Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 74450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Caspian shrugged. “They obviously got back together later though if that’s the case.” Harrison nodded in agreement. “My aunt Angel recently passed away from cancer.”
“Well, I’ll be damned… I’m sorry to hear that. Angel was feisty and sharp. I liked her.” He shook his head as his face turned ruddy. “It’s funny what memories flood back to us long after we think we’ve forgotten ’em. Memories of my childhood. Good memories. Your mama, for instance. I probably wouldn’t have been a good father to you back then, but I know with you havin’ Angel as your aunt raising you, like you explained to me on the phone, and a mother like Cheyenne, you were in good hands.”
“I was.”
“You said earlier tonight that you didn’t really care about meeting me just for the sake of meeting me. That you had some concerns about your mother’s death.”
“Yeah.”
“How could I help you with that?”
“Where were you the night that she died?”
“In prison. I wasn’t around when Cheyenne passed away. Like I told you, I was locked up during her pregnancy and again, several years later, too.”
“I understand that now. A man was talkin’ to her the night she died. Sounded like they were havin’ some sort of disagreement. I’ve been doing a lot of research trying to find out who that person was and to see if they can attest to her state of mind on the day, or even if he had anything to do with her death. Some things just don’t add up… like her being so beside herself, so depressed that she’d take her own life. It’s never sat well with me, but when I tried to tell my family, the police, and anyone back then who would listen, nobody heard me. No one saw me. No one spoke to me.”
Waves of hurt, intense anger, and sadness rushed through him. “Nobody believed me… and if they did, they didn’t see it as important. I felt… helpless… useless… voiceless…” He swallowed hard, closing his eyes for a spell. He could feel his lady’s arm wrap around him and pull him closer to her.
When he opened his eyes, he was looking into the hazel gaze of a man who’d lived a hard life. A man with deep tan skin from the sun. Bruises, nicks, and cuts covered his hands and dirt showed beneath his nails. He was a handsome man with youthful eyes that had seen too much, and timeworn skin that hadn’t been hugged or loved on enough. He was an alcoholic, a drug abuser, and an honest Abe. No excuses. In fact, he’d defended a dead woman. A woman who may have lied to him about the existence of his child. Certainly, Mama knew the truth.
The man cleared his throat, then grabbed the check from the waitress before she could set it down on the table. “Jasper here came runnin’ to me, talkin’ about one of his favorite podcasters, who said he was looking for his pappy. He said to me, ‘Daddy, I know it’s a shot in the dark, but you dated a girl named Cheyenne ’round that time, and look at his nose…’’ I looked at the photos of you he’d dug up online, and I felt something. I did. Cheyenne was the type of girl I should’ve met when I was older and open to love. When I was ready, I couldn’t find nobody to love me as hard as I loved them.”
He laughed mirthlessly. “Karma is a bitch, ain’t she? I told Jasper at first I doubted you were mine, but then the more I looked at those pictures and thought about it, I became less and less sure. I said to myself, this man has got to be in his late thirties now. He don’t need no daddy… but maybe he wants one. Maybe me and Cheyenne made something beautiful before it was all said and done. She was talented, had a lovely singing voice, and damn was she funny. She had a dry sense of humor.”
“Yeah… she did.”
“From my understandin’, you have a dry sense of humor, too?”
“People say I do.”
“Are you left-handed? I see you’ve been eating with your left hand.”
“Ambidextrous.”
Jasper gasped. “So am I!”
Azure laughed at that.
“Push your hair up… let me see that hairline.”
Caspian pushed some of his hair away from his forehead. They both had slight widow’s peaks.
“Cheyenne ain’t have no widow’s peak. Her face was shaped like an oval.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“Your earlobes are attached and shaped like mine, too. My other son, Harrison Jr., is a good writer. He’s written a couple of mystery books and teaches at a community college. He also has a degree in journalism. I used to be a good writer but never did nothin’ with it. I take that back. I did use it to write bad checks. Those were bestsellers. Well, for me at least.” They all laughed at that. “Thank God those days are behind me. I spent the last twenty or so years of my life working in construction. Makin’ an honest livin’ for me and my family.”