Read Online The Eleventh Commandment by Lutishia Lovely - Free Book Online Page A

reading. “The key meaning to Jehovah/Yahweh is found in this word. I Am that I Am means I Am He who exists: timeless, ever-present.” Fingers drummed against the mahogany table as she thought on these words, asking God what she should say at the conference, how she could use these words and her life to encourage someone who was in the shoes she’d occupied for a long period of her life. “Help me, Jesus,” she murmured, rising from the table and stretching long and hard. She looked at her clock, knowing that the kids would be coming back soon. It was also workout day, one of three times a week that Yvette came through to torture her into retaining the lean, tight body that Cy loved.
    Just enough time left to try and catch my girls. Reaching for her phone, she walked from the kitchen area toward the great room, to the covered patio beyond it. It was a favorite hangout place for Hope, a smartly appointed area anchored by an outdoor kitchen on one side and an infinity pool on the other. Beyond it was the expertly maintained garden from which Hope filled the house with flowers: hydrangeas, orchids, lilies. Also growing were large bird-of-paradise plants that she admired but refused to cut. Beyond the garden was what drove up the property’s value—an unobstructed view of the Pacific Ocean. She and Cy had spent many amorous evenings on this patio. Her cootchie tingled just thinking about them, so she forced away these thoughts as Stacy picked up on the other end of the phone.
    â€œHey, Hope.”
    â€œHey, girl. What’s wrong?”
    â€œNothing. What’s up?”
    â€œUh-uh. That’s not how we do things. I’m your girl, Stace. Talk to me.”
    It was true. Hope and Stacy had become fast friends after Hope relocated to Los Angeles from Kansas City. Stacy admired her lifestyle, especially the fact that she’d snagged KCCC’s most eligible bachelor, right out of Millicent Kirtz’s—then Millicent Sims—crosshairs. Hope later found out it hadn’t been quite that way, that while Cy had dated Millicent a couple times they’d never been intimate. At any rate, Hope truly appreciated Stacy’s friendship, the only woman she conversed with other than her cousin, Frieda. Hope had been Stacy’s confidante regarding her obsession, Darius Crenshaw. She was the first to know that Stacy was pregnant with his child, the first to whom Stacy finally admitted the truth that he was gay, and the one who helped her pick up the pieces when Darius, who’d finally married Stacy following the birth of their son, then had their marriage annulled to be with his true love, Bo Jenkins. On the other hand, Stacy had been a much-needed sympathetic ear during Hope’s attempts to have children, had been her cheerleader when Hope began to lose the essence of her name. She’d helped pull Hope back from the brink when she’d become obsessed with the fact that Millicent had had a child before she did, and then was convinced that Millicent was after Cy. Her paranoia had resulted in her racing to a hotel where Cy was meeting with Jack Kirtz and a contractor about the surprise dream home where she now sat. Unfortunately for Millicent, when her husband knew he’d be delayed for the meeting, she offered to bring the plans and get things started. Hope found Cy and Millicent alone in the room and had held a San Diego tea party, tossing a pitcher of the cool drink in Millicent’s face. Stacy and Hope had been through their share of drama and if there was some more brewing, they’d face it together.
    â€œWhat’s going on, Stacy?” Hope prompted her friend to open up about what was bothering her. “You know you can tell me anything.”
    â€œI’m worried about Tony.”
    â€œStill no takers?”
    â€œNo, and that’s the problem. No team has shown interest in picking him up for the upcoming season. Tony is not dealing well with