Page 04
"Is this all of it?"
"That's just copies of what I have, I'm keeping the originals just for insurance, you understand?" Elijah stated, getting a nod out of her.
"I can understand that, it will take me and my team a few days to go through this, and if what you say is true, then I know Kevin will be taken off the ticket."
"No, see, you're thinking too small, I want him destroyed!"
"Sir, I can understand your anger, yet that's not what I'm after, but I promise I will use this," Kay said, getting up from her seat and taking the packet with her since she thought their meeting was over. Unbeknownst to her, the news companies he had sent it off to wouldn't be so light-handed with the information that was speeding their way.
While Elijah wasn't happy with Kay's response, he knew at least Ol' Kevy would be having to deal with a war on two fronts. If history taught him anything it was no one could win like that. Pulling out his phone as he got up from his seat since what he had came for was finished, his thumb scrolled up his screen as he came to Janice's number.
"Hey, did you get what you needed to do done?" Janice's sweet voice came over the line once their call had been completed.
"Yeah, got the ball rolling, so do you still want me to come by?" Elijah asked as he walked across the park to where he had parked his car. He didn't want anyone to know who he was meeting or why he was in the park that morning.
"Of course I do! Do you even need to ask?"
"Alright, be there in an hour, but if your family gives me grief, I'm bouncing," Elijah stated as he unlocked his car.
"Fair enough, and I'll be right behind you if they do." Elijah arched an eyebrow at that.
"So, are we going to talk about what you said yesterday?"
"Do you want to?"
"I think we should, don't you?" Elijah countered.
"Okay, but I'm not having this conversation over the phone."
"Alright, I'll see you in an hour."
Janice came rocketing out of her parents' house when Elijah pulled his car to a stop behind hers when he pulled into their driveway an hour and a few minutes later. Her blonde hair whipped behind her as she noted his smiling face. Elijah staggered backwards a step or two when Janice launched herself into his arms. Her inhalation was loud in both of their ears as she kissed Elijah passionately. Pouring how much she had missed him since they've been apart since yesterday.
"Wow," Elijah said breathlessly. "Maybe I should go away more often," he said with a cheeky grin.
"You better not," Janice cooed as she pressed her 36B breasts into his chest. "If you do, I might just chain you to the bed and ravish you until you can't take anymore."
"Man, now that's kinky, I didn't know you had it in you," Elijah stated, watching how Janice's cheeks heated in a red hue.
"Oh, you be amazed," Janice said with a twinkle in her eye. "Come," she spoke, pulling him gently towards her parents' porch. Hoping that she wasn't going too fast for him.
"Afternoon, Elijah," Jance nodded in greeting.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Ortiz, a pleasure to see you again," Elijah said, nodding to the two of them.
"Hello, Elijah," Desirae said, shaking Elijah's hand.
"Didn't you say you were from Indiana?" Jance asked, leading them inside his house.
"I did," Elijah agreed.
"What parts?" Desirae inquired.
"The northern end of Akron, grandparents owned a pig and cattle ranch," Elijah offered; he knew what they were doing. While they weren't that interested in what he was doing when they first met, now that they were dating, they wanted to put him to the screws, so to speak.
"Oh? So what took you all the way up to Maine?" Jance asked, offering Elijah a beer who promptly declined it since he was driving back.
"Tea?" Desirae offered.
"Sure," Elijah nodded. "A promotion like the one that brought me here."
"So what brings you down here?" Jance inquired, leading them into his living room.
"Had something to do in Tupelo, Janice, here," flashing her a smile when a light blush filled her cheek when he said that, "wondered if I'd come and see her since I was close," Elijah informed them, glancing down when Janice lightly covered her hand over his.
"So, how did it go?" Janice queried, her thumb brushed along the back of his hand affectionately.
"Didn't go as I wanted, but it's a start," Elijah admitted. He wondered how the news outlets would take the information he had sent them. He did hope they took what he had sent them seriously. He kept his evil smirk from his lips at the thought of how O' Kevy was going to react once everything came crashing down around him.
"So Elijah, can I call you El?" Stacy asked, noticing how her sister narrowed her eyes at her question.
"No, no offense, I don't know you that well," Elijah said bluntly, not seeing how that brought a smile to Janice's lips.
