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needed an ally, and this was the only way she could think to get one.
    “I am so, so sorry, Neil, for the way things turned out between Vanessa and me yesterday.” She sobbed for effect. “That argument never should have happened, and I’m so sorry we upset Racquel the way we did. I’m sorry for everything,” she said dropping her purse onto the floor and covering her face with both hands…still weeping.
    “Heyyyyy,” Neil said, pulling her into his arms and caressing her back. “Everything is going to be fine. None of us is happy about what happened, but what we have to do now is focus on little MJ. We have to band together for him and Racquel.”
    “I know, but I just feel awful,” she said, stepping back and gazing directly into his eyes again. “And I can’t stop thinking about Racquel and how she could’ve lost the baby.”
    “But she didn’t.”
    Charlotte sniffled and wiped her face with her hands again, and Neil snatched a few tissues from the Kleenex box on the table and passed them to her. She carefully patted her face, so she wouldn’t ruin her makeup any more than she had. “I just don’t want you to hate me.”
    “Hate you? I could never do that. We all make mistakes, but the important thing is to move on.”
    “Thank you for being so understanding,” she said. But this time when she gazed into his eyes, there was no denying the strong attraction and obvious chemistry between them. Charlotte had noticed this very thing many months ago and had purposely ignored it. She and Curtis were happier than ever, so no matter how intense the attraction was between her and Racquel’s father or how undeniably gorgeous the man was, she wasn’t interested. Although this still didn’t mean she wouldn’t take full advantage of the way Neil felt about her, along with anything else he had to offer, if it meant keeping her in the constant presence of her grandson. She would do just about anything to be around him—even call him little MJ. She needed to have a real relationship with him, especially since she was the better grandmother. And no one, not that witch, Vanessa, or even Racquel, would stand in the way of that. It was true that she was the first lady of a very well-known church right there in Mitchell, and that she had deep-rooted Christian values the same as the next person, but there was also another side to her—a side she hoped she wouldn’t have to expose anytime soon. She’d gladly and willingly do it, though, if she had to.

Chapter 5
    T alk about a turn of events. Charlotte had gone from hoping to see her grandson up close to now actually standing over him inside the neonatal intensive care unit, and she was in pure heaven. She and Neil were dressed in protective scrubs and surgical caps, and thanks to all her tears, apologies, and the pleading she’d done, Neil had agreed to slip her in to see the baby for a few minutes. What a handsome and precious little thing he was, even with a breathing tube and an IV needle inserted into his body, and Charlotte was in love with him already. He even had thick, coal-black hair, the same as Matthew when he was born. Charlotte could hardly take her eyes off him and wished she could scoop him out of his incubator, whisk him away from the hospital, and fly him out to Boston to see Matthew. If she could, she would take little MJ and physically move there for the remainder of Matt’s semester. That way, he’d be able to stay in school and wouldn’t have to worry about trying to get home on weekends, something she knew he was planning to do as often as he could so he could be with his son. She totally understood that, but it was like she’d been trying to explain to Curtis yesterday: she also didn’t want him jeopardizing his education. What Charlotte wanted was the best for her son, and eventually she would figure out a way to make sure he had it. She would do whatever was necessary to keep him in school, and at the same time make it possible for