Song of Solomon (25 page)

“Dr. Taylor . . . Mama . . . are y'all finished talking yet? Can we go outside now?” A knock to the door supplemented Chase's innocent voice.

Shaylynn gasped, jumped backward, and wiped her hands over her lips to remove the telltale wet evidence that the ravenous, thorough searching of Neil's mouth had left behind. Then both her hands shot to her eyes, where they made quick work of erasing residue tears.

Neil's eyes shot toward the door. His head swooned, and he struggled to catch his breath. He knew that it wasn't Chase's idea to knock on the door and interrupt whatever was going on in the office of his school's chief administrator. “I'm gonna get you for this, Ms. Dasher,” he whispered.

“Dr. Taylor? Mama?” the boy called again.

Neil took a quick look at Shaylynn to be sure she had gotten herself together, and when he was sure she had, he raised his voice and said, “Come on in, Chase.” As the door opened, he distanced himself more from Shaylynn and returned to his desk to gather a few belongings that he pretended to need to take outside with him.

“Y'all okay in here?” There was so much laughter in Margaret's eyes that Neil wanted to pick up something and hurl it at her.

Ignoring her question, he looked across the room at Chase instead. “Give me one minute and I'll be ready.”

While he collected a few folders, Neil reached for his cell phone, then balanced it between his ear and shoulder and listened to the one message that had been left:

“Hey, Neil. It's CJ. I tried your cell earlier, then called your house, but I got voice mails on both, so I'm calling here again. When you get this message, you can call me back if you want. If not, I'll understand.”

Neil heard CJ pause and release a sigh, and from the heaviness of it, Neil knew that what he was about to hear was something his friend didn't define as positive news. Neil didn't need anything to ruin his current ecstasy, but he was too curious not to hear him out. “Listen, bruh, I know you're gonna be outdone with me, but I won't do it. I won't feed you any detailed info on Mayor Ford that will help you destroy Shay's image of him. It's not that I can't do it. . . . I just won't do it. Yes, my sources unearthed a boatload of dirt on Emmett. They found it, and I know every sordid detail of it. But I won't share it with you.

“I've disobeyed God's orders enough in gathering this information, but I can't make it worse by passing it along. I know how much it means to you to be able to mar this man's image, but you'll just have to find another avenue to Shaylynn's heart. If this sister is truly meant for you, then you shouldn't have to play these kinds of undermining games. God has equipped you with everything that you need to get the victory in every aspect of your life, including matters of the heart. Use what you got, Neil. Dad once said that you could get anything you wanted if you'd just sing. So sing your way to victory, Neil. Sing your way to victory.”

Neil rolled his eyes, smiled, shook his head, and then saved the message before closing his phone. Church people made him sick, and he'd call CJ later to tell him so.

Sliding a mint from his pocket, Neil popped it in his mouth and tossed the wrapper in the trashcan beside his desk. Then he raised his eyes and looked toward the open doorway, where a beautiful lady stood talking softly to her son. Where
his
beautiful lady stood talking to
their
son. This was his future, and for the first time, Neil thought those words in confidence. CJ could keep the dirt he'd discovered on Mayor Ford, and Shaylynn could keep the unflawed memories of her beloved Emmett—however misguided they apparently had been found to be. Neil wasn't going to let any of it intimidate him anymore.

He would no longer be bullied by the man, his picture, or the violets that decorated Shaylynn's mantel in commemoration of her undying love for a husband she'd buried seven years ago. In time, just like the ring she'd worn for so long, those memorials would be removed too. And if they weren't, so what? Emmett Ford had been an important part of Shaylynn's past life, but that's what Emmett was: the past. Neil would have to be confident enough not to let that threaten the present or the future. Period.

“Ready?” Chase held up an eager hand, and Neil answered the call for a high five.

