Sin No More Read online

  Sin No More

  Kimberla Lawson Roby

  This novel is dedicated to my entire readership—

  the people who make my career possible.

  Thank you for such a joyous journey.

  Contents

  Prologue

  The phone rang and when Curtis saw the words Mitchell…

  Chapter 1

  Charlotte couldn’t imagine life being any better than it was…

  Chapter 2

  Curtis strolled across the bedroom to the window and gazed…

  Chapter 3

  This is the day the Lord hath made, let us…

  Chapter 4

  Is everything okay?” Charlotte asked Curtis. They were on their…

  Chapter 5

  Curtis turned the corner and headed out of the subdivision.

  Chapter 6

  If it wasn’t one thing it was another, Charlotte thought,…

  Chapter 7

  It had been six years since Curtis and Charlotte had…

  Chapter 8

  It was Tuesday morning and Curtis watched Charlotte enter the…

  Chapter 9

  Curtis relaxed his body in the one-month-old, executive-style chair, folded…

  Chapter 10

  Charlotte was glad Curtis had decided to pick up Matthew…

  Chapter 11

  The day for Matthew to meet David had finally arrived…

  Chapter 12

  Curtis slipped his sermon notes inside the pad folio on…

  Chapter 13

  It was Thursday and Curtis and Charlotte were headed over…

  Chapter 14

  Curtina was just as beautiful as Alicia had been when…

  Chapter 15

  Charlotte slipped on her black spandex workout pants and fitted…

  Chapter 16

  It had been three days since Charlotte had plastered copies…

  Chapter 17

  For the life of her, Charlotte couldn’t understand why every…

  Chapter 18

  Hey, baby,” Curtis said when Charlotte walked into the kitchen.

  Chapter 19

  Charlotte signed onto her e-mail account to check her messages…

  Chapter 20

  Charlotte spooned out a helping of cheddar cheese potatoes and…

  Chapter 21

  Curtis unfolded his arms and leaned forward when Elder Jamison…

  Chapter 22

  Charlotte pulled into the parking lot of the roach motel…

  Chapter 23

  Curtis repositioned his headset and slightly turned up the volume.

  Chapter 24

  It was Friday evening and, as usual, Pelley’s Seafood was…

  Chapter 25

  There was a frantic knock at the bedroom door and…

  Chapter 26

  Charlotte and Curtis were in the limo, on their way…

  Chapter 27

  Charlotte and Curtis had just walked inside their front entrance,…

  Chapter 28

  What a day this had turned out to be. First…

  Chapter 29

  Amen,” Curtis said after finishing his prayer, the one he…

  Chapter 30

  Tracy, why in the world would you do something like…

  Chapter 31

  The phone was still ringing nonstop and Charlotte wondered when…

  Epilogue

  Charlotte beamed with great joy as she watched Curtis and…

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Other Books by Kimberla Lawson Roby

  Credits

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  Prologue

  SIX MONTHS EARLIER

  The phone rang and when Curtis saw the words Mitchell Memorial on the Caller ID screen, his stomach immediately started to churn. He felt a nervousness that he hadn’t felt in a very long while and the fact that his wife, Charlotte, was sitting right next to him and had clearly seen where the call was coming from wasn’t helping.

  He knew with everything in him that Tabitha was calling to announce the baby’s arrival.

  He answered after the third ring. “Hello.”

  “Baby, I’ve got the best news,” she said, clearly ecstatic. “You’ve got the most beautiful little girl in the whole wide world!”

  “Is she healthy?” was all Curtis could think to say.

  “She’s wonderful. She’s the most precious little thing I’ve ever seen and, baby…she looks just like you. I mean, she’s only been here for less than an hour but I can already see so many of your features. Baby, she’s everything you could possibly ever hope for and you just have to come see her. You have to come see what a beautiful child you and I have created together.”

  Curtis was speechless. Literally speechless. Not because he didn’t have a ton of questions for Tabitha, because he did. But it was just that Charlotte was now standing across the room, looking as though she were ready to pounce on him at any moment. She was outraged and he knew he needed to choose his words very carefully and end this conversation with Tabitha as soon as possible. Not to mention, Charlotte would become even more irate if she knew Tabitha was referring to him as “baby.”

  “Did you hear me, baby?” Tabitha continued. “I said, you need to come see your daughter.”

  “You know I can’t do that,” Curtis finally told her. “You know we have an agreement, and once you send me a certified copy of the birth certificate, I’ll be transferring the last half of the fifty thousand dollars into your account.”

  “And then what?” she asked, and Curtis could tell her happy attitude was changing.

  “You and I won’t contact each other again. I’ll continue to send you fifteen hundred dollars every month for child support until the child turns eighteen, and I’ll also pay for all health care. Then, when she’s out of high school, I’ll cover all college expenses, and I’ll give her a monthly allowance until she graduates. But other than that, this will be our last conversation.”

