The Last Chance Page 28

  Gasps filled the room and all eyes were on Keilah as Ramsey leaned down and kissed her lovingly on the lips.

  Malachi slammed his cane on the floor. “Wait just a damn minute. When did this happen? What have I missed and what happened to Michael? Not that I care.”

  Keilah stood up next to Ramsey and blushed as he held her close to his side. “I guess I do owe you guys an explanation.”

  Unaware that everyone but Malachi already knew what had happened, Keilah began to explain. “Michael wasn’t the man I thought he was. I did love him, but I found out some things about him that are unforgivable, so I had no choice but to end our relationship. You all know that Ramsey and I have been close for years. What I went through with Michael was very traumatic for me, and I wouldn’t have made it without Ramsey. I love him, and I want to be with him ... forever. So I hope you guys give us your blessings.”

  Sabrinia had tears of joy running down her face. Luke stood and said, “Keilah, Ramsey, our prayers have always been for you to be happy and in love. Looking at you two lets us know our prayers have been answered.” He looked around the table at his brothers and held up his champagne glass and said, “If there are no objections, I say we have a wedding to plan. Congratulations, and of course you have our love and blessings. Welcome to the family, Ramsey.”

  The entire family stood and held their glasses high in the air to toast the couple before taking a sip. Next, Keytone spoke as he faced the family he never thought he would have.

  “I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Keilah and Ramsey and to say I appreciate you accepting me. I’ve always been proud of you guys, and I never wanted anything from any of you but your love and acceptance. If it hadn’t been for the love of a sister, we wouldn’t be here today. Keilah, I love you, and I’ll never forget how gracious and steadfast you were in making your family complete. Tonight I thank all of you, so raise your glass to new beginnings.” Everyone did just that as they celebrated.

  Once everyone was back in their seat, Ramsey leaned over and kissed Keilah on her shoulder and almost immediately, a nauseated feeling hit him. She noticed his distress and asked, “What’s wrong?”

  He hurried to the bathroom and threw up. While in the bathroom he was puzzled even more on why his illness had returned. He had started believing Bradford’s theory since he hadn’t been sick a day since he’d left the other women alone. Keilah walked into the bathroom to check on him. “Ramsey? What’s wrong, baby?”

  Ramsey exited the stall and said, “I don’t know, Keilah. I’ve been sick off and on for the past few weeks.”

  She frowned and felt his forehead. “You don’t have a fever. Maybe you have some type of food allergy. What did you eat tonight?”

  “I had the same thing you did,” he said as he threw some water on his face.

  “OK, let me get you back to the house because you don’t look so well.”

  Keilah and Ramsey returned to the table and sat down. Luke turned to Ramsey and took a sip of champagne. “Ramsey, you look like hell. What’s wrong?”

  He picked up a glass of water. “I don’t know. I’ve been having something like a stomach virus for a couple of weeks now.”

  Roman, Luke, and Genesis looked at each other with worried expressions on their faces. Roman asked, “Does it make you feel nauseated all of a sudden?”

  Ramsey nodded in agreement, and he sipped his ice water in hopes of settling his stomach.

  “Do you break out in a sweat and feel like your body is on fire?” Genesis asked.

  “Every time,” he admitted.

  Sabrinia started laughing hysterically and so did Roman and Genesis’ wives. Keilah stood up and put her hands on her hips. “What’s going on? Why are you asking Ramsey all these questions, and Sabrinia, why are you laughing?”

  The ladies were laughing so hard they had tears coming out of their eyes.

  Luke looked at the couple and said, “I believe congratulations are in order once again for you two.”

  “What are you talking about Luke?”

  Genesis smiled and said, “You’re pregnant, Keilah.”

  Her eyes widened and so did Ramsey’s. “I’m not pregnant. I would know if I were pregnant,” she yelled.

  Roman leaned back in his chair and said, “It’s hereditary, Keilah. All of us were sick when our wives were pregnant, and we stayed sick the entire nine months. I feel for you, Ramsey.”

