Ebony Angel Read Online Free PDF Page B

again.”
    “Nonsense. You’re beautiful and full of life. Isn’t she, Richard?”
    “Most definitely. If I weren’t chasing after your daughter, I’d be after you.”
    Marissa flushed, giggling. “I like him. Nice meeting you, Richard.” She nodded on her way to her room.
    “You, too.” Relief washed over Richard; he had passed the Mom test. After seeing Crystal and Marissa’s unconcerned reaction to him, he suspected he wasn’t Ebony’s first white date.
    The sound of the front door slamming against the inside wall startled Ebony and Richard. He spun around quickly, ready to protect Ebony. Two tall black men stepped through the door looking as if they had just come from a photo shoot for Thugs ‘R Us .

CHAPTER FOUR
    Richard stood in front of Ebony, quickly assessing the situation.
    “Trae, Skeet!” Marissa chastised as she stormed out of her room. “How many times I gotta tell you not to kick my damn door? Do it again,” she warned, “and I’ll cut your braids off.” She returned to her bedroom, shutting the door.
    “Mom’s gonna kick y’all’s tails for abusing her door.”
    Richard relaxed slightly but continued watching the two men carefully: They were both tall, had intricate cornrows, looked as if they had seen their share of street wars, wore baggy jean outfits and had parkas similar to Ebony’s. The taller one had broad shoulders, and his complexion matched Ebony’s. The one Richard’s height had a much lighter complexion.
    They set the bags they carried on the counter next to the kitchen sink. Ebony made introductions and went to put away the groceries.
    Trae appraised Richard from head to toe. “That’s a sharp Valenti. I have a few of his suits. You work for Dan?”
    “Leave him alone, Trae,” Ebony warned before Richard could speak. “He’s my friend.”
    Skeet’s low-rumble laugh filled the room. “Looks like baby girl here wants to explore her options.” He took a banana, and her portion of the submarine sandwich. “You didn’t want this, did you?” He ignored her murderous glare and bit into the sandwich.
    Though they were the same height and size, Richard felt slightly intimidated by Trae. He shook it off.
    Crystal ran into the room and hopped into Trae’s arms, breaking the tension. She held his face between her small hands. “Baby needs a new pair of shoes.” She looked over at Skeet, winked, flipped in Trae’s arms and threw up her stockinged feet.
    “Dang, girl.” Skeet chuckled, finishing the sandwich. “I told you to use that line when I’m not around. Come here.” He held his arms out for her.
    “I forgot.” She clung to Skeet, taking his banana in the process. “Will you ride me to Auntie Genevieve’s? Mama said I could go.”
    “Go get your bag.” He set her on the floor. “I’ll catch y’all later. Can you braid my hair tomorrow, Ebony?”
    “I just braided it Saturday, Skeet. I’m back in school now.”
    He pulled her over to him. “You don’t have class on Tuesdays. You have time to fix my hair.”
    “Tuesday and Thursday are my study days.” She took the coffee out of the sack and placed it on the counter.
    “You only been in class two weeks. You can’t have that much to do. Hell, you even wrote that thesis junk before the semester started.”
    Hands on her hips, she reminded him, “My GPA is 4.0. I’d like to keep it that way.”
    Ebony’s fire attracted Richard. He liked a woman who wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself. He looked at Trae, who was still sizing him up. He hadn’t noticed his green eyes before.
    “So you gonna have a brotha walkin’ around with frizzy braids. You ain’t right.”
    “My braids stay longer than three days. I’ll hook you up on Saturday, or you can have someone else do it.”
    “Stop talkin’ crazy. You know I don’t let anyone else touch my hair.” Crystal ran out of the bedroom. “Dang, girl. Do you eva walk?” He took her bag, picked the child up and hugged Ebony.