Never Keeping Secrets Read Online Free Page B

husbands, as to the Lord.
    But her friends had been there through it all. Loving her. Helping to heal her. Making sure they had her back when she felt left behind by everyone and anything else. They were in the delivery room with her during her labor. Not even her parents, who chose to believe the lies of their minister over her truths about his sexual relationship with her. Her friends had never forsaken her. Never. And now she was supposed to present them her back and shun them because they weren’t saved?
    â€œBe not deceived: bad company corrupts good morals. ”
    Taquan loved to quote that verse to her. He felt it was the backbone of his argument. She couldn’t lie; it was a good one. Who could dispute the Bible? The Word? Their salvation?
    Finishing her water, she quietly moved throughout the darkness of the apartment to her bedroom. Tiffany was awake and softly whispering baby talk to herself as she bent her legs to play with her chubby toes.
    Latoya smiled as she walked around the bed to look down into her daughter’s crib.
    â€œMa-Ma,” she said, sounding like she missed her and was tickled pink for her return.
    Latoya’s heart swelled with love as she leaned over and pressed her lips against a chubby cheek. “Why are you up, Tiffy-Boo?” she asked, reaching down to quickly check if her diaper was wet.
    Tiffany giggled as she reached up to lightly pat her mother’s cheek. “Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma.”
    Brrrnnnggg . . .
    Latoya was startled by the sudden ringing of her cell phone. Her heart raced and pounded as she moved back around the bed to pick it up from the nightstand. She had several missed calls and a few texts from Taquan. “No wonder my baby woke up,” she said, pressing the button to answer the call. “Hey Taq—”
    â€œCome downstairs.”
    Click.
    Latoya frowned at her fiancé’s abruptness as she tossed the phone on the bed, pulled her pale pink robe over her nightie and then moved to scoop Tiffany up into her arms. Thankfully, her little one snuggled her head against Latoya’s shoulder and she knew it wouldn’t be long before she was back asleep. “Thank God,” she mouthed, rubbing comforting circles onto her daughter’s back.
    She came to the double doors of Danielle’s master suite at the end of the hall. She knocked twice softly before opening the door and saying a prayer that Danielle didn’t have company. Their friend was on a man sabbatical but . . .
    Latoya felt relief that she was snuggled in the middle of her queen-sized bed alone.
    â€œSomeone better be dead.”
    Latoya paused on her path to Danielle’s bedside at the sound of the muffled words. She was a light sleeper. Like her behind was afraid she was going to miss something while she dozed.
    â€œLet your goddaughter sleep with you,” Latoya whispered, coming to stand by the opposite side of the bed.
    Danielle lifted her silk scarf-covered head from her pillow and lifted one corner of her black satin eye mask as she looked over her shoulder. “She has two other godmothers,” she drawled playfully, her voice filled with sleep.
    â€œBut you’re her favorite,” Latoya said smoothly, already pulling back the crisp thousand-count sheets to ease her gently snoring daughter onto the bed.
    â€œBitch, please,” Danielle said in disbelief as she rolled over onto her side on the bed and gently shooed Latoya’s hands away as she pulled the sheets up to cover Tiffany’s plump frame. She took over massaging circles onto Tiffany’s back, sending her deeper and deeper into sleep. “You are so full of shit.”
    Although she knew Danielle was joking, Latoya still bristled at the use of profanity. The old Latoya who played it loose with her salvation wouldn’t have cared, but the woman of God she was now had asked her friends several times to refrain from all the cussing and carrying on around her.
    She