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  “He’ll be moved to his own room. Someone will come to get you when you can see him.”

  Kael extended his hand. “Thank you, Doctor.”

  “Dr. Taylor,” he offered as he pressed his hand against Kael’s. “Your father did well and with some physical therapy he should recover fully. The muscles around his hips are in great shape for his age and that will decrease his recovery time.”

  “Again, thanks.”

  “After you see your dad you really should get some sleep,” Dr. Taylor said, his blue eyes filled with amusement.

  “Humph. He already got plenty of that. Snores and all. Humph.”

  Kael frowned as he looked over his shoulder at a chubby black woman with a blond Afro and pale pink lipstick on her mouth. She gave him a sarcastic grin, flashing a gap in her teeth big enough for him to slide his thumb into.

  Ignoring her, Kael followed the doctor out of the waiting room. He paced the hall, loosening his joints as he waited to lay eyes on his father.

  “Mr. Strong.”

  He turned. A pretty nurse with a short curly Afro smiled at him. “Your father’s asking for you,” she said.

  Kael nodded, enjoying the view of her curvy frame in her uniform as she led him to his father’s room. “Bye,” he said, pausing in the open doorway.

  “Bye, Mr. Strong,” she said flirtatiously.

  “Kael,” he insisted.

  She smiled. “Bye, Kael,” she said before walking away.

  “You gonna burn a hole in her ass, son.”

  Kael’s smile broadened as he turned and entered the room. His father was in bed and looked slightly pale beneath his medium brown complexion. His silver hair was disheveled. His eyes were still slightly glassy from his medication. But all in all he was alive and well enough to crack jokes.

  Love for the man swelled in Kael’s broad chest as he came to stand by his bed. “Since when do you allow a horse to beat you, old man?” he asked, swallowing the emotions tightening his throat.

  Logan smiled. “Man, shit. I don’t know what the hell happened,” he said, his voice still weak and tired. “Fuck that horse. His ass is glue.”

  Kael knew his father didn’t mean it. Sometimes he and his sister joked that Ghost was the third Strong sibling.

  “You call your sister?” he asked, closing his eyes as he winced a bit in pain.

  “Not yet, but I will,” Kael promised.

  “You know she’s coming.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Kael looked down at his father’s lower half. He could tell from the positioning on the pillows that it was his left hip that was injured.

  “They want me to get right into physical therapy, but I ain’t coming back and forth to Charleston three times a week, son,” Logan said, his voice stronger.

  “If we have to, we just have to do it, Daddy,” he said.

  Logan shook his head on the pillow, opening his eyes just enough to look up at his son. “I ain’t doing it.”

  “I’ll figure something out,” Kael assured him.

  Logan closed his eyes as he nodded. “I know.”

  That made Kael proud that his father knew he could trust and believe in him. He smoothed the white blanket covering him and allowed his hand to lightly rest against his father’s before he lightly gripped it. His father had never been a touchy-feely person. Hugs and kisses were rare even if the love was in abundance.

  Logan surprised him by tightening his hold on Kael’s hand.

  “I’m gonna ride again, son,” he said, already drifting back to sleep.

  “I know,” he assured him with just as much trust and belief.

  The next morning Alisha double-checked the chart before entering the hospital room. She was surprised to see her immediate supervisor, Nigel, still in the room. According to the chart he’d already met with Mr. Strong and set up his treatment plan.

  She smiled politely at the middle-aged gentleman in the bed. “I’m Alisha. I’ll be working with you, Mr. Strong, during your physical therapy at the outpatient clinic here,” she said, not quite sure if Nigel was there just to observe her interaction with the patient.

  Logan extended his hand to her and she moved closer to the bed to shake it. “You aren’t hard on the eyes at all, are you?” he teased.

  She smiled at him. “I hope not,” she said, used to the harmless flirtation of older men.

  “Actually, Alisha, Mr. Strong is being set up for his physical therapy at home,” Nigel said.

