Betrayal. That’s what Ace’s family had done to him—his mother, his brother, and his cousins. How could he have been so clueless to what every sneaky Jamieson was doing behind his back?
Ace assumed that if he didn’t mention Talise’s name, they would drop it and forget about her too.
“What a mess,” Ace complained, stepping out on his patio as the sun was setting. The night was peaceful and quiet. There were no sounds of planes, trains, or automobiles. He chuckled at the words from the title of an old movie starring the late John Candy.
However, at the present time, his life was anything but a comedy. Women had come and gone in his life until their memories completely faded, but not Talise Rogers.
Talise. If Ace was a sculptor, he couldn’t create anything more beautiful. But that regrettable Friday night in May, she had ripped his heart out. Did she or didn’t she try and trap him? It was the nagging assumption that had driven him away. Now what? According to his brother and cousins, Talise was indeed pregnant. “With my child,” Ace whispered for the first time.
“With my child?” he repeated, not believing himself.
At twenty-eight years old, Ace was scared for the first time in his life. The guns, knives, or jail time hadn’t terrified him. Being a father frightened him beyond measure.
His carefree lifestyle was based on his “responsibility is optional” mantra. Now could he handle the responsibility of being a father? Beyond child support, Ace didn’t trust himself to be the right kind of role model.
Getting up from the lounge chair, he returned to the house for his cell phone. Lying down on the sofa, he punched in Kidd’s number. Ace hoped Eva wasn’t close by. He needed to have a heart-to-heart talk with his brother.
“Yeah?” Kidd answered, as if Ace was disturbing him.
“We need to talk.”
“Talk.”
Ace huffed. “In person, in private … and bring your Bible.”
“I’m on my way.”
While Ace waited for Kidd to arrive, he closed his eyes. Alone with his thoughts, his mind filled with images of Talise’s smile and her laughter. No longer able to deny it, he yearned for her. The truth be told, he started to miss her even while packing to leave Boston and never stopped once he moved to St. Louis.
Less than an hour later, the doorbell rang and interrupted his thoughts. When Ace opened it, Kidd stormed through the door, carrying a thick Bible. Wanting to avoid any distractions, Ace didn’t comment on the size, but thought, A pocket Bible would have sufficed.
He closed the door and joined Kidd at the other end of the sofa. At first, he couldn’t look at his brother. Kidd would immediately see the fear in his eyes. Ace chose instead to prop his elbows on his knees and rest his face in the palms of his hands.
“I love her. Talise said she didn’t trap me.”
“Do you believe her?”
“If I say no, then I’ve lost my edge of staying on top of my game. If I say yes, then I’ve lost her for good.”
“What does your heart say?” Kidd patted his own chest. “It will never lie. Your mind will lie to you, your eyes will play tricks on you, and your ears will deceive you, but your heart is right on point. That’s why God looks at the heart and blesses or judges us based on what He finds. Jesus has no problem showing us our ugly selves. Believe me. He spared no mercy showing me how wretched and lowdown I was.”
Ace’s next words wouldn’t be a shocker to Kidd—he just needed to hear himself say it out loud. “I never wanted to be a father. I wanted to be like our father.”
“Humph.” Kidd grunted.
“When I was little, Samuel was my idol. He bragged about the places he had been and the fun he had. He came whenever he wanted and brought gifts. As I got older, I thought that was so cool … it must be a great life to be free like him … to have no responsibility and not have to answer to anyone.”
“And we suffered from his lack of responsibility,” Kidd snapped and stretched out his legs. “Hey, aren’t you supposed to offer your company a glass of water, Kool-aid, or something? And, man, you need to get a coffee table and some chairs in here.”
Ace tilted his head toward the kitchen. “You’re not company. Get it yourself.”
Kidd did and returned with bottled water. “Listen, Samuel lived and died a fool. He gave us his name, but not his heart. He cheated us out of a family. I wish he was alive today, because I would show him how to be a father—a good one.”
“Yeah, you had me to practice on.” Ace looked Kidd in the eye. “You’re a good man and a great brother. You’ll be a wonderful father.”
