The next morning Cynthia was up and dressed well before seven. Samuel indicated he would be ready by eight. Her body was still reacting to falling asleep in Samuel’s arms. For the first time in her life she believed in the power of love. She was willing to give up the material things and status a life with LaVere’ would guarantee her, just to be with Samuel. The fact that he worked for Brian meant he would not be able to afford some of the things she wanted, but he would give her love for a lifetime, that she was certain of. And that’s something you can’t put a value on,” she whispered as she checked her hair one last time, stopping to answer the ringing telephone. “Hello,” she answered.
“You sound awfully happy this morning. What’s up?” Brian asked.
“Hey you. Haven’t heard from you in a few days. What have you been up to?”
“Work, what else,” he replied. “What time are you going to the Harrison’s?”
“It will be late, if I make it at all.”
“I’m not going to let you sit at home on a holiday. Blake called. I know your people went back to LA.”
“Yes, they did, but I won’t be staying home. Samuel asked me to join his family for dinner today.”
“Are you two a couple now?”
“I think we are more than just a couple. I’m in love with this man, Brian. I’ve been fighting it since the night we first met, but that has come to an end. I can’t fight it any more, this is the man I want in my life for eternity.” Cynthia giggled into the telephone. “Can you believe that?”
“The last time I heard you giggle was when I brought you that stupid movie for your tenth birthday.” Brian laughed into the telephone.
“Hey, don’t laugh, Samuel and I watched it last night.”
“Cynthia, you know I love you and have your back no matter what. Listen to me on this. There are two sides to Samuel Lassiter and he is just as good in both. He’s a damn good man. He loves his family and if he asked you to join them, than that means he loves you. I think you already know that and you could not be in better hands. He is also the ultimate professional. When the government is in need of someone with his skills, he is the first one they will call. There is no choice for him when the call comes; he has to serve his country. That mean you will be home alone, sometimes for long periods. Most of the time he will not be in a position to even call. How will you handle that?”
“Samuel told me a little about his work, but he never said exactly what he does when he has to go away. I trust him enough to know that when those times come; love will bring him back to me.”
“LaVere’ left with the impression that you were going to marry him. He’s been gone all of a week and here you are talking about being with another man for eternity. So my question to you is simple, what’s different with Samuel?”
“I’m not sure I know, but it is. LaVere’ and I were together for the wrong reasons. I agreed to marry him because he made me feel worthy to be a princess. Samuel makes me feel worthy just to be me. He loves me from his heart and for no other reason than, I’m Cynthia. But what’s more important is that I love him. Not for what he can give me or the status that comes with him, just because he is Samuel.”
Brian waited before he replied. He had to be sure this was the real thing with Cynthia. If this went wrong, he would have to defend her against Samuel. That was something he wanted to avoid at all cost—he liked living. “I suppose this means I’m the only solo act in the crew now.”
“I’m afraid so. But it won’t be long. There is another Kaitlyn waiting for you.”
Wow, that was a name from the past, Brian thought. It had been a while since he thought about the one woman that made his life worth living. She disappeared the week he graduated from college and he had not heard from her since. That was almost ten years ago and the memory was still vivid. “I won’t hold my breath.”
“Samuel is ready to leave, I have to run. I’ll talk at you later.” Cynthia hung up the telephone before he could finish his statement. Smiling, Brian hung up his telephone and shook his head. “She has come into her own, it’s about time.”
♡♡♡
There has never been a time in her life that nerves have gotten the best of her, this morning was different. Her business puts her in the company of some of the most powerful people in the world. Hell, for the last month she had been spending time with royalty. But the thought of meeting the woman that gave Samuel life was wreaking havoc on her nerves.
Samuel could see she was nervous, but wasn’t sure if he should try to reassure her or not. She was a proud woman that did not like to show her weakness. She was doing a good job of hiding it, but he made it a point to know her distress signs, like what she was doing at that moment; twirling a curl in her hair. The actions was so alluring to him, he was tempted to pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless. He parked the car and watched as her chest rose and fell heavily. He took her hand pulling it away from the curl that now dangled in her face and kissed her fingertips. “If you want to leave, we can.”
She looked up from him kissing her fingers and prayed she was able to hide the sensation his lips sent through her body. “You would miss a holiday with your family for me.”
“Yes.”
She smiled and shook her head, “I can’t let you do that. I would give anything to have a family that spent the holidays together.” She turned to the two-story house with the snow neatly plowed away from the sidewalk and wondered how the twelve children and their parents could all fit.
“My family is going to love you. Just give them a chance.”
His smile was so reassuring and just as irresistible. “I think my world is finally balanced. In the last twenty-four hours I have not tripped or fallen once. Do you think you can explain why?”
He leaned over to her. “Yes, you stopped fighting a losing battle. You fell in love with me in the hospital room the night of the accident.”
“What make you think that?” she laughed.
“You told me,” he seriously replied. “Then I told you to wait for me.”
She sobered and asked, “Did I really say that?”
