Ben Bradford came down the stairs, taking them two at a time while whistling “Sweet Georgia Brown,” and froze when his feet touched the bottom floor. “Shana? I wasn’t expecting you to drop by today.”
Shana studied her father. He’d gotten a haircut, which wasn’t unusual since he always kept his hair cut low, neat and trimmed. She figured the chambray shirt was new because she didn’t recall seeing it before, and he was wearing jeans. Her father never wore jeans. He wore khakis all the time but never jeans.
“Thought I would surprise you,” she said, coming to her feet. “When I got here, I heard the shower going and then later all I could hear was you whistling. I started to search the house, certain I would find a few Harlem Globetrotters around here.”
He chuckled. “I’m in a good mood, no big deal.”
To her, it was a big deal. Her father usually had a good disposition, even-tempered and fun to be around, but she could recall very few times he went around whistling.
“I hope you didn’t come for lunch, because I haven’t fixed anything. Saturday is my day to go to the grocery store, and I’m on my way out.”
“No, I wasn’t expecting lunch. I thought I’d ride to the grocery store with you. I need to pick up a few things and figured we could shop together.”
“Oh.”
Was that disappointment she heard in his voice? She pulled her list out of her purse and held it up. “See, I just need a few things. I skipped lunch a few times last week and figured I’d make myself a sandwich to take every day.”
“Good idea.”
“I thought so.”
Her father studied her for a second, and then he leaned back against the staircase. “Okay, what’s really going on, Shana Nicole Bradford?”
Shana tried keeping a straight face. “What makes you think something is going on?”
“Because one, this is Saturday, and you usually don’t get out of bed before two,” he said, counting off his fingers. “Two, you never go grocery shopping. Your refrigerator would break down if you ever decided to use it for what it was purchased for. And three, you know I drive the golf cart to the grocery store, and you hate riding in those things.”
She hated to admit that her father was right on all three points, especially the latter. He lived in a beautiful community that was established for the seasoned crowd. It was as if they had their own little city. Homes were strategically built in the center with all the convenient places circled around them. They had their own hospital, grocery stores, movie theater, mini malls and more restaurants than any group could need. The only catch was that, to eliminate gasoline fumes, everyone had agreed to purchase a golf cart to get around for shopping, socializing and recreational purposes. The little buggers were all over the place, and she wasn’t a fan of them.
She smiled tentatively. “What if I told you I’m making today an exception?”
“Then I would be forced to ask you why.”
Now, that was a good question. She could tell him she hadn’t gotten much sleep last night since her lips were still tingling from a kiss she’d gotten in an elevator yesterday. Or that the guy she figured would call her for a date this weekend hadn’t done so yet. “Umm, what if I—”
“Before you continue, need I remind you that neither you nor Jules can lie worth a damn, and I can catch you each and every time?”
No, he didn’t have to remind her of that, but since he had, she might as well come clean. “I want to meet Mona.”
He cocked a brow. “You want to meet her or check her out and then report back to Jules?”
Shana’s features broke into a wide smile. Busted. “I guess you know your daughters.”
Ben shook his head. “Yes, I guess I do.” He pushed away from the staircase. “Well come on, and don’t complain about my driving.”
* * *
The ride wasn’t so bad, Shana decided while browsing through the aisle of the grocery store. Instead of going to one of the major chain stores, her father had driven here to this quaint little market nestled near a pizza shop, hair salon, drugstore and phone store. She liked the architecture, finding the Victorian-style buildings that lined the cobblestone street lovely.
The place reminded her of the general store right off the set of The Waltons, and she expected to run into Corabeth at any moment. When they arrived, she read her dad’s expression and saw he was disappointed. Had he expected to run into Mona here as soon as he arrived? Had the two talked and planned to meet up? She knew not to ask him, but she couldn’t help but be curious.
So he wouldn’t think she was trailing him, she decided to leave him for a while and go pick up a few things she needed or pretended to need. Although she didn’t plan to skip lunch next week as she had for the prior two weeks, she wouldn’t take a sandwich to work. She would take Jace’s administrative assistant up on her offer to arrange for lunch to be delivered to her.
Shana was about to head over to the section of the store that sold homemade ice cream cones when she glanced over to where she’d left her father earlier. Her gaze latched onto him the moment a huge smile lit his face. She then shifted her gaze to the woman walking toward him.
She would put the woman’s age in the fifties, just as her father had said, although she could probably pass for somewhere in her forties easily. She was no taller than five-three, if that. Like Ben, she was wearing a pair of jeans and a shirt and a pair of comfortable-looking sneakers on her feet. The shirt was tucked inside her jeans and showed off a slim waist that flared into a pair of curvy hips.
Shana thought that Mona had a very pretty face. Creamy brown skin. Dark brown eyes. Full, glossy lips and a perky nose. Her hair was cut short, with curls cascading around her face. Shana could see why her father had taken another look at Mona when he’d met her here in this store.
