JT looked at him. “Weaver, I know we didn’t always see eye to eye on everything, but I trusted you. I believed in you, and I honestly thought you were a true man of God.”

“I am. Just as true as you are.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Call it what you want, but you just make sure you get the rest of our money. All of it. And we’ll be in touch next week regarding a day and time to meet.”

Weaver turned and went back around to the passenger side of the Cadillac and got in. He looked at JT through the driver’s-side window. “Oh, and by the way, Pastor, I’ll see you on Sunday,” he said, readjusting his sunglasses and then looking straight ahead. Barb grinned and winked at JT. Then she sped off.

She and her brother left with not a care in the world about what they’d just done, and JT knew he had no choice but to give them every dime they were asking for. Initially, he’d wondered how he would get another large sum of money, but then it came to him. The ad agency would get everything scheduled, he would go ahead and pay them up front, he would charm Diana and convince her that the campaign was much more than a hundred and fifty thousand dollars and then tell her he needed more money. She might question him, but what he would do is have the agency draw up a proposal that totaled two hundred fifty thousand dollars, the one he would show Diana, but then once she gave him the additional funding, he’d tell the ad agency he’d changed his mind and now only wanted to spend a hundred as planned. That way, he could pay for the media spots, cover the fifty thousand he’d just given Weaver for his youngest sister, and then pay the remaining one hundred thousand to Weaver for himself and Barb. He hated deceiving Diana this way, but with the kind of money she and her husband had, two hundred fifty thousand dollars was mere chump change to both of them. They probably wouldn’t miss it one bit, and just knowing that made him feel a lot better about what he was doing.

So, really, this wasn’t as bad as he’d been thinking, and now all he had to do was fix this whole baby issue Carmen was burdening him with. He wasn’t sure how he would get her to see that she just couldn’t keep it, but he would. Somehow, some way, he would get her to do the right thing. He would pressure her to do what was best for him, the same as always.

Chapter 34

Rita had been gone for two days now, and yesterday, Alicia had gone with Carmen to meet with the funeral home representative. Thankfully, Rita had owned more than enough life insurance and had already purchased her burial site, so the only thing left for them to do was order flowers and buy her a new suit. Carmen had mentioned how her mom had a number of very stylish outfits but that she still wanted to buy her this one last thing. She wanted to do something very special for the woman who had loved and supported her to the fullest from day one.

Now, though, they were having lunch at a charming little eatery not far from downtown, which was only partially full.

Carmen ate one of her waffle fries. “You know, I just can’t believe my mom is really gone and that her service is only three days away.”

“Neither can I.”

“She was such a wonderful person. Always had a kind word to say to everyone and always treated people with the utmost respect.”

Alicia nodded in agreement. “She really was a very caring lady, and I don’t ever remember her being any different. Not even when we were children.”

“She’s always been the same. Even when my idiot father left her for some woman he worked with, she never acted as though she hated him. She would speak to him, and it was as if she had nothing against him.”

Alicia sipped some raspberry lemonade. “Some people try to see the good in everyone, no matter how much they may have hurt them, and I admire that.”

“She was definitely one of the most forgiving women I ever met,” Carmen said, leaning back in her chair. “Because I could never forgive my husband for messing around on me. That is, if I had one.”

Alicia thought about JT but didn’t comment.

“Although, I guess it’s easy to say what you would or wouldn’t do if you’ve never been in a certain situation.”

“This is true.”

Carmen scanned the restaurant, saw what appeared to be a mother and her adult daughter laughing about something, and then looked back at Alicia. Seconds later, tears streamed down her face.

Alicia reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “I’m so sorry, Carmen. I’m so sorry that this has happened to you.”

Carmen sniffled and then pulled a tissue from her purse. “It’s just that it hurts so badly.”

Alicia remembered how devastated Phillip had been when he’d lost his father, and it made her think about her own parents. She tried imagining how she would feel if she ever lost either of them, but the pain became so real in her mind, she was glad Carmen changed the conversation.

“But regardless of what’s going on, I have to be strong for me and my baby.”

“That’s right,” Alicia said.

“Mom would have been so excited for me.”

Alicia wondered how, when Carmen didn’t even have a husband, but pretended to agree. “I’m sure she would have.”

“She would have been just as thrilled as I am, and, girl, just as soon as the baby’s father and I are married, I’ll be as happy as you are right now.”

“So, have you told him yet?”

“Yes, but now he has to get a divorce.”

Alicia had already suspected this the day Carmen had first told her but tried sounding surprised. “He’s married?”

“Yes, but not for long.”

“So, has he already filed?”

“No, but it’s only a matter of time before he gets rid of that uppity little whore once and for all.”

“Have you met her?”

“Yeah, I’ve been around her on a number of occasions, and it’s pretty obvious why he prefers being with me over her.”

Alicia listened but wasn’t sure what to say.

“Anyway, she’s practically history,” Carmen continued. “And there isn’t a thing she can do about it.”

Alicia looked away but suddenly thought about that Donna woman again and how she had to have some sort of connection to JT. He’d denied it to no end, but Alicia wasn’t as naïve as he may have thought and knew what men were capable of.

“Alicia?” she heard Carmen say, and then returned to reality.

“Yes?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Why do you ask?”

“Because I called your name three different times.”

“Oh, girl, I’m sorry. I guess I was in another world.”

“Why? Is everything okay?”

Alicia hesitated, but for some reason, she needed to confide her problems to someone. Melanie was her best friend, but she just couldn’t tell her about all these accusations against JT. She couldn’t tell her or any of her family members, but again, she felt compelled to tell someone. Not just anyone, of course, but someone like Carmen, whom she could trust. So she divulged everything that had been going on. She told her about the women at the luncheon and all the horrible things one of them had said about JT and also what the nice one had confirmed about his past reputation with women. Then she told her about that Donna person and how she’d even claimed that JT planned his wife’s death.

Carmen widened her eyes. “Do you think any of that is true?”

“At first, I didn’t, but now I’ve heard so much, I don’t know what to think.”

“Well, what does he say?”

“That it’s not true, and that he would never do anything like that.”

“Then why would anyone make such terrible claims?”

“I don’t know. I don’t understand any of this, and on top of that, my dad never wanted me to marry him in the first place.”

“What? Your dad doesn’t like him?”

“No.”

“Girl, that’s pretty deep.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

“So, what are you going to do?”