  She couldn’t hide her confusion. “Oh, okay then. Uhm, well good luck with your recovery, Mr. Strong,” she said, handing the file across the bed to Nigel.

  He didn’t take it. “Mr. Strong’s son spoke with me about who was best suited to handle his father’s therapy and I recommended you.”

  The door opened and Lisha looked over her shoulder. Her eyes widened a bit at the man who stepped inside the room. He was tall and broad-shouldered with narrow hips. His body was lean but obviously strong and he wore form-fitting jeans with a printed shirt. His face was simply handsome with strong cheekbones, chin and brows. He had long lashes around his slanted eyes and full lips. The silver flecks in his closely cropped soft hair didn’t detract from his looks. Oddly, they enhanced them.

  The brother was all the way fine. All the way.

  Lisha was surprised at how fast her pulse raced and the way she literally felt breathless and alive, like the energy in the room kicked up a notch from his presence. She blinked rapidly to break the spell and looked away from him as she licked her suddenly parched lips.

  Kael paused as he stepped inside his father’s hospital room. He was surprised by the presence of the woman who looked over her shoulder at him. Surprised and pleased.

  Her shoulder-length hair was pulled back from her face into a ponytail. The soft wisps of her ebony hair made her caramel-tinted skin gleam. She was pretty with her round face and high cheekbones. Her eyes were bright and round, framed by lush lashes that he wasn’t quite sure were real, although he was quite sure it didn’t matter. Her pug little nose and full mouth above her dimpled chin gave her even more appeal.

  He didn’t miss the way her eyes skimmed up and down his body. He allowed himself to do the same of her. Even in her printed scrubs he could tell she was curvy and soft where she needed to be.

  Damn.

  She looked away from him and he forced his eyes over to his father whose expression revealed that he’d seen his son’s reaction to the woman. Even as he walked over to stand at the foot of the bed, he still felt that awareness of her in every fiber of his being. He had to force himself not to stare at her, but it was like there was a magnetic field around her and he couldn’t resist.

  “Mr. Strong, this is Alisha Rockmon, the physical therapist assistant I told you about,” Nigel said. “Alisha, Mr. Strong’s son, Kael.”

  Kael couldn’t believe he felt nervous as he extended his hand to her. “Thank you for taking the position to help my father with his therapy,” he said.

  She slid her hand into his. “I’m not really sure that I am or I can,” she said.

  The feel of her fingertips lightly grazing his inner wrist made him shiver. Kael quickly released her hand.

  “We’ll work around your schedule at the clinic and Mr. Strong is willing to pay for any of your services not covered by his father’s insurance,” Nigel said. “And you live right in Walterboro.”

  Kael saw the indecision on her face. “Take some time and think about it and get back to me,” he offered, seeing she was put on the spot.

  She rested her eyes on him. “No, no. I’ll do it,” she told him with a soft smile.

  Kael nodded and said nothing else as he ignored the look of pure satisfaction on his father’s face.

  “Love must be as much a light, as it is a flame.”

  —Henry David Thoreau

  Interlude

  Present day

  “So it was love at first sight?” Bianca asked, easing up on the edge of her chair as the sounds of soulful Ch
ristmas music continued to play in the background.

  “Well, we wouldn’t say that,” Lisha said, reaching over to stroke the back of Kael’s large hand where it rested on the arm of her recliner.

  “Not then anyway,” Kael added.

  “But I knew he was lov-ing every bit of what he was seeing,” Lisha teased, taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

  “I saw your eyes on the cut of my jeans too,” he shot back.

  “Foul on the play,” Kahron said, moving to sit down on the floor by Bianca’s feet. “That was TMI.”

  “Definite TMI,” Kade agreed from the sofa where Garcelle lounged back against his chest.

  Bianca raised her legs to bring over Kahron’s shoulders. She loved that he slid off her booties and began rubbing her feet. She looked down at the diamond charm bracelet he’d secured on her wrist early that Christmas morning as they lay in bed and watched the sun rise.

