JT hadn’t been sure how Alicia might respond to such a question, what with the little lovers’ quarrel they’d had, so he was relieved by the way she’d answered it.

“Well, you both be good now,” Lacey told them. “And I’ll see you on Wednesday night.”

“You take care,” Alicia said.

JT shook a couple of other hands but did a double take when he spied Carmen. He was stunned but knew she was only trying to be funny and that this was all because he hadn’t returned any of her phone calls yesterday. But how could he? He’d been with Alicia during the afternoon and with Veda all evening, so what was he supposed to do?

“Oh my God,” Alicia said, clearly elated to see whom she thought was a trusted friend of hers. “Carmen, girl, why didn’t you tell me you were coming to service this morning? You could have sat right next to me.”

Carmen hugged Alicia. “I know, but to be honest, I didn’t decide until the last minute. I was planning to go to my own church, but since my mom wasn’t feeling well, I decided it would be nice to visit you guys for a change.”

“Well, I’m so glad you did, and actually, I wish you would think about joining NLCC anyway.”

“You know, I just might think about doing that,” she agreed, and JT wanted to strangle her. She was jeering at him on the sly, and he couldn’t stand it.

“You really should.”

“Well, hey, I don’t want to hold up the line too much longer, but the other thing I wanted to tell you was that I finished reading your novel.”

Alicia beamed. “Really?”

“Yes, and I absolutely loved it! After we spoke on the phone last night, I knew I was going to at least get to start it, but I had no idea I would read the entire story. Anyway, it was a page-turner, and I can’t wait to talk more about it. So, I’ll just call you at home.”

“Sounds good,” Alicia said, and they hugged again.

But before leaving, Carmen stopped in front of JT. “Your sermon was truly wonderful. And I really look forward to hearing you speak again sometime. Maybe next week even.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” he said, realizing she was going too far. She was crossing the line, and it was time he ended all dealings with her. If he didn’t, he knew he would be sorry.

Chapter 23

JT bit into one of the ribs his other father-in-law had just given him and wasn’t sure he’d ever tasted better barbecue. “Man, you’re a master at this, and you can cook for me anytime. Not to mention, this is just a sample and the sauce hasn’t even been added to it.”

James laughed like most men do when they’ve been patted on the back by another one. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Like it? I love it. Man, this meat couldn’t be seasoned any more perfectly, and it’s so tender it’s practically falling off the bone.”

James stepped a bit closer to the oversized charcoal grill, removed a few more ribs from the fire, and turned the last few pieces of chicken and Italian sausage on their opposite sides. “So, have you been keeping up with the conference finals much this week?”

“Actually, I haven’t, but I have to say I was a little disappointed about the Bulls not making it past the first-round playoffs. Especially when they came so close.”

“I was pretty bummed about it, too. Mainly because they haven’t won an NBA championship since 1998, which, of course, was just before Michael Jordan retired and Phil Jackson left as well.”

“Yeah, things have definitely been different since then, and it’ll be interesting to see when they might win again.”

James forked up a few more pieces of meat and set them in the foil-lined Teflon pan. “So, on a different note, how’s married life treating you?”

“To be honest, it couldn’t be better and we couldn’t be happier.”

“I’m glad to hear that, because I became Alicia’s stepfather when she was just a small girl, and I love her just like she was my own child.”

“She loves you the same way,” JT said, gazing toward the patio and watching Alicia and her mom bringing food out and placing it on the table.

“She’s a very special young lady, and I just hope the two of you can have the same kind of relationship Tanya and I have. My wife means everything to me, and after all these years, we still love each other like we did in the beginning.”

“If I have it my way, I can assure you, Alicia and I will be together and very happy until the day one of us leaves this earth.”

“I like your attitude and you’ll certainly be able to do just that, as long as you keep each other first in your life-after God, that is-and you never allow anyone else inside your marital circle. I’m telling you this because there is a ton of temptation out there, but if you ignore it and stick together as a couple, you’ll be okay.”

“I agree, and I won’t ever let any woman cause me to be unfaithful to my wife,” he said, but when he looked back over toward the patio and saw Carmen and her mother walking onto it, a heat wave swept through his body. Alicia had told him early this morning that she’d invited Carmen and her mother but that since Carmen’s mother still hadn’t been feeling well, they probably wouldn’t be able to make it. Then, when JT had phoned Carmen, insisting it wasn’t a good idea for her to visit NLCC again, he’d been pretty sure he’d also convinced her not to drop by his in-laws’ either. He’d thought he’d made himself very clear, but apparently he hadn’t.

“Hi, Dad James. Hi, JT,” Carmen yelled out to both of them.

“How’s it going?” JT said dryly.

“How are you, Miss Carmen?” James said, smiling, obviously glad to see her. “It’s been such a long time. And how are you, Rita?” he said to her mother.

“I’m fine, James, how are you?”

“Wonderful.”

“Baby, come up here for a minute,” Alicia said to JT, and he walked closer to where they were all standing. “Sweetheart, this is Carmen’s mom, and Mom Rita, this is my husband, JT.”

They shook hands and Rita said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, and congratulations on your recent marriage to Alicia.”

“Thank you.”

“Also, if I might add, you’re even more handsome than Carmen told me you were.”

“That’s what I thought when I first met him, too,” Alicia said.

Everyone laughed, but JT had never felt more uncomfortable. This whole scenario was teetering toward a possible disaster, and he didn’t like it.

“Everything looks wonderful, Tanya,” Rita said. “And thank you for having us over.”

“Oh, please. We haven’t seen each other in forever, so I’m excited to have you.”

JT shot a glance at Carmen, who seemed very full of herself, but then he quickly looked away when his mother-in-law called his name.

“JT, if you don’t mind, can you go out to the garage to get the card table we have stored toward the back of it? I was thinking we wouldn’t need it, but I can see now that we do.”

“Of course,” he said, and started toward the glass patio doors. But once he’d walked inside the kitchen, he heard Carmen say, “Alicia, could I use the restroom?”

“Girl, you know you don’t even have to ask something like that. Go ahead.”

JT walked as fast as he could toward the door leading to the garage, opened it, and then closed it behind him once he was on the other side of it. He hoped Carmen wasn’t planning to follow him, but to his regret, she didn’t waste any time.

“So, are you glad to see me?” she asked.

“Carmen, why are you here? Why did you come when I specifically asked you not to?”

“I came because I wanted to see you and it’s like I told you on Friday: I’m tired of spending all my holidays without you. And anyway, doesn’t a girl have a right to change her mind?”

JT moved closer to where the table was stored and picked it up. “You’ve got to stop showing up like this.”

“I’ll stop coming around just as soon as you stop ignoring me the way you did yesterday. I tried calling you at least twenty times, and I never heard back from you.”