A video review of An Inconvenient Friend

Live A Little by Rhonda McKnight

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Will a grieving woman and an injured soldier find hope in each other?

Raine Still has never had much of an identity outside of being the daughter of the old hippie couple that own Hope House, a transitional housing facility in the worse part of Charlotte, North Carolina, and that had been okay with her until her parents died and left her alone in world.

Gage Jordan is a decorated solider discharged from the army after fourteen years due to a physical injury, but the emotional scars are far worse than anything he’s rehabbed from. He has a great job lined up and a mass of support from his family, but something is missing and he’s starting to feel like it’s Raine.

Gage thought his wounded heart had issues, but Raine’s pain is much deeper. If something doesn’t give soon they will never have a chance at love. Can he convince her to see that “hope” and faith are the balm she needs to heal her hurting soul?

An Excerpt 

            They rode in silence to her house. The sugar Gage ingested seemed to have dulled his chattiness. The trip wasn’t long and traffic was nonexistent. His navigation brought them right to her door. He cut the engine.

            Gage looked through the window past Raine. “This is a nice house. Nice neighborhood. You were looking the last time we talked.”

            She had been house-hunting that spring. She’d found this one the very week he’d left. She inspected the shrubs that needed pruning and the trim that would definitely get a fresh coat of paint in the spring and replied. “Thank you.”

            “How long have you been here?”

            “Six years. It was a foreclosure during the early run of foreclosures. I’d finished my master’s degree and gotten a promotion at work, so I thought, it was time.”

            “I remember you’d just finished your masters. You mentioned it that day.”

            His memory was impeccable. Raine’s stomach flipped. That day. That day she’d shared a table with him in the mall food court because all the others were full. That day lunch turned into a trip to the movie theatre, dinner and a stroll through a bookstore.

            “No waiting for a husband to buy a house with, huh?” he asked, but then he didn’t wait for an answer. “I like that. The women in my family are very independent too.”

Gage smiled. It sucked the wind out of her. Not because he was so good looking, or even because he had flashed his movie star, picture ready white teeth, it was the disposition behind the smile. Lazy, relaxed…Raine didn’t exactly know the word she was looking for. He seemed interested in her, again. He wasn’t making small talk to fill up the time, because they were here at her house. All he had to do was open the door and then open hers and walk her to the door of her house, if he was so inclined to do that. In seconds, he could be done with Raine Still for tonight and forever. But Gage wasn’t moving. He wasn’t trying to leave.

The only man that had ever been interested in her was her father. He’d hung on to every word she’d said from the time she could talk until he took his last breath. But this attention from Gage was different. She didn’t know how to take it. She’d been here with him before and then he disappeared without a trace. 

            “Can I ask you a question?” His tone was tentative. “What happened to your date tonight?”

            Raine had no idea what he would ask, but this question surprised her. “I didn’t have a date.”

            Gage’s expression posed the follow-up question before he did.  “You said you were waiting for someone.”

            She shrugged. “I lied. I wanted to be alone and I thought it was easier to say I was waiting on someone than be rude to all of you.”

            He cocked an eyebrow. “That’s honest.”

            “I don’t like to lie and I don’t have any reason to lie to you now.”

            “Why did you have so many tickets if you weren’t expecting anyone?”

            Raine couldn’t keep the amusement out of her voice. “Are you questioning if I’m lying about lying?”

            A beautiful crooked smile filled half his face, revealing one of his dimples. “I’m not questioning if you’re lying. I guess I’m just curious, nosy.”

            Raine explained how she came to have the extra tickets. Gage nodded. “That was God. You were supposed to help us out.”

            Raine didn’t think that made any sense. “Why wouldn’t God just make it so I had one ticket and your mother had the ones she needed?”

            Silence again and then, “Because if God made it happen that way then I wouldn’t have run into you.”

            She swallowed now. Hard. He was staring at her. Looking from her face to her lips. He leaned closer and put a hand behind her neck. Then he brought his face closer so that it hovered just inches from hers. Raine could smell his breathe, the mint he’d popped into his mouth after eating the ice cream. She could also smell his cologne, a strong, sexy masculine scent that rose from his pores to torment her.

            But then just as quickly as he’d pulled her close, Gage let her go and reached for his ignition key. “It’s late. I need to get you inside.”

            Get her inside. She didn’t have a curfew. Raine was disappointed. But more than disappointed, she was embarrassed. She wanted that kiss. “I can see myself to my door,” she replied, icily. She released her seat belt and grabbed the door handle.

            His hand was on hers. “Raine, let me explain.”

            She turned toward him and frowned. “Explain what?”

            “Why I stopped.”

Raine thought she would die. No he was not going to explain why he was rejecting her. She sighed heavily.

“I don’t want to be disrespectful.”