  “What makes you all think Ramsey and I have even slept together?” she challenged them.

  Genesis calmly buttered a piece of bread. “Because we saw you.”

  Ramsey strangled on his water. Keilah patted him on the back and asked, “What do you mean, saw us?”

  “Don’t worry about it, just trust us, sis. You’re pregnant,” Luke replied. “If there’s going to be a wedding, we need to hurry up and have it before Keilah starts showing.”

  Keilah looked over at Keytone and he raised his hands in defense. “Keilah, this is the first I’ve known about this, and I’ll have to admit, I was pretty sick throughout my lady’s pregnancy. Listening to the guys, now I know why.”

  Keilah laughed nervously and said, “You guys are full of it. You’re just trying to scare us. Besides, Ramsey’s not connected to you guys by blood, so it doesn’t make sense.”

  Luke smiled. “Listen, Keilah, none of us can’t explain this phenomenon, but for some reason, when a person is impregnated by a Chance, the man gets all the sickness involved with the pregnancy. You’re the only female Chance, so I can only speculate that the same holds true for Chance women as well.”

  Keilah took a sip of her champagne and said, “That sounds like some Louisiana voodoo to me. Ya’ll are full of it.”

  Ramsey was speechless. He shook his head in disbelief even though he knew he’d had some wild, reckless nights with Keilah. He couldn’t be happier, but now he was anxious to find out if the guys really knew what they were talking about. To prove or disprove their theory, Ramsey and Keilah stopped at the pharmacy, purchased three different pregnancy tests, and then drove back to Malachi’s place.

  When they got there, Keilah and Ramsey hurried upstairs to the bathroom. Thirty minutes and three tests later, Keilah was too nervous to view the results. Ramsey walked over to the counter and picked up all three of the indicators. He looked down at the sticks and then up at Keilah, and he smiled. “Congratulations, Momma.”

  Epilogue

  With the help of her sister-in-laws and a great wedding planner, Keilah and Ramsey were able to put together a fabulous wedding in less than a month. Keilah was a beautiful bride and had the wedding of her dreams. She made sure each one of her brothers, including Keytone had a part in walking her down the aisle to Ramsey, and as expected, the Chances spared no cost. The wedding took place at their childhood church and the reception at one of Los Angeles’ most luxurious hotels. Ramsey and Keilah couldn’t have been happier. Now all they had to do was wait approximately six months for their bundle of joy to arrive.

  The couple’s wait wasn’t long, and on May fourteenth Neariah Amanda Stone arrived at eight pounds, three ounces. The proud parents couldn’t take their eyes off her. Ramsey was very emotional during the birth and once he held her in his arms he was in total awe of their creation.

  Hours later while Ramsey slept, Keilah caressed Neariah’s soft wavy hair and kissed her chubby cheeks as she breast fed her.

  The door swung open and Michael walked in brandishing a pistol. Keilah was so frozen with fear, she was unable to scream. He frowned and said, “Give me my child.”

  Before she could scream, he pointed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger. Keilah screamed at the top of her lungs and before she realized it, she was sitting up in bed.

  Ramsey jumped out of his sleep and hurried over to her. “What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”

  “No! Where’s Neariah?” she asked in a panic.

  Ramsey held her hand and pointed over to the bassinet. “She’s right here, baby. Neariah�
�s okay. See? She’s fast asleep. You must’ve just had a bad dream, Keilah. What scared you so bad?”

  A couple of nurses ran into the room to see what all the commotion was about. Ramsey held his hand up and said, “She just had a bad dream. She’s OK now.”

  They nodded and left the room. Ramsey questioned her again. “Keilah, what were you dreaming about?”

  “Hand me Neariah. I need to hold her,” she explained.

