A Silken Thread Part 33

Griffin chuckled. "Excuse me, ma'am, but I don't give a royal d.a.m.n about any legacy. Erica and I have been telling you for years we weren't in love but you wouldn't listen. What you tried doing to April and Brian was unforgivable."

"Unforgivable?" she snarled before bursting into tears. "Do you know what the two of you have done? That curse needed to be broken or else..."

"Or else what, Mom? Why are you so obsessed with that curse? Why does Aunt Blair think it's linked to what Granddaddy did to April's mother?"

At the shocked look on her mother's face, Erica said, "Yes, I know all about Aunt Blair being alive and what she saw that day to make her get into a car accident. I also know about the lies you told April to keep her and Griffin apart and what you paid Jaye to do to Brian. He was set up by your orders and I doubt I can ever forgive you."

"But do you realize what the two of you have done? I was trying to protect your daughters."

"Protect our daughters how?"

Karen was rubbing her hands together. "Until that curse is broken any Delbert male that is born will have a hunger to l.u.s.t after his daughter, his own flesh and blood. I know about it, trust me."

Erica went speechless at the implications of her mother's words. "Granddaddy abused you?" she asked her mom softly, hoping against hope that a.s.sumption was wrong.

"Yes. Both Blair and me. When I got older and realized what he was doing was wrong, he explained things to me. He said it was all because of that curse and until it was broken he couldn't stop it. Blair was to marry Simon to stop it, but she didn't. She freaked out when she walked in on what he was doing to Latonia. That caused her accident. Blair had threatened to tell Simon what he was doing to her so Dad turned his attentions to others like Latonia. Blair blamed herself for it happening."

Erica thought she was going to be sick and dropped down in the armchair. How could her grandfather use the curse as an excuse for his demented behavior, and how could her mother have believed him?

"The curse had nothing to do with your father's behavior, Mrs. Sanders," Griffin told her. "He was a sick man to do that to you, Blair, Latonia or any other young girl that he touched. He lied to you to cover up his actions. He was nothing but a bona fide pedophile, who should have been locked up with the key thrown away."

Karen turned on him, her eyes flas.h.i.+ng fire. "How dare you! He was an outstanding member of this community. One of this town's forefathers. I understood why he was coming into my room and so did Blair, until Latonia came into the picture working as the laundry girl. She messed up everything."

Erica could only stare at her mother. She had been truly brainwashed by Omar Delbert. "Griffin is right, Mom. There is no excuse for what he did to you, Blair or Latonia, and no telling how many other young girls. He was a sick man and I'm glad I never got a chance to know him."

Her mother ignored her words as she continued to rant and rave. "It will be your fault, mark my word," she screamed, pointing at them. "You should have married each other. Now it will take another generation for the curse to be broken."

"No, it won't," Griffin said angrily. "If you really believe in the curse then you know it officially ended four days ago when a Hayes married a Delbert. April has just as much Delbert blood running through her veins as you and Erica."

He then turned and walked out of the house. Erica glanced back at her mother. "He's right, so your curse is now broken."

She turned to leave and her mother called out, "Erica, don't go. My heart. You know what the doctor said about my heart."

Erica rolled her eyes as she turned around. "Then I suggest you take your sugar pills and yes, I know about that lie, too." She didn't wait to hear her mother's denial. "Oh, and over the next couple of weeks, I'm putting my house on the market and moving to Dallas to be with my husband."

She had thought about taking her aunt Blair and putting her in a facility close to her in Dallas but decided her mother would need her sister more now than ever. She doubted her mother knew just how alone she would be.

"Good-bye, Mom." She walked out the door, only glancing up when she'd closed it behind her. Griffin was waiting and together they walked toward the car that pulled up at that moment.

April got out of the car and ran into her husband's arms, while Erica went to Brian. It didn't seem to bother him that he'd left his mother and her father together in Vegas. The two weren't quite ready to leave Sin City and no one had to wonder why.

"Ready to go?" Brian asked, taking her hand in his.

"Yes, with you always." She glanced back at the huge house that had always been her home, a house she'd loved. But she was ready to move on. She had been ready.

On their wedding night Brian had told her about his surprise, the money his father had placed in trust for him. He'd known with her it had never been about money, but he had talked his G.o.dmother into selling them the house in Myrtle Beach. Lori had said she couldn't think of a couple who deserved it more.

Moments later as they drove down Wellington Road she knew in her heart that despite all the emotional drama, everything had ended well for her and April.

Epilogue.

Six months later.

Erica looked up from the book she was reading when she heard her name called. She smiled as she glanced out at the pier and waved. Seeing Brian sitting out there with a fis.h.i.+ng rod in his hand reminded her of the day they first met.

She glanced down at her ring and smiled. She was truly happy. When Brian called her name again she looked up and saw him coming toward her. That morning she had awakened to a red rose and a white rose tied together with a silken thread on her nightstand. It had been a reminder of the love they had almost lost. And he had sat on the edge of the bed and whispered to her the same words he had spoken that day he had surprised her with dinner on this very same pier.

"Together, these roses represent unity and love, and the silken thread holding them together represents the strong bond between us that can never be broken."

The last six months had been special, even with her mother's refusal to acknowledge her marriage to Brian. Karen lived in the big house alone, shut away from family and friends. Her parents' divorce had become final last month, and she knew that her father and Rita were now an item, a very hot one. He was thinking about selling his company and moving to Dallas. But then she heard he and Rita might decide to move to Florida. They weren't making any final decisions about anything. Erica knew the older couple was enjoying their time together and she could truly say she was happy for them.

"Is that book any good?" Brian asked when he'd finally reached her.

"I wouldn't be reading it if it wasn't," she said, and grinned when he pulled her hair. "I talked to April today. She's happy being back in Hattersville and kicking off Griffin's mayoral campaign."

Of course some of the sn.o.bbish citizens were taken aback by Griffin's surprise marriage to April, but surprisingly there were others who were genuinely happy for them.

She kept in close contact with her aunt and flew to Cleveland to see her at least three times a month. She enjoyed reading the nursery rhymes to Blair, and on a few occasions April had gone with her.

It was during one of those times she had run into her mother while she was there. When Karen had seen her and April, she'd acted like she didn't know them. It was Erica's hope that one day her mother would come to realize all the wrongs she had done and all the people her actions had hurt.

"Whoa!" Before she'd realized what he was doing Brian had swept her off her feet, making the book fall from her hand.

"What do you think you're doing, Brian Lawson?"

He smiled down at her. "Taking you inside the house. I need a shower."

"So, what does that have to do with me?"

"You get to take one, too."

She smiled, thinking she had no complaints. She loved taking showers with him. She loved doing everything with him, even making babies. They wanted a lot of them and she couldn't wait to tell him tonight the first of the Lawson babies was on its way. The pregnancy test she had taken that morning had confirmed it.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you," she whispered.

"And I love you back," was his automatic response.

She smiled, knowing he did and that just like he'd said that morning, their bond could never be broken.

Books by Brenda Jackson

Kimani Romance

*Solid Soul

*Night Heat

*Beyond Temptation

*Risky Pleasures

In Bed with the Boss

*Irresistible Forces

Just Deserts

The Object of His Protection

Temperatures Rising

*Intimate Seduction

Bachelor Untamed

*Hidden Pleasures

Star of His Heart

Bachelor Unleashed