            The conversation was awkward, but he’d started it, so she questioned, “A kiss is disrespectful?”

            He didn’t remove his hand from hers, but he didn’t respond either.

            Oh my God, she thought. He has a girlfriend or maybe even a wife. Of course he did. How could she be so naïve?  He didn’t want to disrespect his marriage. She dropped her eyes to their intertwined fingers. So why was he still holding her hand?

He finally spoke. “I’m careful about what I start.”

That only confused her more. “What does that mean?” she whispered. And then she thought, I don’t want to know. “Never mind. You don’t have to explain.” She grabbed the door handle again, but Gage squeezed the hand he held. She froze.

“I do, because I don’t want you to think I didn’t want to kiss you. My stopping has nothing to do with you.”

Raine didn’t look at him. If she could have jumped out of the car and run in the house without seeming rude she would have. She wanted to escape the pounding rush in her veins. The agony over the fact that the only man she’d ever wanted was taken. “Of course, I understand. You have to respect your wife or your girlfriend.”

“Wife or girlfriend?” She could hear a frown in his voice.

“You’ve been a real gentleman, Gage. I appreciate the ride.”

“Wait,” he insisted. “I don’t have a wife or a girlfriend.”

Raine knew she should not let the next question come out of her mouth because it was embarrassing and it would sound like begging, but she would drive herself crazy if she didn’t know. Since she knew she’d never see him again, she went ahead asked, “Then why did you stop?”

The expression on his face was so serious it nearly looked pained. “It’s late,” he said releasing her hand. “I’ll be back in the morning.”

“In the morning?” 

“I told you I was picking you up so we could see about getting your car towed.”

She shook her head. “It is really kind of you to offer, but you don’t have to do that.”

His words came swift and impulsively. “What if I want to do it?”

Her stomach flipped again. “Why would you want to do it? We’re not neighbors.”

“For the same reason I didn’t kiss you. I finish what I start. Once I commit to a thing, I have to see it all the way through.”

He smiled and opened his door. Once she got out they fell into step up her long walkway. She said good night to her prince, pushed the door closed and peeked out to watch him disappear. Raine kicked off her shoes and realized the irony of having both shoes. She hadn’t left one behind, so the prince didn’t have one. Gage didn’t have a reason to come looking for her. He didn’t even have anything to look with, because he hadn’t even asked for her phone number to call to make arrangements for tomorrow. Her Cinderella story was a bust.  

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Will be available in paperback on Amazon on February 24th and through other online retailers by March 1st.  

About the Author

Even as she pursued degrees in Textile Technology, Organizational Leadership and finally, Adult Education, Rhonda McKnight’s love for books and desire to write stories was always in the back of her mind and in the forefront of her heart. Rhonda loves reading and writing stories that touch the heart of women through complex plots and interesting characters in crisis. She writes from the comfort of her Atlanta home with black tea, Lays potato chips and chocolate on hand. At her feet sits a snappy mixed breed toy dog. She can be reached at her website at www.rhondamcknight and on social media at www.facebook.com/booksbyrhonda and www.twitter.com/rhondamcknight and www.blackchristianreads.com where she has joined with nine other Christian fiction authors to introduce her stories to the world.

WRITING MY DREAMS: Taking Your Emotions on a Roller Coaster Ride...: RHONDA MCKNIGHT_20 DAYS OF ROMANCE

WRITING MY DREAMS: Taking Your Emotions on a Roller Coaster Ride...: RHONDA MCKNIGHT_20 DAYS OF ROMANCE: Today's 20 Days of Romance post brings us a sweet, romantic, and longing kind of love. Rhonda McKnight shares an excerpt from her nov...

Coming Soon...Live A Little by Rhonda McKnight

A grieving woman, a hurting soldier and an abandoned dream...

Can they find hope for tomorrow in each other?

Raine Still has never had much of an identity outside of being the daughter of the old hippie couple that own Hope House, a transitional housing facility in the worse part of Charlotte, North Carolina, and that had been okay with her until her parents died and left her alone in world.

Gage Jordan is a decorated solider discharged from the army after fourteen years due to a physical injury, but the emotional scars are far worse than anything he’s rehabbed from. He has a great job lined up and a mass of support from his family, but something is missing and he’s starting to feel like it’s Raine.

Gage thought his wounded heart had issues, but Raine’s pain is much deeper. If something doesn’t give soon they will never have a chance at love. Can he convince her to see that “hope” and faith are the balm she needs to heal her hurting soul?

Read the 1st two chapters - 

Chapter 1

Raine Still wanted to die. Literally. She wanted her life to be over. This was a strange revelation to come to at this moment, but her monotonous life was just as it had been the past thirty-five Friday nights. Maybe if she broke her routine, stopped coming to the supermarket, picking up salmon or steak to take home and cook and eat alone, she would feel differently. Maybe if she agreed to join her coworkers at happy hour she would have had some fun and she’d feel differently. Maybe if it hadn’t been so long since she’d had someone, anyone in her life that wanted to be with her, she would feel differently. But Raine didn’t have anyone in her life. She didn’t really like her coworkers all that much and she was already here at the store, so it was too late for maybes. 

