Dance Into Destiny Read online

  He chuckled to himself and rubbed Quintell’s face on the picture. “Looks exactly like me, doesn’t he? I felt like he was a little present from my dad. He didn’t stay around, but left a part of himself for me.”

  Quinton pulled himself away from his thoughts and the picture. “I’m sorry. I’m ruining your perfect proposal going on and on about my dysfunctional family.”

  “You’re not ruining anything, silly. It’s important that I know about your family so I’ll know what I’m getting.”

  “Oh, no. I better stop before you change your mind then.”

  She kissed him softly. “That’s not gonna happen.”

  He kissed her back, longer this time. Shara felt a tingling in her stomach. She moaned softly. She was the one to pull away this time.

  Quinton laughed. “Um hmm. Now you get to feel the torture you’re always putting me through.”

  The phone rang.

  Quinton winced. “Sorry. I should have turned it off.” He turned the ringer off and came back over to her, but then his pager went off. He looked at it. “Sorry, baby. It’s a 911 from Jamil. Let me go ahead and call him back otherwise he’ll be showing up at the door.”

  He dialed the number. “Jamilly-mill, man, you got the worst timing, dog.” His smile faded and fear replaced it. “Oh God, Jamil! All right, I’ll be there in a minute.”

  He hung up the phone and picked up his keys. “Shara, listen closely. I want you to call the police and tell them there’s been a shooting at the church basketball court.”

  He saw the panic in her eyes. “Calm down, baby. Nobody’s been shot. That’s the only way to get them there fast. Listen to me. I want you to stay here. Do not leave this apartment until you talk to me directly. I don’t care what you hear. Promise me that, okay? Don’t go out that door unless you talk to me and I tell you it’s safe.”

  She nodded, hardly able to breathe. “Quinton, be careful . . .”

  He kissed her quickly as he walked out the door. “I’ll be fine, baby. I’ll be back before you know it.”

  Shara ran to the phone and dialed 911 as he had instructed. After she talked to them, she started praying, pacing back and forth across the living room.

  She heard gunshots, too many of them. They came from the direction of the church, right down the street. She screamed, “God, please don’t let anything happen to Quinton.”

  She looked at the ring on her finger.

  God wouldn’t do that to her, would He?

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Shara’s heart beat faster when she heard the ear-piercing cry of an ambulance siren. Her head spun and her stomach churned. She ran to the bathroom and threw up her dinner. Everything was bright red from the red velvet cake. It reminded her of blood. She threw up again.

  She grabbed her purse and keys and ran to the door, but remembered her promise to Quinton. She closed the door and called his cell phone, but there was no answer. She paced the floors of the apartment, still praying. She thought of calling Mother Hobbs, but didn’t want to worry her when she didn’t know what was going on herself. Pastor Kendrick and Jenell were out of town celebrating their wedding anniversary. She dialed Keeva’s number.

  Keeva promised to get there in fifteen minutes.

  When she arrived, Shara opened the door, her face swollen from crying, her voice ragged from screaming.

  Keeva pulled Shara onto the couch and held her. “Shara, everything’s gonna be fine.” She saw the ring on Shara’s hand. “Oh my God!”

  That made Shara cry even harder.

  Keeva rocked her and started praying. “God, we just commit Quinton into your hands. We thank you for your angels that you have protecting him, lest he even dash his foot against a stone. We thank you that nothing shall by any means harm him and that no weapon formed against him shall prosper . . .”

  Hearing Keeva praying scriptures had a calming effect on Shara. She realized if God could so radically save Keeva to the point where Keeva was comforting her with the Word and prayer, He could definitely protect Quinton. She stopped crying and wiped her face. She started praying with Keeva.

  An hour passed by. Shara didn’t realize she had fallen asleep with her head in Keeva’s lap until her cell phone phone jolted her awake. She ran to get it.

  “Quinton?”

  “Miss Shara. It’s Jamil. I’m so sorry, Miss Shara. It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry.” He started crying.

  Shara dropped the phone and fell back on the couch. The room grew dim and Keeva’s voice sounded far away.

