Page 44 of Shelter for Sharla

“Yeah, no shit. I hope you don’t mind, but I got out plates and filled them. The food’s ready to eat, and I have to say, it smells delicious.”

“My mom’s a lot of things, but one of the best ones is that she’s a great cook.”

They sat in the little kitchen and enjoyed the food. WildaFern had always been a spectacular cook. No, there were no exotic Indian or French dishes, and she’d never made a soufflé in her life, but she was the queen of good home cookin’, and Carter loved everything that came from her kitchen.

As they ate, he wanted desperately to ask Sharla about Imogen and Taliq, but he wasn’t sure how to go about it. They were, after all, supposed to be having a quiet evening. Then, out of the blue, she started the conversation, and Carter couldn’t believe how lucky he’d gotten with that.

“So you have no siblings?”

Carter shook his head. “No. Only child.”

“And your dad passed?”

“Yeah. About fifteen years ago. Cancer.”

“Oh, that’s rough, and I should know. Lost both of my parents to it.”

“Thatisrough,” Carter murmured.

“And my sister.”

“Even rougher.”

“Yeah. She was thirty-three. Two years older than me. Tamara was thirteen and Lionel was eleven. It was hard, taking two almost-grown kids and trying to be their mother, not to mention having one of my own who was nine.”

“I admire you greatly for that.”

“Don’t. I did what anybody else would’ve done.”

“Maybe not. That was hard. Taliq was killed when Tamara was three and Lionel wasn’t even one. Imogen was the problem child, always pushing the limits, always giving my parents fits. She told me once that the only reason she’d gotten involved with Taliq was because she knew our parents would be pissed when they found out she was seeing a person of another race. He came from a very nice family, and she said his parents had been kind to her and seemed to like her, but she had no idea why he turned out to be a no-good piece of shit from the get-go. Had nothing to do with his color and everything to do with his nasty personality. He beat on her, pushed her around, and she let him. We were lucky Tamara barely remembered him, and Lionel never knew him. But other than that, Imogen was a good mother. She loved those kids. All she worried about the whole time she was sick was what would happen to them, even though I assured her I’d take care of them, seeing as how our parents and Taliq’s were gone.”

“And that hasn’t been easy,” Carter said, smoothing her hair with a gentle hand, then cupping her jaw. “You’re an amazing woman.”

“Not really. I just worked. I got up every day and put one foot in front of the other. When the cancer became too advanced, she came to live with me because she couldn’t take care of herself or hold a job. That wasreallyhard.”

“I guess Taliq left her with nothing, right?”

“You know, it’s funny you’d say that. He told her over and over that he had an insurance policy, but she never found anything. Nothing. So I have no idea what he was talking about. After she died, I went through all her personal stuff, thinking maybe I’d find something, but I never did.”

“Nothing?”

“Nope. But she kept journals, and it was nice to read some of the things she’d written. Some of it was hard, though, when she wrote about the things Taliq did to her, the beatings and how she felt so alone and helpless. Of course, she could’ve come to me or, until they died, our parents, but she wouldn’t.”

“That’s a shame.”

“Yes. It was. I loved my sister, but she was stubborn and hard-headed. God, she was so beautiful, but she was so conceited! I mean, I guess I’m okay looking, but Imogen was a knock-out.”

“Okay? Babe, you’re beautiful. The first time I saw you I thought, wow, if I could just get to know that woman. I never dreamed you’d give me a second glance.”

“Give you a second glance? Carter, panties burst into flames when you walk past a lingerie department! Don’t you notice how women look at you?”

Carter was confused. “Women look at me?”

“Look at you? They leave a trail of drool behind them.”

He laughed aloud. “They do not!”

“Oh, yes, they do.”

---