"And when you do?" Stacy inquired.
"Then give it a go," Elijah shrugged, feeling Janice gently squeezing his hand.
"So Elijah, you ever get back to Indiana to see your parents?" Jance spoke, taking his normal seat he thought of as his throne as he surveyed his small kingdom.
"No," Elijah answered emotionally.
"Some reason you don't?" Janice whispered. This wasn't something she knew about him, and honestly, it startled her.
"Never knew them, now my grandparents, the people who raised me, yes, I did visit them every chance I could when they were still alive," Elijah answered, seeing the shock on Jancie's and her family's faces.
"Do you know why they would abandon you?" Desirae spoke in a motherly tone with hints of her anger at the thought of any parent just abandoning their child. She noted how that upset Jance, too, even though he didn't show it.
"No, never cared to know. I thought it would be disrespectful of the people who raised me when it wasn't their responsibility," Elijah said; he knew the reason. He just wasn't about to divulge that kind of information willingly. Personally, he wanted nothing to do with them when he finally met them at his grandparents' funerals. Their first encounter wasn't one that one would write home about. He told them plainly that he had no use for them since they had chosen their jet-setting lifestyle over the son they had brought into this world. Where he told him after that day he never wanted to see them or interact with them on any level no matter how superficial it was. Since then he hasn't heard a peep out of them in the six years of his grandparents' passing.
"Can I expect the same amount of loyalty you've shown to your grandparents while you're with my daughter?" Jance asked in that protective, fatherly tone.
"Dad..." Janice's words were cut off by Elijah's gentle squeeze of her hand.
"Of course," Elijah stated firmly.
"Good, I can respect that," Jance spoke, nodding his head in acceptance as his chin touched his chest. His amusement was evident on his face at his daughter's surprised expression. He was never this quick in accepting any of the boys and men his daughters brought home. Eventually, he would warm up to them if his daughters showed any modicum of interest in them. "You ever have any Dino ribs before?" he asked, noting the confusion in Elijah's eyes.
"Can't say that I have," Elijah admitted.
"Good, you'll love mine," Jance said, waving for Elijah to follow.
Elijah looked to Janice for clarity, who just simply shrugged her shoulder, yet he did note the happiness in her eyes. As he followed Jance out through the back door, Elijah noted the numerous and rather large smokers that seemed to have been built onto a trailer frame if he had to guess. It wasn't hard to follow the smell of sweet, sweet, juicy, beefy goodness to the smoker in use.
"I run a BBQ catering company if you're wondering," Jance said over his shoulder as he lifted the lid of his five-hundred-gallon smoker. The cloud of mesquite smoke bathed his face as his experienced eyes surveyed the bark of the four racks of ribs to see if they were ready to be wrapped. When he was satisfied that they had reached that stage, Jance pulled the tin pan that he had dumped a few tablespoons of beef tallow to smoke while the ribs cooked. Seeing the amber sheen it had achieved over the hours of smoking. "You ever wrapped ribs before? Follow me; it's pretty simple," he stated, nodding towards the rolling tray he had waiting and prepped for it.
Elijah watched first as Jance spooned the liquid fat over the paper before his latex left hand spread it around the paper before walking back over to the smoker. Opening it with his right and pulled one of the ribs off the grill by its bone. His insulated glove kept him from having a charred stump as he set the first rack on the paper. Elijah's eyes darted from Jance's hands to his face as he watched how Jance wrapped the ribs. Hish
"Think you can handle that?" Jance asked after finishing the wrapping.
"Sure, but why are you asking me? Surely Rick would be better at this," Elijah stated, taking the gloves from Jance's outstretched hand.
"Oh, I know he would, but if you're going to date my daughter, I need to know if said man can handle his meat," Jance said, challenging Elijah to prove him wrong.
"How long is the paper supposed to be?" Elijah asked, stepping up to his taunt.
"Eighteen inches," Jance said, smirking, turning back towards the smoker after grabbing his other insulated glove. An approving smile appeared once he turned around and saw Elijah was ready for him. He didn't say a word as he took the wrapped meat from Elijah when he was done. He didn't think he had to; he assumed Elijah was smart enough to understand why he didn't. If not, well, he would be disappointed. Closing the lid the final time to allow an hour of cooking the ribs wrapped, adding a small split of wood to keep the temperature at 275 degrees to render the fat.
