Church Boyz--Book 4 (After the Rain) Read online

  AFTER THE RAIN

  (Church Boyz Series – Book 4)

  H. H. Fowler

  AFTER THE RAIN

  (Church Boyz Series – Book 4)

  By H. H. Fowler

  Smashwords Edition

  Copyright© 2014 H.H. Fowler

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  All characters, names, descriptions, and traits are products of the author’s imagination. Similarities of actual people – living or dead are purely coincidental.

  Other Books by H. H. Fowler

  The Church Boyz’ Series

  Rod of the Wicked – Book 1

  When Things Go Wrong – Book 2

  My Last Cry – Book 3

  After the Rain – Book 4

  The Church Gurlz’ Series

  Mother’s Black Book – Book 1

  In the Presence of My Enemy – Book 2

  The Aftermath – Book 3

  Behind Closed Doors Series

  Shattered Dreams – Book 1

  Poison Candy – Book 2

  Unexpected Guest – Book 3

  Stand Alone Titles

  Javier

  Jezebel’s Apple

  The Devil Made Me Do It (Short Story)

  Connect with H.H. Fowler on Twitter:

  @fowlerguy1

  Website: www.hhfowler.com

  Blog: www.churchboyz.org

  www.facebook.com/www.churchboyz.org

  One Month Prior to Bishop Leroy Paxton’s 51st Birthday Bash

  Prologue

  Hillsborough Women’s Prison

  “This came for you.”

  Shaniece Bryant, former assistant pastor and now the chief adversary of Mount Moriah Baptist Church, studied the opened mail being handed to her through the iron bars. You’ve gotta be kidding me, she thought. For two years, she’d been locked away in this hell hole and now she was finally attracting a bit of attention? With the exception of her naïve younger sister, no one had ever sent her anything or had even paid her a visit. Not that Shaniece had been expecting to be remembered, because if the decision was left up to her, she wouldn’t want anyone pitying her fat behind anyway, especially now that she was confined to a wheelchair.

  “Now listen, don’t waste my time just staring at me,” the correctional officer prompted. “You want your mail or not?”

  Biting back a retort, Shaniece’s gaze slowly travelled to her cellmate, who was observing the situation from the top bunk. “What the hell you looking at?” she spat. “Get my mail, if you’re that desperate for something to do.”

  Shaniece’s cellmate got a kick out of the way Shaniece spoke to her, who, in her eyes, was nothing but a washed up tyrant with no real influence. “You have your own two legs,” she quipped. “Why don’t you stand up and get your own mail? She then tossed her head back and hooted like it was the sweetest joke ever told. “Oh my, how silly of me to forget. Your legs don’t work anymore.”

  Shaniece rolled her eyes with disgust, as she pushed her wheelchair toward the iron bars. “How did I ever get stuck in a cell with a stupid retard like you?”

  Despite her cellmate’s infuriating snorts, Shaniece unfolded the letter and began reading it with little interest until she noticed that the letter had come from her brother. Her partner in crime who was also doing time behind bars. But why now, after two whole years, had Phillip decided to contact her when he hated her just as much as she hated him?

  “Hello, Shaniece, I pray that you have turned your life around by repenting of your sins and letting Jesus come into your heart. We have done too much wrong in this life and it would be a crying shame if we left this world still in our sins and entered into the torments of hell.”

  Shaniece had to control herself from crumbling up the paper and throwing it to the side. How dare Phillip preach to her about salvation when she’d been the one to promote him to the Deacon position when he didn’t even know who Jesus was – way before her ecclesiastical duties had been unjustly squashed by Bishop Leroy Paxton and his prissy wife? She’d preached about the fires of hell, been through it and was still living in it. So who better to know about that place than her? However, Shaniece’s mental ranting was stopped fully in its tracks when she read Phillip’s next line.

  “I am dying of colon cancer. The prison officials are thinking about transferring me to the infirmary, where I will live out the rest of my days. I don’t have long to live – two months, maybe less. The cancer has spread to other parts of my body. However, I have made peace with God and I have forgiven you for everything you have caused me to suffer.

  “But I do not want to leave this world without seeing Tayah one last time. You know how much I love her and wish to reconcile with her. I miss her so much, and the fact that she won’t answer any of my letters tells me she probably doesn’t open them anyway. But who can blame her? All the hell I’ve put her through, I don’t hold it against her for divorcing me and marrying Dominic.

  “I’m afraid that I don’t have much time left to convince her to come see me. It’s important for me to know if I have now qualified to receive her forgiveness, seeing that it has been two years. It’s torture thinking about how much she still loathes me. What can you do to help? Please don’t make me regret this. No blackmail or manipulation of any sort. Just an urgent appeal on my behalf. I don’t have anyone else to turn to who I believe can get the job done. Be blessed, my sister and may God’s light shine deeply within your heart and give you peace. Sincerely, Phillip.”

