My Brother, Father...and Me, page 1
My Brother, Father…and Me
My Son’s Wife Series
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More Titles by Shelia Bell
*Some titles are under former name of Shelia E. Lipsey
Young Adult Titles
House of Cars
The Life of Payne
The Lollipop Girl
The Righteous Brothers (Winter 2018)
Standalone Novels
Show A Little Love (out of print)
Always Now and Forever Love Hurts
Into Each Life
Sinsatiable
What’s Blood Got To Do With It?
Only In My Dreams
The House Husband
Cross Road (Summer 2018)
Forever Ain’t Enough (Summer 2018)
If the Price is Right (Winter 2018)
You Are Not the Bride (Winter 2018)
The Truth About Sista Brianna (Winter 2018)
On the 8th Day (Winter 2018)
Calling Dr. Daniel (Winter 2018)
The Couple (Fall 2018)
Christian Black, CEO (Winter 2018)
Ruthless Rianna (Summer 2018)
Love Shoulda Brought You Home (Summer 2018)
Series Books
Beautiful Ugly
True Beauty (sequel to Beautiful Ugly)
My Son’s Wife Series
My Son’s Wife
My Son’s Ex-Wife: The Aftermath
My Son’s Next Wife
My Sister My Momma My Wife
My Wife My Baby…And Him
The McCoys of Holy Rock
Dem McCoy Boys
My Brother, Father…And Me
Those Folks at Holy Rock
Adverse City Series
The Real Housewives of Adverse City
The Real Housewives of Adverse City 2
The Real Housewives of Adverse City 3
The Real Housewives of Adverse City 4
Anthologies
Bended Knees
Weary to Will
Learning to Love Me
Nonfiction
A Christian’s Perspective: Journey Through Grief
How to Life Your Life Like It’s Golden
Titles written under Pseudonym K. C. Steele
Scarlet’s Sin
Scarlet’s Redemption
Flawless Faith
Shelia E. Bell
2018 © Shelia E. Bell My Brother, Father…And Me
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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This is a work of fiction. Any references or similarities to actual events, real people living or dead, or to real locales are intended are to give the novel a sense of reality. Any similarity in other names, characters, places, and incidents is purely coincidental
My Brother, Father…And Me
My Son’s Wife Series
Shelia E. Bell
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Words from the Author
Group Discussion Questions
Chapter 1
“He who angers you conquers you.” Elizabeth Kenny
Hezekiah McCoy sat in his wheelchair ferociously contemplating his next move. George had received his sentencing and had reported to prison for a short two-year stint, if that long, leaving Hezekiah mostly in Detria’s hands for his care and well-being. He was glad he had George take him to the bank before his shyster friend and blackmailer left to spend time with the young boys he so desperately craved when he was a free man. Maybe he would get a real wake up call, Hezekiah surmised, as he thought about George and his sick obsession.
Hezekiah withdrew his money and placed it in several other banks and money market accounts. It was close to a hundred thousand dollars, the same amount that was inside the walls of the condo he had, thanks to Holy Rock, before his traitor son changed the locks.
Again, Hezekiah put George on the case. George hired a shady locksmith who was able to pick the lock and give George and Hezekiah access to the condo one last time, only for Hezekiah to discover all of his money was gone! He was in a total uproar. If he could exact vengeance on the one who he knew stole it, Khalil McCoy, his eldest son, the boy would have been dead. Son or no son, Hezekiah would have laid him out like Marvin Gaye’s daddy did Marvin. He would be looking up to heaven from whence cometh his help. He could have very easily gotten George to hire someone to off Khalil, but Hezekiah had other plans.
Whereas he was still tied down to a wheelchair and unable to walk, he had regained some of his speech and most of the time people could understand what he was saying.
“Give me back my money, you conniving, sneaky, thief!” he screamed into the phone as loud as his still weak voice would allow.
Khalil, on the other end, laughed heartily. “Hey, Pops. It’s good to hear from you, too. It’s been a minute, hasn’t it?”
“I want my money,” Hezekiah seethed.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Then again, let me think. Oh, could you possibly be referring to the 100 grand that was put away in that safe inside Holy Rock’s condo? Ummm, if that’s what you’re talking about, I say finders keepers…losers weepers. By the way, you have no proof that money, that is, if I actually found it, belongs to you. I say if anything, it belongs to Holy Rock.”
“You betta return my money…every penny of it,” Hezekiah cursed and demanded as much as he could get the words out.
“Look, Pops, it’s been nice talkin’ to ya, but I gotta go. It’s time for Bible study and I have a full house. You should stop by sometime and hear the word of God, man. See ya.” Khalil hung up the phone, leaned back in his office chair, clasped his hands together, and smiled.