  Ramsey eased their sleeping daughter out of her bassinette and placed her in Keilah’s arms. As she held Neariah close to her, she tried to get her breathing and the rhythm of her heart back to normal. After composing herself she said, “I dreamed Michael came in here and told me to give him his child, and then he shot himself in the head.”

  Ramsey kissed her on the forehead and asked, “Where did that come from? Neariah is ours.”

  Keilah touched her heart. “I don’t know.”

  That’s when she remembered that she never had told Ramsey about the weird phone call from Michael the night she was attacked outside the restaurant, and she never really gave much thought to it until now.

  Ramsey did everything he could to soothe Keilah and to get her to relax. He changed Neariah’s diaper and handed her back to Keilah so she could nurse her.

  It took some effort, but Ramsey was finally able to get Neariah to go back to sleep.

  As he lay there holding his daughter, he decided to catch up on sports and news. One news report caught his attention when they flashed Michael’s picture on the screen. He turned the volume up as loud as he could without waking Keilah.

  “Major Michael Monroe, a top Pentagon official, was reported missing in Iraq late yesterday,” the journalist said. “Sources tell CNN that Major Monroe began suffering from some type of emotional distress shortly before his disappearance. Unconfirmed reports say Major Monroe had made several threats against unnamed parties; however, the Pentagon will only confirm that he was scheduled to return to Washington in two days for a medical evaluation, which is not uncommon for high-ranking officials.

  “Iraq is not unfamiliar to Major Monroe, and he has traveled to the country on official military business on several occasions. He was last seen leaving a command post with a group of soldiers in a Humvee. Concern arose when they did not return after their allotted time. U.S. forces are searching for the troops, but so far to no avail. We’ll keep you updated on this story as information becomes available.”

  About the Author

  Author Darrien Lee resides in LaVergne, Tennessee with her husband of sixteen years and two young daughters.

  Darrien admits that she picked up her love for writing while attending college at Tennessee State University, and it was those experiences which inspired her debut novel. She is a three-time Essence Magazine Best-selling Author with six published novels, which includes, All That and a Bag of Chips, Been There, Done That, What Goes Around Comes Around, When Hell Freezes Over, Brotherly Love, and Talk To The Hand.

  Darrien is also in the process of completing several new projects for future releases, including a teen novel and a children’s book.

  She can be reached at:

  DarrienLeeAuthor@aol.com. You can also visit Darrien’s website at:

  www.DarrienLee.com and

  www.MySpace.com/DarrienLee

  Coming Soon

  Precious Stones

  by Darrien Lee

  Prologue

  Keilah woke up in a panic, gasping for air which startled their German shepherd, Target out of his sleep. He quickly came to her bedside and whimpered seeing her in distress.

  She gently patted his head and said, “I’m OK, boy. It’s just another bad dream.”

  Her sleep hadn’t been disturbed by nightmares of her ex in a long time but for some reason he had seeped into her sub consciousness tonight. Her husband, Ramsey was in Atlanta on a business trip and wouldn’t be returning until tomorrow. Their infant daughter Neariah was sleeping peacefully across the hallway. She glanced over at the clock which read 1:45 A.M. and sighed. Needing to regroup, she slowly climbed out of bed with Target following close behind. She made her nightly routine trip across the hall to check on her daughter. Neariah was sound asleep but had kicked her blanket off her tiny body. Keilah pulled the blanket back over her sleeping child and quietly exited the room. With a dry throat she descended the stairs and made her way into the kitchen to quench her thirst. Target decided to seize the opportunity for a cool drink of water as well while standing guard over his owner. Keilah walked over to the French doors and looked out over their perfectly manicured yard and large pool. They lived in a gated community in an upscale section of D.C. Being in the personal security business, Keilah and her husband took their privacy and security just as serious. Their property was equipped with special sensors and cameras but having Target around was an added bonus and companion especially when Ramsey was out of town.

  “Are you ready to go back to bed, boy,” Keilah whispered to Target before turning out the light.