  Every one of the seven custom-made diamond-encrusted charms represented each of their years together and a memorable moment in their lives. A heart for their love. A miniature truck for the first time she saw him driving ahead of her on the road into Holtsville. A triple X for their fiery sex life. A globe for their wedding vows promising to give each other the world. A lucky charm for the goodness of their seven years of marriage. A baby carriage for the birth of their son KJ. A horse for their mutual love and work with animals.

  She could hardly believe she once thought he wanted her father’s land badly enough to sabotage her attempts to revive Hank’s business. They went from enemies to lovers. She had been so wrong and now knew Kahron was her biggest protector.

  What they had was good. Damn good.

  Bianca shifted her eyes down to take in her husband’s profile as he laughed at something one of his brothers said as he continued to rub her feet. She stroked the back of his head, her fingers enjoying the softness of his low cut, prematurely gray hair and he looked up over his shoulder at her. “I love you,” she mouthed, bringing her hand up to press against the side of his square and handsome face.

  “Love you back,” he said, his voice a husky whisper that she barely heard above the loud chatter of their boisterous family.

  She didn’t need the words because she saw the love in his eyes.

  “Yes,” she told him.

  His face filled with confusion. “Huh?”

  “Our convo last night,” she reminded him with a meaningful stare.

  A smile replaced the confusion and it was large enough to show every single tooth. His hand covered the one she still had pressed to his face and then he lowered it, causing her to need to lean forward, as he pressed it against his pounding heart.

  Bianca laughed. There were only a few things in life that could make Kahron Strong so mushy and her agreeing to have another baby just made the list. KJ’s gonna have a baby brother or sister.

  Her veterinary practice was so busy that she actually hired another vet to help out. That made three vets total and an additional staff of five—more than enough to free her up to slow down a bit.

  Kahron purchased twenty heads of cattle, thirty new acres of land and five more ranch hands. Sometimes they barely made it home in time to cook dinner and put KJ to bed.

  Over the last few years their love had grown, their family had grown and both of their businesses had grown. But they would find a way.

  As Boyz II Men sang “Let it Snow,” Bianca spotted Kade and Garcelle’s teenaged daughter Kadina sitting on the bottom step just outside the den. She had on her pink Beats by Dre headphones but Bianca knew there wasn’t a bit of music playing in her ears because Kadina was eavesdropping hard.

  Easing her feet from Kahron’s shoulder, Bianca stood up and walked out of the spacious den, already giving the snooping teen a disapproving stare.

  Kadina gave a big glossy smile as she held one of the headphones from her ear. “Auntie B, I just want to hear the story too,” she said, pouting and pressing her fingertips together like she was praying.

  “No, ma’am, you will not have your parents mad at me,” Bianca said, pointing her arm up the staircase only to spot Lei sitting on the top step snooping as well. “Young ladies, speak when you’re spoken to and—”

  “Come when you’re called,” they finished dejectedly.

  Lei disappeared into the playroom and Kadina rose up on her slender legs to slowly ascend the stairs.

  “There you go,” she said, smiling at the girl’s obvious disappointment.

  Bianca squealed in surprise as arms surrounded her waist. She knew from the instant thrill that it was her husband. No one kept her heated in the special way that he did. She turned in his embrace. “Another baby, huh?” she asked softly.

  “Or two,” he said, tasting her lips.

  “Or two?” she protested. “I don’t know about that.”

  Kahron just chuckled as he led her back into the den. He sat in the comfy leather chair and pulled his wife down onto his lap.

  Bianca was lost in the holiday spirit. She felt just a little regretful that she couldn’t share even a piece of the season with her dad and her stepmom/friend, Mimi. Ever since her ultimatum, her father had cleaned up his drinking and never wavered from his sobriety since. She knew his love for her wacky and unique older friend, Mimi, had a lot to do with that. The ex-TV star turned rancher’s wife from Atlanta, Georgia, had a unique perspective on life and Hank loved it. Even now they were on a cruise around the Caribbean for the holidays.

