Corvus held out his wife’s chair and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek as she sat. He then walked around the table to take his own seat across from her and waited to hold her hands.
When she was done, he looked across at her. “Thank you for breakfast.”
Miracle smiled. “I love making you breakfast.”
“The Universe is so good to me,” he told her and began to eat.
Miracle followed suit while watching him. “What are your plans today?” she asked.
“Looking at some land to purchase and meeting with Lance,” he answered. When she flushed, he laughed. “It’s fine baby.”
“I’m still embarrassed,”
“You want me to go to his house and see Khayla half-naked to make it even?”
Miracle frowned. “I don’t like when you do that.”
Corvus laughed softly. “Okay Little Goddess. I’m checked.”
“I don’t want you looking at any other naked or half-naked women,” she told him firmly.
He looked at her. “As long as I can come home to my own little naked wife, I’m straight.”
Miracle went back to her food. “You’re buying some more land?” she changed the subject.
“Yeah, it’s near the Pride Center. Khalil wants me to take a look at it,” he explained. “Maybe put up some type of courts like tennis and basketball, so he can host some teams and tournaments.”
“The kids would enjoy that.” Miracle agreed.
“We played all those sports when we were kids, and of course, baseball.” Corvus told her. “But everybody sucked except Rion, so we didn’t want to play with him.”
She laughed. “So you found your own thing?”
“I was better at basketball, but not a star. Lance and I learned about real estate in our late teens and it became an addiction for me. I started buying every property and piece of land that I could get my hands on.”
“Which turned out to be great investments,” Miracle complimented.
He smiled. “One brought me my Little Goddess.”
“And I am so thankful,” she whispered.
“So am I,” he agreed.
They both went back to their meal until Corvus asked, “What are your plans today?”
“I’m going to the church to see Daddy, then…”
Corvus frowned. “I need to go with you.”
“Why?” Miracle asked sitting down her utensil.
Corvus matched her action. “Because Emanuel will be there.”
“So will my father,” Miracle told him. “And I’m not afraid of Emanuel.”
“Emanuel’s time is short. I’m just giving him enough rope…” Corvus explained.
Miracle shook her head. “Emanuel is all talk. I don’t want you to do anything that will get you in trouble. You have too much going on right now.”
“I’ll squeeze him in,”
She smiled. “I will steer clear of Emanuel and you know that I can take care of myself.”
“You don’t have to,” Corvus told her.
Miracle reached for his hand. “Listen, my love, you have real issues going on and I’m not going to let you be distracted by the likes of Emanuel Hollins.”
“I’ll check in with you after you meet with your father,” Corvus told her pointedly.
“Okay,”
They finished their breakfast and Corvus walked her to the car, kissing her deeply before placing her inside the vehicle.
“You got your piece?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m always ready.”
Corvus nodded. “Okay, I’ll talk to you in little bit.”
“Okay,”
Miracle drove to the church and parked in the empty parking lot. It was early so there were very few people around. She pulled her bag closer and went into alert mode. Saying a prayer underneath her breath she walked across the lot to the door.
The door was thrown open and Miracle jumped back as the man reached for her.
“Miracle, are you okay?”
She placed a hand over her chest. “Daddy, you scared me.”
“I saw you pull in and I was waiting to meet you,” Bishop Chapman explained.
Miracle shook her head. “It’s just me. Corvus wants me to be careful around Emanuel.”
The Bishop showed her inside and led her down the hall. “I’m not sure what Emanuel is thinking right now, so I’m with Corvus.”
“I don’t understand him,” Miracle said walking into her father’s office. “It’s not like he ever acted like he wanted me.”
Taking his seat, the Bishop looked at his daughter. “I owe you an apology, Miracle.”
“For what?”
“For trying to give you to a man who clearly didn’t appreciate how wonderful you are.”
Miracle smiled. “Thank you Daddy.”
The Bishop returned her smile. “What did you want to discuss today?”
She sat her bag aside. “Corvus found out yesterday that some developers may be coming after the church.”
He looked confused. “What does that mean?”
“These developers want the land that Corvus owns in addition to the land that the church sits on.” She looked at her father. “His contact says that the church is overextended financially.”
The Bishop put a hand to his head and sighed. “The expansion has drained our coffers quite a bit.”
“Daddy, I warned you.”
“I know, Miracle but Emanuel was handling everything. He said we’d be fine.”