"So catering," Elijah mused, his voice trailing after Jance walked over to the nearest smoker.
"Yep, I even do the church's BBQ for them when they hold their yearly BBQ sale," Jance said from the depth of the smoker to make sure it was ready for the event which was in a month.
"Oh?"
"Mmmhmm," Jance hummed, determined to give the church his best.
"If how those ribs smell is any indication of how your BBQ tastes, then I assume your church sells out quickly," Elijah said, stroking his girlfriend's father's ego, getting a rather large grin from Jance.
"Just you wait; in an hour, you're going to be addicted to my BBQ," Jance boosted, his hand slapping his belly in his mirth.
"Dad!" Janice's voice filled the backyard as she stepped out through the backdoor of her parents' home.
"Yeah!" Jance called back.
"Mom wants you," Janice spoke as her voice drew closer to them. Her eyes studied her father's as they neared each other. She could see her father approved of her boyfriend, which, as you can imagine, brought joy to her heart, knowing her family was accepting of Elijah. They didn't say a word as her arms wrapped themselves around Elijah's waist. Pressing her body tighter to him, she felt his hands on her back. Where she hoped she would feel his hands on her for a long time. "I hope my parents aren't being a bother to you," she whispered as she peered up at him.
"Nah, they're just being protective as any parent would," Elijah stated; he wasn't expecting the kiss, neither was he going to complain about it.
"Good, I want you to get along with everyone," Janice said sweetly. With that, she proceeded to show Elijah around her parents' property, showing him every place she liked to hide when she and Stacy played in their youths. Where she got her very first kiss from a boy when she was twelve. There were times in her life when she wondered what would have happened between her and Mitchel if he hadn't died in a farming accident a month after their kiss.
It was around five that evening as Elijah and Janice sat down at her parents' dinner table. Elijah's eyes ran over the spread Desirae had put together. Rick had brought over the banana pudding he had learned to make from his mother. Steam drifted off the fired okra that sat in the porcelain dish Desirae's mother had gifted her on her wedding day. The grilled corn glistened as the butter melted on the cobs as they rested in the shallow dish. The sweetness of the baked beans filled the air beckoning them to have their fill. However, all eyes were on the now rested, cut Dino ribs as Jance carried the platter into the room. Elijah wasn't sure if he heard the rumbling of a few stomachs or if it was all in his mind as the smell of the smoke pulled at his own stomach.
Elijah glanced down at his left hand as he started to reach for the okra. He felt like an idiot when he saw everyone with their heads bowed, he quickly pulled back his hand. He wasn't about to insult them in their own home. Nevertheless, his eyes couldn't tear themselves away from the ribs as he watched the juices just drip off the meat. Once their grace was over no one waited a second more before dishes were passed around, plates filled with good, nurturing food. Elijah didn't know they all were waiting with bated breath as he took his first bite of his rib. The moment he went back in eagerly for another bite, the table burst out in laughter.
"Good, I take it?" Janice asked with a coy, knowing smirk.
"You better bring home a pound or so," Elijah whispered behind his napkin which only caused Janice's grin to widen since Jance was close enough he heard Elijah's request as well. Their meal went on for nearly an hour before their dishes were cleared and the banana pudding was brought out. There, Desirae stood scooping out spoonful's of the pudding out to her family and guests.
"You don't have a problem about me staying over tomorrow night do you?" Janice asked in a sultry voice as she and Elijah stood out on her parents' porch
"No, why would you think I would," Elijah uttered, watching her cheeks heat.
"You're forgetting something," Jance spoke, startling the two of them, holding out two bags of BBQ, each weighing half a pound each. "They should still be frozen by the time you get home," he said with a sneaky grin. He had slid a few small cups that he used for his catering service filled with his own unique sauce. "If you like slaw on your sandwiches, Janice can help you out," Jance said before heading back inside.
"See you later, drive safely, call me when you get home," Janice said lovingly as her lips left him for the last time.