  That’s when a perimeter alarm siren went off, startling her. Out the window she could see the strobe light flicker indicating the breach of their property. She immediately picked up the telephone and called the neighborhood security officer who patrols a couple of neighborhoods in the area. The officer immediately made his way over to the Stone’s residence where he surveyed the property for possible intruders. After about thirty minutes he met Keilah at the front door and gave her the all clear.

  “Mrs. Stone, I didn’t find any evidence of a break in or anything disturbed on your property. If anyone tried to get over your gate, they’re long gone now. If you have any more problems feel free to call me and I’ll come right over.”

  “Thank you, Officer Blake. I really appreciate you getting over here so fast.”

  He smiled and said, “You’re welcome.”

  Keilah waited until the officer exited her gate before reactivating her perimeter alarm. Feeling uneasy she made her way back upstairs and moved Neariah’s crib into her bedroom just as a precaution. It wasn’t like her to be shaken from the alarm going off but since she had become a wife and mother a lot of things had changed.

  Family had always been important to her since she grew up in California with four older brothers who were more like fathers than brothers. They showered her with love and affection and while she knew they meant well, their attentiveness sometimes turned into being over protective. Now that she was grown and living in D.C. she didn’t get to see them as often. That’s why she convinced her husband to volunteer their home for Thanksgiving dinner this year. She knew it was going to be an exhausting weekend but it’ll be worth it having everyone together under one roof and she only had a week to prepare for their visit.

  Before climbing into bed she pulled her 9 mm handgun out of the nightstand, slid it under Ramsey’s pillow and prayed that sleep would come easy for her. As she closed her eyes, a gold SUV slowly drove past the entrance to her driveway then sped towards the expressway.

  Chapter One

  It was a cool, fall morning as Keilah kissed her daughter good-bye. Cecilia, the Stone’s nanny/ housekeeper/chef/friend, had arrived and after having a short conversation with Keilah she quickly took the baby out of her mother’s arms and placed her in the high chair so she could start her breakfast.

  “Don’t worry about a thing, Mrs. Stone, Neariah and I have a big day planned,” she said as she kissed the baby’s forehead. “We’re going to the market to get some fresh vegetables and bread so we can make a delicious dinner for you and Mr. Stone tonight.”

  Keliah picked her purse up off the countertop and said, “Cecilia, I told you to call us by our first names.”

  Cecilia blushed and said, “It’s difficult to do that, Mrs. Stone. As you young people say, I’m old school, but I’ll try.”

  “Great,” Keliah replied with a smile. “Besides, you’re practically family anyway.”

  Cecilia Harrison was an African American lady in her mid sixties,
who was a retired school teacher. She’d come highly recommended from their friend Bradford who works in a high level government office at the Pentagon. Cecilia had kept the small children of a high ranking military officer for a few years until he was relocated.

  Keilah gave her daughter one more kiss before grabbing her purse off the countertop.

  “Call me if you need anything. Ramsey should be back in town this afternoon so whatever you decide to cook for dinner we’ll love.”

  Cecilia followed her over to the garage door and said, “OK. Now get out of here before you’re late to work. Neariah and I have a lot to do today.”

  Keilah opened the garage door and then turned back to her nanny.

  “Cecilia, I don’t want to alarm you and it’s probably nothing but the perimeter alarm went off early this morning. The security guard didn’t find anything or anybody but I wanted to mention it to you as a precaution.”

  Cecilia listened tentatively and said, “I’m sure it was nothing but I’ll be extra attentive anyway.”

  Keilah hugged Cecilia’s neck and said, “I knew you would. I’ll see you this evening.”

  She blew her daughter one more kiss before picking up her coffee cup and disappearing in the garage.

  Driving in rush hour traffic was never fun and for some reason, this morning was worse than others. If it wasn’t for her satellite radio playing smooth jazz she didn’t know how she would make it. Then she thought about her unsettling night and it angered her. Her child’s safety came first and she would die before she would let anyone or anything harm her.