Free Best She Ever Had (9781617733963) by Shelly Ellis Page B

Cynthia instantly sat bolt upright. She sniffed. For a split second, she hoped it might be Clarissa returning home. But then she remembered that Clarissa had a key. She would never ring the doorbell to her own home.
    â€œIt’s probably Steph,” Lauren muttered softly. “She said she was on her way over. I’ll let her in.”
    Cynthia slowly nodded and continued her weeping. She reached for a box of tissues on her coffee table. At least the sobs weren’t as loud anymore. She didn’t know it was possible, but she was running out of tears.
    â€œI’m here!” Stephanie shouted, sprinting into the living room in her stilettos. She wore a baby carrier on her chest, where little Zoe dangled in cow-print baby pajamas with her slobbery fist in her mouth. “I came as soon as I could!” She pointed down at the little one. “Sorry, I had to feed Zoe first.”
    Zoe gurgled and smiled.
    Keith trailed in after them, carrying a diaper bag on his shoulder and a stuffed frog in his hand. He shut the front door behind him.
    â€œWhat the hell is he doing here?” Cynthia asked, narrowing her hazel eyes at Keith.
    â€œCindy!” Lauren cried.
    â€œDon’t ‘Cindy’ me!” She glared at Lauren, then snapped her head around to glare up at Keith, the one male in the room. She looked him up and down with contempt.
    Men, she thought. It was a man who probably put the thought into Clarissa’s head to run away. It was men—namely Crisanto, Xavier, and Keith—who had pulled her sisters away from her with their talk of love until death do us part and romance and all that crap! She’d be damned if she let a man intrude on this too!
    â€œThis is a family problem!” she shouted at Keith, making him take a hesitant step back. “ Our family! So if your last name isn’t Gibbons, then I suggest you get the hell—”
    â€œHow dare you talk to Keith that way,” Stephanie said firmly. She bounced the baby, who was now crying. Zoe was never one for shouting. “He is family, Cindy, whether you like it or not! He’s the father of my child, my soon-to-be husband, and your future brother-in-law. So stop treating him like he’s some outsider! You’re not going to disrespect him anymore! I’m not putting up with it!”
    â€œLook, ladies,” Keith said softly, holding up his hand and the smiling frog. “I’m not trying to start a fight here. I just came to help.”
    Dawn’s expression brightened. She slowly stood from the sofa. “You . . . you think you can help us, Keith?”
    Stephanie took her daughter out of her carrier, cooed to her, and rocked her back and forth, while shooting daggers with her eyes at her eldest sister, Cynthia. Zoe’s cries died down to a few soft murmurs.
    Keith nodded. “Sure. I track people down for a living. I don’t see why I can’t track down Clarissa too.” He walked toward Cynthia and sat down in the wingback armchair facing her. He opened a side pocket in the diaper bag and pulled out a pen and a notepad. “Tell me about Clarissa’s boyfriend. What’s the kid’s name?”
    Cynthia hesitated. He wasn’t family. She didn’t care what Stephanie said.
    â€œHis name is Jared Walker,” Lauren answered for her.
    Cynthia angrily cut her eyes at Lauren. Lauren raised her chin, ignoring her. They watched as Keith scribbled the name on his notepad.
    â€œDo we know where this Jared lives?” he asked.
    Lauren nudged Cynthia’s shoulder, urging her to answer this time.
    Cynthia sighed. “I didn’t even know the boy existed until yesterday.”
    Keith looked up from his notepad. “So I guess that’s a ‘no’ then?”
    She shook her head.
    â€œWell, I’ll run the name through a few databases and see if I get any hits. Maybe I can find an address that way. If I do, we should talk to his parents