That afternoon, Lorna rode in the car with Lance and Khayla out to Winston Gardens. She sat in the back seat while Lance drove, following her instructions.
“I’m so bummed that you didn’t bring your son,” Lorna told them. “I bet he’s so cute.”
Khayla smiled. “He’s so handsome, he looks just like my brother.”
“Hey,” Lance told her and gave her a look.
“I’m teasing, LJ looks just like his Daddy.” Khayla said, touching Lance’s arm.
“Do you at least have some pictures?” Lorna asked.
Lance groaned. “I can’t help you now Lorna. She has nothing but pictures of him on her phone,” he teased.
Taking out her phone, Khayla glanced at her husband. “He’d better be the only pictures on your phone, too.”
“Him and my pretty girl with big fronts…”
“Be quiet,” she told him, with a smile.
Khayla handed the phone to Lorna in the back and listened as she gushed over their son.
“Oh, he is so beautiful!” Lorna said, swiping through the different poses.
“Thank you,” they both answered.
Handing the phone back to Khayla, Lorna sat back and gave the final directions to Jamal’s place.
“How are things in Detroit?” Lorna asked.
“The city is growing,” Khayla answered. “The co-ops we’ve opened are thriving and the residents have access to all types of healthy food products on both sides of town.”
“That’s great,” Lorna said impressed.
“The organic farmer that your father put us in contact with worked out great,” Lance informed her. “We’ll probably stop and check in on him before heading back to the ‘D’.”
“Cam does a great job with the farm,” Lorna agreed. “We couldn’t have pulled off the menu at our health camp without his produce.”
Khayla turned back to Lorna. “I want to steal some of your recipes for the co-op.”
“You don’t have to steal them, you can gladly have them.”
Arriving at the gardens, Lance parked the car as Jamal stood outside waiting for them. Lorna looked him over in his uniform and dark boots, admiring how handsome and sexy he was, before he opened the door for her to climb out of the car.
Holding out his hand, Jamal reached for Lorna as Lance opened the door for Khayla. Jamal kissed Lorna’s face, then took her hand and turned to the other couple, as Khayla hugged herself against the wind and frowned.
“It’s so cold!”
Lance took her into his arms. “Girl, you always cold. I’ve never met a woman from Michigan who stays so cold.”
“You know it’s colder up here,” she complained.
Jamal laughed and held out his hand. “I’m Jamal. Thanks for coming. We can go inside to the office where it’s warm.”
“Please, before my wife freezes to death,” Lance said shaking his hand. “I’m Lance, and this is Khayla.” He introduced them.
“Nice to meet you both.” Jamal greeted. “Right this way.”
Still holding Lorna’s hand, he led them to his office. Inside, Jamal sat them at a table and helped Lorna out of her coat, before removing his own. Looking over, Jamal saw Lance remove his jacket while Khayla held hers closer.
They all took seats around the table and Jamal began speaking, after a glance at Lorna. “Again, thank you both for even driving up here. I’ve put together a business plan that outlines the entire process. After you look it over, I’ll be glad to answer any questions and show you the land outside.”
Jamal reached for some packets on his desk and handed one to Khayla, Lance and then Lorna, to her surprise.
“I want you to read it, too, Beauty.”
Lorna looked at him. “This is what you’ve been working on this week?”
He nodded.
“I could’ve helped,” she said softly.
Jamal took her hand. “I know, but I needed to do this, to prove that I know what I’m doing.”
“I understand,” Lorna said with a soft smile.
Lance and Khayla watched the couple then picked up Jamal’s business plan. He sat quietly as the three read through the several pages, he’d put together. Lorna glanced up halfway through, and nodded at him before going back to the paperwork.
Jamal stared across the table at the couple, who could help make his dreams a reality. They both read through his proposal, then sat the packets on the table.
Lance nodded. “That was well put together,” he complimented.
“Thank you.” Jamal said. “Like I told Lorna, I wanted to do this myself so that you would know that I’m not just some shyster using the Sable connections to get over.”