  “How can you be so cold? I mean, how can you sit over there and just pretend you don’t have a new baby to worry about?”

  “I’m really sorry, Tabitha. More than you know. But this is the way it has to be. You and I made a terrible mistake, and I regret that the baby will have to suffer certain consequences, but this really is best for everyone.”

  “What you mean is that this is what’s best for that crazy wife you’re married to.”

  “Like I said, I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t you even want to know her name?” Tabitha asked, and at the same time, Charlotte said, “Curtis, why are you apologizing to that witch? Hunh? I mean, do you even see me standing here?”

  Curtis sighed and wished he could run and hide the way he had done as a child whenever he’d done something he shouldn’t have. He wished he could vanish and never have to deal with this fiasco ever again. Better, he wished he could turn back time, because if he could, he would surely do things a whole lot differently. He would be faithful to Charlotte and he would never get mixed up with Tabitha under any circumstances.

  But it was too late for that. Too late and no way to send his baby girl back into her mother’s womb.

  “Tabitha, please try to understand. I can’t change the past but know that I pray only great things for you and the baby. I pray for all the blessings I know God already has in store for you.”

  Tabitha laughed out loud, and Curtis wondered what was so funny.

  “At this point, your prayers don’t mean one thing to me. And just for the record, I’m not asking you to change the past. I’m asking you to do right by your daughter or else.”

  “Or else what?”

  “Keep blowing off our bab
y like she’s some unwanted little orphan, and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about.”

  “You know what, Tabitha,” he said. “I think it’s time we end this conversation.”

  “Do whatever you want but just know that I’m not going anywhere and neither is Curtina. She’s here to stay and you can either do right by her voluntarily or involuntarily. Makes no difference to me. But understand that if I have to force you, it won’t be pretty.”

  A second later, Curtis heard the phone click.

  She’d hung up but her words were still lingering midair and making him more uncomfortable than he wanted to be. Uncomfortable because her tone had sounded vindictive and like some sort of guarantee.

  Curtis pressed the Off button and set the cordless on the kitchen island.

  Charlotte folded her arms and leaned against the refrigerator. “She was threatening you, wasn’t she?”

  “If you want to call it that.”

  “What did she say?”

  “It’s not even worth going into. You heard what I told her and whether she likes it or not, she’s going to have to accept it.”

  “And you’re naive enough to think it’s going to be that simple?”

  “Why wouldn’t it be?” he said, although he knew Charlotte had a more than valid point. Especially after just hearing Tabitha speak to him the way she had.

  “Curtis, are you that blind? Are you so blind that you can’t see that this woman is going to be a serious problem?”

  “What can she do? Because it’s not like I want anything to do with her. When I said I was committed to you and that I was finished with Tabitha, I meant it.”

  “But now there’s a baby in the picture. It was one thing when she was pregnant but now that she’s actually had it, she’s thinking she has another chance with you.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Yes. Really.”

  “And why is that?” Charlotte asked, now tapping her foot against the floor with her arms still folded. She could be so sarcastic when she wanted to be, and Curtis could hardly stand it.

  “Because she knows my decision.”

  “What did she say to you exactly?”

  “That she just had the baby and that it’s a girl.”

  “I hate that whore,” Charlotte said, moving toward the counter and slamming a crystal glass into the sink.

  Curtis could no longer see the gold-trimmed goblet, but he’d heard it shatter into what seemed a million pieces. He knew Charlotte was thinking of their daughter, Marissa, and how she’d tumbled down the stairs, hit her head, and died almost instantly. He knew Charlotte despised the fact that she no longer had a daughter of her own but now Tabitha proudly did.

  “Baby, please,” he said moving closer to where she was standing and pulling her into his arms once again. “I love you with everything in me, so please don’t let this come between us. Not now.”

  This time, to Curtis’s surprise, Charlotte didn’t pull away from him. She hugged him tightly and wept in a way that said her pain was deep within her soul. She wept over the loss of her own child and now Curtis was feeling sorrier than he had been.

  What a huge mess all of this had turned out to be, and he had no idea what he was going to do about it. If he didn’t go see his new daughter, there was no telling what Tabitha might actually do. But on the other hand, if he did, Charlotte would spin into an uproar and the peace they’d shared between them over the last year would quickly cease to exist.

  So his hands were tied. Tied because he loved his wife and even though he hadn’t seen her yet, he loved his baby girl. Curtina. His youngest and the one Tabitha had decided to name after him. His own flesh and blood.

  Curtis continued holding Charlotte closely against his chest but he couldn’t help trying to picture what his daughter looked like. He tried and tried and without warning, tears slowly streamed down his face.

  He and Charlotte cried while still holding each other.

  They cried, but sadly, for very different reasons.

