Unsurprisingly, his mind drifted to his own mother and how much he’d missed seeing her this past year.
The closeness he once shared with his mother and younger sister was, by far, the greatest casualty in this fallout between him and his dad. Not a single day went by that he didn’t think about them.
Pride wouldn’t allow him to admit to missing anything about his dad. As a father, he had been sufficient but mostly missing in action, sacrificing time with his family to build his empire. As a boss, he had been barely tolerable.
Jamal had always had a hard time separating the father from the CEO. His mother’s unwavering support was given without question, but his father’s approval had always had strings attached. It required blind allegiance to his ideals, and any opposition to his way of thinking was considered insurrection.
Jamal’s life was just fine without Lawrence Johnson, the head of Johnson Construction. Which meant he would have to do without Lawrence Johnson, the father, as well.
But did that mean he had to remain estranged from his mother and sister? Why should they continue to suffer from something that had nothing to do with them?
“Is this your new man, Agatha?” Jamal heard Phylicia’s mother ask.
Phylicia’s eyes flew to his. “Uh…yes, it is,” she said as both she and her mother stood. Jamal saw the pleading in Phylicia’s eyes as the women made their way over to where he stood.
The older version of Phylicia, who was as lithe and beautiful as her daughter, held her hand out.
“I’m Sabina, Agatha’s older sister, but not by that many years.”
He captured her hand and placed a kiss on the backs of her fingers. “I’m Jamal, and you are as beautiful and elegant as your younger sister.”
She blushed and turned to Phylicia. “You’ve got yourself a charmer here, Agatha. I think he’s a keeper.”
“I think you may be right,” Phylicia said, her huge brown eyes filled with gratitude and remorse and myriad other things that made the air in Jamal’s lungs evaporate.
They all turned at a knock on the door. It was the nurse, Rebecca. “Sorry to disturb you all, but it’s dinnertime,” she said.
“No need to apologize,” Phylicia said. “It’s time we hit the road.” She leaned over and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be back to see you soon—tomorrow, if I can manage it.”
“Oh, don’t worry about coming here to see me, Agatha. You need to spend as much time with your young man as you can.”
“I’ll come with her,” Jamal said, earning him a quick, surprised glance from Phylicia.
“Oh, yes, he’s a good one,” her mother said. She ushered them both out of the room. “Go on, now. And I’ll see you two later.”
They made their way out of Mossy Oaks in silence, neither saying a word until they were both seated in the truck. Phylicia reached over and put her hand on his forearm.
“Thank you,” she said.
“It’s no big deal,” Jamal replied.
“It’s averybig deal. I’ve been handling my mother’s disease for three years by myself. I didn’t realize how much I needed someone to lean on, especially after a day like today.”
He reached over with his right hand and moved a strand of hair from her face. “I’m happy I could be that person for you.”
“So am I,” she said.
The return trip to Gauthier was made with very little communication between them, just the occasional comment about houses they passed or other drivers on the road. There was so much more he wanted to say, but every time he started to speak about what happened back at Mossy Oaks, Jamal stopped himself. He could sense that Phylicia needed space.
He pulled into her driveway and parked. The logical thing would have been to have her drop him off at Belle Maison, where he’d left his truck, but he didn’t think Phylicia should be driving.
“I can call Corey, have him pick me up,” Jamal suggested.
She looked down at her lap, then over at him. “Would you mind coming in?” she asked in a soft voice. “Just for a few minutes.”
The relief that flooded him was enough to drown a small village. “Absolutely,” Jamal said.
He got out of the truck and followed her into the house. The silence continued as Phylicia flipped on the lights and walked to the kitchen. Jamal wasn’t sure what he should say. He decided to come right out with the question that had been weighing on his mind.
