Taking a handkerchief from the pocket of his slacks, Cameron dabbed his eyes. “It does sound rather dramatic for a tiny six-pound, two-ounce baby.”
“I know you want to spend some time with your wife and daughter, so I’m going to call a taxi and go back to the house.” Cameron had given her a key and the code to the security system.
“Don’t bother. I’ll take you back, because I’d like to clean up a bit before returning.”
Nydia only nodded, though she wanted to tell the normally dapper new father that he did look a hot mess with a wrinkled shirt and slacks he’d hastily pulled on when Jasmine woke him to say she was experiencing labor pains. When he knocked on the door to her room to tell Nydia that he was taking Jasmine to the hospital, she told him that she was coming with him.
He’d driven like a maniac while Nydia sat in the second row of seats in the minivan with Jasmine attempting to keep her calm as the pains increased with each passing minute. She had to shout to him to slow down or they would never make it, and in the end they were able to make it to the emergency entrance to the hospital without an accident. The staff was waiting at the door to place Jasmine on a stretcher and wheel her into the labor room.
Now, after the baby had made her entrance into the world, Nydia held out her hand. “I’ll drive back.” Cameron dropped the fob in her hand, and together they walked out of the hospital and into the cold February rain.
Chapter 24
“Kendra, please give me the dishes on the table so I can finish loading the dishwasher,” Ramona Griffin said softly.
“Come and get them yourself.”
Lamar walked into the kitchen in time to hear his daughter’s acerbic reply. “What did you say?”
Kendra glared at him. “I said she can come and get them herself. There’s nothing wrong with her hands or feet.”
He did not want to believe she would repeat the disrespectful remark. “Get up and put the dishes in the sink, then I want you to go to your room and stay there.” Kendra popped up and stacked the dishes and dropped them in the sink, and then stalked out of the kitchen. Lamar shook his head. “I’m sorry, Ramona. I don’t know what has gotten into her lately, but I intend to find out. This is the last time she will disrespect an adult in this house.”
“It’s all right, Lamar. She’s just going through a phase and—”
“It’s not all right,” he countered, cutting her off. “No child of mine will act disrespectful as long as he or she resides under my roof. So consider this the last time it will happen.”
Lamar left the kitchen and took the staircase to the second story and knocked on the door to Kendra’s room. “Open the door.”
“No!” came her reply.
He tried the knob and found the door locked. “Unlock the door, Kendra.”
“No!”
Lamar raised his foot to kick the door in but changed his mind. He had no intention of damaging his property because of a surly adolescent. Retracing his steps, he went to a room where he kept a toolbox and returned with a drill. It took less than three minutes to remove the doorknob and he walked into the bedroom to find Kendra standing staring at him as if she had never seen him before. Her eyes were filled with fear.
“I want you to apologize to Miss Ramona.”
“No, Daddy. She always orders me around.”
He struggled to control his temper. Lamar picked up the drill and removed the hinges from the door, and placed the door against a wall. “The door stays off until you come to your senses and apologize to Miss Ramona. And if I ever hear something like that coming out of your mouth again you’ll be grounded until you’re old enough to leave my house. I don’t intend to subject Nydia to your freshness once I marry her.”
“I don’t want you to marry her. I hate her!”
Lamar did not intend to argue with an eleven-year-old. “The door stays off!”
He walked into his home office and closed the door, unable to understand why his daughter had gone from a sweet, affectionate girl to an angry, impudent person he did not recognize. “I don’t give afuckabout hormones,” he swore under his breath.
Once Jasmine gave birth, he and Nydia had agreed he should tell Kendra that they were planning to marry. At first his daughter seemed happy with the news, and then like quicksilver she changed, becoming more solemn each day until today’s verbal barrage. Lamar knew he had to put his house in order before inviting Nydia into a hostile environment that was destined to end in divorce.
* * *
Nydia parked her leased Corolla hatchback on the street in front of Lamar’s house and walked through the porte cochère and into the courtyard. It had been raining off and on for more than a week and daytime temperatures were cool enough for her to wear several layers. She and Lamar had planned to shop for rings before they officially announced their engagement, and she had offered to pick him up.
The door opened before she could ring the bell, and Lamar pulled her inside. “I didn’t want to tell you on the phone, but I’ve been going through hell with Kendra.”
Nydia removed her wool jacket and hung it on a peg in the entryway. “What’s going on?”
