Temptation - Brenda Jackson [17]
Last night it had been hard to get to sleep. To take the chill out of the air he’d lit the fireplace in his bedroom and then couldn’t settle down when visions of him and Sheila, naked in front of that same fireplace, tortured his mind.
As he brushed his teeth and washed his face, he couldn’t help wondering what the hell was wrong with him. He knew the score where women were concerned. The feeling of being abandoned was something he would always deal with. As a result, he would never set himself up for that sort of pain again. No woman was worth it.
A short while later he had stepped out the shower and was drying off when his cell phone rang. He reached to pick it up off the bathroom counter and saw it was Brad. “What’s going on?”
“Abigail Langley is what’s going on. I know she has a meeting at TCC this morning and I’m going to have it out with her once and for all.”
Zeke rolled his eyes. “Lay off her, Brad. You don’t have any proof she’s involved in any way.”
“Sure she’s involved. Abigail happens to be the only person who’ll benefit if my reputation is ruined.”
“But you just can’t go accusing her of anything without concrete proof,” Zeke said in a stern tone.
“I can’t? Ha! Just watch me.” Brad then clicked off the phone.
“Damn!” Zeke placed the phone back on the counter as he quickly began dressing. He needed to get over to TCC before Brad had a chance to confront Abigail Langley. He had a feeling his best friend was about to make a huge mistake.
Sheila fought back sleep as she fed Sunnie breakfast. She doubted if she and the baby had gotten a good four hours’ sleep. The pediatric nurse had been right. Sunnie had slept most of yesterday, and in the middle of the night while most of Royal was sleeping, she had been wide awake and wanting to play.
Of course, Sheila had given in after numerous attempts at rocking her to sleep failed. Now Sunnie looked well-rested. Sheila refused to think about how she looked half asleep and yawning every ten minutes. But even lack of sleep could not erase how it felt holding the baby in her arms. And when Sunnie looked up at her and smiled, she knew she would willingly spend an entire week of sleepless nights to see that smile.
And she could make the cutest sounds when she was happy. It must be nice not having any troubles. Then she quickly remembered Sunnie might have troubles after all, if Bradford Price turned out not to be her daddy. Sheila didn’t want to think about could happen to her once Social Services took her away and put her into the system.
“We’re not going to think about any of that right now, cupcake,” she said, wiping Sunnie’s mouth after she’d finished her bottle. “Now it’s time for you to burp,” she said, gently hoisting the baby onto her shoulder.
Dr. Phillips had referred Dr. Greene, the head pediatrician at Royal Memorial, to the case, and he had called inquiring how Sunnie was doing. He’d also given her helpful hints as to how to help Sunnie formulate a sleeping pattern where she would stay awake during most of the day and sleep longer at night.
A short while later, she placed the baby back in the crib after Sunnie seemed to have found interest in the mobile Zeke had purchased at the last minute while in the store last night. She had almost talked him out of getting it, but now she was glad she hadn’t.
Sheila had pulled up a chair to sit there and watch Sunnie for a while, when her phone rang. She immediately picked it up. “Yes?”
“I was waiting to see if you remembered that you had a mother.”
Sheila rolled her eyes, fighting the urge to say that she’d also been waiting to see if her mother remembered she had a daughter, but knew it would be a waste of time. The only reason her mother was calling her now was because she was in between