King of Evanston Read online

  She sucked in her breath, then lowered her chin as she expelled the air from her lungs. “Are you coming in to say goodbye to Aunt Mabel?”

  Rubbing his jaw, Shaz hesitated.

  With her head angled toward the living room, Camilla said, “She’ll curse you out if you leave without telling her.”

  “I bet she will.” Shaz motioned for Camilla to go ahead of him. “But I have to leave in a few.”

  A set of floral sofas positioned in front of a flat-screen television dominated the living room. At opposite corners of the space, a pair of standing mahogany shelves held family pictures and figurines in all shapes and sizes. A younger version of Camilla featured in some of the photos.

  Miss Mabel sat on the largest chair bouncing Ayanna on her knees. The little girl squealed around the fingers jammed into her mouth. Her grand aunt dabbed her chin, then gave Shaz a grateful smile.

  “I’ll see you at the restaurant tomorrow,” he said, easing his way out of the house.

  Miss Mabel’s gaze slid to Camilla, who reached for the toddler. “Ya leaving already?”

  With his hands in his pockets like a guilty teenager reluctant to tell the truth, Shaz nodded. “I promised my mother I’d stop by and you know she doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

  “That’s the only reason I’m letting you go.” Miss Mabel said over her shoulder. “I have something for you. Give me a minute.”

  While running his fingers over the chain and pendant in his pocket, he watched Camilla and her daughter. The little girl stared into her mother’s eyes. The delighted giggle and joyful pumping of her fists made it hard to remember Ayanna was seriously ill.

  The affection radiating from Camilla’s eyes hit him square in the chest and he vowed to do everything in his power to keep them together. He was about to tell her so when Miss Mabel came back into the room carrying a gold Tupperware container.

  “Here, I cooked oxtail and beans today and I know ya love dat.”

  Shaz beamed at her, his mouth watering at the goods hidden inside. “I appreciate it. Thanks.”

  “No problem. Ya too tough.” She waved one hand toward his body and cackled. “Ya need more meat on ya bones.”

  He laughed and took the plastic box from her. “You calling me stringy?”

  “I say what I mean.” Miss Mabel poked his arm and batted her eyelashes. “Ya too muscular. A girl needs some more flesh to fill up her hands.”

  On the periphery of his vision, Shaz caught Camilla shaking her head and biting her lip as though to keep in laughter. He winked at her and followed Miss Mabel to the door.

  She went outside with him and whispered, “Thanks for coming. That man has a lot of power, so ya understand why I didn’t want her to do nuttin’ drastic.”

  “Don’t worry. I spoke with him and her, so we should be good for now.”

  “Ya don’t know Camilla.” Miss Mabel’s dark face screwed into a frown. “Just do what ya can as fast as ya can do it. Before her temper gets hold of her again.”

  He nodded and walked away, with one side of his mouth pulled into a smile. Miss Mabel’s pronunciation of her niece’s name left something to be desired. Whenever she got agitated, she dropped the middle syllable and ran the whole thing together into Camla. Her accent also waxed and waned depending on her level of anxiety and who she was dealing with.

  As he sat in the SUV and switched on the engine, Shaz chuckled. Only Miss Mabel and his mother could get away with telling him the feisty things they sometimes did.

  His phone vibrated and Paula Bostwick’s home number showed up on the display. He engaged the Bluetooth and brought her on the line. “I’m running a little late, Mom, but I’ll be there in ten minutes. What was so important though? I’m beginning to feel like a headless chicken, running from place to place.”

  “It’s your brother.” Her words carried no inflection, yet they conveyed an expectation that he’d automatically know what she wanted.

  In a teasing tone, he said, “You have to be more specific Mom, since you have two other sons.”

  “Martin. Who else? Stop farting around, Shastra.” She sounded more vexed than anxious. “If you don’t get over here soon, I think your father and he might come to blows.”

  “Where’s Roman?”

  His mother had the habit of summoning them to the family home, forgetting they were all adults with their own lives. But when she called, they put aside whatever they were doing and made an appearance.

  “Not here yet, but you know Martin listens to you.”

  Shaz had his doubts about that. More than anything, his older brother resented him. His grievance carried over from childhood and Martin hadn’t matured enough to leave the past where it belonged.

  “Let me get off the phone, so you can concentrate—”

  Raised voices in the background interrupted her. In the silence, his father shouted. “You’re not going to come into my house acting like you own it. If you can’t act civil, I’ll throw you out on your ass.”

  A crash followed his words. Paula ended the call without saying goodbye.

  Shaz put his foot on the gas.

  CHAPTER 3

  “Camilla, I need to have a serious talk wid ya.” Aunt Mabel sat on one of the small sofas and lowered the volume on the television that was tuned to her favorite soap opera. Despite her neutral tone, Camilla knew her aunt had serious concerns. Although Shaz left minutes ago, Aunt Mabel still hadn’t taken off her wig. That was the first thing she discarded after work. Next came the bra, which meant nothing else would be done for the rest of the night.