“Yes. Was it a lie?”
Glazing into his smothering eyes she replied, “I don’t lie.”
He gently kissed her lips then stepped out of the car to open her door. He then let Rusty out and watched him run to the back of the house.
♡♡♡
Sally Lassiter was sitting in her kitchen kneading the dough for her dinner rolls when her oldest daughter, Ruby walked in the back door with a crock-pot in her hand. “Hey Mom,” she said while placing the container on the table. She went back out the door as she heard her mother respond, “Hey baby.” Walking back through the door with several bags in hand she placed them on the counter next to the crock-pot, then exhaled. “I would have asked Samuel to help me, but he seemed really engrossed in conversation with a woman in his car.” She said raising a questioning eyebrow.
Sally paused and turned to her daughter, “He really brought her. Hum, must be serious. This is going to be an interesting day.” She heard Rusty’s bark and walked over and opened the door. “Hey Rusty,” she hugged the tail wagging dog and scratched behind his ears. “You know where your ball is, go get it.” The dog ran to the enclosed porch and grabbed his ball. Sally took the ball and threw it out the back door into the yard and enjoyed watching Rusty chase it down.
Hanging her coat in the hall closet, Ruby returned to the kitchen, “You knew about Samuel bringing a woman to dinner?”
“I sure hope there are no guns in the house.” Sally replied as she washed her hands, and then wiped them on a towel.
Before Ruby could question the remark, Samuel walked through the door. Her mouth almost hit the counter it dropped open so wide. She closed it quickly and hoped no one noticed. It can’t be. There was no way in hell this woman was standing in this kitchen. Pearl was going to have a fit. Earlier this month Pearl had just mention the selfish heifer, um, woman. Ruby quickly put a smile on her face when Samuel moved towards her. “Hey Sis, this is Cynthia, Cynthia this is my oldest sister Ruby.” Pushing Samuel aside Ruby extended her hand, “Hello, it’s nice to meet you. Are you staying for dinner?”
“Of course she is,” Sally commanded. “No one leaves this house on Thanksgiving without a full belly. Now, let me take your coat and gloves.”
“Thank you,” Cynthia replied as the soft-spoken woman took the items. She watched as Sally Lassiter walked from the room. It was inconceivable to believe a woman as attractive and petite as she could have twelve grown children. When Sally returned to the room Cynthia listened as the two oldest children and their mother discussed the activities for the day.
Sally Lassiter was all of five feet three inches tall with a short salt and pepper hair cut that was very becoming and weighted approximately one hundred twenty pounds. Looking at Samuel it was hard to believe a man his size came from this miniature of a woman. Turning to the sound of the back door opening, Cynthia saw five men walk through the door. All replicas of Samuel two a few inches shorter, and one that stood above them all, she assumed had to be his father. Since she had to hold her head back to see to the top of the man, she was certain he had to be close to seven feet tall.
“Well who do we have here?” One of the young men asked as he walked towards her with a mischievous smile on his face. Cynthia turned to Samuel and smiled from the seat she had taken at the breakfast bar.
“Cynthia these lumberjacks are my brothers, Mathew, Luke, Timothy and Adam. He stood next to his father and shook his hand. This is my father, Joseph Lassiter. Dad, this is my friend, Cynthia Thornton.”
“Friend? Ha, now if I had a woman that looked like you, I certainly would not refer to you as a friend,” Matt stated as he took a seat next to her.
Joseph grabbed the back of Matt’s collared shirt and pulled him from the seat. He extended his hand, “Hello Cynthia. Welcome to our home.”
It seemed Joseph Lassiter had the warmest eyes and the smoothest voice; it reminded her of Samuel and the way he talked to her. “Mr. and Mrs. Lassiter, I can certainly see where your sons get their good looks.” She replied as she looked around the room at the men.
“She knows how to charm the men don’t she?” Ruby whispered to her mother.
“Ruby, she is your brother’s guest. Now, think about it, have you ever known him to bring a woman into this house?”
She thought for a minute, “No, I haven’t,” she replied startlingly.
“That fact tells me that this woman is special to him.”
“Yeah, but is he special to her?”
Sally exhaled as she looked sideways at her daughter. She picked up the dishtowel and dried her hands. “Cynthia, I’ve been told you are a wonderful decorator. Could I impose on your talents to help me set up the dining room, while Samuel and Ruby finish planning the activities?”
“Of course,” she replied as she looked in Samuel’s direction for encouragement. He did not disappoint her as he winked and smiled.
The men watched as she walked from the room. Mathew was the first to speak. “How in the hell did you get a woman like that?”
“He’s a Lassiter. There isn’t a woman alive that can resist the Lassiter charm,” Adam the youngest male of the clan at eighteen stated mockingly.
Luke who was twenty-two, in his last year of college turned to his little brother, and asked, “How would you know? Last I heard you were still using arm action.”
The men laughed as Timothy, one of the twenty-year-old twins hit Adam lovingly on the shoulder. “He’s graduated from one hand to two,” then winked at his younger brother.