  Shaniece turned the sheet of paper over to its blank side and with her only pen, she replied:

  “Dear Phillip, sorry to hear about your illness. I am praying that God will heal you and raise you up to your former strength. Don’t worry about a thing, my brother. I will do everything in my power to help you. But when your request is fulfilled, I only ask that you do the same for me. Help me be free of this abominable place by putting in a good word to your ex-wife – Love, Pastor Shaniece Bryant.”

  Shaniece leaned back in her wheelchair and smirked. Phillip had no idea what he’d asked of her. His illness was just the ammunition she needed to set a plan in motion.

  Chapter One

  Through half-open eyelids, Eric Paxton stared at the blonde curvaceous stranger with lips as rosy and as polished as those seen on the covers of beauty magazines. The plastic cup in his right hand had leftovers of a rich concoction – dry Martini mixed with Rum – which he occasionally consumed to dismantle every thought that tied him to his conscience. From across the room, he’d seen this girl inspecting him all evening as he and some of the other football jocks hung around the pool table. They were in the middle of a great football season and two of Eric’s teammates had rented a big house to celebrate their winning streak.

  The Denver Broncos had selected Eric from the University of South Florida as the overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft. That had been almost two years ago. Eric, now twenty-one years old with an even more muscular physique against his masculine stride, remembered that crazy weekend in April when millions of football fans gathered to watch the highly-anticipated televised event. Though few would ever attend it in person, the fans were boisterous, as if they were already sitting in the stands on the day of the game.

  Compared to the social disposition of his younger brother, Eric was more reserved, but had always been a smooth operator with the ladies. His clean-shaven head and his mesmerizing gaze were considered the se
xiest trademarks of the Paxton bloodline. More than anything, Eric loved the freedom of being away from home in Tampa, Florida – away from his parents, who were constantly pulling him by the ears to live the life of a saint. But Eric was far from being a saint and he hadn’t any intention of becoming one anytime soon.

  He was finally living the high life – his dreams, his way – and was rising to the top as a prominent sports icon. When the blonde curvaceous stranger took one of her manicured fingers and provocatively rubbed the spot between her breasts, Eric stiffened with desire. His parents pastored a multi-cultural mega-ministry and were extremely influential around the globe, but that didn’t prevent Eric from subtly dismissing himself from the pool table to address his temptation. Confident that no one had seen him, he grabbed the young women’s hand and pulled her down the corridor to one of the available bedrooms.

  Random sex was nothing new to Eric. When he and Sean were teenagers, they would sneak girls into the house to satisfy their voracious sexual appetite. It was a game then and it was a game now. Two things Eric really loved: Women and alcohol. Of course, his parents would go berserk if they found out how much he now indulged in such pleasures, but he was thousands of miles away in Denver, Colorado and Eric was pretty sure that he was safe from their sanctimonious sermons.

  It wasn’t long before things began to get intense between Eric and the blonde beauty. And although Eric had never met this girl before in his life, he was feeling her all the way. Her body, her face and her voice would bring out the beast in any hot blooded, heterosexual man. He wasted no time undoing his belt, as he greedily pulled the young woman toward his lips. They fell back on the creaky mattress in the flames of unbridled lust. She straddled his muscular thighs, giving herself to him wholly and without regard.

  Fifteen minutes later, with a thick film of sweat on his face, Eric staggered out of the room in search of another cocktail. The house buzzed with young jocks and women, dirty dancing to the tunes of popular hip-hop artists such as Kanye West and Nicki Minaj. Certainly a drunken bunch that were being lured by the temptations of their youth. Tottering alongside the wall, a quarterback accidently bumped into Eric, and spilled some of his alcohol on Eric’s tennis shoes. His lifeless gaze suddenly livened with recognition. He’d seen Eric disappear down the corridor with the sexy blonde stranger. But to the quarterback, she was no stranger at all. He’d tried to stop Eric, but the quarterback was too drunk to even stand on his own two feet.

  Eric reached out to catch his teammate’s fall. “Hey man, take it easy…you’re stumbling all over the place.”

  “I tried to warn you, man,” the quarterback gurgled. “That girl is hell on wheels.”

  Eric frowned. “Which girl?”

  “The one with the banging body and shiny lips…you took her in that room several minutes ago…” The quarterback paused to take a long gulp from his cup before turning his glassy eyes back to Eric. “She’s sick, man…for years, she’s been spreading her nasty germs. Didn’t anyone warn you about her?”

  Eric’s heart slammed against his chest. “What the hell do you mean by…sick?”

  “I hope your ignorant behind used protection,” the quarterback spat before continuing his staggering steps along the wall.

  What this fool tryna tell me? That that fine beauty is HIV positive? Yeah, right. Besides, I asked her if she was clean and she told me that she was. These haters are hating on me because they don’t have what it takes to get a girl like that…

  Eric paused in his internal tirade when he saw the blonde beauty come out of the room he’d not too long ago occupied. She flung several pills into her mouth and swallowed without much effort. That is not normal, Eric thought. We just had sex. Why are you taking pills? He became even more alarmed when she began to make suggestive eye contact with a dude in passing. Maybe he should have put some pressure on her to reveal the truth about her HIV status, but he’d gotten too carried away in the moment. Alcohol and lust, as he now realized were a lethal combination for a raving sexually-active male such as himself.