  Camilla positioned Ayanna on her lap, facing the television. The figures onscreen captured her attention and she stayed quiet, squeezing a stuffed rabbit to her chest.

  “Auntie, I know what you’re going to say, but—”

  “What about if ya listen to me for a bit?” Aunt Mabel gestured to Ayanna, who was motionless. “Your baby is why ya come here. Ya need to remember dat. Ya can’t just haul ya tail into a politician’s office and threaten him. Dis is not Jamaica.”

  Camilla wanted to roll her eyes, but didn’t. Auntie knew very well she couldn’t have done that at home. But her fury had carried her past the alderman’s receptionist, and her fear of losing her daughter gave Camilla the energy to tell him exactly what she thought of him. Plus, Auntie didn’t understand how mad she’d been since she realized what Derrick had done with the help of that scuzzy alderman.

  Things like this weren’t supposed to happen to people like her. Though the place was beautiful, dubbed the land of wood and water by the original inhabitants, Jamaica was now overrun with corrupt politicians. She expected better in the United States, the land of opportunity, where many Caribbean nationals aspired to live and work.

  “Auntie, I know things work differently here, and I’m sorry, but that man should know better.”

  “Well dat man can make life very difficult for ya.” She scratched her head, lifting the edge of her wig. When she pulled it down, it sat askew. “He can also find a way to make my life hell.”

  Camilla struggled to keep a straight face as Auntie Mable pinned her to the seat with a hard glare. “I don’t know why ya thought it was a good idea to go there wid ya loud noise and disrupt di peace.” Aunt Mabel paused to draw a breath. “And by di way, Stacey was late for work because you choose to fly out of here like one o’ dem Taino Indians running from Christopher Columbus and him gang of flea-bitten sailors.”

  Aunt Mabel’s reference to the indigenous Indians who occupied Jamaica before the Spanish arrived in 1494 and decimated them with diseases and enslavement, almost undid Camilla. Who knew her aunt retained all of that history from childhood lessons?

  Aunt Mabel would have been annoyed if Camilla dissolved into laughter, so she bit her lip and put on a penitent expression. She was sorry she’d kept her cousin away from her job while babysitting Ayanna.

  “I’m sorry about that, Auntie. I thought I would have been back in enough time for Stacey to
get to the hospital for her shift.”

  “Well, she didn’t.” Aunt Mabel’s expression was sour as if she’d sucked on a Seville orange. “Dis is not Jamaica where ya can be late for work and it don’t come out of ya pay.”

  Now Camilla felt bad. “I’ll make it up to her, but Derrick had the nerve to tell me on the phone that Mr. Bennett could help, as if I didn’t know what the two of them are up to.”

  She moaned in frustration, wishing she had a magic formula to put things right.

  When Ayanna copied her groan, an involuntary smile broke free. Then, Camilla scowled. “As if I asked him for any help.” The memory of their first disagreement came to mind and she rubbed her eyes. Pity that wouldn’t erase their short-lived history. “Only God knows what I saw in him.”

  “Since only God can answer dat question, let’s get back to what I was saying.” Aunt Mabel narrowed her dark-brown eyes. “The fact is, ya need to toe di line and sort out ya visa problem. Di last thing ya want is to find yaself on a plane to Jamaica, minus ya pickney.”

  Despite the way her heart rate kicked up, Camilla said, “Auntie that won’t happen. I’m not leaving here without Ayanna. I’d rather die first.”

  “Ya hear ‘bout what’s happening on the Mexican border? Dis is serious business. Dey will do it and ya have no say.”

  Camilla shifted on the cushion, feeling as if someone had dropped a vice around her head and chest. Yes, she was acutely aware of what was on the news. She might think she was safe, but when it came down to it, the only difference between those migrant parents and her, was that—they came seeking asylum the correct way, though the current administration said otherwise—she had entered the country legally. If she didn’t get her visa renewed soon, she wouldn’t be in any better position than them.

  “Auntie, I know, but Shaz is trying to work around my visa problem. Even though it seems to be taking him forever to get things straightened out with the alderman.”

  Aunt Mabel’s eyes blazed. “I don’ want to hear one bad word about dat man. He didn’t have to take ya case. He did it because of me, and at a good rate too, as ya well know.”

  For a second, Camilla closed her eyes, knowing part of that good rate came from Aunt Mabel filling that man’s bottomless pit on occasion, aside from the lunches he bought from her each week. “I know and I’m grateful.”

  “Ya sure don’t sound that way.”

  Sighing, Camilla fixed her gaze on the television. “Trust me, I am.”

  Despite the deep discount he’d given them, only charging if any court or filing fees, Camilla’s pocket had been feeling the pinch when it came to medical bills. She’d stashed away money from her time on the runway in Jamaica and the Caribbean. Since she started travelling to various places and writing about her adventures, she’d monetized her blog. Her following had grown by thousands each month and sponsors were still courting her, despite the fact that she hadn’t been anywhere new in months.

  The blog had shifted to more serious matters, including the crisis at the U.S./Mexico border and the worldwide impact of climate change.

