Never Say Never, page 3
“I’ll see you this evening,” Beverly said as she closed the door quietly behind her.
Sabrina woke up hours later. She glanced out the window and saw nothing but darkness. The stress of the last few months had worn her down. Reluctantly, she flipped on the bedside lamp. It read 6 p.m. Damn! Alton and Felicia would be over with their families in no time and she wouldn’t be ready. She had to get a move on it. She quickly showered and rushed downstairs.
Jasmine was standing in the middle of the living room dressed in a frilly pink outfit Beverly had selected for her, while Beverly and James sat center stage. Complete with bows and ribbons, Jasmine’s get-up was the most extravagant and hideous creation Sabrina had ever seen. To make matters worse, Beverly had done Jasmine’s hair up in a bunch of pigtails and curls and now her poor baby girl looked like something out of the Land of Oz!
Bless her heart, my mother has gone cuckoo!
When Jasmine spotted her mom, she rushed over to her but stopped dead before she made it all the way. The look on her mother’s face had made her pause.
Sabrina attempted a happy face when she really wanted to burst out laughing. Beverly could have no idea that Jasmine was the exact opposite of all this frill. She hated girly stuff. Sabrina had long since accepted that Jasmine was a bona fide tomboy. No Barbies and dress-up for her. Her daughter liked to climb trees and play sports.
“Come here, Jazzy.” Sabrina held out her arms.
“Mom, I hate it,” Jasmine whispered. “May I go change?” Jasmine asked loudly as she plastered a fake smile across her face. After her grandmother’s hour-long lecture on how to speak to one’s elders after they left the house earlier in the day, all Jasmine wanted was to go to her room.
“Sure, baby,” Sabrina replied. She watched Jasmine roll her nine-year-old eyes and head up the stairs to the guest room.
Sabrina knew her mother was trying hard to make Jasmine feel at home and not like a guest. The problem was that’s exactly how Jasmine felt and there was only one person to blame—Sabrina herself. She and Tre had never come down to Savannah and allowed Jazzy and her grandmother the opportunity to become acquainted, so Beverly Parker still thought of Jazzy as a three-year-old, when in fact she was a heck of a nine-year-old bright cookie—the smartest kid in her class, a straight-A student.
She was about to comment as much to her mother when the front door swung open. Unfortunately, her sister, Felicia, arrived first, with her three children, Destiny, Emma and Anthony, in tow.
“So, the prodigal daughter has returned.” Felicia sneered as she walked into the room with Emma on her hip.
Sabrina caught the hostile tone in her voice and rolled her eyes heavenward. Obviously nothing had changed in the ten years since last they’d seen one another. Her older sister was still holding on to a grudge and for what? She couldn’t fathom why.
Felicia appeared to be in good health. Although a few extra pounds had crept up on her five-foot-nine frame, she was still the picture of youth. There were no fine lines around her thirty-three-year-old smooth chestnut complexion. So why was she still giving her grief after all these years?
“It’s good to see you too,” Sabrina returned evenly. “My nieces and nephew are as gorgeous as ever.” Her nine-year-old niece, Destiny, was a little angel with small features, a slender shape and a head full of hair, while Destiny’s baby sister, Emma, was equally irresistible. A little chubbier than her sister, Emma was a head shorter, with pigtails and barrettes. Sabrina didn’t know what to make of her six-year-old bespectacled nephew, Anthony, who carried around a pet frog. He didn’t seem to come from the same family.
“How’s Sean? Is he here?” Sabrina looked over Felicia’s shoulder as the children scurried from the room.
“No,” Felicia replied through pursed lips. “I came alone. He’s holding down the fort at the resort on Tybee Island. Someone has to, you know? Since some people went off and left the rest of the family to deal with the fallout.”
Sabrina ignored the dig. She refused to let her sister bait her into an argument when she’d only just arrived. “I’m sorry Sean couldn’t make it.”
“Is that my little sis?”
Sabrina distinguished the voice, but didn’t see its owner until her brother peeked out from the foyer.
