The Keepsake (Love at the Crossroads) Read Free Page A

other bills. This was to have been their dream house to increase their family, but without Desi’s presence, he hated the place. She’d been gone five days. How could he miss one person so badly?
    Entering through the kitchen, Michael dumped his keys and laptop on the counter. His brother folded his arms, leaned against the door and watched his every move. Zachary was patient unless provoked, which could be the case tonight. Too bad, Michael had to eat something. He had been starving himself the past few days. He grabbed a Hungry-Man TV dinner out the freezer and popped it in the microwave. “Want one?”                           
    “I didn’t come to eat, Mickey. Tell me what’s going on , now.”
    Although his brother was older by three years, Michael, at six-three, had Zachary by two inches. They had similar facial features and interests. Both were entrepreneurs at heart; his brother owned and operated a franchise, while Michael was honing his managerial skills at the retail phone center.
    “I cheated on Desi.” Michael didn’t see Zachary’s fist coming toward his jaw until it was too late to duck. He retaliated with a punch to his brother’s mouth. They wrestled until they practically had each other in a headlock. Loosening his grip, he pushed Zachary away. “What did you do that for?”
    “That was for my sister-in-law.” His nostril s flared. “She deserves better and you promised her that. I was your best man, remember? I expected better of you,” he roared and shook his head.
    “All of us were pulling for you two. Even her older sister and you know how bitter Tracey was after her divorcee with those two small children. She admitted that watching you and Desi made her hope for love again. Then Halcyon kept saying that she was leaving Scott after living with him for I don’t know how long. Then she had a son, and the jerk didn’t even hint at marriage as a possibility. But she told me, you and Desi’s relationship had her re-evaluating whether she should cut her losses with him and wait for the love she saw between you and Desi.” Zachary scowled.
    “Don’t you see, man? We’re the good guys.” He patted his chest. “If Christian men can’t keep their pants zipped, then why profess Christ?” After massaging his mouth, Zachary headed to the bathroom without waiting for an answer.
    Ignoring the tingling in his own jaw, Michael had no comeback as he watched his brother scrutinize his lip in the mirror. Folding his arms, he ignored the microwave’s beep notifying him that his dinner was ready.  What little appetite he had was gone—again. His mind was telling him that what he had done in secret was starting to come to the light like a 300-watt bulb.
    Strolling back into the kitchen, Zachary went to the freezer. Instead of going for a dinner, he grabbed a couple of cubes of ice and applied them directly to his mouth.  “So, are you still seeing this trash?”
    Michael slumped into a chair. “No. Yes, I lost my mind when I allowed it to first happen, but I did come to my senses and ended it. But it was too late. Desi found out and confronted me.”
    Zachary grunted. “Better Desi, than Tracey. You know her sister has a conceal-and-carry gun permit. She would have shot you. But, I’m still trying to understand why?” He frowned.
    “I’ve asked myself that question so many times.”
    “And?” Zachary prompted.
    “I don’t have an answer.”
    “Well, I hope you didn’t pick up HIV or AIDS and give it to Desi. Let me ask you… Would you have told her if she hadn’t found out?”
    Michael shrugged. “I’d like to think that I would because she is such a forgiving person, but seeing how she walked away without even raising her voice… You know how animated she is. I at least would have been able to tell her everything. When I checked the closets and stuff, it looked like she had already been planning to leave me.”
    “Good for her.” Zachary got up,