"Yes 'em," Elijah agreed, watching how bashful Janice was becoming as he gave her teasing looks. Silently telling her this was the moment you say it, chuckling when she playfully slapped his arm. He hasn't felt this good in years, shaking the thoughts of his former life from his mind. That period of his life was over. However, his mind stilled as he sat in his car. If it was, then why was it hanging over him like an anvil waiting to drop? Reluctantly, Elijah admitted he had been unrealistic in thinking he could simply think his past would stay in the past while his marriage remained unresolved. Grumbling to himself as he started his car, knowing he was going to have to return to Maine to end the nightmare of his marriage. At the first stop light, he brought up his lawyer's number, telling him to file the papers Elijah had had him sitting on for all those years. Also telling him that he would get her to sign it. He needed to be sure she actually signed and not dick him around officially ending things.
Three and half weeks later...
Elijah pulled up the collar of his light coat as he walked down the Main Street of Mars Hill. While there was still a cold chill in the air, the hints of spring could be seen as the snow began its slow decline into absolution. He saw a few people doing a double-take when he passed them. Not that he knew any one of them, yet for years his face has been tied to the town's business sector for so long it wasn't uncommon for him to draw some attention. He was even waved at by people he had no clue who they were. He waved back; otherwise, that would have been rude of him. His eyes glanced up at the five-story building that housed his lawyer's law firm before he entered the building.
"Hello, Richard," Elijah said, startling his lawyer as he walked into the man's office.
"Elijah! Don't do that to this old heart of mine!" Richard joked, holding his chest, mimicking a heart attack.
"Dick, you're about as likely to have a heart attack than my lighted fart will launch me to the moon," Elijah retorted, getting a hearty laugh out of the early fifty's man.
"You learn that one down south?" Richard asked with an amused grin on his face.
"Nah, that one is all mine," Elijah answered with a prideful gleam in his eyes as he took the seat in front of Richard's desk. "You have the papers ready?" he asked, getting down to business.
"Of course, have you heard what's been going on with her?" Richard asked, making sure his client knew what he was walking into.
"No. When I left I tossed her out of my mind," Elijah said plainly, playing up the act of having no knowledge of what has been transpiring in her life. When, in truth, he was the architect of their demise. It was three days after the meeting he had with Mrs. Marshel that the newspapers, the tabloids, and the like had a field day with all the information they could verify in such a short time of receiving his package. He had sat at his desk grinning like the Mad Hatter as he watched all the videos of O' Kevy ducking the reporters as they threw question after question at him. He had even been kind to the man's wife and saved her the trouble of hiring a PI to get her the images she needed for her own divorce. So not only was Kevin dealing with his opponent's attacks, the reporters' pressuring and mounting questions, but now he was dealing with a divorce as he watched the very televised recording of her slapping the shit out of Kevy and kneeing him in the groin before throwing the papers on his body. Elijah even winced when his wife coldcocked his soon-to-be ex-wife.
"Good, no need to drudge up the past, right?" Richard uttered, cocking an eyebrow.
"Have no idea what you mean, there was nothing there in the first place, so nothing to drudge up," Elijah said, taking the papers from Richard as he got to his feet. He knew what his lawyer was asking, if not in a roundabout way, and he was smart enough not to even entertain it. He wasn't about to have anything that could tie him to the disaster that was crashing down around O' Kevy. He didn't care what they thought; he couldn't control that; it's what they could prove in court had his concern because if he knew the slut he had married, he would be the first one they came after.
As he was walking out of the cab of the elevator, as it reached the ground floor, he pulled out his cell phone. Scowling when he brought up his wife's number, sighing in annoyance, yet he knew it would all be over soon. Elijah felt himself grinding his teeth as the phone rang as he walked to his car. Then he heard the clicking of the line connecting.
"What do you want?" Came Stella's aspirated growl.
"Meet me at the Rusty Crab in thirty minutes," Elijah spoke in a commanding tone.
"Elijah, I don't have time for your bullshit..."
"Bitch I don't give a fuck. If you're in the middle of sucking O' Kevy's tiny dick, you will get your ass to that restaurant, or I'll show up at your doorstep with all those reporters my lawyer informed me that's camping out there, which is it?" Elijah asked as he started his rental car.
"Fine, Elijah, let's get this over with."
"Yes, time to be rid of you," Elijah said coldly before ending the call.