“Ms. Still, are you ready?”

Raine drew her eyes to the cashier’s. As large as this city was, the cashier knew her name. Raine knew she was Amanda, because the nametag said so, but she found it sad that Amanda knew hers. Every Friday night, they met, and exchanged greetings over food and money. Habit and routine were supposed to be good, but Raine had long since believed them to be evil.

“Paper or plastic,” Amanda asked. Amanda knew she wanted paper, but Raine had learned many Fridays ago that the woman was required to ask, lest her listening manager scold her for not doing so.

“Paper,” Raine responded. Amanda promptly retrieved a bag and began to check her groceries. The total came quickly. Raine slid her card to pay for her items, picked up her bag and left the store. She usually made more polite conversation. After all it would be the only conversation she’d have with a human being until she began work again on Monday morning. But tonight, Raine wanted Amanda to remember that she was solemn, because if the story made the news about the young woman found dead in her Southpark residence from a suicide, Raine wanted Amanda to be able to recount the facts to her friends accurately. She wanted Amanda to say, “She seemed down or sad.” Raine had no idea why that mattered, when nothing, not even breathing mattered.

She exited the store and climbed into her car. A young mother pushed a shopping cart with two small children past her door. She’d always wanted children. Raine had wanted a family, and she couldn’t fathom why God had not allowed her to have the thing she wanted most. Well, second to most. What she wanted most was her parents, but they were both dead. She sighed and started the car.

The ride home was unremarkable. She entered the house, kicked off her shoes and placed her bag on the kitchen counter. Raine shed her coat and buried herself into her favorite sofa cushion. She remembered the faces of those children at the supermarket. For some reason, they were etched in her mind. The memory of them reminded her of her failure. Her failure to carve out the life she wanted for herself.

Her cell phone rang. The face of her best friend, and former college roommate, Kiara Baker appeared on the screen. Kiara had been calling for days. She was worried. But Kiara had moved to Phoenix a year ago. Phoenix seemed like a million miles away. Raine let it go to voicemail like that was some kind of punishment for leaving her. Truthfully, she knew she wasn’t that petty. Raine just didn’t feel like talking which was unfair to Kiara, because she hadn’t felt like talking all week. When the phone stopped ringing, a text message came through.

I’m worried. Please call me.

Raine’s eyes became wet with tears. “I can’t call you,” she whispered. She tucked her feet under her bottom and leaned back against the sofa cushion. Raine was too sad to call anyone. She had tried hard not to wallow in it, but she was barely holding on. Questions swirled around in her head:  Where had she gone wrong? How did she let herself come to this place?

 She went to college, started a career like every other woman, but then she stalled. Nothing happened. She’d had no series of boyfriends or dates that would get her closer to marriage. Was she so utterly unapproachable that she’d warded off every man that would have thought she was halfway decent looking? Or had the years of teleworking in isolation and the evenings and weekends spent working at Hope House with the homeless cut her off from civilization? Raine didn’t know if it was her or her lifestyle that had brought her to this place. But she did know she was tired of it. She was tired of the life she had. Living it everyday had become a burden and she had no idea how to change it.

Raine stood and left the living room for the office/sitting room. She’d converted her formal dining room into this tranquil space. It was her favorite room in the house. She’d had a window seat installed under the bay window and covered the seating with a brocade floral fabric in a satin finish that had just the right shades of rose and mint green. Next to the window was her writing table, an antique Queen Anne style desk that she and her mother won at an auction. This little nook was where Raine read, relaxed, dreamed, where she penned those dreams in her journal.

On the wall above the desk she had a sign her father had carved and painted for her that read, A Room of Raine’s Own. The phrase was taken from the title of an essay she’d read in college by Virginia Woolf. Raine had talked about the insight of Ms. Woolf endlessly the summer she’d read the essay. Eight years later when she purchased her house, her father surprised her with the sign. He’d remembered her rambling and his effort blessed her so. Raine didn’t think there was anything more valuable in her entire house than that gift. She smiled just thinking about the joy it had given her over the years.

She looked to the right. On the other end of the room was her home office. She’d been teleworking three to four days out of the week for a few years. That space had the same relaxing themes, but it was in sharp contrast to her woman cave in terms of relaxation. Though it paid extremely well, Raine despised her job and the only reason the two spaces were in the same room was because her company required teleworker’s home offices to be on the first floor of their dwelling. No stairs reduced the company’s liability for workers compensation related injuries at home. Since this was the only room on the first level of the house besides the kitchen, living room and a powder room, this was it. She’d planned to move her private little nook, but then her dad had passed  away and her mother became ill shortly after. Now she had no desire to move it. Besides, she was able to compartmentalize the spaces and ignore one when she was in the other.