Khayla watched Lorna’s soft smile at the man, she clearly loved.
“Let me take a look at the land you have available,” Lance suggested and Jamal agreed. He looked over at his wife. “You can stay inside.”
“Thank you,” Khayla agreed.
The men put on their coats before Jamal touched his lips to Lorna’s jaw. “I’ll be back,” he whispered to her. Lorna nodded, then watched him go.
“You two are cute together,” Khayla told her. “How long have you been together?”
“Jamal and I have known each other since we were teenagers,” Lorna admitted. “I fell for him a long time ago.”
Khayla smiled. “We’re in the same boat. Lance started chasing me when he was nine, but it took years for him to catch me.”
“Me too,” Lorna said in surprise. “Jamal was a bad boy when he was younger.”
“So was Lance,” Khayla said, leaning forward. “He actually still is.”
Lorna laughed softly. “Jamal is too…”
“Those are the best kind,” Khayla told her. “They’re never boring.”
“Jamal is going to rock this town to its core when they hear about this,” Lorna said, shaking her head.
Khayla looked confused. “Why?”
“A boy who used to get in trouble for smoking weed, now wants to grow it,” she pointed out. “They’re not going to see it the way he does.”
“And what are you going to do?” Khayla asked.
“I’m going to support him to the end,” Lorna vowed.
Khayla nodded. “And a man like that will never let you down,”
“At first, I didn’t want him to do this,” Lorna confessed. “Not because I don’t think that he’ll be successful, but just because I don’t want him to go through what I know, he’s going to go through.”
“But he has you,” Khayla told her. “And that’s all he needs…Lance owns all kinds of businesses down in Detroit and I may not agree with all of them, but they’re legal and he does a damn good job and makes a lot of money that he uses to help our community.”
“I admire Jamal for being so young and seeing the potential in this industry,” Khayla continued. “And not being afraid to go for what he wants, no matter what anybody says.”
“I do too,” Lorna said quietly. “It’s very attractive.”
“It’s sexy as hell,” Khayla corrected. “When that thug mentality meets that business mind, it’s like a drug.”
“I do find Jamal’s business sense very sexy,” Lorna said with a sigh. “I’d never thought about how he ran his business or what his aspirations were, until now.”
“He has a good plan,” Khayla complimented. “He was very thorough and covered all of his bases. Jamal’s put a lot of thought into this.”
Lorna shook her head. “I haven’t seen him all week. He told me that he’s been working and I see that he has,”
Khayla glanced at the papers on the table. “Yes, he has…”
“I’m so proud of him,”
“You should be,” Khayla told her. “I know that he and Lance are going to have a meeting of the minds. I can tell they have so much in common in their thinking.”
Lorna took a breath. “I just want to see his dreams come true.”
*****
Outside, Jamal led Lance to the land, he’d chosen for the new crops. As Lance looked around, he spoke, “This is beautiful.”
Jamal inhaled the fresh air. “I love it out here.” He turned to Lance. “Sometimes I hate living in such a small town, but I love it here and this is our home.”
“You and Lorna Sable?”
Jamal nodded. “She’s my first and only love. I would do anything for that woman.”
“She seems to be your biggest cheerleader,”
“Lorna has a heart of gold and I don’t deserve her in any way, but I’ve been given the chance and I’m not going to mess it up. This is my opportunity to go from a small businessman to Forbes magazine,” Jamal explained. “I can marry her and give her any life she wants.”
Lance nodded. “That’s why you’re waiting to marry her?”
“Yeah, I need to have all my shit together. Have you met Lloyd Sable?”
Lance laughed. “Yeah, I have. That dude is everything. He reminds me of my friends’ father down in Detroit, actually a couple of their fathers.”
“I need to prove that I’m worthy of her,”
“I thought the same thing, when I was with Khayla.” Lance told him. “My best friend, Corvus, at that time, kept telling me to just marry the woman. He said, she doesn’t care about all that…all she wants is you.”
He looked at Jamal. “That was hard for me to accept, because she was everything…and in my mind, everything that I never deserved to have in my life.”
