A Fresh Start

“Go home,” Harold said the minute they stepped out of the elevator.

“It’s great to see you, too, Harold,” she said sarcastically.

“I’m serious, Cherise. I don’t know why you had the seizure, Micah didn’t say, but you know what your doctor would say.”

“Probably the same thing you are,” she sighed, sitting at her computer desk. “I have to Harold. Don’t ask me why, please, just trust me.”

He huffed but left anyway. Micah sat in his office chair and turned his computer on.

“Good news for once,” he said and Cherise looked up from her emails. “Guess who is in jail for blackmail.” She shook her head. “Felicia Brown.”

Cherise sighed heavily. “Well, as much as I hate to say it, she brought it on herself. Must be the politician in her,” she added, scrolling down through her unread emails. “We have two more people wanting to work with us.”

“I have an email here from Peter Gabriel,” Micah announced and she rolled her desk chair to his computer. She rested her chin on his shoulder. “He wants us to come to his estate tomorrow if we’re able.”

“I’m able,” she said, barely suppressing a yawn.

He kissed her deeply and she sighed through her nose. She wrapped her arms around his neck and, just as things were getting heated, their office door opened.

Harold snorted.

“So this is why you wanted to come to the office,” he joked and Cherise blushed. “This is a packet from Peter Gabriel,” he explained, handing over the papers. “He said for you to bring them with you tomorrow.”

“Aye, aye,” Micah said, giving a mock salute.

-

The next morning, after a quick breakfast, they headed to Peter’s house. Arline answered the door with a large grin.

“So glad to see you two!” she said, leading them up to his study. “Despite what Peter will say when you get in there, this is a good thing.”

Cherise shared a look with Micah as she opened the door. Peter was staring out the window, still in his chair, and looking furious. When they walked in, closing the door, he gestured to the two chairs. Lira tore out of Cherise’s grip and ran over to Peter, her tail wagging.

He chuckled. “Smart dog you have here,” he mumbled.

“Is everything okay, Mr. Gabriel?” Cherise asked, sitting down.

He sighed. “No. My children are putting me in a home,” he said through clenched teeth.

Cherise blinked. “Why? Is your cancer that advanced?”

“It’s not just cancer,” he sighed again. “I have the onset of dementia now. Aren’t I lucky?” he said sarcastically. “Anyway, I won’t be able to operate this outside of a home. The packet your boss gave you is a list of every single thing in this house worth of value.”

“Wait,” Micah said. “We don’t deal in that. We deal in taxes.”

“I know,” Peter said, a tear leaking down his cheek. “I’m going to have to sell most of them to pay for the cost of the bills that we’ll be incurring from these damn diseases. I want you to go through each item and add how much tax you think is appropriate. What is left over from the tax addition will go to your company. I can imagine you need it.”

Cherise’s jaw dropped open. “Mr. Gabriel, are you sure about this?”

“I have no choice, Miss Allen,” he sighed, letting Lira lick his face.

Cherise’s heart dropped for the old man. It was one thing to have cancer. It was another to have your children just throw you into a nursing home without even bothering to help. As far as they knew, it was Arline who provided for him and, if she couldn’t do it, who could?

“What will Arline be doing?” Cherise whispered.

“Tying up the other loose ends,” he said with a small sob. “Please, I am tired. Take the time you need.”

He left the room. When the door closed, Cherise let her tears fall. Micah held her hand.

“Was I like that with my father?” she choked out and Micah stared.

“What in the world are you talking about?”

“I didn’t even take a chance to find out if I could help him,” she whispered. “I just let him go.”

Micah shook his head firmly. “No. This is different. His children are abandoning him. Your father abandoned you.”

Cherise hung her head and sighed sadly. “I don’t want to be me, Micah,” she murmured and he stood, pulling him with her. “I’m tired of all this drama that seems to follow me everywhere I go.”

“I know, sweetheart.”

“I keep waiting for the day you’ll wake up and realize it’s not worth it,” she admitted.

“You’ll always be worth it,” he promised.

-

When they got home, both were too tired to cook. Not that they were interested in eating, anyway.

“Let’s just go to bed,” Cherise sighed after feeding and taking Lira out to relieve herself.

Micah agreed and they changed. As soon as they were under the covers, though, Micah kissed her passionately. Cherise was overcome with desire for him and took his shirt off without thinking. For the first time, they made love, and Cherise felt at least part of her life was normal.

--

Peter died three months later. Arline was devastated and none of his children showed up for the funeral. Micah and Cherise went as support for the poor woman. For the majority of the funeral, Arline cried into Cherise’s shoulder.

The money he had donated to their company, though, brought them out of a slump they had been in for a little while. They dedicated a special fountain out front to Peter Gabriel. Cherise read his books and fell in love with them which made her respect and honor his life even more.

Unfortunately, Arline died shortly after. No matter what the doctors said, Cherise was certain it was from a broken heart. Her children showed up and, thinking Cherise and Micah were her lawyers, immediately wanted to know what they were left in the will. Cherise didn’t even give them an answer, she just went back to the car.

Their appointments with Sherry were getting better. As embarrassing as it was, Cherise did her best to be as open as possible with the therapist. Sherry was very glad to hear that they were able to be intimate again and they both agreed.

Micah heard from his lawyer again, this time with the news that his ex-girlfriend was in jail and her son was in need of a home. After much discussion, Micah agreed to let the boy live with them. His name was Brandon and he was a lovely child. He loved to learn and, when it became apparent his mother would no longer be able to support him, he begged them to let him stay with them instead of going to a foster home.

So, in a way, Micah and Cherise were able to have a child. Albeit, in a way they never imagined they would. The tax firm continued to excel and Chris came on as a full time employee, eager to learn and shadowing Micah and Cherise again. This time it wasn’t just for a week, though.

“You’ll be replacing us someday,” Micah told him and laughed when Chris looked absolutely terrified at the idea.

As for Cherise, she did what Sherry had told them during an appointment:

Live one day at a time. Don’t focus on what can happen tomorrow. Focus on the now and love every second of it.

Every night after dinner, while Brandon did his chores and Micah played with Lira, that’s exactly what Cherise did. She enjoyed every time she had on the planet. If she learned anything from all that had happened, it was that their time wasn’t promised.

Besides, why worry about tomorrow when she had a man she loved in bed with her and a young boy who was shaping up to be a wonderful young man?