Raine took a seat at her writing desk, opened the door and removed a prescription bottle of pills that she had placed there. Two months of sleeping pills. Sixty pills would put a dinosaur in a comma. They would surely end her misery. She opened the bottle and poured the pills out. She played with them for a few minutes, taking in the smooth, hard texture. She lined them up in rows of ten like white lines of cocaine across the width of the forest green desk blotter.

Were these tiny little pills the answer to all her problems? Could she really just take them and disappear into heaven with her parents? Disappear from the hell she was living that was void of anyone. She was convinced they were. Hanging herself seemed gruesome. Raine had already failed miserably at slitting her wrist. She didn’t like pain. Escaping pain was the whole point. She sighed. Her stomach growled like a hungry bear was inside of her. She hadn’t eaten since morning. Taking pills on an empty stomach might cause her to vomit and that would be disastrous. She’d read stories about people who failed at overdosing on pills turning into vegetables. That was not going to be her story.  She was going to be successful this time. God himself was going to have to come down from heaven to stop her. Raine was determined when she closed her eyes tonight she would wake up on the other side of life. She stood and went to the kitchen to make her last supper.

***

Raine stared at the phone until it stopped ringing. It had been a local number. She didn’t know anyone local that would be calling her after nine on a Friday evening, so she decided it was a wrong number. She ignored it and went back to writing the letter she was leaving for Kiara. Raine looked at the glass of water and the pills. It wouldn’t be long before she’d be done with her short note and then she’d have to take the next step, swallowing them all. She felt overwhelmed by the thought. Her throat closed. She could hardly breathe enough to push the words out of her mind and onto the paper.

The phone rang again. Answer it, a voice in her head said. So instead of ignoring it again, she swiped the screen.  

“Hello, may I speak to Raine Still.”

“This is she.” Raine rolled her eyes. Who else would it be? It was her number.

“Oh, Raine, thank goodness. This is Elissa Wilson from the arts council. How are you, dear?”

She immediately regretted her snarky thoughts. Her mother had loved this woman. “I’m well.” Raine put down the pen and pushed the sheet of paper away from her.

“That’s good to hear. Well, I do apologize for calling at the last minute, but we have tickets for you.”

Raine frowned. “Tickets?”

“You called a few months ago about tickets to The Show. At the time we were sold out. I know how much your mother, God rest her soul, loved the show and supported it every year. I felt horrible that we were sold out.”

Raine closed her eyes and opened them to possibility. “Ms. Wilson, are you calling to say there are tickets?”

“Why yes, dear. I didn’t know that our director put tickets aside in your mother’s name. I just discovered this a week ago, but I didn’t have a contact number for you. I sent a few emails but you didn’t respond. It occurred to me that the secretary at Oak Hill Church would have a phone number, so I called her up and begged for your number. Again, I apologize for the late notice. She just got back to me less than ten minutes ago.”

Tickets to The Show. Raine closed her eyes to the delight of it. Her mother’s very favorite thing. She had promised her mother she’d continue to support the arts council. She’d done so with monthly donations from her bank account, but she’d missed the deadline to get tickets for this year’s performance.

“You must support and attend the theatre. The arts are important. Culture is important. The only thing that separates us from the animals is culture and education.” She’d heard that countless times during her childhood and on up into her adulthood.

“I won’t see my grandchildren, but make sure you take them to the theatre. Introduce them to museums and the ballet. Make sure they see The Show every year.”

Raine felt lightheaded. She was glad she was sitting or she surely would have fainted and hit the floor. “Tell me, Ms. Wilson, when can I pick up the tickets?”

“Well, that’s just it, dear. Like I said, it’s last minute. Our fault here. Please understand.”

She was getting frustrated with the drama, but she kept her tone even and courteous. “It’s fine, Ms. Wilson. Please give me the details.”

“The tickets are for tomorrow night’s performance. Nine p.m. They’ll be at the window in your name.”

Raine nodded. Tomorrow night was perfect.

“There are four of them,” Ms. Wilson said interrupting her thoughts.

Raine frowned again. “I only need one.”

“Well, you have four. Perhaps you can invite friends to join you. There’s no charge for them, so you never know, people may be willing to shuffle plans around for free theatre tickets.”

Friends. Raine almost laughed out loud. She didn’t have any of those. “I doubt that’ll happen, Ms. Wilson. I think it would be better if you tried to sell them or gift them to someone else.”

“It’s too late for that. If you can’t use them, they’ll just go to waste. Please do try to find a taker amongst your friends.”