“Alton!” Sabrina’s eyes shone bright with tears at the sight of her big brother. He was exactly what she needed. At thirty-five, he was tall, handsome and athletic. Alton prided himself on his male physique and maintained it for years by playing sports. His smooth honey coloring favored her honey-brown tone. When people saw them they easily passed for sister and brother. Sabrina wondered if the closeness she and Alton shared was the reason why Felicia always gave her such a hard time.
Alton grabbed Sabrina into a massive hug, and she couldn’t help but feel the muscles rippling under his white shirt. “Wow! Someone’s really beefed up.”
Alton patted his chest. “Yes, well, my job does require some muscle. But forget about me. Let me look at you.” He held his arms open as he surveyed her up and down. “You’re looking good, sis. Where’s Jasmine?”
“Upstairs changing.”
“It’s so good to have you back home.”
“It feels good to be home.”
“You lost the right to call this home when you left ten years ago and never looked back,” Felicia commented, narrowing her eyes at Sabrina.
Sabrina spun around and glared at Felicia.
“When Mama told me about you and Tre, I couldn’t believe it,” Felicia stated bluntly. Beverly had wasted no time telling everyone of Sabrina’s single status.
Instead of feeling good about coming back home, doubt plagued Sabrina. Do I see pity in their faces? she asked herself. Not only was she a single mother now, but she was jobless and homeless.
“Just point me to the nearest map and I’ll scour Baltimore looking for that scoundrel and beat some sense into him,” Alton said, puffing out his chest.
“No need to go and get yourself arrested,” replied Felicia. “You are the sheriff.”
“Sheriff? Wow!” Sabrina remarked with a raised eyebrow. “How long have you been in office?”
“Oh, about three years now.”
“That long?”
“How about you?”
Thankfully, Beverly interrupted and said, “I’m going to go check on dinner,” and headed out the room.
“I’ll help.” Sabrina was eager for a distraction and rushed behind her.
On the kitchen table sat a German chocolate cake, Sabrina’s favorite, and next to it a sweet potato pie. Beverly picked up a knife covered in frosting and began putting the finishing touches on the cake.
“Mom, did you cook all this?”
“Of course, baby.” Her mother placed the knife on the table and took a seat. “You know how much I love to dote on the family. And now I have you to work on.”
“I’m sorry, Mama. I should have never distanced myself from everyone.”
“Let’s not worry about the past. Let’s just enjoy today.” Her mother handed her a paper plate.
“Still catering to you, I see,” Felicia said underneath her breath from the door before she spun on her heels and stormed off.
When Jazzy finally made it downstairs in a simpler attire of capris and a print T-shirt, Sabrina introduced her to her aunt and uncle. Alton swung her in his arms, to Jasmine’s delight, and Sabrina could see a friendship sparking. Felicia, however, was another matter. She merely nodded coolly at her niece and Jasmine reacted in kind by ignoring her.
Later, when the entire Parker family stood around the table and bowed their heads while James said grace over the fried chicken, green beans, potato salad, homemade biscuits and red beans and rice, Sabrina smiled. Now this she remembered. Everyone gathered around eating good soul food. She was filling her plate when her father started in.
“So have you thought about what you’re going to do for work?” he asked.
Sabrina groaned inwardly. This was exactly the topic she wanted to avoid at the dinner table. Several curious pairs of eyes fixed on hers, waiting for an answer.
A lump formed in Sabrina’s throat. There was nothing like being interrogated by one’s own father. He intimidated easily. Even when she was a little girl, Sabrina could never keep a secret, which irritated Alton and Felicia to no end.
“No, Daddy, I really hadn’t gotten that far yet. I’ve only been home one day,” she emphasized. “I was hoping Jasmine and I could stay here for a while until I figure things out.”
“That may be so, but it’s best not to let the dust settle under your feet. And as for a job, I’m sure Felicia and Sean could use some help at the hotel or at Parker House. Not sure if you know, but they’re mainly running things now. Your mom and I have retired.”