Standing unnoticed in a corner, Shana watched the couple’s interactions when they came face-to-face, right in front of the veggie bin. Shana stood there and watched, and a few seconds later, her heart caught at what was becoming obvious.
Mona was blind.
* * *
“Your daughter is here?” Mona asked, smiling brightly. “I’d love to meet her.”
“And I’m sure she would love meeting you, as well,” Ben said, smiling. He tried not to stare, but he thought Mona was simply beautiful. The grace, charm and strength in her features were enhanced every time she turned her mouth up into a smile. Long lashes swept across exotic-looking cheekbones. She told him that her grandparents had come to this country from Jamaica, and he saw a trace of the island beauty in her smooth, caramel-colored skin, full lips that rounded perfectly over even, white teeth and a slanted nose. He wished he knew how to paint, because he would love capturing her exquisiteness on canvas.
Shifting his gaze, Ben glanced around for Shana and saw her standing near the refrigerated items, staring at them. He called out to her to join them. “Shana, come over here. I want you to meet someone.”
Shana felt her feet moving, and the closer she got to Mona, the prettier the woman seemed to get. “Dad,” she said when she reached them.
Ben smiled down at his daughter. “Shana, I want you to meet Mona Underwood. Mona, this is my daughter Shana.”
Mona turned toward Shana and reached out and grasped her hand. “Shana, I’ve heard so many nice things about you and your sister from your father. I had hoped to meet you someday.”
“Thanks, and I’ve heard a lot of nice things about you, as well.” But Dad hadn’t mentioned anything about your being blind, Shana thought.
Ben then said, “I asked Mona if she wanted to join us for pizza, but she can’t do it today.”
Mona turned from Shana and smiled at Ben. “I told my driver to pick me back up in an hour, so I can’t today, but I’d love to take a rain check for another time.”
Shana watched her father beam all over himself when he asked, “Then we have a date?”
Mona chuckled, and Shana thought the sound was as charming as the woman was. “Yes, Ben, we have a date. We can talk more about it the next time you call.”
Her dad had been calling?
“Sure thing,” she heard her father say. And then he asked, “Need help selecting any fruit and veggies today? They look mighty good and real fresh.”
Shana knew that this was probably their private time together, and she didn’t want to intrude, so she spoke up and said, “I need to check out some meats in the deli, Dad.” She then said, “Mona, it was truly a pleasure meeting you, and I hope to see you again.”
“You will,” Ben piped up.
Shana had no doubt in her mind that she would.
* * *
Shana waited until they had gotten back to her father’s home and she was helping him put away the items he’d purchased at the store when she finally asked, “Why didn’t you mention the fact that Mona is blind?”
Ben shrugged as he kept on what he was doing. “I don’t pay much attention to the blindness since she is so independent and all. She’s not completely blind but has been ruled legally blind.”
Shana leaned back against the counter. “There’s a difference?”
“In a way. Mona can see some things, just not clearly. She said her sight has worsened to where everything is becoming a shadow.”
Shana nodded. “Do you know what happened?”
“Yes. An auto accident about five years ago. She had worked late at the university, and some student was leaving a frat party while drunk. He broadsided her when he ran a traffic light. She was lucky to survive and credits her seat belt with saving her life. The student wasn’t that lucky. He wasn’t wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the car and killed instantly.”
“My goodness, how sad,” Shana said, shaking her head at the stupidity of anyone driving while under the influence.
“Her husband told her he couldn’t handle a wife who would become dependent on him, so he bailed out. A year later, he married his secretary. It seemed the two of them had been having an affair anyway.”
Ben didn’t say anything for a minute and then added, “Lucky for Mona, her optic nerve wasn’t damaged, just her peripheral nerves. There’s a possibility they can recover, but there’s no guarantee that they will. At one point, she had begun to see more light and color, but now she said that is fading. However, the doctor advised her there is a fifty-fifty chance her eyesight might return or that she could lose it permanently.”
Shana breathed in deeply, thinking of the sad situation Mona was in. It took hearing something like this to make you realize that your problems—the ones you thought were so big—really weren’t monumental at all. “She seems nice.”
“She is nice,” Ben reiterated. “She reminds me a lot of your mother.”
Shana lifted a brow. “How so?”
“They are both fighters. I remember when the doctor first broke the news to us that your mom had cancer. She was determined not to let it get her down, and every day, I watched her put her best foot forward even when I knew what it was costing her to do so. Her strength gave me strength. I can imagine how Mona must have felt when her husband walked off and left her at the time she needed him the most. But she didn’t curl up and die. She adjusted her life and did what she had to do. She’s still teaching at the university and fends for herself living alone.”
“Any kids?”
“No, her husband claimed he never wanted any. Now he and his new wife have two. That was a low blow to Mona.”
