My Truth My Time My Turn Read online

  MY TRUTH

  MY TIME

  MY TURN

  My Son’s Wife Series Book 9

  Titles by Shelia E. Bell

  *Some titles are under former name of Shelia E. Lipsey

  Young Adult Titles

  House of Cars

  The Life of Payne

  The Lollipop Girl

  The Righteous Brothers (Coming 2019)

  Standalone Novels

  Show A Little Love (out of print)

  Always Now and Forever Love Hurts

  Into Each Life

  Sinsatiable

  What’s Blood Got To Do With It?

  Only In My Dreams

  The House Husband

  Cross Road

  Forever Ain’t Enough

  Series Books

  Beautiful Ugly

  True Beauty (sequel to Beautiful Ugly)

  My Son’s Wife Series

  My Son’s Wife: The Beginning (Book 1)

  My Son’s Ex-Wife: Aftershock (Book 2)

  My Son’s Next Wife (Book 3)

  My Sister My Momma My Wife (Book 4)

  My Wife My Baby…And Him (Book 5)

  The McCoy’s of Holy Rock (Book 6)

  Dem McCoy Boys (Book 7)

  My Brother, Father…And Me (Book 8)

  My Truth, My Time, My Turn (Book 9)

  Adverse City Series

  The Real Housewives of Adverse City

  The Real Housewives of Adverse City 2

  The Real Housewives of Adverse City 3

  The Real Housewives of Adverse City 4

  Anthologies

  Bended Knees

  Weary to Will

  Learning to Love Me

  Nonfiction

  A Christian’s Perspective: Journey Through Grief

  Shelia E. Bell

  2019 © Shelia E. Bell My Truth My Time My Turn

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced mechanically, electronically, or by any other means without prior consent of the publisher, except brief quotes used in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Any references or similarities to actual events, real people living, or dead, or to real locales are intended are to give the novel a sense of reality. Any similarity in other names, characters, places, and incidents is purely coincidental

  MY TRUTH

  MY TIME

  MY TURN

  My Son’s Wife Series Book 9

  SHELIA E. BELL

  “The only way to win with a toxic person

  is not to play.” Law of Attraction

  To all who follow my literary journey—I appreciate each and every one of you. I’ve said it before, but I must say it again: there is no me without you!

  I thank God for blessing me, showing favor in my life, for never forsaking me and for giving me this gift to write and share these incredible stories.

  To my mother, thank you for supporting me without fail. To my sons, grandsons, and great grands, I love you and hope my literary works will be part of my legacy that I leave to you. To my beautiful niece, Shante’, thank you for believing I am perfect in spite of my many flaws. I love you so much.

  Always keep your heads up, even when you feel like you aren’t living the life you desire or achieving the dreams you had planned. Remember, sometimes what we think has escaped us in this life really has not. Oftentimes we fail to see how blessed and beneficial our lives are to those we encounter on this daily walk, run, and trot through life.

  Oh, and to my ride or die, Rogue—the best cat and companion in the universe. We’ve been on some amazing journeys together. Thank you, Rogue for joining me on the ride.

  I love you all!

  Shelia E. Bell

  —God’s Amazing Girl

  Table of Contents

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  27

  28

  29

  30

  31

  32

  33

  34

  35

  36

  37

  38

  39

  Words from the Author

  1

  “Sometimes you just want to slap people. Then you remember Karma hits twice as hard.” Unknown

  Fancy scrolled through her phone and stopped when she saw the BREAKING NEWS headlines.

  FORMER SENIOR PASTOR OF HOLY ROCK MINISTRIES

  ARRESTED ON FELONY EMBEZZLEMENT….

  She read the article over and over, not believing Hezekiah had been carted off to jail. Yes, she and her sons had discussed this. Part of her knew this day was forthcoming, but to actually read it, see it in black and white, made her feel some type of way. She got ready to call Khalil but stopped abruptly when she heard Winston coming out of the bathroom.

  Walking over to her with a white towel covering his intimate parts, his body glistened from having been underneath the streaming jets of water.

  Dang, this man is sexy. Full lips, strong chin, cheek muscles that stood out when he clenched his jaw. Fancy eyed him with desire in her eyes as he approached her and stood in front of her.

  He came close, looking down at her intensely, before leaning down, and kissing her as she sat on the edge of the firm bed. “I wish I could have persuaded you to join me. I would have made it worth your while,” he teased as he planted delicate kisses along her face, neck, and earlobes.

  For a minute, Fancy forgot all about Hezekiah and his woes and allowed her mind and body to react to Winston’s touch.

  Your son is calling. The special ringtone pulled her back to reality before she could respond to Winston. Gently, she eased Winston back and answered it.