Rained nodded. “Of course. I’ll see what I can do. Thank you, Ms. Wilson. Thank you so much for tracking me down.”

“Enjoy the performance, dear.”

They ended the call.

Raine looked at the pills and the paper and pen. She raised her hands to her ears, covered them and shook her head.

“What am I doing?” Her voice was a desperate squeal. She was shamed. Her parents wouldn’t want her to do this. Even though she wanted to see them again, they would not want to see her. Not dead at thirty-four. Her mother had to reach down from heaven and put tickets in front of her to make her see that. She groaned. The anguish from her pain filled the quiet room. Raine dropped her arms, turned her wrist up and looked at the scars from the time she’d cut her wrist a year ago in an unsuccessful attempt to end things after her mother’s funeral. Why had she let the idea of death consume her? Why couldn’t she find the will to fight for her life? She didn’t know, but she did know one thing. She was not killing herself tonight. She had a date with her mother tomorrow.  

Raine stood, left the room as it was and went up the stairs to her bedroom. She opened the closet and walked to the rear where she kept dresses for formal occasions. She chose one she’d purchased but had never worn. It was perfect for a night at the theatre. She hung it on the hook inside her closet door. Walked to her bed, climbed in and pulled the comforter over her body. Her mother’s show. Raine had a reason to live another day. God had given her the sign she prayed for. Maybe there was something she was supposed to do with her life after all.

Chapter 2

Gage Jordan wasn’t crazy about the theatre. In fact, at this stage of his life, he wasn’t crazy about anything that was pretend. Having received his medical discharge papers after serving his fifth tour in the Middle East, he wasn’t able to reconcile anything pretentious or frivolous with the reality of life in the war torn country he had called home for more of his adult years than the country he actually called his real home. But it was his parent’s anniversary. They wanted their children in attendance and standing at attention he would be.

His cell phone vibrated. He removed it from his pocket. The installed walkie-talkie app had an incoming message. He pushed the button and listened.

“You are as slow as an old woman, Gagey. Forward march your hind parts down the stairs.”

A smile touched his lips. His sister, Cree was as animated and descriptive as she had been the first day she uttered her first word, which was not mama or daddy, but paday which was her version of party. And she was right. They had been waiting for him for much too long. 

He stood and took the two steps that closed the distance between the tub and the sink. Gage had been dressed for more than twenty minutes. Instead of exiting his bedroom and making the trip downstairs to join his family, he’d been hiding out in his bathroom. He’d been hiding from rest of the evening, because he’d already given just about all the mental energy he had to his family.

It had been a long day. It began with breakfast with his parents, served by his older brother, Chase, a gourmet chef with a rising star of a catering business. During breakfast, anniversary gifts were presented and love and laughter were exchanged, as they took a long trip down memory lane. Then the Jordans met for an early dinner at his parent’s new favorite restaurant, The Cajun Queen, where they had ridiculous cuts of blackened steak and enormous prawns covered in rich and decadent Creole sauces.

Then, as if that wasn’t enough, they piled into their cars and met up at The Crave Dessert Bar, one of Cree’s haunts. There everyone loaded up on cheesecake, pies, cupcakes and every other manner of high caloric, sinful dessert they could shove in their mouths. And now they were headed to the theatre for their annual get together to see The Show.

The Show was a variety presentation of various local talents, many of them children. Most of it was musical and included singing, dancing, and instrumental performance pieces. There was even some comedy. It was family friendly, entertaining, well done and any other positive words Gage could think to describe a show of its kind, but singing and dancing and humor were hardly palatable for him. Not at this time.

“You’re a soldier,” he whispered to himself as he raised his hand to straighten his tie knot. In some ways, his battle to re-enter civilian life was worse than it had been overseas, but he was making the transition, one day at a time.

Gage exited the bathroom, his bedroom and took the steps as quickly as he could. Clapping loudly as he entered the room he shouted, “Okay, let’s go show them that we can show up on time for The Show.”

Cree stood and closed the distance between them. “You look handsome. I think this is the first time in years that I’ve seen you in a suit that wasn’t issued by the Army.” She pursed her lips. Then frowned as she studied his tie. “Didn’t Uncle Sam teach you how to center your tie?” She reached for the knot. Gage grabbed her hands a little more forcefully than he intended to.

“It’s as straight as it needs to be,” he said apologizing with his eyes after he released her.

Cree’s bottom lip quivered. She whispered, “Are you okay?”

He nodded. “It’s been a long day and I’ve only been home a few weeks. I’m adjusting.”

Cree frowned again and sighed in much the same manner as she had the other times he’d reminded her that he was adjusting. He knew she didn’t mean any harm. She just wanted her older brother back and having no frame of reference for all that he’d been through meant she had high expectations for that to happen. Gage knew it was impossible. He’d been changed forever by the war. But he could pretend with the best of them, so he forced a grin, clapped his hands again and barked the order, “Line up Jordan’s.”

