Ties That Bind (2 page)

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Authors: Brenda Jackson

BOOK: Ties That Bind
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For the longest time he didn't speak. Neither did she. They merely stared into each other's eyes as if they thought dancing together, in this place, at this time made perfect sense. Although they would probably be the first to admit that this intense attraction didn't. She had never felt anything like this in her entire life, not even for Jeremy Fields and they had dated all through their last two years of high school. They had broken up after graduation when he had decided that he wanted to escape the prejudices in the South by moving to California.
“Who are you?” she finally asked, thinking she should at least know the name of the person who had miraculously warped her senses.
“Randolph Devin Fuller. And who are you?”
“Jenna. Jenna Marie Haywood.”
A smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “Hi, Jenna Marie Haywood.”
Jenna could help returning his smile. “Hi, Randolph Devin Fuller.”
“You're a junior?” he asked with interest.
“Yes. What about you?”
“I'm a senior. Funny we never ran into each other before on campus.”
Moments later when Wilson Pickett's song ended and a slow number by Solomon Burke immediately began playing, Randolph gently pulled Jenna to him, holding her close, but not too close as to be considered indecent or disrespectful. But it was close enough to breathe in the tantalizing scent of her perfume.
With mixed emotions bombarding him resulting from holding her in his arms, Randolph tried to calm himself down. “So, tell me about yourself,” he said, swallowing hard.
“What do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
She smiled. “That would take more than this dance, Randolph.”
He barely suppressed the chuckle rising in his throat as he kept his gaze leveled at her face. He thought she had a beautiful smile. The last thing he had expected when he showed up here tonight was to run into a woman he would find himself irresistibly attracted to. “Then tell me the important stuff like what brought you to Howard.”
Jenna nodded before she began speaking. “I'm in the school of architecture. What brought me here is my parents' lifelong dream that I get educated at a prestigious college. They worked real hard to send me. It's my dream to return to Knoxville and open a business there.”
“Knoxville? Is that where you're from?”
“Yes. I'm the oldest of four kids and the only girl. Now what information would you like to share?”
He smiled. “I'm majoring in business with plans to go on to law school here. The Fullers have deep roots in Richmond, Virginia, where my father was born. My paternal grandparents still live there. My mother's parents are in Glendale Shores, South Carolina.”
She nodded. She had heard all about Glendale Shores, which some people claimed was the most beautiful of the sea islands off the South Carolina coast. “Do you ever go to Glendale Shores to visit?”
“Not as much as I'd like. When I was a kid growing up, I spent most of my summers there.”
“Do you have any sisters or brothers?”
“Yes,” he replied, smiling fondly, thinking of the brother he was very close to. “I have a brother named Ross. He's a law student. I heard my
parents wanted a third child but once they saw what a holy terror I was, they decided two was enough.” He then studied her features, thinking how young she looked. “How old are you?”
She smiled. “I'm eighteen. I graduated from high school at sixteen. Since my mother worked in the school system, I was able to start school a year ahead of schedule.”
“Is your mother a teacher?”
“No, she's a cook in the school cafeteria. And how old are you, Randolph?”
“I'm twenty. I'll be twenty-one in April.”
“April? What day in April?”
“The fourth.”
Jenna blinked. “My birthday is April fourth, too,” she said, grinning from cheek to cheek. “Isn't that a coincidence?”
“Yes, it is,” Randolph said warmly, thinking she was simply beautiful, although she hadn't done anything to accentuate that beauty. But in his opinion, she didn't have to. She wore her hair up in a knot that showed just what a graceful neckline she had. She had applied minimum makeup and was dressed conservatively in a skirt and blouse. But there was something about her that had grabbed his attention the moment she had walked outside.
“Why were you standing outside?” he asked curiously. “Were you getting bored already?”
Jenna didn't say anything at first. If he was an Alpha she didn't want to offend him by saying she wasn't enjoying the party, so she said, “I'm not used to being up this late unless I'm studying. I was hoping my roommate would notice I wasn't inside and take the hint that I was ready to leave. I want to go to church in the morning, then spend the rest of the day studying for a test I have on Monday.”
“Who's your roommate?”
Jenna's gaze searched the room. “Ellie Stanhope. She's the girl dancing with Tyrone Wells.”
Randolph's gaze followed hers. “If you're ready to leave I can walk you back to your dorm.”
Jenna shook her head. “We came together and I can't leave without making sure Ellie gets back to the dorm okay.”
He smiled. “Then I'll make sure she does. Come on.” Sliding his hand around Jenna's waist and drawing her to his side, he began walking in the direction where Ellie and Tyrone Wells were dancing. He tapped Tyrone Wells on the shoulder. “Ty, make sure this lady here gets back to the dorm okay. I'm walking her roommate home.”
Tyrone nodded, smiling. “Okay, Rand.”
“You're leaving already, Jenna?” Ellie asked. Her voice definitely indicated she wasn't pleased at the thought.
“Yes. I'll see you later.”
Ellie looked at Tyrone and smiled. “Yes. Later.”
Jenna shook her head, wondering what had happened to Ellie's plan to snare Sonny Cahill, since it now seemed she was enamored with Tyrone Wells.
“Ready?”
Randolph's question intruded into her thoughts. “Yes, I'm ready.”
With his hand curling around her arm, Randolph led Jenna across the room, through the doors and out into the yard.
 