Elijah was sitting in a booth waiting on his food since what he had to do wouldn't take that long nor kill his appetite before he headed towards the airport to return home. The moment he saw her walk into the restaurant, their separation appeared to have aged her ten years. He kept the smirk he felt hidden, he didn't need her making a scene.
"Elijah," Stella said in a monotone voice. "I suspect you have divorce papers for me, why else did you come all this way for?" Her eyes watched how Elijah just pulled out the end of their marriage so casually and dropped it in front of her. She knew their marriage was over for a long time. Still, even if Elijah hated her she did love him in her own way. She didn't waste a moment as she unfolded the papers, taking the pen Elijah dropped beside it and signed where his lawyer indicated. "Goodbye, Elijah, I know this isn't how I wanted things to go, know I didn't do this because you were lacking in any way. I did this for my own amusement."
"I don't care, you can go now I have what I want," Elijah uttered coldly as he glanced over at her as she stood ready to leave.
"Very well, take care of yourself, Elijah," Stella said, leaving her now ex-husband sitting at his table as she headed towards the exit. The finality of it all didn't stop the tears from forming as she kept her back to him so he wouldn't see her cry as she fled back to her crumbling life. She knew he had to have had a hand in what was happening to Kevin. How he got such information was beyond her. That didn't matter anymore; right then, they were in survival mode. She was doing everything in her power, using all the skills she'd learned to spin this negative press in their favor. However, she was treading water, and she honestly didn't know for how long she could keep them above water, namely in the polls.
When she arrived back at her home, the reporters were long gone, which she found odd given the heat on their scoop. What she didn't know was that Kevin had bolted for the airport, thinking he could flee to Bahrain. Stella's face showed her confusion when the neighbor walked out of her house when she got out of her car. When she asked why she was in her house, the neighbor told her the man she was living with ran off once she was gone. Fright showed on her face, thinking the man could just abandon his own children so senselessly. Her neighbor assured her that her daughters weren't in any danger; it seemed to her one of the photographers had knocked on her door, informing her that her daughters had been left unsupervised before the man had to jump in his company's van so they could catch up to Kevin wherever he was heading.
Stella held her daughters tightly when they swarmed her. She had no clue how to answer any of the questions they were peppering her with as she led them back inside. It was late afternoon when her whole world just shattered to the point where nothing could ever restore it. There on her TV in living color, on the local and national news since she was flipping the channels like crazy, was the FBI leading Kevin, who she came to learn wasn't even his real name, in handcuffs through the airport he was trying to fly out from. The remote fell from her hand as the news channel displayed his real name and the crimes that were tied to him.
Her mind was blank as her body bolted for her daughter's rooms. Her children just stared at her in great confusion as she tossed their clothes into their suitcases, where she, too, packed her belongings in a hurry. She knew the vultures were coming she was planning on being long gone before they arrived. With her daughters secured in the backseat of her car, she sped away from a life that no longer had a future. She made a quick stop by the bank. Kevin thought she didn't know about where he had made an account in her name where he had stashed a few million. How he got it she had no clue, nor did she care. All she cared about at that moment was making sure her daughters were taken care of. Once she had changed the PIN code on the account so, Kevin couldn't drain it before she could set up an offshore account. Stella and her children headed for parts unknown.
Elijah breathed deeply the moment he stepped off the plane. The weight of his shattered marriage fell away with every mile that he put behind him. As he was exiting the debarkation area of the gate, the voice of the female news anchor from a news agency that no one really watched if they weren't in an airport. People's eyes shot Elijah looks as he laughed aloud at the news that O' Kevy was facing federal charges and extradition to Sweden once his prison time was over.
The tone he was humming played on the air as he walked through the parking deck to his car. His smile played along the glass of his window as he opened the door. As he waited for his car to warm up slightly, a ping of his phone caught his attention. His interest was pegged when he saw Janice's text message, which turned out to be an audio message. His manhood was standing on end when her message ended, which urged him to come home quickly when she knew the time he would have landed.
The moment he barged into his condo, there she stood in her naked glory, her hands resting on the edge of the island counter, her eyes hungry for the meal to come. Her finger curled towards her, beckoning him to come and taste his woman. Her breath was in her throat as her legs wrapped around Elijah's waist, feeling his hands holding onto her ass as she passionately kissed him as Elijah carried her to his bedroom.