 His siblings stood and lined up at the door in order of birth. Doing so was a habit they’d carried over from childhood. Their mother, Evelyn Jordan, said it was easier to keep up with them if they stood in line in ascending order of the way she’d birthed them, so it began with the youngest, Arielle, followed by Drake, Cree, Cade, Brooke, a space for him and then finally, the oldest of the group, his brother, Chase. The only difference in the line up now was that all three of his brother had wives next to them, but they were 

They exited Brooke’s townhouse, and filled as few vehicles as they could get into comfortably. Their parents, driven by a limo they’d rented for the occasion, were probably already in route to the theatre.

Brooke, Cree, and Arielle happily climbed into his Hummer. The truck was a gift Gage had purchased for himself with the intention of celebrating his exit from the military. He now realized that not only had it been a spontaneous overindulgence, the vehicle also symbolized a military tank. He’d only managed to remind himself that his permanent disability retirement from the Army was not a thing he wanted to celebrate.

He said a prayer of protection as he always did before he started an engine and then Arielle turned on the radio and filled the car’s cabin with music that she and Cree rocked and sang to. He and his sister Brooke, the old folks, at thirty-six and thirty-four respectively admonished them to lower the volume on their vocal collaboration. They did so, but only for a minute.

Gage trailed behind the other two cars. Chase and his wife, Pamela and Drake and his wife, Olivia were in one vehicle and his brother, Cade and his wife, Savant were in another. Cade and Savant never joined anyone no matter how much room was in the car. It was said that Savant was not easy to share a small space with. Gage had been gone for fourteen years so he didn’t know. But he assumed it was true, because his brother, once fun and lively, seemed stressed and burdened. The man’s chest was less out than it should have been. He was graying early, which was something Jordan men didn’t do. Gage knew better than anyone what stress could do to a man. His career in the military had taught him that stress killed if it was not properly managed. Even if one took the time to exercise, eat right, and get proper rest, they still had to take control of their mind or thoughts about the things that were stressing them would eat them alive. That he knew for sure, because his own mind had practically devoured him whole.

The three car caravan moved effortlessly through the streets of Charlotte, from Myers Park area where most of his siblings lived to the Plaza-Midwood area where the East Charlotte Black Art Theatre was located. When they arrived, their parents, Nathaniel and Evelyn Jordan were stepping out of their limousine.

Gage observed his father’s tender handling of his mother. Of all the men he’d respected in his fourteen year career in the military he had never met a man that he thought more of than his father. Forty years of marriage and an unquestionable devotion to a woman he met and married in a week, seven children and a successful business in Jordan Home Renovations that they had grown together and were now transitioning to sons Cade and Drake was a lot to admire.  He didn’t know many people who could testify to such a fine example of commitment and hard work.

He followed the other two cars into the parking lot outside the small theater, hopped out and opened the three passenger doors and helped his sisters down from the tall vehicle.

“That was a nice ride,” Arielle crooned. “As soon as I get good and in the black I’m going to get me a nice used H2.” Arielle had just started a business management consulting company. She was working hard. But business was contract to contract with some weeks in between clients, which made her anxious. Though her father and siblings assured her that all entrepreneurs had to build a portfolio and that a business didn’t grow overnight. Gage was proud of her for leaving corporate America and doing her own thing.

“You can take this one off my hands if I don’t get a job soon,” he replied.

Cree laughed as he reached in to help her. “You’re going to get that job with the feds next week.” She reached up for his tie and pushed the knot again. “What’s wrong with this tie?” This time he didn’t stop her from her manipulation. “I’m not used to you not being all buttoned up properly.”

A smile lifted the corner of his mouth. “Maybe I’m trying to relax my look. Who knows, next week I might show up with a blazer and no shirt.”

All three of his sisters laughed.

It was Brooke who said something this time. “It doesn’t hurt to do something different. Especially if what you’ve been doing isn’t working.”

Cree smirked. “Listen to Ms. All In Love trying to tell someone to step out of the box. If it wasn’t for me, you’d still be tied to some laptop doing that work-a-holic thing.”

Brooke planted her hands on her hips. “Do not try to take credit for the new me. My man helped me to step away from the computer. Not you.”

Cree rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but I had to convince you to give your man a chance. You almost blew that.”

Brooke waved Cree’s statement off. “Ain’t nobody got time for all this fiction. Mom and Dad are waiting for us.”

They met up with their coupled siblings and made their way across the street to the theater.