“You need to take the reins back from him,” Miracle counseled. “He’s going to make us lose the church altogether.”
The Bishop agreed. “I do have to keep a better watch on Emanuel…especially now.”
“Corvus said that these people will not deal fairly and may release all kinds of false information about all of us and the church.”
Bishop Chapman stood. “What is this really about?”
“Gentrification,” Miracle answered. “Corvus pointed it out and showed me how it’s being done all over the city.”
Reclaiming his seat, the Bishop studied Miracle. “You speak very highly of Mr. Shaw.”
“Mr. Shaw is a very special man and he’s so much more than meets the eye.”
“Tell me how he managed to get my daughter to turn away from everything she’d been taught…” the Bishop questioned.
Miracle looked at her father. “He loved me and he showed it.”
Bishop Chapman frowned. “Don’t I love you?”
She bit her lip then answered, “I’ve never felt loved the way Corvus makes me feel.”
“Miracle…”
“Let me explain,” she said quietly. “I know that you love me. You’re my Daddy, you’ve always loved me. Being with Corvus is unlike anything I’ve ever imagined.”
The Bishop nodded. “I see a difference in you.”
“Is that a bad thing?” Miracle asked.
“Time will tell,”
She smiled. “I know who I am Daddy and I know what’s important to me. Corvus is not a threat to that.”
“I don’t want to lose you Miracle,” her father stated quietly.
“I thought you agreed to share,” she teased him.
He smiled. “Yes, I did and I hope Corvus is a man of his word.”
“He is, and that’s why I love him.”
“I still don’t approve of him whisking you off to Las Vegas.”
“It’s what I wanted. Corvus just wanted to make me happy and I just wanted to be his wife,” Miracle said with a smile.
The Bishop nodded. “I’ve warned Emanuel to stay away from you.”
“I’ll tell you what I told Corvus this morning…I’m not afraid of Emanuel and if he decides to let the devil use him, he will suffer the consequences.”
“The consequences?” The Bishop raised a brow.
“I got that from Corvus,” Miracle smiled. “He means business.”
“I gathered that.”
Miracle checked her watch and grabbed her bag. “I have work to do, so I will talk with you later.” Standing, she walked around his desk and kissed his cheek.
“I love you Daddy and we’re not going to lose the church, so don’t worry.”
The Bishop stood and hugged her. “Let me walk you out.”
“Since when do you walk me out?” Miracle asked.
“Since your husband called and told me that if Emanuel gets anywhere near you at the church, he won’t hesitate to commit bodily harm here on the grounds,” he explained walking her out of his office.
Miracle shook her head. “He called you?”
“That’s how I knew to look for you.”
“He wanted to come with me,” she told him as he held open the door to the parking lot. Miracle looked up and saw her husband waiting by her car and turned to her father.
“He followed me,” she surmised.
Her father kissed her cheek. “Of course, he loves you.”
Walking to her car, Miracle stopped in front of Corvus. “I thought you had meetings.”
“I do.”
“Then what are you doing here?”
He shrugged. “My wife is here.”
Miracle slipped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. “I told you I’d be fine.”
“I heard you and I was just making sure.”
She looked up at him. “Thank you.”
Corvus kissed her lips. “Now go do your work and I’ll see you tonight.”
“I won’t be naked.”
He smiled. “I’m not bringing anybody home with me so you can be anything you want.”
She gave him a sexy look. “I’ll think about it.”
“Get in the car, girl.” Corvus laughed and helped her inside.
Miracle looked up at him. “See you later.”
Corvus winked and closed the door. Waiting until she drove off, he nodded at the Bishop who was waiting at the door. Then he watched as the black car pulled out behind Miracle.
The Bishop gave a short wave and headed back inside as Corvus went to his car. He’d moved his meeting with Khalil until later so he decided to stop in and see his parents, since he hadn’t seen them since his return.
His mother answered the door and he greeted her with a kiss. “Hey Momma.”
Pam smiled. “There’s my married son. I know you’re not coming here to eat.”
Corvus came inside and shrugged off his jacket. “Nah, Little Goddess feeds me well.” He followed her to the living room.
“Is Daddy here?” he asked as they took seats on the sofa.
“No, he had some meetings today,” Pam looked at him. “It seems he needs to follow up on who’s out to get his youngest son.”
Corvus smiled. “That’s my Daddy.”