  “Ma, did you hear? They got the dirty dog,” Khalil said without saying hello. She could hear the satisfaction filtering through his voice.

  “I know; I just saw it on my phone. I…I don’t know what to say.”

  Winston looked down at her and listened, trying to decipher as much as he could about what Khalil could be saying. George had already contacted him and told him what had happened so he wasn’t surprised if that was what Khalil was calling his mother about.

  “What do you mean you don’t know what to say? The man has gone down and it’s not over. It’s just beginning. Payback is a mutha, Ma. It’s time he pays the piper. Know what I mean?”

  “Yes, I hear you but it’s still your father and my husband.”

  “Hold up, he is not your husband. You are divorced, Ma. And last I heard and saw for myself, you already got somebody to take his place. As for him being my father, yeah, he’s my father by blood, but what’s blood got to do with it? Apparently nothing, ‘cause look at the way he’s dissed me and Xavier. The man is ruthless, so don’t go soft on me now, Ma.”

  “Yes, I hear ya, son. Anyway, I just
need a minute. I’ll call you back later. Okay?”

  “Uh, okay, but you gonna be all right? I wasn’t expecting you to sound like you just buried the guy or something. Everything'll be a’ite. You hear me?”

  “Yes, sweetheart, I hear you. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Okay, bye, Ma.” The call ended and with tears in her eyes, Fancy looked up at Winston.

  “What is it, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “It’s Hezekiah.”

  “Is he all right? Did something happen? Another stroke?”

  Fancy shook her head. “No, he’s been arrested. It’s been in the making for some time, but now that it’s actually happened I…I don’t know how I’m feeling,” she admitted, wringing her hands and bowing her head.

  Winston reached down, gathered her by her forearms, pulled her up against his taut body, and held her tightly as she rested her head against his chest. “The man was your husband until a few weeks ago. You have history together, children together. It’s normal to have mixed emotions about his arrest.”

  Fancy looked up at Winston. “Thank you, Winston.”

  “I’m here for you. In any way I can. I hope you know that.”

  Fancy nodded her approval and laid her head back against his chest as he tightened his arms around her. She needed to feel safe, protected, and secure. Winston made her feel all of the above.

  Winston’s mind was a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts. He had not admitted to himself until now his growing feelings for Fancy McCoy. She reminded him of his ex, Josselyn. He and Josselyn had been engaged for less than six months when she, out of the blue, called off the engagement, saying she wasn’t ready to get married after all. Winston was heartbroken. When she accepted his proposal of marriage it was like a dream had become a reality. It was heartbreaking for him to see her weeks later with another man when they were supposed to spend their lives together, but life had offered a cruel blow.

  The caveat in the whole break up was when Winston received a promotion on his job that would require him to relocate to Memphis. After ending things the way she did, Winston couldn’t wait to leave town and start anew.

  His mind was not on meeting anyone else. Instead, his intentions were to make a mark in his new position in Memphis and continue to move up the corporate ladder. But his chance encounter with Fancy revealed just how small of a world it is.

  Not exactly a guy with a stellar reputation behind closed doors, it didn’t take much prodding from his longtime friend, George Reeves, when Winston told him about the hot woman he’d met at Brother Juniper’s restaurant. George asked Winston to tell him more about the woman who seemed to have temporarily gotten his mind off Josselyn. George broke out into raucous laughter when Winston told him the woman’s name was Fancy McCoy. How much better could things get?

  George gave Winston some background on Fancy McCoy and her husband, Hezekiah. He didn’t want his friend getting sucked in by the likes of any one with the last name ‘McCoy’, but it could possibly work for George the more he thought about it.

  Listening to George run down a quick history about the McCoy’s and Holy Rock made Winston that more enthralled and eager to get to know more about this striking mystery woman he’d met.

  As for George, the more he gave thought to Winston’s encounter with Fancy, the more he convinced himself this was divine intervention. Why else, of all the women he could have met, Winston met Fancy McCoy? From there, a plan began to circulate in his mind. If he could convince Winston to woo Fancy McCoy, and if she liked Winston, then Winston could keep his eyes and ears open for any shenanigans she and her crooked sons might have up their sleeves toward Hezekiah, and possibly toward George too. In return for his spying, George would only need to convince Winston he could enjoy the pleasure of having a knock off like Fancy to mess with since he’d made the move to Memphis and didn’t know a lot of people.

  If George was able to get the inside scoop on Fancy’s plans, the less he would have to worry about his money train being cut off by Hezekiah. George figured it would be a win-win for both him and Winston. Of course, he’d break off a little money to Winston from time to time, not that Winston needed it. The man enjoyed a lucrative career and money was the least of his worries.