Of course, working for the family business went hand in hand with living in the Parker residence. “I would be more than happy to help out, Dad. Give me a few days first, okay? And then I’ll find out where Felicia and Sean need help.”
“What do Felicia and Sean need?” Felicia snapped.
“Help with the hotel and Parker House,” her father answered.
“Listen, Sabrina,” Felicia said, cocking her head to one side as her furious brown eyes settled on her sister, “Sean and I have been doing just fine handling things. We don’t need the likes of you coming back to tell us how to run it.”
“Felicia, I’ve only been back for a New York minute, so I’m not sure where all this hostility is coming from; but I am a part of this family too.”
Felicia rolled her eyes. “You could have fooled me, sista. I don’t recall seeing you over the last ten years working twelve-hour shifts and entertaining the tourists. Making sure their beds were clean or that the breakfast buffet was on. So don’t tell me about family.”
“And am I supposed to bow at your feet because you did?” Sabrina returned. “‘Cause it’ll be a cold day in hell, sista!”
“Wait a minute!” their father’s voice rose over their bickering. “That is my hotel and don’t the two of you ever forget it.”
“Of course, Daddy,” Felicia said, lowering her head. Her father was the one person that Felicia respected and didn’t dare raise her voice to. Everyone else was fair game. “But you have to realize that the business has been my baby and I won’t have her”—she pointed to Sabrina—“coming back and usurping my position.”
Sabrina spoke up on her own behalf. “Why do you always think the worst of me?”
“Why not? You’ve always been nothing but a thorn in my side since the day you were born!” The room fell silent … for a brief moment.
“Leave my mommy alone!” Jasmine yelled, running into the room and charging at Felicia. “You leave her alone!”
It hurt Sabrina to see Jasmine’s beautiful face nearly red and curled in anger and her mouth downturned in an ugly snarl.
“Jasmine, that’s enough. I will not have you disrespecting your aunt. You will show her some respect, even if she doesn’t deserve it,” Sabrina countered, turning a contemptuous look on her sister. She was sick of her twisted jealousy. It had gone on for years and she wouldn’t let her evil poison her daughter.
“I don’t care!” Jasmine yelled back at her. “I hate these people and I hate it here.” She ran out of the room.
“Why should I be surprised? Like mother, like daughter,” Felicia spat.
The family hushed, expecting a fight, but Sabrina didn’t have time for one. Noting the embarrassment on her mother’s face at Jasmine’s outburst, Sabrina turned on her heel and stormed out the front door. She wouldn’t give Felicia the satisfaction by stooping to her level. What she needed was to have a word with her angry daughter.
When she stepped onto the porch, Sabrina expected to find Jasmine outside sulking. Instead, the porch was empty. Sabrina searched around the house, calling out to Jasmine, but no one answered. Five minutes later, she ran back in.
“It’s Jasmine,” Sabrina choked out. “She’s gone!”
Chapter 3
“Are you sure? Maybe she’s outside hiding?” Beverly Parker rushed forward.
“No!” Sabrina yelled, running her fingers through her hair. “I looked around the house and she’s nowhere to be found.”
“Sounds like she’s run away,” Felicia stated unceremoniously from the other side of the room.
“Omigod!” Sabrina covered her mouth with her hand.
“Felicia!” Her mother reproached her older daughter.
“Not for long.” Alton pulled a walkie-talkie from the waistband of his jeans. “I’ll get on the horn and get some deputies out there looking for her. Don’t worry, sis, we’ll find her.” Alton squeezed Sabrina’s shoulders before walking outside to radio his men.
“I’m going after her,” Sabrina replied, running out of the house and brushing past Alton.
“Wait!” Beverly yelled, but Sabrina was out the door.
She couldn’t stand still and wait for news. She had to find her baby girl. This was all her fault. She knew Jasmine was unhappy. Had been for months since the separation, but what else could she do? She couldn’t stay in their Baltimore home and relive the life she’d once shared with Tre. It just wasn’t healthy. And it hurt way too much to think of what might have been.