The smile on his mother’s face made the effort to be here worth it. She’d supported this venue since the days when she and his father lived in the neighborhood and that had been more than twenty years ago. The effort began with an afterschool program in a small community center. Drama, music, and visual arts were introduced to low income children in the neighborhood. Soon it became apparent that the children loved acting and dancing and singing more than anything else, so the center director shifted most of the activities that way and The Show evolved. The Black History Show known simply as The Show was a showcase of different scenes from slavery to the civil rights movement. Adults were also in the performance and every year they managed to get a celebrity to join the cast. This year the spotlight would be on television and movie personality, Loretta Divine.

Cree and Brooke joined their mother in the line to pick up tickets and the rest of the group waited off to the side and debated about whether or not the Panthers would go all the way in the playoffs.

“What do you mean? I spoke with Ms. Wilson yesterday.” Gage heard his mother say. There seemed to be some kind of misunderstanding at the box office that his brothers and father had not yet become aware of because of their banter about football. Gage left the discussion to see about the issue his mother was having.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“There’s a mix up with the tickets. They’re trying to work it out now.” Cree’s mouth was a thin line of disappointment. “I don’t know why these people won’t email you tickets. All this will call at the box office is prehistoric.”

“Or at least pre-email,” Gage teased.

Cree hit him playfully and more light entered her eyes. “You got jokes. It’s good to hear one come out of your mouth.”

He swallowed a protest. It was true that he’d been less than fun to be around since his discharge, but he was trying. He was trying so very hard and no one in world understood all that he was dealing with. They had no idea how hard it was to transition to civilian life after being a soldier for nearly fourteen years. And then there was his guilt over what had happened to his friend, J.J., during his last assignment. Gage was still trying to recover from that. Before his mind wandered back to the memories, he heard Brooke exclaim loudly. 

“Oh my goodness! Raine Still!”

Gage and Cree turned in the direction of the woman who had caught Brooke’s attention. Brooke closed the distance between Raine and herself. It seemed to take a few seconds for her to recognize Brooke. When she did, a warm smiled formed over brilliant teeth. She accepted the heartfelt hug from Brooke. Before they parted, Raine looked over Brooke’s shoulder right into his eyes. Gage felt his stomach drop.

“How are you?” Brooke asked, pulling Raine’s attention back to herself. They began the girl chatter involved in catching up.

Gage couldn’t pull his eyes away. Her elegant shoulders rose and fell as she released an exaggerated huff about her dress being an old thing when Brooke complimented it. She raised a hand with long, pretty fingers to sweep her shoulder-length, straight styled hair behind an ear.

Cree’s voice sliced through his thoughts. “Wasn’t she in school the same time you were?” Then she waved off her question. “Never mind. You probably wouldn’t remember her. She was a few years behind you.”

I remember her, he thought. It had been years since he’d seen her. “She attended Cade’s wedding,” he offered like that was his only instance of acquaintance. It was not.

Cree frowned. “That’s right. Her mother sang.”

Gage’s exchange with Raine at the wedding had been brief. A dance that he’d wished could have lasted longer. But her mother became ill, something about eating nuts and needing to go home to take Benadryl. The sudden break seemed just as disappointing for her as it had been for him. Two days later he’d shipped off for his first tour to Afghanistan. That had been his first of two encounters with Raine.

“You all remember Raine,” Brooke said as she practically pulled the woman by her arm toward them.

“Of course,” Cree replied as she stepped and air kissed her. “It’s been a minute. Fab dress.”

She thanked Cree and then raised her eyes to his again.

Gage thought his heart would come out of his chest. She hadn’t changed. He knew that because he remembered every line of her beautiful face, which seemed to have gotten better looking over the years, probably because she’d filled out some. She was a skinny teenager. Scrawny might be an even a better description. Braces and a mass of wild curly hair that no ponytail holder or cornrows seemed to tame, at least not by her adoptive Caucasian mother. But she was pretty. He remembered always thinking those huge brown eyes would make some man melt one day.

Gage had been a senior when she entered their high school. Captain of the football team, he’d been tied down with the head cheerleader. But he’d always been curious about Raine Still, the loner with the eccentric seventy year-old parents. That’s why he’d asked her to dance that night at the wedding. That’s why his heart was pounding out of his chest now.

Gage spoke her name as a greeting. “Raine.” He didn’t know if he was supposed to hug her or shake her hand, so he did neither. She smiled coyly, but those big brown eyes were not shy. “It’s good to see you again,” he added.

Before she could respond their mother broke the conversation. Her face was a mask of disappointment. “You’re not going to believe this.”

“What is it?” Cree asked.

“They don’t have all my tickets.” His mother practically cried out the words. She handed the tickets to Cree and reached into her handbag for a tissue.

“Well, are they sold out?” Brooke asked.

“You know this show sells out before Halloween every year.” His mother continued. “This is ridiculous.”

They were regrouping and trying to figure out what they could do when Raine spoke up.

“Maybe I can help.” Her words offered hope. She was speaking to his mother, but she drew her eyes to his for a moment. “How many do you need?”