Pam sat back. “Yes, he is in every sense of the word.”
He heard something in her voice and looked at her. “You okay Momma?”
She sighed. “When I met with Miracle for lunch, I told her about your biological father.”
Corvus frowned. “You mean the man who has another family?”
“Corvus, we don’t hold grudges. Negativity only lowers our energy levels,” she told him softly.
“I’m just saying the truth,” Corvus shrugged. “How did he even come up?”
“I was explaining to Miracle about my experience.”
He nodded. “Well, George Shaw is my father. The only one I’ve known and the only one I’ve wanted.”
“I didn’t want you and Miracle to end up like we did,” Pam told him.
Corvus leaned forward. “We won’t because I would never leave her for what she believes. In fact, her devotion and loyalty are what make me love her so much.”
“It wasn’t all his fault, Corvus. We tried to make it work, and then we both agreed that it wouldn’t.” Pam explained.
Corvus moved to sit next to his mother. “And then the best thing that could’ve ever happened to any of us, came into our lives. Whether you call it faith or energy, you believed that your life could ascend to a higher plane and you manifested it in the way that you believed.”
Pam smiled and touched his face. “My baby’s a grown man.”
“Hold up…you still gonna feed me though, right?”
“Boy, that girl would serve you food with her hands, if you asked her to.”
Corvus smiled. “I’d like that.”
Pam shook her head. “You should feed her with your hands.”
“Is that how Daddy do it?” Corvus asked slyly.
“You don’t worry about what Mr. George Shaw does. You just make sure that the Little Goddess gives me some grandbabies,” Pam told him.
“I think Rion is holding that down,” Corvus commented. “Tauri is probably pregnant right now.”
Pam hit his arm. “Stop that, you know she just had Kuiper.”
“I’m just saying, I’ve been married less than a week and you already talking about babies,” Corvus protested.
His mother looked at him for a minute. “She’s already pregnant, isn’t she?”
He looked at his watch. “I’ll work on that later. I need to meet with Lance and Khalil.”
Pam stood to her feet and followed automatically. “We need some goddesses,” she told him.
“I’ll tell Miracle you said that.”
Corvus walked to the door with his mother following. “Tell Daddy I’ll check in with him later.”
Pam touched his arm and he turned to her. “Be careful Corvus.”
“It’s fine Momma,” he assured her and kissed her goodbye.
Corvus got back in his car and made a quick call while he drove to meet with Lance. He listened to the rings before a voice answered.
“What’s up Corvus?”
“Just checking in.”
“I’ve got a guy on your wife,” Malachi told him.
Corvus nodded. “Yeah, I saw him this morning. If anything goes down, contact me immediately.”
“I got you.”
“She’s on guard, but I’m not taking any chances,” Corvus relayed.
“I understand that Mr. George Shaw is knocking on doors today?” Malachi inquired.
Corvus smiled. “I just left his house. My mother told me he’s out taking care of business.”
“When Mr. Shaw asks questions, he get answers.”
“I’m sure he’ll update us later, but until then, keep eyes on Miracle.”
“Will do.”
Ending the call, Corvus arrived a short time later at Lance’s home. Khayla answered the door, holding little Lance in her arms.
“Hey Corvus, come in. Lance will be down in a minute.”
He followed her inside, closing the door behind him. When he turned, he reached for the baby and Khayla handed him over.
“He’s getting big,” Corvus said cradling the bright-eyed boy.
“All he does is eat,”
Corvus laughed. “He looks more like Khalil than Lance.”
“Don’t even say that in front of him. He swears this child looks just like him.”
“He’s wrong.”
Khayla shook her head. “I’ll let you two work that out.”
Corvus cradled the baby and looked down into his face with a smile and Khayla laughed. “I see you’re getting ready for your own.”
He continued to look at the baby. “I’ve held enough.”
“I guess you do have a lot of practice,” she agreed.
Lance showed up, dressed and ready. “What up doe?”
“I swear I have to wait on you like I’m picking up a date,” Corvus complained.
Lance laughed. “Shut up and when did you ever pick up a date?”
“I picked up Miracle for my birthday party.”
“I guess there’s a first time for everything,” Lance commented.
Corvus frowned. “Are you ready?”
Lance reached for his son. “Let me say goodbye.”
Corvus waited while Lance kissed his son and handed him to Khayla, before kissing her as well. Turning to Corvus, he smiled. “Let’s ride.”