If his father thought for one minute that he was about to turn over the money he’d found, then he was crazier than Khalil claimed he was after having had the stroke. No way would he ever tell anyone about the stash he’d found. He had thought for a brief moment about turning it over to the authorities so it could be returned to Holy Rock, but he decided against that idea. There was no way he could actually prove how much his father had embezzled, or if the money came from other sources Khalil was yet to discover.
He looked over his notes for this evening’s midweek message, then put them aside and picked up the office phone. He picked up his cell phone and searched for the number to Memphis Police Department. When he found it, he dialed the number on his office phone.
“This is Pastor Khalil McCoy, senior pastor of Holy Rock Church. Will you connect me to someone who can help me? I’d like to report a crime of embezzlement.”
Hezekiah was beside himself. How dare Khalil talk to him like he was some fool on the street. He showed no respect and then he all but boasted and admitted that he had taken Hezekiah’s stash. It was times like this that he truly wished George was around, but that wasn’t the case and it wouldn’t be for quite some time. He had to learn how to make things happen on his own like he wasn’t trapped in a wheelchair with extremely limited mobility. He rolled around in the small space of his room at the assisted living facility.
“Detria, I need to see you,” Hezekiah practically yelled into the phone, obviously taking his frustration with Khalil out on her.
“Hold up, what’s with the attitude? Good evening to you, too,” she said sarcastically.
“I need you to come over here now,” he said again, ignoring her reply to the manner in which he spoke.
“Uh, it’s seven o’clock at night and I’m busy, Hezekiah. I won’t be able to come tonight. Maybe tomorrow or the day after. I do have a life outside of you wanting me to be at your every beck and call, you know,” she snapped.
“I said get over here now, or you’ll be sorry,” he ordered.
“Ughhh, I’m sick of you and all of your threats and demands.” She paused momentarily and then said, “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Hezekiah ended the call abruptly and then proceeded to call another number saved into his phone.
Detria huffed and puffe
d while she stopped getting high, and then proceeded to get dressed. She called Priscilla on her cell phone and asked her to drive her to where Hezekiah was so she could see what he was up to now. She was literally fed up with being pushed around. It was equivalent to a form of abuse because when he wanted something, he would stop at nothing to get it. If she got up close enough to him, though he was in a wheelchair, he would slap her or hit her. His threats of doing something dangerous to her if she didn’t abide by what he said kept her nervous and afraid. She thought she could relax her feelings of fear now that George was locked away and Hezekiah was limited on who he had to carry out his dastardly deeds, but it wasn’t like that. She was still allowing him to manipulate her, but enough was enough. It was time she put an end to her jumping up and running to see what he wanted. Her sights were set on doing whatever she could to become Mrs. Khalil McCoy, First Lady of Holy Rock. That would take up all of her time.
“Are you ready?” Priscilla asked, jerking Detria from her thoughts.
“Yes, let’s go. I want to get this over with.” She sighed and waltzed out the door with Priscilla trailing behind.
“How’s the kid?” Hezekiah asked the woman on the other end of the phone.
“He’s good. How long are you going to be in that place? We haven’t seen you since before you had the stroke,” the woman said.
“You don’t need to see me. As long as you’re getting some change every month then you should be fine. Just stay away from me unless I say different. Understood?”
“Yeah,” she said, sounding like a timid, submissive young girl.
“You still go to church?”
“Uh, no. Not really.” Her voice was mild mannered and soft. Besides the woman who he had a kid with, Isabella was his next best-kept secret. Isabella had a kid too, which wasn’t his, but Hezekiah made sure they were provided for as long as she remained loyal. He put her up in a two-bedroom bungalow in Arlington. He kept her quiet by threatening to put her back out on the streets.
She was homeless, barely a teen, when Hezekiah first encountered her through the homeless ministry Holy Rock ran. Three times a week a crew, which included Hezekiah, combed the streets of Memphis witnessing to the homeless. They carried them prepared foods, toiletries, clothing, blankets, and anything else they felt these individuals needed.
When he saw Isabella, he immediately felt a tug at his heart. The girl was skinny, frail, and all alone on the streets. Despite her frail state, she was still beautiful. She looked like she was of Indian descent with long scraggly coal black hair, soft buttercream but pale colored skin and dark eyes. She told them with some reservation at first that she had no parents and had been on the streets since she was eleven years old. She told them she was eighteen, but Hezekiah didn’t believe it. He guessed she was more like fourteen or fifteen.