"Does my big," a moan of lust rumbled in her throat as she rubbed her wet peach along Elijah's covered manhood, "strong," her voice was deep and needful before her tongue twirled and rolled with his, "man need his hot," pressing her body closer and lifted herself up along his body dragging his face between her breast, "fuckable woman?" Janice asked with a wicked, knowing smirk as she stared down into Elijah's eyes as he peered up at her. Her squeal filled the night air as Elijah wasted no time tasting her nectar. Her silhouette played along the backdrop of the night as she rode her lover into the early hours of the morning just to welcome him home.
"Babe," Janice whispered as she stirred, rubbing her cheek against his chest when she felt his soft touch along her spine.
"Hmm?" Elijah hummed as his mind awakened.
"It's over, right?"
"Yes, in two months, I'll be single," Elijah said, knowing it was on her mind.
"El?"
"Yeah?"
"When it's official, do you ever think about finding that kind of commitment again?" Janice asked timidly, hoping she wasn't scaring him away.
"Depends on the person," Elijah muttered his standard answer, wincing when Janice slapped him on his stomach.
"I want a real answer El, not what you've been feeding me so far," Janice retorted, her annoyance was clear as day.
"Then I need to know the real question to all of this," Elijah stated, peering down his chest at the top of her head.
"I want more, El," he felt his morning wood straining his underwear as her breasts pressed into his stomach when she rolled over, "babe, I know how she hurt you, and I know you are so over her; you have been for years, you were just waiting for something better to come along," Janice said, shooting Elijah a sultry look when she felt his hard cock pressing against her dancefloor. "You know me. You know I'm not like her. You're the only man I want, Elijah."
"You know there's more to marriage than just feeling good, right?" Elijah said seriously, surprising himself that he was even debating it after the nightmare he had left behind.
"I do, but baby," at first she didn't know what to do about how her voice affected him, but now she used it to her advantage, and she didn't think Elijah minded one bit, "we need this," Janice said, feeling his hard cock flexing against her mound.
"Uh-huh?" Elijah uttered, confused.
"You know how my parents are, and you know their stance on unwedded mothers," Janice said shyly as her hands roamed over Elijah's chest.
"Do what now?!" Elijah spoke, sitting up straighter on his bed.
"You really only have yourself to blame, Elijah," Janice said with a very happy smile on her lips as she glanced up at him. "I told you to pull out how many times now?"
"And this is your way of telling me you're pregnant?" Elijah asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Mmmhmm," Janice hummed; this was the rest she wanted him to take the day off after his flight back. So she could tell him the truth and allow him the time needed to come to terms with becoming a father. "This is our baby, El," she whispered, placing his hands on her stomach. Reinforcing that this was indeed his child and that she was not playing him like his first wife did.
Elijah couldn't say a word as his eyes moved from his hands to Janice's face, then back again. He knew Janice wasn't anything like Stella, yet his mind couldn't help but wonder if it really was his child. Still, the look Janice was giving him told him she would never do to him what Stella had done. He saw how hard she was trying to get him to see that she was telling him the truth.
"So baby, huh?" Elijah mused as Janice nodded as her eyes glistened in happiness that he hadn't just denied the child growing in her womb.
"I promise you, El. The life you had with that woman was all wrong. God knew better, knew there was someone much better for you than she was," Janice said, sitting all prim and proper on his lap. Her womanhood just wanted to slide his hard tool deep inside her paradise, where it would always belong.
"Oh? Did he?"
"Of course, Yahweh did; he knew you before you were born, so he knew the kind of woman you would need," Janice said smugly.
"I see, and this isn't going to be some shotgun wedding, is it?"
"Is Dad going to stand behind you with one... he might," Janice uttered, tapping her chin in thought.
"How many people know about your pregnancy?" Elijah asked, wondering if he had to keep watch over his shoulder for a very angry father.
"Just us, baby," Janice said sweetly. "I wanted to tell the father of our baby before anyone else," she cooed lovely.
"I see and should I run for the hills now or tomorrow?" Elijah asked, only to have Janice slap his left arm playfully.
"Dad isn't going to do a thing to you; he and Mom might... be disappointed, but they aren't going to hurt you, that is if you don't take responsibility and not make me a respectable woman," Janice said, sticking her nose into the air.
