Read Online What She Doesn't Know by Beverly Barton - Free Book Online Page A

her older sister Felicia had been alive.
    Sandy looked up at Theron. “I had heard that you’d returned to Sumarville. Do you remember me from when we used to play together when I visited Jolie at Belle Rose?”
    Theron nodded. “Yes, I remember you…and your brother.”
    Sandy lowered her voice. “Did Jolie come home for the funeral?”
    â€œShe hasn’t arrived, yet,” Yvonne said. Noticing the way her son was staring at Amy Jardien and she at him, Yvonne thought it best to introduce the two immediately. “Theron, you probably don’t remember Mr. Nehemiah Jardien’s youngest child, Amy. She’s a doctor now.”
    Theron held out his hand to the young woman who tilted her head and smiled warmly at him. The girl was undeniably lovely, with coffee-colored skin and large black eyes that sparkled as she and Theron exchanged a lingering handshake.
    â€œI’m Theron Carter, Dr. Jardien,” he said, emphasizing the word doctor .
    â€œYes, I know who you are. Everyone’s been talking about your return to Sumarville. I’m pleased to finally meet you.” Amy moistened her full lips nervously.
    â€œThe pleasure is all mine,” Theron assured her.
    â€œIf y’all will excuse me, I’m going to break line,” Sandy said. “I see my brother is up there ahead of us.”
    Yvonne kept her forced smile in place, then stood quietly as Theron and Amy continued their conversation. She watched and listened, realizing how very mutual the attraction between the two was. If it had been under any other circumstances, she would have left them alone. A man hardly needed his mother around when he was trying to impress a young lady. The best she could do was look the other way, backward toward the line that had formed behind them.
    Every muscle in Yvonne’s body tensed when she caught a glimpse of him only moments before she heard his booming Baptist preacher’s voice. She froze to the spot, although every instinct within her told her to run. Roscoe Wells played the politician, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with his constituents. The stocky, ruddy-faced Roscoe’s shock of white hair perfectly matched his thick white mustache. He swept through the crowd, his charisma capturing one and all.
    Yvonne held her breath as he passed by, all the while praying that he would not speak to her. He paused momentarily and stared at her. She thought she would scream; indeed she was screaming quite loudly inside her mind. He smiled at her. The damn man actually smiled at her, then quickly moved on and into the Magnolia Room, totally disregarding the long line of waiting mourners. Roscoe Wells didn’t wait in line, didn’t adhere to the rules that governed others. After all, he was a Wells, and his family’s roots were as deeply planted in Sumarville soil as were the Desmonds’.
    Theron patted her arm. “Mama, are you all right?”
    She took a deep breath. “Yes, I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
    â€œBecause the look you gave Roscoe Wells could have curdled milk. I’m glad to see that you’re capable of recognizing at least one white rattlesnake when you see it.”
    â€œDaddy thinks that man is only pretending to have had a change of heart,” Amy said. “But for a long time now, folks have believed that he truly did repent from his past sins.”
    â€œThat old bastard won’t ever change,” Theron said. “With his past history, I don’t see how any of our people could put their trust in him.”
    Amen , Yvonne thought. If the African American community knew what she knew, he wouldn’t be able to get elected as dog catcher.

    Max’s black Porsche sped down the country road away from Belle Rose and toward town. The night sky spread out overhead like a dark, diamond-studded, velvet canopy. Before he’d left, he had made sure everyone was accounted for and taken care of,