“I am the man I am today because of two women, Ma and Eva. Without knowing it, Eva forced me to get past my disappointments, hatred, and stubbornness. She taught me how to give my best. Wanting her love was the reason I tried Christ. Ever since, Jesus has been my Pops and He’s had my back.”
Ace sighed heavily. “Well, Talise hates me. I made sure of that in our last conversation. In all the materialistic things Samuel bought us, he failed to tell me the price tag on his lifestyle. With eleven children that we know about, from two marriages and one relationship, he was a busy man.”
“I can tell you the cost of doing it his way. The Bible says the wages of sin is death.”
Leaning back on the sofa, Ace rested the back of his head on the wall. “I already died when I walked away from Talise, knowing she needed me.”
“Okay, let’s brainstorm. Ace, you did make her happy once—check. But then you hurt her—so repent. Get your sorry, ugly behind in gear and fight for her. Step up to the plate and fight for the Jamieson name.” Kidd grinned and puffed out his chest.
“Besides, my daughter is going to need a cousin to play with and long distance won’t cut it. Then again, I’m not sure if I want you as a next door neighbor.”
“You’re having a girl?” Ace was in awe.
Kidd nodded. “Yep, and proud of it! At first, Eva didn’t want to know, but our mother talked her into it. If you repeat this, I’ll break your nose. Nobody is supposed to know.”
“Oh, yeah?
Sitting up straight, Kidd crossed his arms. “I believe you’re the one who bears a scar, not me, pretty boy.”
Ace rubbed the spot on his nose where the wound had healed, but the scar left a reminder. “You have to admit that was a good fight.” He grunted. “Taking down two men for the price of one, they were no match. So what if they drew a little blood? I knocked them out.”
Ace paused and regrouped. He didn’t summon his brother over to his apartment to reminisce. “That lifestyle ended way before I met Talise. Although I’m 100 percent male, I’m scared that this is one mind-and-heart game where I’m going to have to fold. I’m out.”
“You were always mentally challenged,” Kidd joked. “I’ll leave this Bible for you to read, but I’ve got to get back home. So let’s pray.”
Bowing his head, Ace gripped his brother’s hand and waited for some type of miracle to happen.
“Father, in the Name of Jesus, I love You today for so many things. Most of all You put Yourself in harm’s way for us. You allowed Yourself to be murdered for us, and You’ve given us gifts and power to help us to be ready when You come back …”
Ace held his breath. The only thing he wanted Kidd to do was recite a powerful prayer and be done with it, not preach.
“Jesus, You are the Father to the fatherless. You know my brother’s heart. Help Talise and Ace to forgive each other and be a blessing to their child. Amen.”
“That’s it? I was hoping God would give you some kind of message that everything would be all right.”
“God will get your attention, and when He does, you’d better listen.”
Ace slept better that night. Instead of Talise’s distraught face haunting him, the laughter of a child soothed him.
Glancing at his watch, it was seven o’clock, eight, on the East Coast. Since his mother didn’t normally leave for work this early, he called. Ace needed her help to get Talise back.
“Nicholson residence,” the sweetest voice answered.
Ace was momentarily tongue-tied. “Tay?”
“Sandra, telephone,” Talise said, without responding to him.
“Tay,” Ace repeated, as his mother came on the line.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Mom. Was that Tay?” How close had they become in his absence? He wondered. “Can I talk to her?”
“She answered the phone, son. If she wanted to speak to you, then I’m sure she would have. So what’s going on?” Sandra switched subjects, as if they were discussing whether he made up his bed or not.
“Can you tell me why Talise is at our house this early …”
That was a mistake. “First of all, you moved out. So this is no longer our, but my house. Now I have to finish dressing to go to work. Is everything okay?”
“It’s not until I speak with Tay.”
“Then you’ll have to call her cell.”
“I don’t have her number.”
“I can’t give it to you,” Sandra told him. “Sorry, she’ll have to give it to you on her own.”
Okay, Ace recognized when he was being challenged. He had hoped after Kidd prayed for him last night that things would turnaround instantly. Evidently not. Talise might not want to talk to him over the phone, but she sure would face-to-face.
Unfortunately, flying was not an option. As Kidd had suggested, he had no choice but to buy a gas card and start driving—twenty hours one way—to plead his case.