"Oh?! A respectable woman, huh? Umm... dear, I think we're way past that," Elijah chuckled as Janice feigned shock at his words.
"You wound me!" Janice exclaimed, playing up her act. Her laughter filled the air as Elijah took charge, pinning her down onto her back. "My Mr. Wilkins, whatever are you going to do to me," she said innocently.
"Everything," Elijah spoke deeply, seeing the hunger in Janice's eyes and the content within them as he entered her.
"El!" Janice's voice filled the bedroom as Elijah stood beneath the shower head as he took a shower after Janice had finished hers.
"Yeah!" Elijah called back, turning his head towards the bathroom door as he washed his hair.
"When you're done and dressed, we are going to my parents' house," Janice said matter-of-factly.
"Uh, why?" Elijah asked, not seeing a reason to go there since he was in no hurry to be browbeaten by her parents.
"It's time for the Church's BBQ drive, so Dad is firing up all the smokers, so it's all hands on deck," Janice said with a broad grin on her lips as she felt Elijah's glare through the shower curtain.
"Jan..."
"Nah-uh-uh," wagging her finger back and forth, "we're going to be married soon. You'll just have to get used to joining me when family events happen," Janice said, nodding along like it was common sense.
"So then helping out the in-laws goes both ways, right?" Elijah asked over the sound of the water splashing on the tiles.
"Of course, Elijah, your family is my family, as my family is your family," Janice said, making him see that she was in this for the long haul. "Whenever you're willing to introduce your new wife to your family," she uttered dreamily, staring off into the distance.
"You know I haven't even agreed..." His defenses were on red alert as the shower curtain was snatched to the side.
"Are you saying you're going to take care of the woman who's carrying your child, be the father of this baby inside of me... And don't you just stand there staring at me like an idiot! I know for damn certain you love me since I ate your last favorite mini pie. I know one thing you don't get between a man and his pie," Janice huffed, making a show of her mock anger just so Elijah knew she was only teasing him.
"Well, yeah, pie is life, just like a certain kind of pie," Elijah spoke with a sinful smile, wiggling his eyebrows to entice her to join him in the shower.
"Later, you hurry up, and I know you're going to marry me," Janice said, nodding like it was a done deal before closing the curtain.
When they arrived at Jance's and Desirae's home, the smell of smoke tickled his nose. Elijah noted Rick's and Stacy's big rig parked in its normal spot since they lived on the other side of the property given the number of weeks they were normally on the road. Elijah arched an eyebrow when he thought he saw steam where there shouldn't be anything like that, given the vast trees in the area, not realizing that it was Rick's thirty-gallon copper distillery. Where he was currently brewing up his own take on a spiced rum.
"Hey, Janice, Elijah," Rick greeted when he rounded the corner of his mother-in-law's house. "Want one?" he offered, holding out his homebrew breakfast ale towards Janice, who usually didn't hesitate to down one except that day. "You sure?" Rick asked, shrugging when Janice declined once again. "You interested in trying it?" he inquired, holding out the bottle to Elijah.
"What is it?" Elijah questioned as he was unsure if he should.
"It's Rick's breakfast ale, it's good, you should have one," Janice chimed in, urging him on.
"Never had one?" Rick asked, watching Elijah studying the bottle.
"Had one what? The beer, or ever seen a bottle like this...?" His eyes darted to the right when Janice reached over and flipped the cap off. Elijah sniffed the beer, finding it smelled a lot better than most of the beers he had drank throughout his life.
"That cinnamon got you, didn't it?" Rick chuckled when Elijah's eyes widened in surprise.
"Okay, what brand is this?" Elijah asked, seeing the confusion on Rick's face.
"Have you not had a homebrew beer before?" Rick reached out, placing his hand on Elijah's shoulder, shaking his head at the blasphemy he was witnessing. "Elijah, I'm going to be like He who is I am and bestow my wisdom upon you," he proclaimed, wrapping his arm around Elijah's shoulders and leading him towards the backyard. "As long as you promise not to toss out the bottles, I'll send you home with a six-pack of the newest brew I just bottled up," Rick grinned, patting Elijah's back before he headed off to man the two smokers Jance had put him in charge of.
"Elijah!" Jance called out, waving for him to come join them.
"Go on," Janice uttered, a happy hum playing along her lips as she went to find her mother and sister.