  Ayanna’s doctor’s visits, hospital stays, and previous treatment had been expensive. If the money didn’t keep flowing in, she’d soon have to tap into her investment account, which she wanted to avoid at all costs.

  The anxiety that had flooded her system for weeks, fled on an adrenaline high when she marched into Alderman Bennett’s office and told him she knew what racket he was running to steal her baby. Now it came back and compressed her chest until she could barely breathe. She filled her lungs with air and let it out, telling herself not to lose her peace. Shaz’s fees were a necessity. Critical, in fact. She’d been through many nerve-wracking moments and came through them with determination and help from Mom and Aunt Mabel. Things didn’t look bright now, but she’d be okay. In time. But time was now coming up short.

  “Ya look worried, Camilla.”

  Aunt Mabel’s voice snapped her out of her mental fog. “A little, but worrying doesn’t help, so I’m trying to keep an open mind.”

  At that point, Ayanna dropped the pink and blue rabbit. When Camilla didn’t release her, Ayanna squirmed and fussed to be put on the floor.

  Camilla set the toddler on her feet, and Ayanna grabbed the rabbit by one ear and squatted on the tiles, closer to the television.

  “God will work it out. Him always fait’ful.” With a wily look in her eyes, Aunt Mabel continued, “Meantime, ya just need to work wid di program since you and Shaz like each other.”

  “What program?” Camilla asked, suspecting her aunt already knew. The sparks that flew between them whenever that man came near, were enough to start an inferno.

  “Well, him is a good man.” All innocence, Aunt Mabel shrugged, but a sly smile played around her lips. “If ya play di right cards, ya could marry him and stay here. Then, Ayanna could get all di treatment she needs for as long as necessary.”

  Frowning, Camilla rose to get water for Ayanna. “Please take that out of your mind, Auntie.”

  Aunt Mabel pulled back her head and raised both eyebrows. “What’s wrong wid Shastra Bostwick?”

  “Nothing at all.” She went toward the kitchen, speaking over her shoulder. “But I couldn’t do that.”

  “I’m not telling ya to do nutten,” Aunt Mabel snapped. “Di problem is ya have too much pride. Just like Edith.”

  “Leave Mom out of this.” Camilla grinned as she walked into the compact kitchen. “She raised me right.”

  “I understand dat, but when ya desperate ya look for every way out.” Aunt Mabel yelled after her. “Since I been in America, I clean house, work from di bottom at a Caribbean restaurant until I was di head cook. Meantime, I was saving every penny to start my own business. I couldn’t go back to school because I had Stacey to take of, so I had to make things work. Ya have a chance at things being easier for ya. Dat’s all I’m saying.”

  As she filled Ayanna’s cup with the filtered water from the tap, Camilla’s smile faded. The fairy tale Auntie just concocted with Shaz at the center would be a perfect ending to their story. Shastra was everything she admired in a man—decisive, steady, patient, and even more sexy, his name, which sounded strong and powerful. Just like the man himself.

  Their situation wasn’t ideal but she was falling for him as the days went by. She wasn’t sure they were on the same emotional wavelength but if the way he treated her was anything to go by, Shaz was feeling her, too.

  A knock on the door sounded above the conversation and sound effects coming from the television, which Aunt Mabel had turned up high.

  Camilla’s footsteps faltered as she remembered the heat and solid strength of Shaz’s frame pressed against hers. The man was physically fit, not to mention handsome—with well-defined lips and a narrow nose, and that pale mocha skin. His locs were soft to the touch, in direct contrast to his rock-hard body. Making love with him would be fire. The thought of being in the same bed with him made her—

  “Camilla.” Aunt Mabel’s demanding tone woke Camilla from her daydream.

  She rushed back into the living room in time to catch Ayanna toddling toward the bedrooms, as though avoiding an unwanted visitor.

  “Someone’s here to see ya.” Aunt Mabel pointed behind her as she passed Camilla. “I looked through the peephole. Lemme go catch dat likkle rascal.”

  Camilla guessed who was outside, by her aunt’s dour expression, and stalked to the door to yank it open.

  Ayanna’s father stood on the other side. Going by his thunderous expression, Camilla figured he’d heard about her trip to the alderman’s office.

  He took a step forward, but Camilla held her ground.

  “Haven’t you done enough, Derrick?” She stood in the doorway, blocking the entrance. “You’re not welcome here. And by the way, what the hell d’you want?”

  CHAPTER 4

  Shaz glowered at his older brother, who’d followed him into the back yard. “Which part of what’s wrong with you don�
�t you understand?”

  Martin stood eye to eye with Shaz, scowling back at him. “I don’t owe you any explanation.”

  “You do, when you come over here upsetting our parents.”

  Their mother was already in a snit because between Martin and their father, they’d broken a stack of her prized porcelain plates she inherited from her grandmother. If Martin knew what was good for him, he’d chill. Paula Bostwick didn’t take crap from anyone, including her children.

  Martin rubbed his bearded chin, mirroring Shaz’s reaction when he was perplexed. “So maybe I was a little angry when I got here because of my blowout with Sondra, but—”