  But what if that girl is really HIV positive? Then that would mean…Eric’s entire body shook as he was suddenly overwhelmed by the severity of that thought. He was one of the alpha males of Paxton descent, well-known for their impeccable genes. How would it look for him to be infected with such an embarrassing disease? Eric couldn’t even frame words without experiencing heart palpitations. His career with the NFL and ultimately his entire life would be ruined. Imagine the shock of his family and friends. Without any warning, his stomach heaved and everything he’d consumed that evening flew out of his mouth. That girl was about to get the crap beaten out of her.

  Chapter Two

  Dominic hoisted the baby carriers onto his arms and followed Tayah to a brand new SUV they’d purchased right before twin boys, Aiden and Amir arrived. There were heading to Leroy’s fifty-first birthday bash and they were already half an hour late. Moving quickly, Dominic secured the twins in the SUV and then ran back into the house to get Leroy’s gift. A life-size photo of the twins in their farmer suits.

  They were almost five months now, two handsome caramel-colored darlings with dimples that could stop traffic. Their features were the perfect amalgam of their parents. Dominic could envision Leroy hanging the picture over the mantle in his office, to remind himself every day that he was now the proud grandpa of two boys. Two years ago Dominic could have never imagined his life being filled with such joy and contentment. The anguish that he and Tayah endured to fulfil purpose had shrouded their glorious future. They really hadn’t any idea that things would have worked out the way they did.

  “Okay, I think we are all set to go. Are we forgetting anything?”

  Tayah tossed her fluffy bangs out of her face and looked at her husband thoughtfully. “I think we covered all of the bases,” she started to say. “Since having the twins I feel as if I forget everything. There are a million and one things to do.”

  Dominic eased his foot off the brakes and allowed the SUV to roll forward. “Well, babes, this is our new life, but I’m enjoying every moment of it. Pity you have to go back to work in a couple of weeks.”

  “Don’t remind me. I can’t believe it’s been almost six months already.”

  “Leave it up to you and you would never go back to JP Morgan.”

  Tayah laughed as she reached out and rested a hand on Dominic’s shoulder. “You make enough money as a youth minister to take care of all of our family needs. And besides, apart from being one of the recipients of my father’s fortune, you and I have already amassed a healthy savings in the bank. So really and truly, my dear husband, there isn’t a need for me to go back to work at all.”

  “But I know you, Tayah. You are a workaholic. There’s no way you would give up that part of your life anytime soon.”

  “Taking care of twins is no walk in the park. They are a lot of work.”

  “For now. How will you cope when they start kindergarten in a few years?”

  Instead of responding to her husband’s question, Tayah suddenly gave Dominic’s shoulder a quick squeeze. “Turn the SUV around!”

  “You forgot something, didn’t you?”

  “I sure did. I left my breast pump.”

  Dominic shook his head and grinned. “Somehow, I knew something like this would happen. That’s why I packed six bottles of milk. That should be enough to carry us through to the end of the party. We’re already almost an hour late.”

  “I’m not worried about the babies. They will be fine. It’s my breasts that are about to explode.”

  “Did you hear what I said? We are already almost an hour late for your father’s birthday party.”

  “I need to pump now,” Tayah growled.

  “I thought you said you packed it when you were in…” Dominic paused when he noticed Tayah’s face contorting, which suggested to Dominic that his words were drifting into the wrong lane. “Maybe I should turn the SUV around and get your breast pump.”

&
nbsp; “Yes, I think you should.”

  Tayah smirked as she watched her husband scratch his head in wonderment. She intentionally gave him a hard time, simply to test how much he truly loved her. He was as affectionate and as patient as they came. A striking contrast to her ex-husband, Phillip, who was spending time in prison for at least a dozen charges. Including physical abuse, extortion and supporting the criminalities of his crazy sister. But such a difference her life was since she’d married Dominic. She had yet to experience a lapse of peace in their relationship. Of course, they had their disagreements – like all marriages had – but it was nothing compared to the hell of being married to Phillip.

  Dominic swung the SUV across their driveway and then made a swift exit. While he was gone, one of the twins started to fuss, which always put Tayah’s motherly instincts on high alert. To her, they were testaments to what God could do in seemingly impossible circumstances. The agony of not being able to conceive, especially while being married to Phillip for those three short, miserable years had made her appreciate everything that came with motherhood. Her baby boys were her world and they received her fullest attention, even toward the slightest cry. So it was not a pain to leave the comfort of the passenger seat to inquire of them.

  While Tayah addressed the babies’ concerns, her cell phone vibrated in the car seat. It could be someone trying to reach her from her father’s party. With that thought in mind, she reached over and retrieved the phone. She hadn’t received any text messages, but a new email message had appeared since she’d last checked. To her astonishment, the last person she wanted anything to do with for the remainder of her life had brazenly intruded into her personal cyberspace.