  “Shara, what is it?”

  Everything was fading to black. Shara put her head between her legs, trying to get some air to her brain before she passed out.

  Keeva picked the phone. “Hello? . . . Jamil, it’s Miss Keeva . . . slow down, sweetie. What’s going on?” She put her hand on her chest. “Shara, he’s okay. Quinton’s alive.”

  Shara lay back on the couch trying to catch her breath. She cried tears of relief. She didn’t have the strength to get up and motioned for Keeva to bring her the phone.

  “Jamil?”

  “No, it’s me, baby. I’m all right.”

  She started crying when she heard his voice. “Quinton . . . oh my God. I thought you were dead . . . I heard gun shots . . . then an ambulance . . . oh my God . . .” She sobbed hysterically.

  Keeva wrestled the phone from her. “Quinton, where are you?”

  Keeva hung up the phone and picked up her purse. She helped Shara to her feet. “Come on, Shar. We’re going to the hospital. Quinton is fine. We can bring him home, okay?”

  Shara nodded, but continued crying all the way down the steps, into the car, and to the emergency room. When they got there, Keeva talked to a nurse then directed Shara to a room.

  She cried harder when she saw Quinton. His face was swollen. One eye was black and blue. He had a large cut over it that had been stitched. The nurse was bandaging it when Shara gasped. “Quinton!”

  Quinton motioned for the nurse to move away. Shara stumbled over to him. “Oh, baby, what happened? Look at you.”

  He tried to smile to make her feel better, but winced. His top lip was swollen and Shara could see blood on his teeth.

  She kissed his bottom lip. “Look at my sweet, sweet lips. Look at my beautiful, chocolate face.” She planted little kisses on all the parts of his face and neck that didn’t look hurt. “Oh my God, I’m so glad you’re alive.” She sat gingerly on the edge of the gurney, afraid she would hurt him.

  He lifted an arm to hug her, but then winced. He looked down at a large bandage on his arm as if he had forgotten the injury.

  “Oh, Quinton, be still, baby. I’m right here.”

  “I’m sorry I put you through this. I ruined your perfect proposal.”

  Shara laughed through her tears. He wiped her eyes. She leaned in to hug him, but he winced.

  She heard the nurse behind say, “Careful, ma’am. He’s got quite a few broken ribs and a bullet wound under that bandage on his arm.”

  “Bullet?” New tears formed in Shara’s eyes.

  “Baby, it’s okay. It barely grazed me.”

  Shara looked at the nurse for confirmation as if she didn’t believe Quinton. The nurse nodded reassuringly.

  She heard a small voice behind her. “Yeah, Miss Shara, Mr. Quinton took a bunch of blows for me, then pushed me out of the way and almost took a bullet for me.”

  She whipped around to see Jamil. Keeva had her arm around his shoulder. His slender body was trembling.

  Shara walked over to him and studied him to see if he was hurt. “Are you okay, Jamil?”

  “Yes ma’am, Miss Shara.”

  “Good.” She popped him on the side of his head. “That’s for scaring me! The first words out of your mouth on that phone shoulda been Quinton’s okay, or Quinton’s alive. Not ‘I’m so sorry, Miss Shara.’”

  He started crying. “Sorry, Miss Shara.”

  She pulled him to her and hugged him. “It’s okay, Jamil. I’m
sorry. I was just scared. Miss Shara’s sorry for hitting you.” She kissed the spot where she had popped him.

  She pulled Jamil away from her and started fussing. “How long have I been telling you to stay away from T-bone and them? I know that’s who did this. If you had just listened to me—”

  “Shara, that’s enough!” Quinton yelled at her. Keeva led a sniffling Jamil out of the room.

  She walked back over to the bed, her eyes blazing. “You have no right to yell at me, Quinton Mercer.” She punched his good arm.

  “Ow!”

  The nurse moved over to protect him. Her face looked like she had seen enough ghetto drama in the ER to know this could turn ugly.

  Quinton motioned to her that everything was okay. “Shara, have you lost your mind? I’ve had enough of a beating for one night.”