Running down the street, Sabrina cried out her daughter’s name. “Jasmine! Jasmine! Jasmine, honey where are you?”
Tears blinded her and glistened her cheeks. How did she let things get this far? What if something happened to Jasmine? If it did, she would never forgive herself.
The cool breeze felt good against Malcolm’s skin. After the long day he’d had, the fresh air was just what he needed. Who said that dealing with preschoolers, hormonal pregnant women and elderly flirts was any better than heart patients?
His first week at the clinic had been maddening. It had become common knowledge that he was the new doctor and a bachelor. So every widow in town was lining up at his exam table. He’d politely let each and every one of them down gently. The last thing he wanted was a relationship.
Then there was Mr. Gibson. A habitual smoker on the verge of a heart attack who refused to listen to reason. The man should know better. He’d already suffered one heart attack, but still continued to smoke. Did he want to make it two? Malcolm had tried to get through to him explaining the stress effects of nicotine on his heart—that it could increase his heart rate, causing irregular rhythms, or constrict the blood vessels in the heart and increase his risk of cancer. But none of that seemed to penetrate the man’s thick skull. He insisted that he had lived this long and he intended to live even longer.
Malcolm had come to Savannah to avoid cardiology, figuring heart patients would be few and far between. Why, after only one week on the job, does my first major patient have to have a heart condition?
Now all he wanted to do was sit on a bench and throw bread at the little ducks in the pond. But when he arrived at his favorite spot at Forsyth Park after a hard day’s work, he found a young girl crying on the bench.
A mop of curls and big brown eyes, she was the cutest thing he’d ever seen. As he approached, he noticed something oddly familiar about her. The little girl from inside the car yesterday! But why was she sitting alone when it was getting dark outside? Where was her mother?
Turning his shoulder, Malcolm looked around the park, but didn’t see the gorgeous siren that had wandered into his thoughts since yesterday. His first instinct was to help, but he had a funny feeling that he was walking into the middle of a lion’s den.
Brushing off the bench with his hand, Malcolm sat down beside the child. He thought it best to let her cry until she was ready to speak. He pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her.
Sniffling, Jasmine looked up at him suspiciously before finally accepting it, but she still didn’t say a word. She dabbed at her eyes and blew her nose before returning the handkerchief.
After a while, Malcolm finally spoke. “Okay now?”
Jasmine nodded, but she didn’t look up from her lap.
“Want to tell me what’s wrong?”
Jasmine shook her head.
“Like why are you sitting here all by yourself? What’s your name, little girl?”
She wanted to answer. This one didn’t look so bad, but her mama didn’t raise no fool. Never talk to strangers, she’d always told Jasmine.
“You can trust me, you know.” He smiled when Jasmine’s eyes finally rested on his. “Okay, how about I go first? My name is Malcolm Winters, and I’m the new doctor here in Savannah. I recently moved here from Boston, where I was a cardiologist.”
Apparently, he sparked her interest because Jasmine’s saucer eyes perked up. “What’s a cardiologist?”
“It’s a doctor who treats people with heart problems.”
“Wow! That sounds cool.”
Malcolm laughed heartily. That was the first time someone ever thought his former specialty was cool. Most people thought it was grueling and gut-wrenching.
“So? Now it’s your turn.”
Glancing sideways, Jasmine figured she could trust him. He was a doctor after all and weren’t they supposed to help people?
“My name is Jasmine. And I moved here yesterday with my mom from Baltimore and I already hate it. Everyone is yelling at each other. But most of all, I miss my dad.”
When Malcolm noticed her mouth start to upturn like she was about to cry again, he lightly patted her knee to soothe her.
“It’s okay, you know. We all miss our parents sometimes.”
“You do?” Jasmine asked, surprised. She thought that once you became an adult, you didn’t need your parents anymore.
“Yes.” After Malcolm’s father left when he and Michael were five years old, things went horribly wrong for the Winters family. His mother, Dinah, changed from being a warm, caring wife and mother to a cold, calculating … No, no, no, he wasn’t going there.