  She couldn’t be mad at them for that.

  Walking in on them enjoying “naked day” around their house . . . she was still mad about.

  “Tell us about Grandpa Logan,” someone said.

  “He was a trip and half,” Lisha said.

  “That he was, that he was,” Kael added.

  Bianca settled into a comfortable spot on Kahron’s lap. As Lisha and Kael continued reminiscing on their love story, Bianca was grateful to have one of her own.

  Chapter 4

  Way back in the day

  “What’s on your mind?”

  Lisha turned her head from looking out the kitchen window of her apartment to look over at her cousin Junie. “Huh?” she asked, her face blank.

  Junie eyed her cousin over the rim of her coffee cup with a picture of her favorite actor and obsession Richard Roundtree from Shaft on the side.

  “Girl, nothing,” she lied, looking down into her own cup with a huge smiley face. An image of Kael Strong’s handsome face floated in the steam.

  The caramel complexion and close-cropped silver-flecked hair. Long lashes above slanted eyes that were the brown of brandy. Square jaw. Strong chin. High cheekbones.

  Just fine. Too damn fine.

  Lisha picked up her spoon and spun it vigorously in her coffee until the image disappeared. She looked up to find her cousin’s eyes still on her over that rim. “I have my first at-home patient today,” she said, considering her words more of a shift in conversation than an outright lie. The truth was in there somewhere.

  Since she first laid eyes on Kael last week the thought of him gave her the anxious, jittery nerves all too familiar with a silly high school crush. Although the pure excitement and charge she received when he walked into his father’s hospital room that day was far more adult. Just being in his presence for that short time had made her alive and aware and so clearly tuned in to the shift of energy in the room.

  She had found her eyes going back to him and then flitting away when she would find that he was already looking at her. It was like something she had never experienced before. Just a huge mix of nerves, anxiety, excitement and self-consciousness as she wondered how she appeared to him. Did she catch his eye the same way that he had caught hers?

  Hoping she would see him again during her sessions with his father made the awareness all the more intense.

  “You were thinking about going back to school for your PT license and eventually opening your own at-home clinic, right?” Junie asked, putting her foot up o
n the chair and wrapping one arm around her bent leg to press it close to her chest.

  Lisha held up her hand to block the view her cousin was giving off in her pink shorts she wore with a lime green GOOD TIMES tank. “I could really do without your camel toe,” she said, waving her hand.

  Junie raised her other foot onto the edge of the white vinyl-covered kitchen chair and then spread her knees wide. “BAM!” she said sharply. “Don’t be scared of the cooch.”

  Lisha laughed and closed her eyes, making a cross with her two index fingers.

  “You are missing out on a prime sex position,” Junie said. “You scoot that thing right to the edge like this—”

  Curious, Lisha opened one eye and dared to learn for future use with her husband.

  “And your man gets on his knees to line that dick up right. And whoo!”

  Lisha closed her eyes again after Junie began to make tiny thrusts with her hips.

  “Shit, that’s a winner right there,” she said. “You can have that one, I got plenty more.”

  “I bet you do,” Lisha said, leaning over to snatch the dish towel that hung on the door of the oven to toss between Junie’s legs.

  She laughed and lowered her legs, tossing the towel back at Lisha. “When you do give up them cookies—”

  “To my husband,” Lisha inserted.

  “Or whomever else,” Junie insisted, “just remember there is more to life than missionary.”

  Junie was wild, fun and completely uninhibited. That’s why Lisha loved hanging with her. “You’re a trip,” she told her, glancing at the oversized white Starburst clock in the center of the wall covered with horizontal stripes in primary colors.

  7:03 A.M.

  “Let me get ready for work,” she said, rising from the square Formica table to scrape the remnants of her egg and bacon breakfast into the trash can before setting the plate into the sink. “I have a half a day at the clinic and then a couple hours in Holtsville.”

  Junie made a face. “Holtsville! You going in dem woods?”