Jamal nodded. “I feel you,” he said slowly. “But, I did something to hurt Lorna…”
Lance smirked. “I hurt Khayla, too…being young and insecure.” He looked at Jamal. “And even when I had the money and the status in the city, I realized that I still felt the same way until Corvus made it clear that it didn’t matter what I could give Khayla, as far as material things. She just wanted a man, who would always be a man.”
Jamal considered his words as Lance turned back to the land.
“You seem to have enough room for the amount of plants you propose.”
“Yeah, I’ve measured everything out,” Jamal explained. “Lorna suggested that for the sake of budget maybe I could start with less, but if I’m going to do this…I’m going all in.”
Lance rubbed his face. “I like that. I can’t work with people who are afraid to make money.”
Jamal shook his head. “Not afraid of that…”
“The amount that you listed in your plan to put in on your end…is that all your savings?” Lance questioned.
Jamal nodded. “Just about, and if I need to, I can put up my business for some collateral.”
“You believe you’ve got this?” Lance questioned.
“I know I do,” Jamal said firmly. “I just need the opportunity.”
Lance agreed. “I need to talk to my wife.”
“I understand and I’m happy to answer any questions that you have.”
“My wife prescribes medical marijuana so we don’t need to be swayed in that area. Our only concern was, who would we be working with,” Lance explained. “That’s a lot of money on the table.”
“It is,” Jamal agreed. “More than I’ve ever worked with, I admit…but I’m ready.”
Lance smiled. “I like you, Jamal. You’re a good dude.”
“You’re a real cool dude, too. I wasn’t expecting somebody like you,” Jamal admitted.
“You thought I was a drug dealer or something?”
Jamal shrugged. “Well, it was Detroit.”
“We get a bad rap, but the majority of people there are good people, trying to make it every day.” Lance explained.
“I get that,” Jamal said, looking around. “Sometimes once you get a reputation, it just stays with you, no matter what you do.”
Lance put a hand on his shoulder. “And sometimes, you just have to say fuck it and do you.”
Jamal laughed and agreed.
“Now let me take my cold ass wife back to the Inn for some alone time before we head back to our son,” Lance said, removing his hand and the two men started back to the office.
“Don’t forget what I said, Jamal…” Lance reminded him.
“Which part?”
“All of it, really,” Lance glanced at him. “But most of all, just marry that girl…don’t make her wait longer than necessary. She’s beautiful, she’s smart and she loves the hell out of you. Show her that’s all you need.”
Jamal nodded. “I hear you.”
The men returned and Lance went to Khayla. “You ready Katydids?”
“Yes, I’m ready.” She stood and the two said their goodbyes, promising to be in touch soon with their decision.
“Do you need a ride back, Lorna?” Lance asked.
She smiled. “No, Jamal will bring me.”
“Yeah, I’ve got her taken care of…” Jamal told them. “Do you know how to get back?”
Lance nodded. “Yeah, it wasn’t that difficult to get here.”
Jamal shook Lance’s hand. “Thanks Lance.”
“You got it,” Lance returned.
“I’ll see you at the Inn, Lorna.” Khayla told her.
Lorna smiled again. “You sure will.”
The couple left and Jamal turned to Lorna as she walked over to him. Looping her arms around his neck, she lifted her face to kiss him.
“Hello, Beauty,”
“Hello, Jamal,” Lorna said, kissing him again. “I’ve missed you.”
He smiled. “You’ve seen me when I deliver your flowers.”
She rubbed against him. “I’ve missed you,” Lorna repeated and he laughed softly, while pulling her closer.
“I’ve missed you, too.” Jamal told her. “And that’s why I had to work alone…”
Lorna pulled back. “Why?”
“Because if we tried to work at your place or mine, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate.”
“We could have worked in your office,”
He shook his head. “Nah, that wouldn’t have worked either.”
“Well, you did a great job without me,”
Jamal looked down at her. “You really thought it was good?”
“It was amazing, baby,” she said supportively. “I’m ready to give you all my money.”