"Come on, we have a lot to do," Jance said, leading Elijah towards the smaller of his smokers. Where he showed Elijah what he needed to do to keep the fire at the correct temperature for the Boston Butts they were cooking for the church. With one hundred and sixty shoulders to cook, he knew they would be there all day. "Think you can manage running these two fires?"
"I can try, but I've never done anything like this," Elijah said, stating his limitations.
"Oh, I know, but I'll be watching. You'll do fine. Now I got some Butts to see too," Jance said, walking off to the two five hundred-gallon smokers he was looking after while Rick oversaw the two, two hundred and fifty gallon smokers he uses for smaller catering jobs. The two smokers Elijah was overseeing were from his own personal smokers, yet they only held ten butts total, while Rick's two held fifty total, and his own two held fifty each. Jance was roughly guessing that would feed somewhere between twelve hundred to fourteen hundred people. Turning slightly back towards his house when he heard the chopping of wood, he would have thought it would be Rick getting ahead on stacking up more logs in case they needed it. He was not expecting to find Elijah just picking up half the log he had just split back onto the splitting block he had moved into the center of the ring.
Meanwhile, Janice walked into the kitchen of her mother's house through the back door. Stacy's voice plucked at her ears as she and Desarie looked up from preparing some of their own sides to take to the church drive, as were many others. Their smiles of welcome greeted her as she closed the door behind her.
"Morning, honey," Desirae greeted as she pressed the gram crackers into the nooks of the pie pan that was going to house her sweet potato pie. "Make yourself a glass and come join us," she said, nodding to the jug of mimosas she had made thirty minutes earlier.
"I'm going to have to pass on that," Janice said sadly; she did enjoy a good mimosa, and her mother, in her opinion, made the best ones. However, she should have known that one statement would raise flags for her mother and sister.
"Sis, you alright?" Stacy asked, concerned since she knew her sister wasn't one to pass up their mother's mimosas.
"Yeah, why?" Janice muttered, feeling her heart in her throat as her mother eyed her quizzically.
"Janice, you know better than to come around here if you're sick," Desirae chided, wiping her hands clean as she walked around Stacy. "You don't feel hot," she said motherly when she placed the back of her hand against her daughter's forehead.
"Mom!" Janice groaned, trying to keep her face from heating and giving away her secret, given how her mother was eyeing her.
"You're hiding something, Janice, I know it," Desirae stated, placing her hands on her hips, hoping it wasn't too bad. Not seeing how Stacy was now fully invested in finding out whatever held her mother's interest, knowing even if it wasn't bad she could still tease her sister about it. Janice took a step back when her mother thrusted her face into her own. Desirae studied her daughter's face; she'd only seen that kind of glow on a woman only during a certain time in a woman's life. "You're pregnant, aren't you?"
"I-I-I... what! No, I'm not," Janice stammered slyly, looking for a way out of that room.
"Don't lie, Jan, you were never good at it," Stacy chimed in, stoking the fires. "So, are you pregnant?" she asked, trying to hide how excited she was for her sister. Even though she knew their parents would not be happy with how the baby came about, they would be supportive of her and their grandbaby.
"Stacy, watch your sister; your father needs to know about this," Desirae said in a hard tone that all mothers use to instill fear into their children as she turned towards the back door and marched to it before throwing it open and hollering for Jance.
"You know what that's about?" Rick asked as he and Elijah watched Jance walking towards the backdoor of his house.
"Umm... is it worth making a run for it?" Elijah inquired, earning a very curious look from Rick.
"Nah, this is the south, man; best just to take it, whatever you did," Rick said before heading back to the smokers he was in charge of to check the temperature and the fire. Rick turned back to look at him when they both heard Jance's words coming through the wall of his house. "What exactly did you do?"
"Umm... got his baby girl pregnant?" Elijah muttered truthfully.
"Yeah, you might want to bolt," Rick uttered, laughing loudly at the news. "But congratulations in case they never find you again," he said, grinning like mad, which only spread wider as Elijah eyed his escape.
"You dirty rat bastard," Jance seethed as he stood in the doorway of his open back door. "Make us believe you were an honorable man, not this cur defiling my daughter!" he shouted, putting the fear of God into Elijah.