A curious expression came over his mother’s face and while frustration still tainted her words, there was a slight lilt in her tone when she replied, “Just two.”

“I have two extra tickets,” Raine said and then she smiled. It was a smile that was brighter than any of the stars in the sky. Gage felt his stomach drop again.

Raine swept past Cree and went to the now empty ticket counter, exchanged a few words with the gentleman there and came back with two tickets in her hand. “I had four, but I don’t need them.”

His mother blinked, then broke into a gracious smile. “Are you sure dear?”

Rained nodded. “Of course I am.”

“What do we owe you?” Gage interjected removing his wallet from his pocket. He knew from the conversation in the car ride that the tickets were expensive.

Raine shook her head. “Oh, no, they were complimentary, so…” Her eyes met his again and her voice came across with a nervous tremble. “They were free.”

Gage returned his wallet to his pocket. She was blushing. Still shy, he thought. And he still found it incredibly sexy.

Brooke’s interruption broke their gazes. “You’re a godsend, Raine. Mother, you remember Raine, her mother Amanda Still sang at –”

Evelyn Jordan gave Brooke a look that shut her eldest daughter’s mouth. “Of course. Her mother and I worked on the arts council together for years. How could I not know her?” She leaned in and gave Raine a motherly hug. “How have you been, honey?”

Raine closed her eyes, and made the hug deeper as she held on longer than most would with someone who wasn’t family. If Gage didn’t know any better he’d think she was soaking in some motherly love. When the hug broke, Raine replied, “I’ve been fine, ma’am.”

His mother continued, “I tried to reach out to you after the funeral.”

Raine nodded. Her eyes became misty and her voice trembled some more. “I know, Mrs. Jordan. I apologize for not responding.”

His mother nodded understanding. “I know it’s been hard.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Raine was gracious, but Gage knew she was heartbroken. He could see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice. He wondered who had passed away. Both her parents had to be in their late eighties.

“Are we going in or not?” Savant Jordan, Cade’s irritable wife, interrupted in a less than amiable tone. “I’d love to take these five inches off underneath my feet. It’s cold out here and it’s going to get crowded in there. We don’t want to have to sit in the back.”

The air in their space suddenly got a little chillier. Cree handed her all but four of the tickets. Through a tight smile she said, “Why don’t you disperse those, Sugar, and go on in.”

Gage noticed everybody’s smile was tight around Savant. The failing actress seemed to be failing at more than her career. Gage also noticed she and Cade were at each other’s throats most of the time in arguments sparked by her temper. Rumors of a separation were in the air. Jordan’s didn’t end marriages, so Cade was holding on for dear life.

Savant swished away. She shoved all of the tickets but two at Arielle, took Cade by arm and pulled him into the theater with her. Gage wondered if it was normal for her to run down a list of complaints like she’d just done. Shoes, cold, crowd...he felt sorry for his brother.

The rest of the family stepped to their party. After introducing Raine as an old friend, Brooke announced it was time to be seated because a swarm of people were coming from the parking lot.

His parents locked arms. His father said, “I should make y’all line up.”

The Jordan’s laughed and their little crowd made a move to the main entrance.

Brooke hung on to Raine for a moment, expressing how good it was to see her, but then looked around and asked, “Who are you here with?”

Raine’s bottom lip quivered and the glow left her eyes. She shrugged. “Late. I’m sure they’ll be here in a minute.”

Gage sensed her disappointment. True to herself, Brooke offered, “Come in and sit with us until.”

Raine declined with a shake of her head. “I might have missed seeing their car go into the parking lot while we talked. Really, it was wonderful seeing you again, Brooke. You look fantastic.”

Brooke smiled widely. “So do you.”

Gage couldn’t agree more. Brooke looped her arm through his and said, “Thank you so much for the save. It’s our parent’s anniversary, so it’s a special night.”

Raine tilted her head to the left and said, “Please congratulate your parents for me. It was my pleasure to help with the tickets.”

But something about those tickets hadn’t been her pleasure. Gage could see it in her eyes. They weren’t quite as bright and the smile on her face reminded him of the one Cree had given Savant. It was disingenuous, but in a sad way. 

“Good to see you again.” He nodded and fell into step with his sister.

Gage released Brooke’s arm to allow her to enter the single door ahead of him, then glanced back. Raine was not facing their direction. He hesitated, hoping she would, but she continued to look towards the parking lot.

Her date is late, he thought. Must be a woman because surely a man would have picked her up at home. He chastised himself for wondering if it was some out of order dude. That was none of his business, but the rapid beating of his heart made him think he wished it was. He pushed the thought from his mind before he slipped through the door to join his family. 

Live A Little will be available on Feb 12th on Kindle/Nook and Smashwords and in paperback on Feb 21st.