He kissed her again. “Lance said it was put together well and he understands the venture.”
“Khayla is very knowledgeable on the subject as a naturopath,” Lorna explained. “She has studied herbs and natural remedies.”
“We just have to wait and see,” Jamal said quietly. “And if not, I’ll need to find a Plan B.”
Lorna quieted. “My Daddy wants to see your plan.”
Jamal looked at her. “You told your father?”
“You didn’t say I couldn’t,” she defended.
He shrugged. “It’s cool. What did he say?”
“He really didn’t say much, but he did ask to see your ideas.”
“Was he upset?” Jamal asked.
“No, and you know Daddy.” Lorna told him. “If he has a problem, he will let us know.”
Lorna looked up at him. “He asked how I felt about it,” she relayed. “And I told him that I supported you, one hundred percent.”
He stared down at her. “I don’t want you at odds with you father.”
“Jamal, I love and respect my Daddy, but I’ll always support you in doing something that makes you better,” Lorna vowed.
Jamal sat on a chair and placed his hands on her waist. Quietly, he looked up at Lorna.
“Can I ask you something?”
Lorna looked down into his serious expression. “What’s wrong?”
“If it doesn’t work…” he paused. “If Lance says no and I can’t get the capital, what does that mean for us?”
She rubbed his handsome face. “Well first of all, let me start by saying, I don’t think that’s going to be the case at all, but if it was,” Lorna stopped and kissed him softly. “Then we’d find the next venture,”
“So if I sold flowers and trees, and we had to live in Grayling?”
“I love you now, and you sell flowers and trees, and we live in Grayling, so how would that change?” Lorna questioned. “What are you trying to get me to say?”
Jamal shrugged and Lorna straddled his lap then stared into his dark eyes.
“If you’re a millionaire marijuana grower, I’ll love you.” Lorna whispered. “Or if you sell flowers and trees, I’ll love you.” She lifted his face to hers. “Jamal, I don’t need you to be rich. Would it be nice? Of course. Who wouldn’t want to have everything they desire?”
Jamal listened closely.
“But what I desire more than anything is you…” Lorna’s eyes watered. “I’ve waited so long for you,” she whispered. “And all I want is to love you…and have you love me.”
Jamal held her close. “I do love you, Lorna.”
“Tell me what’s wrong,” she asked in his ear.
Closing his eyes, he held her tightly. “Nothing, everything is just right, now.”
“Is it Cassandra?”
Jamal frowned at her question and pulled back to look at her. “What? Why would you say that?”
“She has your picture on her social media, claiming you’re ‘da one’.”
He sighed. “That girl is crazy and I don’t have time for no damn social media. I’m working my ass off all day.” Jamal looked at her. “And when did you start following her?”
Lorna looked away. “I don’t…Russ was all giddy because she posted his picture, so I went on there to see what she’d posted.”
“Lorna, when Cassandra Riddick left me to get caught by the police, she became nothing to me,” Jamal told her firmly. “I don’t care what she does, who she is, or anything else.”
“My focus is you, Beauty.” He told her.
“I like her less and less…”
“Hey, don’t even think about her.” Jamal touched her face. “Think about us…”
Lorna smiled. “You should take me home. I have a surprise for you.”
Jamal lifted a brow. “What kind of surprise?”
“One that you will like,”
He kissed her. “How much will I like it?”
Lorna traced his lips with her tongue. “A lot.”
“I’m down…let’s do it.”
Jamal stood and helped her to her feet, then grabbed her coat, helping her put it on. Outside, they both looked up to the darkening sky.
“Look, Lorna, it’s snowing!”
She held out her hand to catch the large flakes. “It’s early…it’s not even Thanksgiving yet.”
The ground was covered with the white dust and the big flurries fell softly around them. Lorna bent and scooped a small handful and threw it at Jamal’s face.
“Oh, okay…” he said, wiping his face. “I got you…”
“You love the snow!” Lorna yelled as she took off running, before being pelted repeatedly with rapid snowballs. “Hey!”
“You started it!” Jamal shouted back as he continued his snowball assault.