When he looked down into Shaylynn's longing stare, he saw snapshots of the dream he had two nights ago. God, how he hoped the “something” she felt was the same emotion that was causing his chest to swell. What he felt was love. No doubt about it. A long courtship with this lady was out of the question. He had already fallen too deep to wait too long. He needed to share every part of him with every part of her. He was ready to experience that “real good lovin'” that Deacon Burgess told him about.

As Chase charged toward the exit door, Neil slipped his hand in Shaylynn's and gave it a quick squeeze; then he gave the answer to Chase's question, an answer that the boy was too far away to hear.

“I'm ready whenever you are.” Neil hoped she got the true meaning that was hidden behind the words he whispered. If not, soon enough, she would.

Kendra Norman-Bellamy is an award-winning, national bestselling author as well as founder of KNB Publications, LLC. Beginning her literary career in 2002 as a self-published writer, Kendra has risen, by the grace of God, to become one of the most respected names in Christian fiction.

She and her titles have been featured in
Essence
,
Upscale
,
Hope for Women
, and
E.K.G. Literary Magazine
. Kendra has been a recurrent contributing writer for
Precious Times
magazine,
Hope for Women
magazine, and
Global Woman
magazine. She is a motivational speaker, and the mastermind behind two distinct writer's organizations: The Writer's Hut (
www.writershut.ning.com
), an online network for published writers of African American literature; and The Writer's Cocoon Focus Group (
www.writerscocoonfocusgroup.ning.com
), a national, multi-cultural support network set in place specifically for aspiring and new writers. Additionally, she is the visionary of the I Shall Not Die motivational ministry (
www.IShallNotDie.org
) and the founder of Cruisin' For Christ (
www.CruisinForChrist.org
), a groundbreaking cruise that celebrates Christian writing, gospel music, and other artistries that glorify God. As a famed publication that celebrates African American achievements,
Who's Who In Black Atlanta
has featured Kendra for five consecutive years.

A native of West Palm Beach, Florida and a graduate of Valdosta Technical College, Kendra is an active member of the Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc. She resides in Stone Mountain, Georgia with her husband, Jonathan, and younger daughter, Crystal. Her firstborn daughter, Brittney Holmes, is also a national bestselling author and a full-time student residing on the campus of the University of Georgia.

Feel free to visit Kendra's official web home at
www.KendraNormanBellamy.com

 

UC His Glory Book Club is the spirit-inspired brainchild of Joylynn Jossel, Author and Acquisitions Editor of Urban Christian, and Kendra Norman-Bellamy, Author for Urban Christian. This is an online book club that hosts authors of Urban Christian. We welcome as members all men and women who have a passion for reading Christian-based fiction.

UC His Glory Book Club pledges our commitment to provide support, positive feedback, encouragement, and a forum whereby members can openly discuss and review the literary works of Urban Christian authors.

There is no membership fee associated with UC His Glory Book Club; however, we do ask that you support the authors through purchasing, encouraging, providing book reviews, and of course, your prayers. We also ask that you respect our beliefs and follow the guidelines of the book club. We hope to receive your valuable input, opinions, and reviews that build up, rather than tear down our authors.

—We believe that Jesus is the Christ, Son of the Living God

—We believe the Bible is the true, living Word of God

—We believe all Urban Christian authors should use their God-given writing abilities to honor God and share the message of the written word God has given to each of them uniquely.

—We believe in supporting Urban Christian authors in their literary endeavors by reading, purchasing and sharing their titles with our online community.

—We believe that everything we do in our literary arena should be done in a manner that will lead to God being glorified and honored.

We look forward to the online fellowship with you.

Please visit us often at:

www.uchisglorybookclub.net
.

 

Many Blessing to You!

Shelia E. Lipsey,

President, UC His Glory Book Club

Urban Books, LLC
97 N 18th Street
Wyandanch, NY 11798

 

Song of Solomon Copyright © 2010 Kendra Norman-Bellamy

 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior consent of the Publisher, except brief quotes used in reviews.

ISBN: 978-1-6016-2683-7

 

 

 

 

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