Silken Embrace (The Drakes of California) by Zuri Day

Author:Zuri Day
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-12-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

“The mall is the other way, Mommy.”

“I know, Kyle. Mommy has to go home and take care of something. I’m going to pick up Conner so the two of you can play together. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Aliyah breathed a sigh of relief that the news about Conner satisfied Kyle’s curiosity and shut down any more questions. She was still reeling from Ernest’s unexpected phone call. The effort it had taken to remain calm had brought on a headache. She wouldn’t be surprised if her blood pressure was sky-high. Feeling herself about to explode was why she’d ended the call and called Lauren, and was now making a beeline to her house. Five years later, and he wants to be a daddy? He’d had a realization? He qualified the monthly checks he’d send as support? Compared to the worth of both him and his family, what he’d sent Kyle over the years was a crime.

She needed to call back Ernest and get answers. Find out why all of a sudden he’d discovered a parental gene. But the conversation had to be private, without Kyle. And it would have to happen after she calmed down.

After getting the boys settled in front of a video game with snacks at the ready, Aliyah went into her bedroom and closed the door. “Breathe, Aliyah.” She sat on the bench at the end of her bed, closed her eyes and worked to slow her heartbeat. Had she been able to sit still long enough, that might have happened. But she couldn’t. Too much anger-fueled energy and boiling blood. She paced the length of the room, cursing out Ernest in her head, appalled at his nerve. She jumped when her phone rang, not yet ready to speak with Ernest, but determined to try anyway. She needed answers.

Good thing for her it wasn’t him.

“Terrell. It’s you.”

“Who were you expecting? You almost sound relieved.”

“I am. I thought it was Ernest, calling me back.”

“Kyle’s father?”

“Yes. After almost five years, he called and started chatting as though it was a perfectly normal thing to do.” The memory alone made her livid. The pacing began again. “And then almost as casually informs me that through some recent revelation he now has clarity that his son needs him, go figure, and that it’s time they connect.”

“What did you say?”

“Fortunately, not what I was thinking. Kyle and I were having breakfast. I told him I’d call him. But I need a minute to get over the shock of hearing from him, and the anger at the presumptive, entitled attitude I heard when he talked about Kyle.” She stopped pacing and took a breath. “Why is he calling? That, I did have time to ask. His answer? For my son! Really. What could have possibly happened to bring this on? Did he fall down, hit his head and suddenly remember he was a parent?”

“No. He probably saw him on TV, on the national morning show.”

His answer hit her like a cold glass of water in the face.

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