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On a cold day in December, Toya Milner was at the hospital with her family. But this time, it was for a joyous occasion. Her younger sister, Tia, had just given birth to a baby girl, Jayden Trinity Carter. She was seven pounds and two ounces of pure beauty, even if she was still all wrinkly and reddish-brown.
Robbie sat on the edge of Tia’s bed and held his little girl as if she were some rare, irreplaceable jewel that could break if mishandled. “She’s so beautiful. I can’t believe this is really our daughter,” Robbie said with tears glistening in his eyes.
“Hey, speak for yourself,” Tia said. “I am more than capable of making a beautiful child.”
The room erupted in laughter. Toya’s mother, Pastor Yvonne Milner, was standing next to her co-pastor and Toya’s godfather, Thomas Reed. He put his hand on Yvonne’s shoulder, and Toya smiled at the sight of them openly displaying affection for each other. They had weathered many storms in the past year, but with the help of the Lord, they had come through it all. Thomas had been patient with her as she’d grown more comfortable with accepting her love for him.
Toya sat in the rocking chair next to the window, waiting for a chance to hold her niece. She smiled at her family, but in truth, Toya wondered when she would have what her mom and Thomas have, or even what Tia and Robbie have. She had been abused by love and wasn’t trying to rush back out there, but still, there was something deep inside her that was longing for a love that was true.
Jarrod, Thomas’ son, stood behind her. He had been the first man to break her heart, it was only a testament to the God she served that she was able to be friends with him again.
Jarrod poked her arm as he asked, “So if Auntie Yvonne is my godmother, does that make Jayden my god-niece, or what?”
“She could be just your niece if you’d pick up the speed and ask Toya out already,” Tia chided him.
Seeing the embarrassed look on Jarrod’s face, Yvonne retorted, “Hey, you leave Jarrod alone.”
Yeah, leave Jarrod alone, Toya wanted to yell at her sister. The last thing she needed would be for Jarrod to ask her out and not show up again. No, thank you.
Robbie stood up and handed the baby to Toya, then turned back to Tia and cleared his throat. “Tia? I...uh, I’d like to be more to you than just your baby’s daddy. I understand why you didn’t marry me before, but I have changed. I’ve been on my job now for over three months and haven’t missed a day or gotten written up or anything. I want to be a family. So, what I’m asking is, will you please marry me?”
Tia smiled but then hesitated. “That depends. Will you come to the wedding drunk again?”
“You know I haven’t had a thing to drink in months. I’m a Christian now, Tia, and that means something to me. The Lord is helping me to stay sober.”
“Well, all right then, Robbie Carter. I guess I’ll marry you,” Tia said.
The room erupted in cheers. Toya had secretly been rooting for Robbie ever since that night at the hospital when Robbie had refused to leave Tia’s side. She’d seen then that the boy had grown into a man—a man well able to take care of his family.
“Okay, why don’t we give them some privacy?” Thomas suggested.
After they’d said good-bye to the new parents and baby Jayden, Thomas, Yvonne, Jarrod, and Toya were all about to go to dinner, but Thomas stunned them all when he took hold of Yvonne’s hand and slyly grinned. “Well, what about you, Yvonne? Do you think you’ll ever marry me?”
“That depends,” she said with a hint of mischief in her voice. “Are you going to come to the wedding drunk?”
“Drunk in the spirit and drunk in love? You bet,” Thomas answered, then wrapped his arms around her and kissed her tenderly.
When he released her, Yvonne smiled. “Well, in that case, I guess I have no choice but to marry you.”
“You always have a choice.”
Yvonne shook her head. “I never had a choice, Thomas. You stole my heart, and I don’t ever want it back.”
“So, it’s mine forever?”
“How about... as long as we both shall live?”
Toya glanced over at Jarrod while all this was going on. Her mom and her sister were getting married, but she couldn’t seem to find a man... well, there were plenty of men around, but what she needed was a good man.
Jarrod nudged her. “You’re next.”
Why did he have to say that? She didn’t want to hear that from anyone, and especially not the man who provided her with her first broken heart. And she really didn’t want to talk about finding love when she was still getting over what happened with Marvel Williams. The man who tricked her into believing he was in love with her, then tried to kill her.
~~~
“Where is the money you promised me?” Clarence Brown asked his partner in crime.
“I don’t pay for failed jobs.”
“Speak for yourself, Marvel. Because I didn’t fail at anything. I practically bankrupted my own church, all you had to do was convince the city to sell you the church. But you were the one who was more interested in destroying Pastor Yvonne and her daughter than making the deal you told me you wanted.”
“That’s neither here nor there, Brown. I still didn’t get what I wanted. And unless you can find out where Toya is, I’m not giving you my money.”
“But my wife needs that money. The only reason I got involved with you in the first place was to get her the heart operation she desperately needs.”
“Then I suggest you get the information that I desperately need.” Marvel hung up and then kicked the trash can next to his desk. Toya and her mother had ruined everything for him. There were warrants out for his arrest, he couldn’t run his businesses, and he was stuck in Mexico. But his suffering was nothing compared to what Pastor Yvonne and Toya would soon feel. Revenge was always sweet.