  After some prodding, with a bit of reluctance mixed with curiosity, Winston agreed to get to know Fancy better. Anything Winston heard or saw that he believed might be helpful in their pursuit of the money George told Winston Hezekiah’s son had stolen from his dad, Winston was supposed to let George know.

  What took Winston by surprise was his feelings. He didn’t expect to develop the strong attraction he had toward Fancy, but he did. She was easy to like, made him laugh, and definitely made him forget about Josselyn breaking his heart. But was it enough to make him back off doing what he had agreed? He tried not to think about that but every time he thought about telling George he wasn’t on board with the plan anymore he remembered how he had been walked over by Josselyn, and he knew he could not fully trust Fancy. Thus, his loyalty remained with George.

  “Look, everything will be fine. You’re going to be fine,” Winston assured Fancy. To see how much she was affected by Hezekiah’s arrest told Winston a lot. Fancy still loved her husband. What a fool this Hezekiah guy is. It also told him something else—to keep his heart in check because her feelings certainly didn’t lie with him.

  2

  “When I look at you I lose my sense of being. Is this love?” Tapan Ghosh

  Eliana stretched, slowly opened her eyes, and turned in the bed. She smiled in contentment when she saw Khalil lying next to her, sleeping soundly, with an ever so slight snoring coming from his throat. She took it to mean he was resting well. This made her happier than ever. As she eased up in the bed, being extra careful not to wake him, memories of the night before played on repeat in her mind and a warm glow flowed through her.

  She and Khalil had been involved in an intimate relationship for months now. Her spirit convicted her, telling her it was wrong for her to be sleeping with her boss who was also her pastor. Yet, her heart overruled every time Khalil pulled her into his arms.

  Eliana had been involved in one serious relationship prior to Khalil but that was when she was in high school. It lasted through her freshman year in college, but in the end the distance proved to be too great to sustain the relationship. He found someone else and she went on to concentrate on her college curriculum where she dated on and off. After graduating, she went straight into work mode while continuing to pursue a master’s in Biblical studies. Having graduated a few months ago, she could now focus on her career at Holy Rock—and Khalil McCoy.

  With her educational goals realized, her next major goal was to become First Lady Eliana McCoy. If she could get Fancy back in her corner and on her side it would give her more leverage.

  “Hey,” Khalil said, waking up and kissing Eliana on the side of her face as he opened his eyes and gathered her underneath his right arm. “What time is it?”

  “Almost eight.”

  Hearing that, Khalil sat up in the bed, swiveled his long, muscular legs around until they connected with the cold hardwood floor.

  “I’ve got to get up. I have to pick up Stiles at ten.”

  “No, actually you don’t. Your mother is going to pick him up.”

  Looking back and over his shoulder he eyed Eliana curiously. “What are you talking about? And how do you know that? She didn’t’ mention it and I talked to her early this morning.”

  “She told me last night before I left midweek service. She said she was going to call and let you know.”

  “Well, she didn’t.” Khalil became immediately irritated. Why hadn’t she told him? Probably because she knew he wouldn’t be on board with that little move of hers. He still didn’t feel comfortable with his mother having a relationship with his uncle. Something between those two just didn’t sit right. “Where’s my phone?”

  “It’s—”

  “Never mind. I kno
w where I put it.” He opened the drawer to the bedside table and retrieved it. Without saying anything else, he called his mother.

  “Good morning, sweetheart.”

  “Ma. What’s this I hear about you picking up Stiles?”

  “Oh, I forgot to tell you when we talked last night. I was so wrapped up in what’s going on with Hezekiah. Anyway, I talked to Stiles earlier yesterday and I told him I would pick him up. I live closer to the airport than you so it’s no big deal. We’re going to have a late breakfast and then head to the church afterward. You can meet him there and go over everything you need to with him. I know you two have a lot of ground to cover. I told Eliana. Didn’t she tell you? I mean, she is your personal assistant. Seems like she would have removed that from your calendar.” Fancy was fishing. She was nobody’s fool. She purposely told Eliana she would tell her son about her plans but she really had no intention of doing so until the last minute. She wanted to see if Eliana would tell him herself. Though she had no concrete proof, she felt in her spirit that Khalil and Eliana were sleeping together. It wasn’t that she minded, not at all, especially now that Pepper had managed to get Xavier’s mind off that twit brother of Eliana’s. Plus, as long as Eliana could keep Khalil interested, the less he would have time to mess around with the other nitwitted females running around Holy Rock trying to snag her son. Not to mention Detria Graham. She was a whole other story. But she hadn’t heard Khalil mention Detria’s name in a while, so maybe she was already out of the picture. God knows, she hoped so. That woman was nothing but trouble. She’d caused enough upset in her family by messing around with both Hezekiah and Khalil. How nasty was that?