asked, his voice overflowing with joy.

  I nodded, still in shock, then held out the stick that was clutched in my hand.

  “According to this stick, and the four others in the bathroom, yes, I’m pregnant. But, I think we can’t say it’s a hundred percent until we go to the doctor.”

  “Okay,” Jericho began, his expression changing to his all business face. “First, we will make you an appointment and make sure you’re all good, then, we’ll pack up your stuff and move you out to my place . . . I mean, our place. Once you’re all settled, we can start talking wedding plans.”

  “Whoa, easy there,” I choked, pushing free of his arms and standing firmly on my feet again. “We don’t even know for sure that I’m pregnant and you’re already hearing wedding bells.”

  “Natasha,” Jericho said, bending to take my face in his palms. “They’re usually pretty accurate, and I don’t want to miss a minute of this pregnancy. If you want me to move into your apartment here, I will, although I think we’d be more comfortable in our house. I want to be there if you’re sick,
get you the things you crave, rub your feet and your back, anything you need. I want to experience everything in a way that I wouldn’t be able to if we stay apart.”

  I was listening, and although I felt slightly nauseous, what he was saying made sense.

  “Tasha, I’m going to marry you, and we’re going to live together. We love each other, and we’ve agreed that we want to stay together and really make this work, so let’s do this. Move in with me. Marry me. Pregnant or not, I want this. I want you.”

  I let out a gush of breath with a short laugh.

  “Are you really proposing right now?” I asked incredulously, thinking this day had turned out so much different than expected.

  “Well, I don’t have a ring, and I know I can give you a much better proposal with a little more time, but yes, consider this the precursor to the proposal,” Jericho said, taking my hand in his.

  My heart was pounding, and I felt like I might faint, but I looked into his eyes and said, “Yes, I’ll move in with you, but you don’t get your answer to the proposal until it happens.”

  “Fair enough,” he said, then took me into his arms and kissed me.

  I heard cheers and clapping and realized I’d forgotten about our audience. Once Jericho broke the kiss, I turned to my sisters and let out a squeal.

  “Whoa, we’re going to be aunties,” Dru said excitedly as they rushed toward me.

  “Oh, Natasha, I’m so happy for you,” Millie said, her arms coming around me as she pulled me close.

  “I can’t believe it,” I cried, because even though I said I needed the official confirmation from a doctor, I knew it instinctively that I was pregnant. “I’m going to be someone’s mom.”

  “You’re going to be terrific at it,” Dru said, and I reached over to pull her in for a hug. When I let her go, she turned to Jericho and added, “I guess this means we’re in it together for the long haul.”

  “I guess it does,” Jericho said somewhat warily, shooting me a startled glance when Dru gave him a quick hug, then backed away.