Lana sat across the table from Robbie in the empty dining room and remembered a time when this was all she’d dreamed of…to be managing her Inn with him by her side. While things hadn’t been perfect with Robbie, they’d also had some good times. In the end, neither had wanted to compromise and they’d separated.
At first, Lana had thought that maybe things would work themselves out, but as time had passed, it had become clear that she and Robbie were just not meant to be. Now he was back, trying to recreate the past and she wasn’t feeling it at all.
Lana studied the handsome man across from her, from his deep golden complexion to his dark brown eyes. Robbie easily caught the attention of many women, with his good looks and charm. When he’d focused all of that on Lana in college, she’d been flattered, to say the least, and when it had developed into a relationship, she’d been thrilled.
Lana was no longer an infatuated college student. She was a grown woman, who knew her value and her worth. She was a changed person from the girl that Robbie knew, and she was even more a changed woman from meeting Derek Wells.
He was everything that she had and had not been looking for in her life. The physical attraction, she understood completely. He was an extremely handsome and confident man. The spiritual connection was something else that she could not explain. It had been fast and furious, sweet and sultry, something that had overtaken her from the start.
The connection she felt with Derek was like being wrapped in a blanket on a cold winter’s night. It was warm and soothing, making her never want to leave its security. She was beginning to love everything about the man who had stumbled through her doors.
“Lana…”
She smiled softly as she turned her attention to Robbie, thinking that no one could say her name like Derek and send chills through her body.
“Yes, Robbie,”
“I’ve been here nearly a week and this is the first time we’ve got to spend time together,” he said watching her.
“When we talked, I told you where I stood.” Lana told him.
He smiled. “Things didn’t go the way I’d liked and I got ahead of myself. What I should have said is that I’ve missed you and that I’ve never stopped thinking about you.”
Robert leaned forward and said softly. “I still love you, Lana.”
He then looked up surprised as Derek slid in the booth next to Lana. She smiled as Derek kissed her softly. “Hey baby, I’m sorry I’m late. I had to follow up on some things.”
“You’re right on time,” she told him before he turned his attention to Robert.
“I’m having a private conversation with Lana,” Robert told Derek as his eyes narrowed at the couple.
Derek slid an arm around Lana’s shoulders. “Not anymore.”
Robert looked at Lana as he sat back. “Really Lana?”
“I invited Derek, because I’ve told you that what we had is over and I’m not interested in rekindling it,” she explained. “I’d hoped that this would make the message clear and that you’d go back to LA and live your life.”
Derek placed an arm on the table and waited for Robert’s response.
“I can’t do that…” Robert told her.
“Why not?” Lana asked confused.
“Because he didn’t just come for you,” Derek told Lana and she turned to him.
Frowning, she looked at Robert. “What does that mean?”
Robbie sat back. “Why don’t you ask him, since he seems to think that’s the case.”
“On the contrary, I know that’s the case.” Derek corrected him.
“What’s going on Derek?” she questioned.
Derek looked at Robert. “You want me to do the honors?”
Robert remained silent and Derek nodded. “Okay, I understand. If I’d done the shit you have, I wouldn’t want to tell her either. I couldn’t look into this sweet face and tell her that I was scheming against her and her family.”
Robert frowned as Lana glanced between the two men.
“Plus I’d be worried about Mr. Sable beating my ass when he found out,” Derek continued.
“Robbie, what have you done?” Lana asked.
“Who the hell are you?” Robert questioned Derek angrily.
Derek shook his head. “I told you I wasn’t the dude you wanted to tangle with.”
Leaning forward, Derek directed all of his attention to Robert. “Now if I were you, I’d haul my ass out of here tonight and not look back. How dare you come here with this bullshit?”
Lana touched Derek’s taut arm. “Derek…”
“I’m two seconds from jumping across this damn table,” Derek continued in a deadly voice. “This Inn is Lana’s love. It’s her family’s legacy and you’d try to take that away from her?”
“Do you know how hard her family has had to work as a black-owned business to maintain this place?” Derek demanded. “You know, but you just don’t give a damn because it’s all about you.”