Shana tilted her head back and gazed up at her father. “You certainly know a lot about a woman you’ve only chatted with a few times over squash, tomatoes and zucchini.”
Ben threw his head back and laughed. “They were long conversations, but now I get to take her out on a date to get to know her even better.”
Shana heard the excitement in her father’s voice. “And that is what you really want? To get to know Mona better?”
The radiant glow of her father’s smile touched Shana from across the span of the kitchen when he answered and said, “Yes, getting to know Mona better is what I really want.”
* * *
Shana wasn’t surprised to receive a call from Jules the minute she walked back into her condo two hours later. It took Shana a full twenty minutes to tell her sister everything. It would have taken less time had Jules not interrupted her every two minutes to ask a question.
“So there you have it, Jules. Dad likes her and says she reminds him of Mom.”
Jules didn’t say anything for a minute and then said, “But she’s not Mom.”
Shana rolled her eyes, hearing the defiance in Jules’s voice. “Please don’t go there, Jules. It’s Dad’s life, and he decides how he wants to live it and with whom. I hope you don’t plan to make things difficult for him. I think we can both agree that it’s his time to be happy. He loved Mom, and we both know that. And he was there with her through the good times and the bad. I don’t know too many men dedicated to their wives like Dad was to his.”
“Yes, I guess he could have been like your hunk’s father, who bumped his wife off.”
“He’s not my hunk. And how do you know about Jace’s parents?”
“By asking me that, are you saying you don’t know about them?”
“Of course I know.”
“Well, I came by the information from research. I couldn’t sleep the other night, so I decided to let Greta entertain me. I couldn’t remember Mona’s last name to check her out, so I checked out the man you have the hots for. Has he ever told you whether he thought his father was guilty or innocent?”
“I believe he thinks he’s innocent, since he and his brothers still have a close relationship with him. In fact, they went to visit him this weekend.”
“Is that why you wanted a date with good ole Charles? He was going to be a substitute?”
“No.”
“So you say. And what time is Charles picking you up tonight?”
“He’s not. He didn’t call.”
“Say what?” Jules exclaimed, surprised. “Charles finally smartened up and is no longer lapping after you?”
“I guess. Sad thing is that this time I really would have liked to go out.”
“So what do you plan to do tonight?”
“I thought about calling Gloria to see if she’s back from her international flight and, if so, whether she wants to take in a movie.”
“Well, you can always call Charles to see why he didn’t call and then ask him out. But a few weeks ago, you claimed men aren’t a necessity, so do what I do sometimes and go solo.”
“I just might do that,” Shana said, ignoring how her sister was throwing her words back out there at her.
“Be safe if you do go out alone. Now I need to make a few calls and will talk to you later.”
“Wait! When are you coming home?”
“Not sure yet. Probably not for another two weeks. Talk to you later.”
Shana hung up the phone. She should be used to her sister being away a lot, but she wasn’t. Not only was Jules her sister, but Shana considered Jules her very best friend.
She headed for her bedroom and sneezed for the third time that day, noticing that her throat felt a little sore. She hoped that didn’t mean she had a cold coming on. Nothing like stopping it before it got started. She would call her doctor tomorrow for an appointment. Hopefully, he would prescribe some antibiotics or something. The last thing she needed was for anything to keep her from doing her job.
A few moments later, she found out that Gloria’s flight from China had been delayed, so she decided to do her exercise routine, then pull out her latest J. D. Robb novel, and read in bed.
Later that night as she slid between the covers with her book, Shana felt her lips beginning to tingle again, and as much as she wished otherwise, she couldn’t help but think about Jace and her attraction to him. Though her parents had experienced such a beautiful and loving marriage, so far all she and Jules had been involved in were prickly relationships. She had figured Jonathan would be her perfect mate until she discovered he’d only strung her along to find out what he could about one of her clients. From then on, she knew never to let her guard down.
She had dated since then, but the relationships were on her terms, and she didn’t like being rushed into doing anything—like sharing a bed with a man. That had been one of Charles’s faults, which was why she continued to hold out with him. Even with his persistence, he had yet to give her reason to think she would be anything more to him than a conquest. Sometimes she felt she was putting too much thought into it. Why not go ahead and sleep with him since a serious relationship was the last thing she was ready to get involved with anyway? But for her, it was the principle of the thing. She didn’t like being pressured.
Jace wanted her—she was well aware of that, but he was not placing any pressure on her, especially since she had told him there would not be an affair between them. She would admit that, if there was any pressure, she was placing it on herself.
Why was she so attracted to him, and why had his image apparently been scorched into her brain? And why had the taste of him seemingly been embedded in her tongue? And why even now, when she thought about him, could she envision naked bodies entangled in silken sheets?
Sheets that were hers.
Refusing to think about Jace any longer, she cuddled in bed to what had become her reading position and opened her book to where she’d left off. She was determined to get absorbed in somebody else’s love life. Even if the characters were fictional.