Love, Honor, and Betray by Roby, Lawson (ebook reader ink txt) 📕

“Maybe.”

“You do.”

“We’ll see,” Charlotte said, feeling somewhat better than she had earlier, although it was mostly because she hadn’t stoppedthinking about Bethany and how having her own baby might be the answer to saving her marriage. She was only in her thirtiesand certainly still young enough to conceive and bear a child, so her mind was made up. She would tell Curtis what she wanted,he would quickly agree, and life would soon be better for them. She wouldn’t give up on the idea of trying to get rid of Curtina.No sirree. But at least she’d have something happy to think about in the meantime. She’d be able to focus on something goodand positive, and she could pretend Curtina didn’t even exist. She’d be able to ignore her even more than she had been.

Chapter 5

So much for big ideas, Charlotte thought as she sat at the kitchen island, watching Agnes serve breakfast to the entire family.She’d hurried back home yesterday evening and told Curtis how much she wanted to have another child but all he’d said was,“Baby, I don’t think this would be good for us, because you know you wouldn’t be doing this for the right reasons.” He’d allowedher to say her piece but had basically dismissed her and went on with the rest of his evening. He’d acted as though this conversationabout her possibly getting pregnant hadn’t even come up. Which was the reason she hadn’t said a word to him since, and asshe’d promised herself, she was officially through when it came to doing anything for Curtina. She hadn’t gotten her dressedthis morning and had barely glanced at her.

“Mommy, Mommy, look,” she heard Curtina say but ignored her. “Mommy, Mommy, look.”

Charlotte picked up the Sun-Times, opened the front section as widely as possible, and Curtis and Matthew continued their small talk.

“So, Dad, you know the Saints are going to be the new Super Bowl champs, right?”

“As Mister said in The Color Purple, ‘Could be, could be not.’”

“Yeah, right. You know they’re gonna win. Easily.”

“We’ll see. And it’s not like I have anything against New Orleans anyway, but since the Indy coach is from Beloit, Wisconsin,barely a half hour from here, I gotta go with the Colts. I gotta root for my homeboy.”

“Please,” Matthew said, cracking up. “You don’t even know that man.”

“Still, he’s from the area, and I believe in supporting all homeboys. Whether I know them or not.”

“How sad. And pitiful, too, when you know they’re gonna lose.”

“Like I said, we’ll see.”

“We sure will. We’ll see those Saints go marching home with that trophy.”

Charlotte set down the paper she was reading, but as soon as she did, Curtina started up again. “Mommy, look.”

Charlotte still paid her no attention and had no idea what she was trying to show her. To be honest, she didn’t care whatit was.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” Matthew asked, catching Charlotte off guard.

“Nothing, sweetie. I’m fine.”

“Then why are you so quiet?”

“No reason. No reason at all.”

She could tell Matthew didn’t believe her because the next thing he did was look at his sister, who was sitting next to him,and then he said, “Let me see, Curtina.” Then he pulled her arm closer to him. “Wow, that’s a pretty little bracelet you have on. Now, that’s what’s up, littlegirl.”

Curtina giggled, and Matthew ran his finger down her nose. Curtina giggled more, and Charlotte sat there, stone-faced.

“Oh, well, I guess I better get out of here,” Matthew said, glancing at the clock on the microwave and picking up Curtina.He kissed her good-bye, kissed Charlotte, and then did his usual fist bumping with his dad.

As he gathered his book bag and keys and headed out to his car, Charlotte yelled, “Be careful, Matt.”

When he was gone, Curtis put down the sports section of the newspaper and turned to their housekeeper. “Agnes, if you don’tmind, would you please take Curtina upstairs to get her ready? I’m taking her shopping today.”

“Of course, Mr. Curtis.”

Mondays had always been Curtis’s day off, so Charlotte had wondered why he’d gotten dressed so early. This upcoming father-daughterexcursion he’d just spoken about explained it.

“So, you wanna go with us?” Curtis asked.

Charlotte looked at him like he was nuts. He must have been out of his ever-loving mind if he thought she was going anywherewith the two of them.

She didn’t say anything, though. But seconds later, Curtis got up and walked over to where she was sitting. He smoothed theside of her face with his hand and lifted her chin upward. “I’m sorry that I don’t agree with you about having another baby,but no matter what, I do love you. And who knows? Maybe if we can work through our current situation and come to terms withthat, we can talk about this again. It’s not that I don’t want another child. It’s just that if we have a baby, I want itto be conceived with love and no heartache.”

Charlotte wasn’t sure what it was, maybe her hormones, but suddenly all she could do was close her eyes, cry, and rest herhand on top of Curtis’s. He continued caressing her face, and chills eased through her bloodstream. She loved him, too, andthought it interesting how after all the years they’d been together, he still had such a mesmerizing effect on her.

Curtis pulled her up from her chair, and Charlotte opened her teary eyes. She gazed into his and couldn’t stop thinking thatno matter how much time had passed, Curtis was still the most handsome man she knew. Actually, the more she analyzed his face,she would swear he looked even better than when she’d first met him, if that were even possible.

They stood holding each other, and then Curtis kissed her in a way that told her he did love her, that he still had extremepassion for her, and that he didn’t want to be without her.

But from there, things went downhill.

“Look, baby, I know you’re unhappy with the idea of Curtina being here and that you’re also sad about Marissa being gone.But if