“You want to take my Inn?” Lana said frowning at Robert.
He looked at her. “Not take it, buy it. You and your family can make a profit and go live your lives away from this place,” he explained.
Lana shook her head. “So it really is all about you?” She stared. “You’d come here to do this?”
“It’s what’s best for all of us,” Robert protested. “And we’d get to be together.”
Lana frowned. “Why would I ever want to be with you, Robbie?” Lana fought back tears. “Get out of my Inn!”
“Lana…”
Derek got to his feet. “Let’s go.”
Robert stood with his face filled with anger. “You can’t put me out of here!” he yelled.
“Oh, you don’t think so?” Derek asked as Lana got to her feet and rushed to his side.
Robert looked Derek over in the slacks and dress shirt he’d donned for dinner.
Derek watched his perusal. “Yeah, I can kick ass in dinner attire,” he told him.
Lana scowled at Robert. “Get your things and get out. We will refund the rest of your money for your stay. You are not welcome here!” she said heatedly.
Mr. and Mrs. Langston came out from the kitchen and saw the trio standing beside the booth. They’d heard the raised voices and wanted to see what was happening.
“What’s going on here?” Mrs. Langston demanded.
“Robbie’s stay has ended and I’ve asked him to leave,” Lana told her. “He’s come here to try to take our Inn and If he doesn’t comply, we’ll be calling the sheriff.”
Robert lifted a brow. “The sheriff?”
“Yes, the sheriff,” Lana told him. “I’m not going to let Derek put his hands on you because he’s too important to be tangled up in some of your nonsense.” Derek looked at Lana.
“Who’s putting the hands on somebody?” Mr. Langston questioned.
His wife turned to him. “Go get Lloyd.”
“No! My Daddy doesn’t need to be involved,” Lana protested and Derek put an arm around her.
“Yes, your Daddy does. This is his life’s work,” Derek told her. “He should handle this.”
Mrs. Langston agreed. “That’s right.” She turned to her husband. “Go get him.”
Mr. Langston gave Robert a hard look, then nodded and walked away to find Lloyd. Robert moved to walk away and Derek blocked his path. “Where do you think you’re going?” Derek asked.
“I’m leaving,” Robert told him.
Mrs. Langston joined Derek at his side. “Oh no, you’re not. I warned you about coming here starting mess. You’re going to take this whipping.”
Lana blinked. “Mrs. Langston?”
Mrs. Langston stayed trained on Robert. “It’s either going to be Lloyd, Derek, my husband or me…”
“It’s definitely not going to be you,” Lana said moving to the older woman. “Please step aside and let Daddy handle it.”
“Get your people, Lana.” Robert warned.
“Or what?” Derek stepped closer as Lloyd rushed into the dining room.
“Okay, what is going on here?” Lloyd asked as all eyes fell on him.
Derek smiled at Robert. “I’ll let you do the talking this time.”
Lana rushed to her father’s side. “Derek found out that Robert is here trying to take our Inn,” she explained with emotion.
Lloyd lifted his gaze to Robert. “Is that so?”
“Not take it, Mr. Sable…purchase it,” Robert explained.
“It’s not for sale,” Lloyd told him. “And I think you know that.”
Robert stepped around Derek to face Lloyd. “You haven’t even heard an offer.”
Lloyd frowned. “You came here under false pretenses and you think I’d listen to an offer? You’re lucky I didn’t come in with my gun.”
Derek lifted a brow and looked at Lana.
“My strategy was to lay the groundwork,” Robert explained. “I wanted Lana to have somewhere else to go and do what she loves, and to help your family get the best deal.”
“We didn’t ask for a deal,” Lloyd told him. “Do you understand what generational wealth is?”
Robert stood silent.
“It’s when you can pass wealth and property down to your children, your grandchildren and so forth. It’s how dominant culture has maintained wealth and control all these years.” Lloyd told him. “The Inn isn’t simply a business to us.”
