“Still doesn’t stop someone from crying about sexual harassment.”
“Is that what you think I’d do?” Tears brimmed her eyes.
I stared at her for several long seconds, and while I didn’t know Kandi very well, my heart told me what my mind wanted to ignore. She wasn’t that girl.
“Even if you didn’t, I don’t know anything about being in a relationship. All I know is how to take a woman out, help her to have a good time, and then have her screaming my name in my bed by the end of the night. That’s all I’m good for, Kandi, and you deserve better than that.”
She placed a tiny, warm hand on my back. “Don’t say that. You may not have had the opportunity to show a woman how good you are, and you might not believe in yourself, but I believe in you, Kayn. I see all the good in you and the man that you’re capable of being. I don’t know why you’re denying it, but the chemistry has been brewing between us for a while now. Bringing me on this trip with you was bound to cause it to explode.”
Shaking my head, I couldn’t even look at her, but I replied. “I never denied it. But this can’t end well for either one of us, Kandi.”
“Can we just enjoy the next few days until we return to Cherokee Springs?”
“I don’t want to hurt you, Kandi. And honestly, . . . with a guy like me, there’s no way around it.”
She laid her hand on my back and rested her head against my shoulder. “One day, you’ll take that wall down one brick at a time. And when you do, I’ll be on the other side waiting for you.”
Her words forced my eyes closed.
“Until then, I’ll sleep on that pallet,” I promised and got up and laid the blankets on the floor.
16
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIFT
Kayn
I had just gotten out of the shower the next afternoon when Kandi came into the bedroom. I had been outside working up a sweat by chopping firewood. Uncle JR had taught me early on to take out my frustrations with an ax. It worked too.
“Looks like you had fun,” I greeted as she lifted her arms with several bags in glee.
Although we couldn’t drive anywhere, Mistletoe Falls was small enough to walk anywhere you wanted to go. Because it was a tourist town in the winter, there were lots of gift shops with specialty items and high-end items that catered to wealthier tourists.
“I did. Your Black Card may be a little red from abuse,” she confessed with a giggle.
I had given her my Black Card because it was imperative we keep up appearances for my family’s sake. Although there was no limit on the card, Kandi had asked me to give her one. I refused to do that, but I knew she would be responsible.
I took my hand towel and dried my hair as I asked, “Did you get some things for your family?”
“And yours too!” she exclaimed excitedly as she set the bags on the bed and began going through them.
I watched as she pulled out gift after gift, explaining that the saltwater pearls were for Aunt Frances and the new fishing equipment was for Uncle JR. She had purchased a chess set for Byron, a James Patterson autographed book for Chauncey, and a Chanel handbag for Myra. She had even purchased gifts for Olivia and the twins.
My heart exploded because most women would have taken that card and thought only of themselves. If they thought beyond their wants, they would have thought about their friends or family, but not that nigga’s family.
Kandi was more than an executive assistant to me. She truly had stepped into the role of a wife, thinking about and caring for every aspect of my life. She made me feel like I mattered to her, and no other woman had ever done that before.
“Most of them have been wrapped already, but not all. Either way, I’ll put your name on them so they can know they’re from you.”
“Put your name on there too.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t even think about getting them gifts. It’s been so long since I purchased a gift for anyone, Kandi, that I wouldn’t have known where to start. You were thoughtful, and I appreciate that shit. No one’s ever cared enough to take care of the shit that matters to me, but you did. I may not act like it, but they matter to me,” I explained, pointing downstairs.
She smiled up at me and replied. “I always will care, Kayn.”
Those words touched me in a place that I kept carefully guarded. I didn’t fuck around about my heart. Early in life, I’d learned that I had to guard it, but Kandi’s words and actions were finding their way inside of it.
