Lost in a Stallion's Arms by Deborah Fletcher Mello

Author:Deborah Fletcher Mello [Mello, Deborah Fletcher]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance, Contemporary Fiction, Series, Contemporary, United States, African American, Harlequin Kimani Romance, Literature & Fiction
Amazon: B0037NB5WE
Publisher: Kimani Romance
Published: 2010-05-02T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

The three women stood staring at the large white box that had been delivered just minutes before. Marley’s mother, Estelle Brooks, stood with her hands on her hips, shaking her head vehemently as she chastised Joanne.

“So when you gon’ tell this boy the truth? This don’t make no kind of sense, Joanne. No kind of sense at all. Got this boy thinking you live here when you got that nice condominium your daddy paid good money for. And why you give him this address anyway? No kind of sense!”

Joanne cut her eyes toward Marley, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat. She was hoping for a little assistance but knew none was coming. Both women had learned years ago that when Estelle Brooks went off on a tangent about something, then that something was going to be the topic of discussion for many discussions to come. Staying out of the line of fire was the best recourse, if you knew what was good for you.

The older woman finally took a breath, stalling long enough to inhale and allow Joanne to try to defend herself.

“I really didn’t lie to him, Mama Estelle. He just assumed you were my mother and that I lived here with you, and I just didn’t correct him.”

“No kind of sense!”

Joanne didn’t have a response to that, knowing that the older woman was right. Estelle Brooks usually was. Joanne had been six years old the day Marley and her mom had come into her life. The woman had been the last of a long list of housekeepers hired to maintain the Lake homestead and keep an eye on the precocious Joanne. The familial bond between them had been solidified when the two girls had gotten into a knock-down, drag-out fight over a pair of plastic pumps for a Barbie doll.

After separating the two, Estelle had taken a carving knife to Barbie, separating her right down the middle. Each girl had gotten half a doll and one plastic shoe each. The absurdity of the action had left both girls in a fit of giggles. It took no time at all for them to discover that if they didn’t share and play fair, Mama Estelle would make them share the hard way. A month of toys, some Joanne’s and some Marley’s, had been sacrificed for the lesson.

Eventually the two girls were inseparable, both gaining something the other yearned for. Estelle filled Joanne’s bill for a full-time, surrogate mother, and Joanne’s father became an adequate part-time dad for Marley.

Estelle Brooks had helped Joanne navigate her first bra, first period, first bad haircut and first heartbreak and had mothered her for the forty-six weeks of each year that Joanne resided stateside with her father.

“Mama Estelle, what else could I do? He doesn’t know about my father.”

“So tell him. Are you ashamed of your father, Joanne?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just…well…” Joanne paused.

“She’s ashamed of her father’s money,” Marley said matter-of-factly.

“No, I’m not. I’m ashamed of how my father flaunts his money.

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