The grounds were well lit as Randolph and Jenna strode along a paved lane that led to several dormitory buildings. They talked about everything, from the Temptations' newest single, “My Girl,” and how fast it was climbing the charts, to the fact that some white folks had started growing their hair long, hanging big beads around their necks, wearing bell-bottom pants and calling themselves hippies.
Randolph also told Jenna that he had participated in the march on Washington two years earlier and the Selma march earlier that year. “I was there for Bloody Sunday, too,” he said quietly, remembering what had started out as a peaceful demonstration. No sooner had they reached the city line, there had been a posse of Alabama State Troopers waiting for them on Governor Wallace's orders. The troopers had immediately attacked the crowd who had bowed their heads in prayer, using tear gas and batons and whipping the peaceful demonstrators with no signs of mercy.
“Your parents let you participate?” Jenna asked with keen interest. She had wanted to participate in the march but her parents had not allowed her to, although she knew her father had participated. He had written to her about what had happened and it had been just as Randolph described it. A number of peaceful demonstrators had gotten beaten and jailed.
“Both my parents were killed in a car accident when I was ten. Our paternal grandparents raised Ross and me. My grandfather is a good friend of A. Philip Randolph and he thought it would be a good experience for me and Ross.”
“Your grandfather is friends with A. Philip Randolph?” she asked, making sure she had heard him correctly. Besides Martin Luther King, Jr., Mr. Randolph was one of the most prominent leaders in the fight against segregation, especially in the military and labor forces. He had also been the one to organize the march on Washington two years ago. Jenna had heard her parents speak highly of him on numerous occasions, especially her father, who was now a part of the Teamsters Union because of Mr. Randolph's fight for fair and equal employment practices.
“Yes. They served in World War Two together. In fact I was named after him.”
They stopped walking when they came to the building where Jenna lived. “You won't get into trouble for coming in after midnight, will you?”
She smiled. “No. I told our dorm mother that we would be getting back late. She's usually more lenient on the weekends.”
Randolph nodded. He wasn't ready to part company with her yet. There was something going on here, something between them that had started from the moment he had laid eyes on her tonight. It was definitely worth exploring since nothing like this had ever happened to him before. “What are your plans for tomorrow?”
Randolph's question took Jenna by surprise. She hadn't considered the possibility that he might want to see her again and her heart began beating rapidly at the thought. But another part of her heard her mother's voice, warning her to be aware of smooth talking guys around
school. They were guys who were only out for one thing. She hated to think that Randolph might be that way. She tilted her head and looked up at him. “Why do you ask?”
“I was hoping you would go to the movies with me tomorrow afternoon. James Bond's new movie,
Thunderball,
is out and I heard it's good.”
“I'm going to be busy tomorrow studying,” she responded, playing it safe and feeling awful that she felt she had to.
“What about next weekend? Can we go out then?”
Jenna gazed at him thoughtfully. “I don't know if that's a good idea.”
He lifted a bemused brow. “Why wouldn't it be?”
For the life of her, Jenna couldn't rightly say at the moment.
A smile came to his lips when she couldn't provide him with an answer. “I'll tell you what. How about going to a concert with me two weekends from now?”
“A concert?”
“Yes. The Ramsey Lewis Trio is doing a benefit concert on campus. Would you go with me?”
Jenna hadn't been to a concert since the free one on campus last year. “Yes,” she said, making a decision.
A huge smile spread across his face. “Good. Can I call you during this week, too?”
She smiled back. “Sure.”
“What's your phone number?”
As she rattled off the number, he mentally stored it in his head. “Are you going to the game next Saturday?”
“I hadn't planned on it. I'll probably be too busy studying.”
He nodded then reached into his pockets and pulled something out. “This is a free pass if you change your mind and decide to come. You can get in as my guest,” he said, handing it to her. When their hands touched he heard her quick intake of breath. He was glad. If being around her was playing hell on his senses he was happy to know that she was suffering that same effect.
“Thank you and thanks for making sure I got home safely.”
“It was my pleasure.” He smiled.
“Good night, Randolph.”
“Good night.”
Quickly turning, Jenna raced up the steps to the building, opened the door and slipped inside.
For a long while after she had gone, Randolph stood watching the closed door.
 
Bronson College, Boston, Massachusetts
“Aren't you worried about not passing Professor Dunbar's class?”
Angela Douglass smiled up at a fellow student as they walked together from the library. Already the air was filled with a chill and the weather reports indicated there would be light snow on the ground in the morning. “No, I'm not worried. Professor Dunbar will assign me a tutor before letting me fail.”
“Must be nice to have connections.”
She heard the deep sarcasm in Sandra Sawyer's voice but chose to ignore it. “It is.” She then glanced at her watch, a present from her parents on her eighteenth birthday two years ago. “I've got to run. This is the night Mrs. Hightower is entertaining and I promised her that I would help. See you later.”
Sandra watched Angela until she had disappeared from view, thinking some people had it too easy. Just because Angela was a descendant of Frederick Douglass, everyone treated her like she was a queen. She went to class when she was ready and did half the work and still managed to get good grades, all because her family was close friends with Dean Hightower.
As Sandra crossed the street, heading for her dorm, she thought of how unfair that was.

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