Read A Love Like This (Book 1) Online
Authors: Kimberly Lane
“
Your mom went into Mr. Clayton
’
s house because she thought he might have fallen down.
I heard her scream and I saw a woman running from the back yard so I went in and woke your cousin and your dad.
They
’
re all inside now.
”
I start for the house and Tucker grabs my arm and pulls me back.
“
Wait here,
”
he says and runs across the street.
The police and ambulance arrive just as he enters the house.
Some of the neighbors have start
filling
out
onto their lawns.
“
Did you see the woman
’
s face?
”
I say to Shauna.
“
I didn
’
t get a very good look at her.
She wore a baseball cap pulled down low.
”
My mother steps out of the house with a police officer.
She has her arms wrapped around herself and she looks shaken.
We all stand and watch in silence as the EMT workers bring Mr. Clayton out on a stretcher.
“
Oh my goodness is he dead,
”
Nickie
says.
I take a closer look and see that Mr. Clayton is pulling the oxygen mask away from his face and yelling at the EMT workers.
“
That mean old man is still alive.
Evil doesn
’
t die easily,
”
I say.
The police officer hands my mother a card and she ambles over to us.
We all hug her and head back into the house.
We sit down at the kitchen table and
Nickie
hands
Momma
a glass of water.
We all wait expectantly for her to tell us what happened.
“
He was tied to a chair,
”
My mother says looking over at me.
“
A woman broke into that nasty old man
’
s house over powered him and tied him to a chair.
”
“
Was he hurt?
”
Sarah asks.
“
He bumped his head on the floor when the chair tipped over.
”
“
So she broke into his house and tied him up but she didn
’
t hurt him in any way?
”
I ask.
“
No it gets even stranger than that, she broke in, over powered him and cleaned his whole house.
She apologized for scaring him and she sat with him and read to him.
”
“
Are you sure he didn
’
t get a concussion when he bumped his head?
”
Shauna says.
“
That
’
s what I thought until he told me that she broke in so that she could keep an eye on you,
”
She says pointing at me.
My mouth goes dry.
“
Why does she need to keep an eye on me?
”
“
He said she
’
s been following you every since you arrived.
She said you have something that belongs to her and she came here to get it back,
”
My mother says raking her hands through her hair.
“
Tucker filed a police report.
”
My dad and Tucker come marching into the house.
They look like black and white angry bulls.
“
Your father and I have decided that it would be better if you stayed here in LA for a while.
This woman is completely out of her mind.
So you shouldn
’
t go back to Berkeley with the rest of us.
”
At that moment I felt like everything inside me was about to erupt.
Who the hell do they think they are?
“
Oh Shit hear it comes,
”
Nickie
says moving away from the kitchen table.
Breathe Leila I say to myself before speaking.
I grit my teeth and look back and forth from my father to Tucker.
I
’
m not going to yell or act unbecoming even though that
’
s how I feel right now.
I
’
m going to act like an adult.
“
Thank you both for your concern.
I understand that you
’
re worried and you have every reason to be because this clearly isn
’
t an ideal situation.
Nevertheless, you both need to know that I will not stay here.
I will go back to school and finish my degree and I might even redecorate my new house.
I respect both of you tremendously but you
’
re not the boss of me,
”
I yell pointing
at both of them before rushing towards my bedroom.
I slam the door and pace the floor.
Ok so the mature approach didn
’
t really work out.
I
’
m seething but I don
’
t know who I
’
m angry at. I
’
m mad at Tucker and my dad for telling me what to do.
I
’
m pissed at the crazy woman for making my vacation miserable and I
’
m angry at myself for straying so far away from my goals.
I fish around in Tucker
’
s pants for the keys to the rental SUV.
I grab my big red purse and creep out the front door.
I pull away and head in the direction of
Pookie
’
s
house.
*****
Pookie
is sitting on his couch editing and article about summer cardigans.
He
’
s been doing his best to ignore the text messages and phone calls but the last few calls have come in so quickly that he can
’
t ignore them.
When he hears the knock on the door he doesn
’
t bother looking through the peephole he just opens it wide for Leila to walk in.
“
Hey uncle,
“
She says then stops herself.
“
I guess I can
’
t call you that anymore,
”
She says lugging herself into the living room and plopping down on the couch.
“
So I hear you ran away from home,
”
He says closing the door behind her.
“
Yes, our father and that man I married,
”
he stops her.
“
Please don
’
t do that.
”
“
Do what?
”
“
Don
’
t
’
call Xavier my father,
”
He says walking into the kitchen.
“
I understand why you
’
re upset but he
’
s always been your father.
He did every father and son thing imaginable with you.
I always thought it was because he didn
’
t have a son but now that I know the truth it all makes
since.
”
Pookie
walks over to the couch with a mimosa.
“
The only thing I ever wanted was a father.
I didn
’
t need a new car for my sixteenth birthday.
I didn
’
t need to study abroad in Paris.
”
“
I know you needed someone to talk to you about major life decisions and teach you how to do guy things.
Daddy never did any of that right?
”
She says sarcastically.
“
My goodness you
’
re so spoiled.
”
“
Don
’
t be a smart ass Leila.
They fucked up ok.
They should not have lied to me.
”
“
They were doing what they thought was best,
”
I shout.
“
They were ashamed of me,
”
He retorts with tears streaming down his brown cheeks.
“
Oh Jermaine,
”
I say walking over to hug him.
“
No one could ever be ashamed of you.
You
’
re the best person I know.
”
“
I am aren
’
t I,
”
He says with a little laugh.
“
I know they had good intentions but they have been
lying
to me
my whole life and I
’
m
not ready to forgive them yet.
”
“
Fine with me,
”
I say grabbing his drink and taking a sip.
“
You are the only man I know who keeps a supply of champagne on stock just for morning mimosas.
“
Oh little sister niece, sadness is no excuse not to live fabulously.
”
Pookie
and Leila spend the next hour discussing the cleaning stalker.
They get online an order a stun gun and pepper spray.
They also order an alarm system for the house in Berkeley.
“
That should satisfy your father and your husband for now,
”
He says.
Leila texts everyone and tells them where she is.
Her plane doesn
’
t leave for hours so she and
Pookie
order Chinese food and watch old movies. Leila looks over at him and asks,
“
So are you going to meet Valery Callaway?
”
“
Chris told me that she
’
s clean and sober now.
I
’
m very proud of her for getting her life straight but I have no desire to meet my biological mother,
”
Pookie
says.
“
I
’
m still working on getting use to having a father.
Baby steps,
”
He says.
There
’
s a knock on the door a few
hours before Leila
’
s plane is scheduled to leave.
Pookie
looks through the peephole and opens the door.
“
Here we go,
”
He says as the
entire family piles into his living room.