  “Quinton, I thought you were dead. You scared the hell out of me!”

  “Obviously not all of it.” He chuckled, rubbing his arm.

  She punched him again. “It’s not funny. You propose to me and then almost get yourself killed? What’s wrong with you? You and your savior complex.”

  Quinton laughed, wincing at the pain.

  “Quinton, stop laughing! What’s funny?”

  “Minister Shara Anderson-soon-to-be-Mercer, standing here, cursing me out, that’s what’s funny. Come here, woman. Calm down before the nurse calls security on you.”

  She sat on the edge of the stretcher and started crying again.

  He pulled her close. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to scare you. Where’s your faith? You know God wouldn’t let anything happen to me. We got a destiny to live out together.”

  “Faith? Even Jesus said He wouldn’t put God to the test by throwing himself down off a mountain. What does faith have to do with your stupidity?”

  “I know, Shara. Please stop fussing. You’re making my head hurt.” He tried to kiss her but couldn’t purse his upper lip. She giggled through her tears and kissed his lower one.

  He made a sour face. “Did you throw up or something?”

  She covered her mouth. “When I heard the gun shots and the ambulance, I got so scared, I threw up my whole dinner.”

  “Woman, I can’t believe you wasted all that good food I cooked for you.”

  She caught herself before punching him in the arm again.

  Her face got serious. “I don’t know what I would have done if you were dead. I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life without you.”

  He bit his lip. “Does that mean you’ll still marry me?”

  “Of course, silly. I love you.” A mischievous look came across her face. “Besides, I’d have to be crazy to let a rich man like you go.”

  Quinton tried to make a shocked face, but couldn’t. “Ooowee this hurts.”

  “Ma’am, he’s going to need plenty of pain medicine,” The nurse said. “We gave him a big dose here, but he’ll need another by morning. You may not even be able to sleep in the same bed for a while because you could hurt him.”

  “Oh, we’re not married yet.” She tried to embarrass the nurse for her assumption.

  The nurse shrugged and left.

  “Quinton, I am going to have to stay with you tonight to make sure you’re okay.” She frowned at the face he made. “What? I’ll be in the guest room. Are you afraid I’m gonna jump your bones or something?”

  “No—I’m not sure I can handle knowing you’re sleeping in the room next to me.” He laughed. “I might jump your bones.” He winced at the pain his laughter caused him.

  “Yeah, right. Not in your condition. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll sleep in the room on the end.”

  “No!”

  She jumped.

  He softened. “I mean . . . it’s not ready yet. I’ll be all right with you in the next room.”

  “Okay, baby. Whatever you want.” Shara eyed him strangely.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  It took Shara, Keeva, and Jamil forever to get Quinton up the stairs leading up to his apartment. He groaned with every step. “I knew I should have put an elevator in here. That’s what I get for being cheap.”

  Keeva looked at Shara questioningly. Shara gave her an ‘I’ll tell you later’ look.

  When they finally got into the apartment, Quinton asked, “Keeva, are you going to be all right getting home?”

  “I’ll be fine, Quint. Jamil’s gonna walk me back down to the car.”

  “Jamilly-mil, you come straight back upstairs, you hear me? You know how to pull out the folding bed in the couch. And no PlayStation either. You go right to sleep. We’ll call your mom when she gets off work in the morning.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “When you come back up, go in the guest bedroom and pull off those sheets you had last time you were here. Make up the bed for Miss Shara.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Jamil, stop playing. You don’t have to talk to me like that in front of Miss Shara. She’s family now.” He held up Shara’s hand to show Jamil. “I did it, man. Just like I told you.”

  “What?” Shara pretended to be mad, but was enjoying seeing the paternal side of Quinton with Jamil.

  “Don’t be mad, Shara. I had to get a little advice from my boy, Jamil. You know he’s the original player.”

  “Yeah, Miss Shara. I had to help him out. He was gonna come at you with some old corny sermon about Adam and Eve and Jesus and the church. It was lame.”

  They all laughed.