“Stop!” Lorna screamed, running through the garden with Jamal on her heels.
He caught her and dropped them both to the ground. Rolling over her, he stared down into her flushed face. “You give up?”
With her breathing heavy, Lorna stared up at him as the snow fell silently around them.
“Yes,” she breathed.
“I thought you wanted to play?” he teased.
“Let me up,” Lorna wiggled underneath him. “We’re both going to be soaked.”
Jamal smiled down at her. “I like you wet.”
“Jamal!”
“I do,” Jamal lowered his mouth to her ear. “You’re so soft and warm.”
Lorna sighed. “Jamal…”
He kissed her cold cheek. “Let me take you home, baby.” Jamal climbed off of her and helped Lorna to her feet.
“You know you can’t outrun me, country girl.”
“I’ll never stop trying,” Lorna said, brushing the snow off of herself.
He laughed. “Let’s go get out of these clothes.”
At Lorna’s house, the pair got out of their clothes starting at the door. By the time they reached the bathroom, their own body heat had them on fire. In Lorna’s shower, the pair reunited and shared their love for one another.
When they finally made it to her bed, they both collapsed against the covers. Jamal pulled her against his firm body and Lorna closed her eyes, content to be in the arms of the man she loved.
“You can surprise me anytime,” Jamal said, kissing the back of her neck.
Lorna smiled. “That wasn’t my surprise.”
“Okay, it can be my surprise then.”
She chuckled. “Then you can surprise me anytime,”
He stroked her naked side. “So what was the actual surprise?”
“It’s in the kitchen,” Lorna told him. “Let me go get them.”
Jamal looked confused as she hopped from the bed and grabbed a robe. She hurried from the room and Jamal settled his naked body underneath the sheets. Sitting up against the pillows, he waited for a few minutes.
“Lorna, what are you doing?”
“I’m coming!”
Shaking his head, he laid back thinking over the day. Lance had been a really cool dude and Jamal hoped he would come through in some way. The first snow, had always been a special occasion for Jamal with his mother, and sharing this year’s initial snowfall with Lorna had been a rare treat.
He looked up as she entered the room, with her beautiful dark hair in large goddess twists. She had a sweet smile on her face and a tray in her hands.
“What is that?” Jamal asked, seeing two glasses of milk.
Lorna lowered the tray over his lap. “I didn’t know it was going to snow, but it’s the perfect day,” she told him.
Jamal looked down at the baked sugar cookies with colored sprinkles on top. Staring at the arrangement of the circular treats, Jamal lowered his head.
“Damn, Lorna…”
“They’re your favorite, right?” Lorna asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Your mother made them for you, for the holidays…”
Jamal nodded, visibly shaken. “You remembered that.”
Lorna touched his lowered face. “I remember everything you ever told me, baby.”
“I warmed them, since I baked them earlier,” she explained.
Jamal sniffed and took her hand. “You’re so sweet.”
“Today, you made a huge step in chasing your dream and I know that Mrs. Winston is so proud of you. So since she can’t be here, I wanted to be the one who made you feel special,” Lorna leaned over and kissed his lips.
“I’m like, so overwhelmed right now…” Jamal blew out a breath. “I don’t even know what to say. This is the last thing I ever expected.”
Lorna climbed into the bed with him. “You can always expect me to love you.”
Jamal glanced at her. “You really made these?”
“Yes, now eat them.”
He picked up a cookie and bit into it, being transported back to when he was little boy. He thought of the woman he loved then, and looked at the woman he loved now.
“Are they good?” Lorna asked, hopefully.
“Lorna, you could’ve brought me raw dough and it would taste like heaven to me, but they are really delicious. They make me think of my Momma.”
“In a good way right?” she inquired.
Jamal nodded. “In the best way,”
He leaned over and enjoyed the sweetness of her mouth. “Thank you,” Jamal whispered.
Lorna licked the crumbs from his lips. “Mmmm…those are delicious.”
“The cookies?” he asked.
“Nah, baby, not the cookies…”