“Adam you haven’t stepped over into manhood yet?” Mathew, the twenty-four year old high school basketball coach who has pledge his life to being a playa asked.
All eyes went to Adam, who wished he was any place other than in the room with his larger than life brothers. If he answers one way he will have to explain to his six-seven father. If he answers the other way he would have to deal with ribbing from Matt and Luke. Just when he was about to answer, the back door opened and his twin sister Jade walked in with Diamond and Timothy’s twin Opal.
“Samuel,” Diamond yelled with excitement and ran into the arms of her big brother, followed by Opal and Jade. The group almost sent him spiraling to the floor. “Is Joshua here too?” The sweet and sassy twenty-six year old Diamond asked.
“No. He hasn’t made it yet,” their father answered. Diamond frowned and went in search of her mother. Ruby walked over to Adam and whispered, “Jade’s timing is impeccable. She saved you again.”
Jade left Samuel’s grasp and walked over to Adam. “What’s going on?” she asked in her always-caring way.
“Nothing Sis, it’s okay.” Jade knew Adam was in turmoil regardless to what he said, she could feel it. They were both in their first year of college—she at Spelman, and he at Morehouse. Things were going very well for her, but not for her shy twin brother. She turned her attention to Luke, who she was certain had something to do with Adam’s discomfort. Walking past him she kicked his shin.
“Ouch! Why did you do that?” He yelled.
“Reflex,” she replied with a sly smiled and walked off.
“Where’s Pearl?” Opal asked while sampling the biscuits Ruby made for breakfast.
“JD Harrison had a news conference this morning,” her father replied. “She’ll be here in time for the game.
“Good,” Ruby said as she looked over to Samuel. “The game can start at ten.”
Samuel heard his sister, but his mind was on the conversation between his mother and the woman he plan to make his wife.
♡♡♡
Diamond ventured into the dining room where she saw her mother taking with a dazzling woman. By the tone of her mother’s voice she knew not to interrupt. That was the fact-finding voice and she was not going to let the woman go until she had her answers.
“How did you end up with twelve children?” Cynthia asked while Sally watched her decorate the table.
“We had an overabundance of love to share with each other,” Sally replied laughing. “Samuel came during our second year of marriage, Joshua in our fourth, Ruby in our sixth, Pearl in our eighth, then Diamond.” She stopped as if thinking back, “Now that one was a godsend. Before she came along I was contemplating returning to work.”
“Really, what type of work did you do?”
“I was a professional dancer.”
“Samuel mentioned that, but I can see it as well,” Cynthia absentmindedly nodded her head. “You have this graceful air surrounding you.”
“Thank you,” Sally beamed at the compliment she believed to be genuine. “Needless to say the decision was made for me and I did not return to the stage. Two years later Mathew was born and we moved into this house with six bedrooms. Of course we had to fill up the bedrooms.” She laughed heartily. “Then the blessing really started to flow in. Our next two pregnancies ended up as twins, first Opal and Timothy, then Jade and Adam. We decided to give up trying to even the number out, but GOD had other plans. He sent us Sapphire.”
Listening to Sally helped Cynthia to understand the love that flowed through the family. “What a wonderful story. It’s quite evident you and Mr. Lassiter are still very much in love. It shows in the little glances between you.”
“That’s true. We love each other very much. I would not trade what we have for anything. Can you say the same about Samuel?”
“That was smooth the way you brought this to Samuel and I.”
“Thank you. I inherited the trait from my mother.” Sally replied smiling brightly.
She took Cynthia’s hand in hers and looked into her eyes. “I can see you are in love with my son and he is in love with you. I felt it the moment the two of you walked in the room. But I also sense you are afraid of something. Will that fear keep you from committing to my son?”
How could a woman who has known her for less than an hour see so deep into her soul? How could she see her vulnerabilities when her own mother couldn’t? Hesitating for a moment, Sally squeezed her hand to encourage her to continue. The warmth in her eyes and the sincerity of her concern prompted Cynthia to reply honestly. “Mrs. Lassiter, your son scares the hell out of me.” She stopped and frowned. “Is it okay to say that?”
“You may speak freely here,” Sally replied warmly.”
She exhaled and continued, “I’m afraid to explore the depth of the feelings he has for me and I’m just as afraid not too. Does that make any sense?”
Sally reached her arm around Cynthia’s shoulder and squeeze lightly. They began walking towards the kitchen. “Yes, it does. The love that Lassiter men have to offer is everlasting. They are quick to recognize what they want and will fight for it to the end. I have friends that were fortunate to find the kind of love that last an eternity. I hope that Prince of yours has strong armor, because he is in for a battle.”
Cynthia stopped abruptly, “Mrs. Lassiter I decided not to marry LaVere’. He’s a wonderful man, but I need and want a little more than he was offering. I want a love for a lifetime, a love straight from the heart.” The women continued walking into the kitchen.