  Chapter 1

  Charlotte couldn’t imagine life being any better than it was currently. She and Curtis were closer than they’d ever been and, best of all, they hadn’t heard from Tabitha. Not once. Which was a wonderful surprise because Charlotte had been sure Tabitha was going to become the intrusion of a lifetime. Especially since she’d called the day the baby was born and tried to get Curtis to come see it. Or actually, come see her, because whether Curtis wanted to admit it or not, Charlotte knew Tabitha still wanted him. She knew because she’d never heard of any mistress who didn’t have high hopes that the man she was sleeping with would somehow miraculously leave his wife for her. She knew because to be honest, she’d felt the same way herself when Curtis had still been married to Tanya. Her desire had been as wrong as wrong could be, however, she had still wanted what she wanted and hadn’t cared a whole lot about who might be hurt in the end.

  But right now, none of that mattered. What mattered was that she and Curtis had just finished making exceptional love to each other and they were lying in bed, snuggled closely, enjoying a beautiful moment.

  “Woman, what in the world are you trying to do to me?” Curtis asked, breathing more easily than he had been five minutes ago.

  Charlotte chuckled. “Are you saying you can’t handle it?”

  “Me? The Curtis Black? Not able to handle my wife when it comes to making love? Please.”

  “Well, that’s what it sounds like.”

  “As Matthew would say, ‘Girl, don’t get it twisted.’”

  They both laughed.

  “You’re right,” she said. “That’s exactly what he would say. Although now he doesn’t have much of anything to say at all.”

  “I know. He’s been on the quiet side ever since we told him the truth but I still say we did the right thing. He needed to know that I’m not his biological father.”

  Charlotte heard what Curtis was saying but if she’d had it her way, she would have left well enough alone and worried about telling Matthew the truth at a later date. When Marissa had died, she’d begun feeling as though it wasn’t a good idea to keep secrets of any kind from anyone, including Matthew. She’d kept secrets most of her adult life and far too many people had been hurt because of them, so she’d decided she didn’t want Matthew learning about his paternity from anyone other than Curtis and her.

  But now he was basically moping around the house, not saying any more than he had to to either of them, and Charlotte was starting to regret telling him anything. She’d wanted him to know the truth but she hadn’t wanted him to feel the amount of pain she could tell he was feeling and she certainly hadn’t wanted to create any tension or distance.

  “He’ll be okay,” Curtis finally said. “It’s just that this is all very new to him and it’s going to take some getting used to.”

  “I guess. But I hope he’s okay sooner rather than later.”

  “He will be. He’ll be fine.”

  Charlotte nestled closer to Curtis and laid her head on his chest but as soon as she did, the phone rang.

  “Who could that be?” she said. “It has to be at least eleven o’clock.”

  “Something must be wrong,” Curtis added.

  Charlotte picked up the cordless from the nightstand and sighed deeply. It was Tabitha.

  “Hello?”

  “Could I speak to Curtis, please?”

  “Tabitha, do you realize what time it is?”

  “No, and to be honest, I really don’t care.”

  Charlotte sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

  “You don’t care?”

  “That’s what I said, didn’t I?”

  “I don’t believe you. You’re actually calling here this late at night to speak to my husband, and you’ve got the nerve to be getting smart with me? You’ve got to be kidding.”

  “Look, Charlotte, will you just get over yourself and put Curtis on the phone? I need
to discuss something with him about Curtina.”

  The whole idea of the name Curtina was enough to make Charlotte cringe. She was annoyed by the fact that Tabitha had chosen to give the baby a name as close to Curtis as she could. Not to mention, Curtina had to be the ugliest name she’d ever heard.

  “First of all,” Charlotte began, “you’ve been told more than once not to call this house and not to contact Curtis in any way, so why can’t you just leave us alone? Why can’t you just move on and forget about him?”

  “Because whether you want to accept it or not, Curtis and I have a baby together. We have a gorgeous little daughter and you’re just upset because you don’t have any children with him. I mean, I know you claimed Matthew was his and then you lied and schemed about Marissa for as long as you could, but in the end, neither of those children was his.”

  Charlotte felt her breathing accelerate a few notches and was thankful she wasn’t in the same room with Tabitha. If she had been, she would have beaten her unmercifully. She would have done whatever necessary to make sure Tabitha never bothered her and Curtis ever again.

  “Will you just put him on the phone?!” she yelled.

  “No. And the only way you’ll speak to my husband is over my dead body.”

  “Oh, and you think that can’t be arranged?”

  “Are you threatening my life?”

  “Give me the phone,” Curtis interrupted, and reached for it.

  But Charlotte snatched it away from him, turned on the lamp, and stood up.

  “You look here, you crazy heifer,” Charlotte said matter-of-factly. “Just because you were stupid enough to mess around with a married man, stupid enough to get pregnant by him, and then stupid enough to think he was going to leave me once that baby was born, well, that’s simply not my fault. You hear me?”