Isabella wandered to Memphis a few months prior to the day Hezekiah and his team ran into her. Hezekiah couldn’t leave her on the streets. He didn’t want to leave any homeless person on the street, but such is life, and that was the reason he started the homeless ministry. If he couldn’t rescue every homeless person, at least he could get Holy Rock involved in doing something for these people who had fallen on hard times. He understood most people were just a paycheck or two away from being homeless and that it could happen to anyone. He hadn’t always been blessed to have money and he was far from being rich, but he had found his calling in the ministry and it had treated him well.
Hezekiah put her up in a motel. He continued to pay for her to remain at the motel and would visit her often. He soon discovered she was not exactly innocent as she acted. On one of his weekly visits, he saw a man exiting her motel room. He was shocked and angry. He took her for an innocent young girl but he later discovered she was getting money by prostituting, and she was using the room Holy Rock was paying for to turn her tricks.
When he confronted her about it, she confessed that she had been a prostitute for as long as she had been on the streets. She was from Canton, Ohio and had migrated to Memphis via stowing away on trains, hitchhiking, and doing whatever necessary to find money and keep her belly filled.
Hezekiah told her if she expected him to continue to keep a roof over her head she had to promise him she would stop prostituting herself. The girl agreed, but weeks later, when Hezekiah saw her belly growing bigger, he realized it wasn’t from eating too much. He made sure she was well fed but food wasn’t what was causing her weight gain. Hezekiah wasn’t a doctor but he suspected she had a brat in her belly.
The girl confirmed that she was pregnant and didn’t know who the father was. Hezekiah got her some medical attention, put her up in a small apartment, and the girl started attending Holy Rock. Their relationship took a major turn when Hezekiah came to the apartment one evening to check on her. Shortly after he arrived, they were laughing, talking, and watching movies, which they sometimes did. He fell asleep on the sofa and awoke to the girl lying underneath his arm, curled up and sleeping as well. He pushed the hair back off her face and stared down at her. She was beautiful. He looked at her swollen belly, and then kissed her on the top of her head. He was no better than George in a way because he liked them young, and Isabella fit the definition of young, beautiful and she was experienced.
The teen woke up, looked up into Hezekiah’s eyes, and then pulled herself up until she was positioned on top of him. Day turned into afternoon. Afternoon turned into evening as Hezekiah gave his flesh everything it wanted.
Chapter 2
“Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind.” Robert Ingersoll
Fancy opened the priority express envelope. Tears flooded her eyes and she placed a hand over her mouth as she read its contents.
You have fourteen days from the receipt of this letter to get out of my house. No exceptions, no extensions. The house has been officially sold to a private buyer. You thought you could destroy me, hurt me, and kick me to the curb. You should have known better, Fancy. I thought we had something that would last a lifetime, but you proved that wasn’t the case. I loved you. I tried to make you happy and give you everything a woman like you could possibly want. But it wasn’t enough. You made that clear when you turned your back on me after I had the stroke. You don’t have to worry about seeing a lawyer. My lawyer’s business card is included in this letter. You will see I have already filed divorce proceedings. You and my sons have turned out to be a huge disappointment. Everything I’ve done for you only to be treated like I’m nothing. I guarantee this though, Fancy, you reap what you sow. Karma is real, baby. Believe that. The letter was signed, Once the love of your life, Hezekiah.
Fancy collapsed on the sofa in the family room and wept. How could he do this? What happened to the love they once shared? They had been through so much together, all for it to come down to this? She still loved Hezekiah, no matter how much he believed she didn’t. He was the one who had wronged her, but now he had turned things around to make it appear all that happened between them was her fault. It wasn’t. She pulled out the business card. Minutes later, as if by design, the doorbell rang. Fancy got up and slowly walked to the door. She opened it and saw a sheriff.
“Yes,” she said humbly. “How can I help you?”
“I’m looking for a…uh,” he looked at the paper he held in his hand, “Fancy McCoy.”
“I’m Mrs. McCoy. What is it?”
“You’ve been served, ma’am.” He pushed the envelope into her hands, tipped his sheriff hat, and then turned around and left.
Fancy opened the envelope while standing in the doorway. When she opened it, she saw the official copies of divorce papers Hezekiah had filed for “irreconcilable differences.”
She remained in the open doorway while she cried. All the years she and Hezekiah had been together…since they were teens, had come down to this. He was divorcing her and throwing her out of the house they had shared since he became senior pastor of Holy Rock. Granted, the boys had taken her side against their father, but how could Hezekiah blame them for that? He was the one who had cheated. He was the one who had stolen from the church. He was the one who physically tried to run her down in his chair. He was the one who had betrayed her with God knows who this woman was that sent her that Will in the mail. So how could he blame her for the demise of their marriage?