  Keeva hugged Jamil. “Where were you when my ex-fiancé needed some romance pointers? Come on, walk me down, so you can go to bed.” She rubbed his head. “You’ve had enough excitement and need some rest.”

  Shara gave Keeva a big hug before she left. “Thanks, girl, I couldn’t have made it without you here. Look at you trying to be an intercessor.”

  Keeva laughed and held her tight. “I learned from the best.” She whispered in her ear, “Girl, the ring is too much. Call me tomorrow.”

  Jamil was a little longer than Shara thought he should have been and a terrifying thought crossed her mind. “Quinton, it was T-bone and Jermaine that did this, right?”

  Quinton nodded and looked at the floor. He looked like he was preparing himself to hear Shara say, “I told you so.”

  Shara remembered T-bone’s menancing threats to both Quinton and Jamil. “What if they try to come after Jamil or . . . after you?”

  “They won’t, Shara.”

  “How do you know?”

  “They’re going to jail, where they’ll be for a long time. Not only did the cops witness them shooting at us, they found a big stash of drugs in T-bone’s car. We won’t have to worry about them anymore.”

  She was horrified picturing Quinton being shot at and started crying again.

  “Baby? What’s wrong? I’m fine.” He pulled her close to him. “You love me, huh?”

  “Yeah, I love you, silly. Don’t ever do anything like this again.”

  “I won’t, baby, I promise.”

  “Yeah, right. Until Jamil, or Jacquell, or Deshawn, or another one of your boys gets in trouble again.”

  He pulled away from her to look her in the eye. “What do you suggest, Shara? That I just let something bad happen to them?”

  “I didn’t mean it like that, Quinton. I just . . . I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “It won’t, baby. God’s got me.”

  Shara thought for a minute. “Drugs? Does that mean Jamil—?”

  “He used to. He stopped . . . not too long after he started your track program.” He held her close. “Good ol’ Miss Shara. Saving the lives of today’s youth.”

  Jamil walked back in. “Ooops! ‘Scuse me. I guess y’all should be celebrating your engagement right about now.”

  “Jamil, you know it ain’t like that, man. We gotta wait till we get married. If I wasn’t hurt, Miss Shara would be going home right now. She’ll be in the guestroom, I’ll be in my room. Go on and change the bed for her.”
/>   Shara helped Quinton into his bedroom and tried to help him take his shirt off.

  “You’re gonna have to cut it off. Hurts too much to lift my arms.”

  She found a pair of scissors on his desk and started cutting the bloody shirt. She gasped as she saw the large bruises on his chest and back. Her eyes filled with tears.

  “Do I need to get Jamil to help me out?” Quinton asked gently.

  “No baby, I’m okay.” She went into the bathroom and wet a towel to clean off the dried blood. She started to feel that tingling in her stomach again as she washed his arms and chest. She softly kissed a bruise on his shoulder.

  He pulled away. “Really, do I need to get Jamil to help me out?”

  She giggled. “I promise I’ll behave. I wouldn’t want to take advantage of a crippled man.”

  He laughed, wincing.

  “Baby, I’m sorry. Let me get you into bed.”

  “Oooh, I like the way that sounds. How long do you think it’s gonna take to plan this wedding?”

  “Hush, Quinton. You just worry about getting better.” She led him to the bed and helped him sit down. “I’m gonna get Jamil to help you get your pants off.”

  “Yeah, you do that.”

  After Jamil helped Quinton into a T-shirt and some basketball shorts, Shara came back in the room and sent Jamil to bed. She brought Quinton two pain pills and some water. “Take these before you go to sleep.”

  “Baby, that’s too much. They just gave me some at the hospital.”

  “I know. I want you to be able to sleep ’til morning.”

  He swallowed the pills. “Leave the door open.”

  “Scared of the dark?”

  “No silly, just leave it open, okay?”

  She kissed him on the forehead and went next door. She changed into a T-shirt and some sweats he had given her that were way too long. She left her door open, too. She felt closer to him that way. She snuggled under the covers. How long would it take her to plan a wedding? She drifted off to sleep.