Inside the car, Lance turned to Corvus. “Is Miracle straight?”
“She’s embarrassed as hell.”
“I really didn’t see anything,” Lance told him. “Once she popped out, I knew what the deal was. Katydids used to do all kinds of shit. That’s why I made appointments at my crib.”
Corvus looked over at him. “Thanks for the heads up.”
“Now you know.” Lance laughed. “Where are we going?”
Corvus smiled. “To meet your son’s twin.”
Lance frowned. “You mean my wife’s twin.”
“They’re the same.”
“LJ looks like me,” Lance asserted.
Corvus shrugged. “Then you look like Khalil.”
“To hell with you Corvus.”
Laughing harder, Corvus continued to drive. “I’m your Day One, I won’t lie to you.”
“I hope your son looks like Rion,” Lance told him.
Corvus turned to him. “I’m having Goddesses and they’ll look like Miracle.”
“As long as they don’t look like you.”
Still driving, Crorvus shook his head. “Anyway, Khalil wants me to look at some available land over by the Center.”
“Are you still buying land? Aren’t you dealing with some shit right now over some land?” Lance asked.
“I’m not going to stop buying because if I don’t buy it, someone else will and then who knows what’ll get built. We have to protect the area around the Pride Center,” Corvus explained.
Lance agreed. “Yeah, I get that. We don’t want some liquor store built across the street.”
“Exactly. We have enough of those on every other corner.”
“That and a church.”
Corvus rolled his eyes. “Speaking of churches, these developers are going to try to take Miracle’s church for the land.”
“How?” Lance questioned.
“They’ve been working on expanding and have put themselves in some financial trouble,” Corvus explained.
“Expand? That church is huge already.”
“I know, they wanted to reach Mega Church status.”
Lance shook his head. “What the hell does that even mean?”
“A bunch of people they collect money from.” Corvus told him.
“Have you talked to your new father-in-law?” Lance asked.
Corvus nodded. “Not about the church business. We had other things to work out first, like me taking his daughter away and marrying her.”
“That was a boss move,” Lance complimented.
“Nothing was going to stop me from marrying my Little Goddess and once she agreed I wasn’t waiting for anyone’s permission,” Corvus said firmly.
Lance shook his head. “You and your brother. The only two dudes who met and married their wives in a month.”
“I was less than a month,” Corvus corrected.
“Wow, you want a cookie?”
Corvus laughed. “The Shaw men know. We don’t have to wait.” He slid Lance a look. “Especially like ten years…”
Lance gave him a look as they continued to drive. “Just handle your relationship.”
“I got this.”
They arrived at the site and Khalil was waiting outside. The pair exited the car and joined him before the three began to walk around.
“What are you two up to?” Khalil asked the two, giving them a look.
Corvus smiled. “I was telling Lance how much his son looks like you.”
Khalil nodded. “He’s a handsome little King.”
“Who looks like his Daddy,” Lance protested.
Corvus laughed again as they walked. “Speaking of little Kings, I’ll pick up Kyros this weekend.”
“You just got married. You can postpone it,” Khalil told him.
“It’s cool. I want him to get to know Miracle.”
Lance looked at Corvus. “Did you check with her?”
Corvus frowned. “Do I need to?”
Both Khalil and Lance looked at him and answered. “Hell yeah!”
Corvus stopped and looked at them. “Damn, I guess I should get used to that.”
“Uh, yeah…” Lance told him.
Rubbing his chin, Corvus nodded.
“It’ll save you a lot of headaches,” Khalil advised him.
“So, let me check with Miracle and I’ll get back to you,” Corvus told them.
Khalil nodded. “Like I said, we can change the date. Kyros has plenty to do to keep him occupied.”
“Now that you’ve set the boy free,” Lance added and Khalil gave him a look.
“Danielle has him doing all kinds of activities with his cousin, Kam,” Khalil informed them.
Lance smiled. “I’m happy for my little dude. Now it’s cool to feed him pizza.”
“You used to give him pizza?” Corvus shook his head.
“That’s before I married Khayla,” he explained.
Khalil looked at Lance grimly. “Let’s look at this land so Corvus can take care of his business.”
Corvus agreed. “Thank you.”
Lance watched them walk away. “What? Pizza ain’t killed nobody…y’all need to stop tripping with that.”