He looked at Mr. and Mrs. Langton. “It’s family.” Then he looked at his daughter. “It’s love.” His gaze moved to Derek. “And it’s home.”
Looking back at Robert he finished. “I’m going to watch my grandkids run through these halls just like their mother’s did. And if I’m fortunate enough, I’ll also watch my great-grandkids, because the Sable Inn will still be here and belong to the Sable descendants.”
Lana felt a tear drop down her cheek at her father’s words and quickly wiped it away. “You heard my Daddy,” she told Robert fiercely. “Now get out of our home and don’t come back!”
Robert looked at the group. “They’re going to take this place!”
“The door’s that way,” Lloyd told him. “Get your things.”
Robert shook his head. “Fine, stay in this awful place. No one wants to come here!”
Lena, Lorna, Jamal and Willie ran into the room and looked around.
“You need some backup, Mr. Sable?” Jamal questioned immediately.
“No Jamal, just relax. I’ve got this under control.”
Lorna grabbed Jamal’s arm and Lena watched the couple before turning her attention to her big sister, who had pain written across her face as she stared at Robert. Derek also noticed her dismay and gently pulled her into his arms and began rubbing her back to soothe her.
“Harry and Willie, you two stay here with the women,” Lloyd instructed. “The rest of us will see Robert out since his stay has ended.”
Derek joined Lloyd and Jamal as they followed the angry Robert upstairs to his room to pack. Lana put her face in her hands and turned away.
“I can’t believe Robert would do this,” she said shakily.
Her sisters rushed to her side. “You had no way of knowing,” Lorna comforted.
“Plus, we know there’s no way anyone can take the Inn,” Lena confirmed. “You’ve managed this place so well, we’re on very solid ground.”
Lana looked up. “I know the Inn is safe, but just the fact that he’d come here and try to do something this foul. We used to love one another.”
Mrs. Langston moved closer. “You listen to me little girlie, you left that man for a reason…because if you really loved him, nothing in this world would have kept you from him. Now you just remember that.”
******
Upstairs, Robert angrily packed his suitcase while the three men watched. He grabbed clothing and threw it into his luggage.
“Don’t worry, I can’t wait to get out of here,” he grumbled.
Jamal and Derek shared a look and Derek moved next to Lloyd.
“Uh, Mr. Sable…why don’t you let Jamal and I help Robert finish up?”
Lloyd turned to Derek, then glanced at Jamal who was leaning against the wall. Lloyd paused and both Derek and Jamal gave slow nods.
“I’ll meet you all downstairs,” Lloyd answered finally.
Robert looked up from his packing as the door closed behind Lloyd and the two men left stood watching him.
“I’m almost done,” he told them. “I don’t need you here either.”
“I understand that you liked to get heated with Lana,” Derek said quietly.
Robert froze. “I never touched her.”
Derek stepped forward. “No, you just liked to run your mouth.” He flicked a hand. “So run it now. I want to hear it.”
“This is ridiculous,” Robert snapped. “You might be warming Lana’s bed now, but unless you’re planning to stay at this place, she’s going to leave you too. If anyone is selfish, it’s her.”
Derek nodded and grabbed Robbie by his shirt. “Hmmm…what other advice do you have for me?”
Robert looked him in the eye. “Take your hands off me.”
“You think you’re just going to come here and try to hurt these people then walk away?” Derek questioned. “And talk shit to me in the process?”
“Look, I was here to make the deal. I thought I was looking out for Lana, so that she could land on her feet. They’re not going to be as nice as I was, when they come knocking,” he told them.
“You mean the company you’re a part of?” Derek asked.
“Yeah, I’m a part of it,” Robert answered.
“Well now your partners have been informed that the Sable Inn is off the list and to move on somewhere else,” Derek said firmly.
“They won’t without my agreement.”
Derek tightened his grip. “So your contribution to the group was to recommend the Sable Inn?”
Robert nodded as much as he could, with Derek’s hands hemming him up. “Of course, I thought this would be an easy acquisition.”
“So to ease the little conscience that you do have, you came offering Lana a job and professing your undying love to her as a cover?”
