Thursday night I took the last flight out of New Orleans, but we were delayed so I didn’t arrive at LAX until well past midnight. On the flight I realized I didn’t have my phone with me, must have left it at home or in the church office somewhere. Oh well, I could get a phone the next day in LA.

Not wanting to bother anyone at Lucinda’s house in the middle of the night, I checked into one of the airport hotels and waited until the next morning to go over there. Chloe had given me the address when I’d been supposed to go to the party the previous weekend.

After I woke up, I got my bag, grabbed a cup of coffee, and hired a car to drive me to Lucinda’s.

I hadn’t told Chloe I was coming because I wanted to surprise her. Now, because I was phoneless, it looked like I was going to surprise the whole household. Honestly, I figured Lucinda would be thrilled to see me anyway so I didn’t think it would be a problem if I showed up unannounced.

I was excited about my decision to come to LA and take Lucinda up on her offer, and I should have been taking in all the sites now that I’d made it to Cali, but I was so freaking exhausted after the past couple of days, I zonked out in the backseat and didn’t wake up until the driver told me we’d arrived at my destination.

Looking out the window, a big Spanish-style house topped with a barrel tile roof and accented with purple bougainvillea stared back at me. Lucinda’s Hacienda. It suited her.

After I swiped my card to pay the driver, I thanked him, then carried my bag to the front door.

The first thing I noticed were the cameras trained on me above either side of the door. I guess when you’re a celebrity you couldn’t be too careful.

A few minutes later a woman I didn’t recognize opened the door.

“Hola. May I help you?” she asked.

“Si, I’m Reverend Soto, Mrs. Barnes’ . . .” I paused. I’d been about to say son, but that wasn’t right. “Um, I’m a relative of Mrs. Barnes. My wife is here, I believe—Chloe Soto?”

She eyed me suspiciously. “Ms. Chloe isn’t here. And Mrs. Barnes didn’t tell me she was expecting anyone. Do you have ID?”

With a gulp, I dug in my back pocket for my wallet, and I was just handing it to her when a female voice called out from inside the house. “Well, my goodness. If it isn’t my long-lost brother!”

The door flung open wide and dressed in a silk robe was a beautiful dark-haired woman I recognized from pictures on magazine stands at the grocery store.

“Dynassy?” I hadn’t expected to see her.

“You’re Eduardo, aren’t you?” she asked.

“I am.”

She brushed past the woman in the doorway, gave me a quick hug and ushered me inside.

“Ester, this is my half-brother. He’s a bishop,” she stage whispered.

“Well, not anymore . . .” I said, immediately regretting it.

“What? Come on in. I’ve been dying to talk with you.”

She pulled me outside into the backyard with her. “Let’s have a seat over here,” she said pointing to a cabana next to a gorgeous infinity pool that seemed to drop off the side of a cliff.

The view was amazing. You could see for miles and miles. Not a bad way to live.

“So, you came all the way out here to see your wife?” Dynassy asked.

“That and to take Lucinda up on her offer to do a church show.”

“Oh no! You don’t want to do that,” Dynassy insisted.

“I don’t? Why not?”

“Trust me. Speaking as one of her children who knows, if you aren’t just dying for a show, you don’t want to do it. Are you just dying to be on TV?”

“Not a bit.”

“Then don’t do it.”

“What about Chloe? Does the same advice apply to her?”

“Probably, but with her it’s different. I’ve seen her and Mom. They connect on a creative level. It’s just different. Lucinda may be manipulating her at times, but it’s more collegial than familial, if that helps.”

“I don’t know that it does. I can’t make decisions for my wife.”

Dynassy smiled. “I like you, bro. You sound like a good husband.”

“Thanks.”

“How about we have a drink?”

“That would be nice. Thanks.” She picked up her phone and sent a text. I assumed it had something to do with the drink offer.

“There’s something I’d like to talk with you about. I think I’ve got a better idea than Lucinda’s show.”

Not only was my sister Dynassy beautiful, but she was intriguing as well. “I’m all ears.”

“I don’t know if you are aware, but Hunter and I are in the sex toy business. We make, um, devices.”

I nodded. “I’m familiar with the machines.”

Her eyes widened. “You are?”

I shrugged. “Google.”

She pressed a manicured nail to her plump lips. “Ah. Same. You’re pretty impressive, you know that?”

“Same,” I replied.

She winked at me.

Ester brought us a tray with a pitcher, ice, and some glasses. “Thank you,” Dynassy said sweetly.

“You’re welcome, Miss Dynassy,” Ester said before going back into the house.

“Lemonade?” Dynassy asked. “It’s still kinda early, but I prefer it to orange juice.”

“I’d love some.”

She poured as elegantly as if she were having tea with the queen and handed me a cup.

“Thank you,” I said then I waited until she’d poured herself one before taking a sip. It was delicious.

Ignoring her drink, Dynassy continued. “Do you have a problem with what Hunter and I do? You know, morally?”

I shook my head. “I tend to favor the church’s teachings that sex should be within the confines of marriage. However, I have no problem with sexuality. It’s a healthy part of life. And if your machines increase people’s enjoyment of it, I see nothing wrong with it.”

“You are quite progressive for a bishop.”

“I am no longer a bishop, at least I won’t be as soon as my resignation goes through the various church channels.”

“You quit? This is news. Why?”

“In some ways I was pushed out, but in other ways I feel like I was pulled here. Chloe’s desire to come out here has made me realize that I want her to be happy, and finding out that I was a Barnes could actually turn out to be a blessing. It took me a while to figure that out, but with the influence your family has, I might be able to do more good working with your family than I could on my own in my parish down in Louisiana.”

“Are you no longer a bishop because you resigned?”

“I wasn’t exactly de-frocked, if that’s what you mean. But no, you should probably call me Reverend Soto until the higher ups figure out whether or not I’m going to be stripped of the title of bishop.”

“Will you be upset if they do?”

I shook my head. “It was never about the title or the prestige.”

“What was it about? I’m sorry, but I can’t imagine being a priest.”

“It’s about helping people, and I’m starting to see I don’t have to necessarily do that inside the confines of a specific organized religion.”

“It is so good that I came across you before my mother got a hold of you. She’d have you evangelizing on TV and raking in even more money. But what I want to do is start a foundation. Hunter and I already have more money than we can spend. You wouldn’t believe the amount of money there is in the sex toy industry. I guess the sex industry in general, I mean Hunter made a fortune creating porn before we sold that portion of the business and started focusing on the machines themselves. But what we want to do is give back, in a big way, and we could use someone with the face and background like yours to help us get the respect we are looking for so people take us seriously.”

“Sounds interesting.”

“And not just to improve my public image.” She laughed. “Though that would be nice, but Hunter and I really want to help people.”

“Tell me more . . .”

She went on to tell me her vision for the foundation which would include charitable works in the United States as well as abroad. One of her main goals was to eradicate hunger in the U.S. and build wells in other countries.

“Basic food and water should be available to all people, don’t you think?” she was saying when her phone binged.

I nodded my agreement.

“Excuse me,” she said, looking down to read the screen. Then she said, “Hey I’m not sure if you know this, but Chloe didn’t show up for her meeting today.”