Shrugging, Robert said, “I still had some feelings for Lana. She can be hard and cold but I also remember how she warms up.”
Jamal grimaced and shook his head as Derek frowned then landed a punch to Robert’s face.
“Warm like that?” Derek asked as Robert grabbed his face. “Say some shit like that to me again.”
Robert touched his eye and glared at Derek. Turning to Jamal, he yelled. “You’re my witness! You saw him hit me!”
Derek turned to Jamal and said, “I saw him fall and hit his face.”
Jamal nodded. “Yep, that’s what I saw too.” He looked at Robert. “You should really be more careful so that you don’t uh…fall again.”
“Get your bag,” Derek ordered.
Robert looked between the two men then zipped and gathered his suitcase while holding his eye. “I won’t forget this!”
Derek shook his head. “That’s the point.”
Jamal opened the door and led the group down the stairs where the rest of the group was waiting along with the sheriff.
Robert rushed over to the lawman. “Do you see my eye?”
The sheriff nodded. “What happened?”
“He hit me!” Robert yelled, pointing at Derek. “And I want him arrested before I leave.”
Lana gasped and her sisters smiled, along with Mrs. Langston.
Walking over to Derek, the sheriff stopped in front of Derek. “And what’s your version of this story?”
All the group waited silently for Derek’s answer, but before he could say a word, Jamal jumped in.
“Those big wooden beds upstairs can be really dangerous when you’re reckless.” He told the sheriff. “See, Robert was here trying to hurt the Sables and even the bedposts know that we don’t allow that.”
“Hurt the Sables?” The sheriff turned to Lloyd. “Do you want to file a report?”
“No, he’s leaving.” Lloyd answered. “And apparently, the… bedposts have let him know that he’s not welcome.”
Lana watched Derek and he winked at her while the sheriff led Robert to the door. “Are you going to charge him?” Robert demanded.
“My son just told me what happened, so I don’t need any more information.”
Robert stopped. “He’s your son?”
Jamal smiled. “Thanks Daddy…see you later.” Both Robert and Derek looked surprised.
The sheriff nodded at Jamal. “Stay away from the bedposts, son.”
“I think I’m safe,” he looked at Derek then at Lana. “I’d never hurt the Sables.”
Lloyd smiled. “He’s fine, sheriff. Jamal is family.”
Lorna touched his arm and Jamal looked down at her with a smile.
“Let’s go. I’ll get you some ice for that,” the sheriff told Robert and escorted him out of the door.
Lana went to Derek and looked up at him. “I assume you’re the bedpost.”
He smiled softly and touched her face. “Are you okay?”
“I will be,” she whispered. “Thank you…for everything.”
The family gathered around. “Yes, thank you Derek.” Lloyd patted him on the back. “I’m glad you smoked Robert out before this got out of hand.”
“I knew he was up to no good,” Mrs. Langston said shaking her head. She looked at Derek. “You need some ice for that hand, boy?”
Derek laughed. “No ma’am, I know how to throw a punch.”
Lena smiled. “Well, Robbie’s gone…and good riddance.”
“Here, here,” Lorna agreed.
Willie shook his head. “I shoulda known what that boy was up to, I need to stay on top of things around here.”
Lena rolled her eyes. “Willie, you already have your nose into everything.”
“My nose needs to be longer then, because I’ve got to protect my girls.” Willie protested.
Mr. Langston looked at Derek and Jamal. “I don’t think that’s going to be your job much longer.”
Lana spoke up to the group. “I just want to say that I’m sorry. I brought this foolishness to our home and I promise, I won’t let this affect the Inn in any way.”
She turned and walked out the door while everyone watched. Both Lloyd and Derek headed to the door, then both stopped and looked at one another while everyone waited to see the conclusion.
Lloyd folded his arms. “Start where you plan to continue, son” he told Derek. “She’s hurting now because one man didn’t do that.”
Derek looked back at the waiting group, then to Lloyd. “I know that I haven’t been here long and soon I’ll have to return to my real life, but Lana will be a part of that life…no matter what I have to do. I don’t want to take her away for good, and I’m not going to leave her.”
“You’re right, Lana’s hurting…and with every fiber of my being, I want to go to her. Since I’ve met Lana, I feel a connection to her that I’ve never felt before with anyone. She’s the last thing I think about at night and the first thing I think of in the morning.”
“So I’m starting where I plan to continue, and that’s by her side,” Derek finished.
Listening to his heartfelt words, Lloyd nodded. “Then go…”
Without hesitation, Derek hurried through the door.
Mrs. Langston smiled. “Now that’s a man deserving of our Lana.”
“I knew it from the first time I met him,” Lloyd told them.
Lena’s mouth opened in shock. “Then why’d you just put him through all of that?”
Lloyd smiled. “Because I’m still your father.”
******
Lana entered her house and went straight to her bedroom, throwing herself across the bed. Alone, she let tears flow. How could she have let this happen? Even though it hadn’t materialized into anything, she’d been the catalyst of the entire thing.
Robbie had thought that he could come into her home and her life to ruin them both. Lana was hurt, embarrassed, angry and every emotion in between. She’d been humiliated in front of her entire family and Derek. After her apology, all she could do was walk out because if she’d stayed, she’d have broken down completely.
Watching Derek and Jamal have to come to her defense in protecting her family’s inheritance had been humbling, to say the least. Lana had wanted to not only punch Robbie, but hurt him in the same way he’d hurt her.
“What did I tell you about crying?”
Lana kept her eyes closed at the sound of the deep voice in her doorway.
“I didn’t know you were coming.” She sniffed through her tears. “I figured it would be Daddy or one of my sisters.”
Derek moved to the bed and placed a hand on her back. “They wanted to come…”
She turned to him. “How did you get to be the lucky one?” Lana asked quietly.
“Because I am the lucky one,” Derek kissed her softly. “Lucky enough to have stopped at this Inn, lucky enough to have met this incredible family and really lucky enough to be with this chocolate beauty.”
She smiled softly. “What did Robbie say to you to make you punch him?” Lana asked.
“So what we’re not going to do is talk about Robbie’s dirty ass. Just know that I’m watching him and your Inn is safe,” Derek told her.
Lana smiled a little more. “My hero...”
“You know it baby,” he said taking her into his arms and holding her close.
She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed. “I never imagined all of this would happen.”
“I never imagined that Jamal’s father is the sheriff.”
Lana laughed. “That’s another story.”
“I bet it is,” Derek said rubbing her back.
She looked at him. “Can you at least tell me how you found out about Robbie’s plan?”
“I told you, I solve problems.”
“I see you’re very good at it, too” she whispered, sniffing.
Derek wiped her still damp cheeks. “No crying, especially over a dude who never deserved you.”
“It’s so embarrassing,” Lana said, rubbing her face. “I’m supposed to be the example to my sisters.”
He removed her hands and looked into her eyes. “You are the perfect example. You handle your business like a boss and no one can dispute that fact.”
Lana held his gaze. “I really can’t thank you enough.”
“You know how you can thank me?” Derek asked softly.
“I’d like to hear it.”
Stroking her cheek, he continued, “You to have to promise me that when I go back to D.C., no crying.”
Lana licked her bottom lip. “When are you going?”
Derek cradled her face. “Soon.”
“How soon?”
“I’ll be here another week, then I have meetings that I can’t put off any longer,” he explained.
Lana felt her heart drop. “What happens then?”
“Then I’m in D.C. and you’re in Grayling, until one of us makes the trip to where the other is,” Derek told her.
“You’d want me to come to D.C.?” Lana asked.
He nodded. “Can you start thinking about it?”
Lana sat still. “For how long?”
Touching his lips to her, Derek whispered. “For as long as I can have you.”
“Won’t you be busy working?”
He kissed her again. “I’ll make time for you.”
Lana wrapped her arms around him. “I promise I’ll think about it.”
“If I didn’t have to leave…” he began and Lana placed a finger over his lips.
“I’ll always find you.”