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  ENDORSEMENTS FOR PAT SIMMONS

  I am so loving Guilty by Association! Girl, you went all out!!!! When I thought there could not be a man to compare to Parke, you created “Kidd”! WOW is all I can say…. No, I take that back, WOW! WOW! WOW! The love … WOW! The relationship blossoming … WOW! The man … WOW!

  —DARLENE MITCHELL, VIRGINIA GUILTY CAPTAIN

  Life and a last name is all that Kevin “Kidd” Jamieson received from his father, but that doesn’t stop his father’s family from seeking him out. In Pat Simmons’ latest book, Guilty by Association, we meet Kevin Jamieson, a man with a chip the size of the Grand Canyon on his shoulders. The resounding message is love and the ultimate love comes from God. I love this series and can’t wait for the installment that will be about Kidd’s bad boy brother, Ace.

  —JERSEY GIRL MIA DANIEL, NEW JERSEY GUILTY CAPTAIN

  Each book keeps getting better and better. I enjoyed Guilty by Association from cover to cover.

  —YOLANDA HARRIS, PRESIDENT GLORY GIRLS BOOK CLUB AND ST. LOUIS GUILTY CAPTAIN

  —Crowning Glory … voted best Christian fiction for 2011 by O.O.S.A. Online Book Club and the Romance Slam Jam Committee

  —Not Guilty of Love nominated for African-American Literary Festival in Norfolk, VA

  —Still Guilty voted best Inspirational Romance of the Year (2010) by Romance Slam Jam/Emma Rodgers Awards committee

  THE JAMIESON LEGACY

  free from guilt

  PAT SIMMONS

  MOODY PUBLISHERS

  CHICAGO

  © 2012 by

  PAT SIMMONS

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.

  Edited by Kathryn Hall

  Interior design: Ragont Design

  Cover design: Faceout Studio

  Cover image: iStock #6823112 / Shutterstock #43055743 and #44351440

  123RF #8822479

  Author photo: Naum Furman

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Simmons, Pat

  Free from guilt / Pat Siimmons.

  p. cm.

  ISBN 978-0-8024-0389-6

  1. Man-woman relationships—Fiction. 2. African Americans—Fiction.

  3. Saint Louis (Mo.)—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3619.I56125F74 2012

  813’.6—dc23

  2012023827

  1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

  Printed in the United States of America

  “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.

  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

  —2 Corinthians 10:3–5

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Prologue

  Cameron Daniel Jamieson wasn’t going down like his brothers and cousins in the romance department. No woman in the world would get him to a prayer altar as a prerequisite for the wedding altar.

  Absolutely, he wanted to get married, and he somewhat was on the prowl for a wife. His criterion was she had to be the one his heart refused to let get away. Furthermore, he had a major stipulation. Cameron didn’t believe in mixing religion with politics—at the workplace or in relationships—and definitely not outside of the church walls. That was nonnegotiable.

  He did a quick sweep of his relatives gathered in the dressing room of the small St. Louis, Missouri, church. Cameron noted the common thread among the men. Their wives had dug their stilettos into the ground, refusing a diamond ring, unless their Jamieson men humbled themselves to Christ first. How ridiculous was that? Yet that’s exactly what happened to them.

  His cousin Aaron “Ace” and Ace’s wife, Talise Jamieson, were moments away from renewing their wedding vows in an elaborate ceremony. A few months earlier, the couple had married a mere three weeks before their precious daughter was born.

  This was a happy ending to their tumultuous courtship. Cameron paused in his thinking. He guessed there were always exceptions to any rule. Maybe, if it wasn’t for Jesus intervening in the couple’s troubled relationship, he wouldn’t be standing there about to witness the affirmation of their bliss.

  Nonetheless, Cameron took credit for introducing Talise and Ace, even though they eventually split on bad terms. Later, when he learned that a future illegitimate Jamieson child was at stake, Cameron didn’t hesitate to intervene in his cousin’s business. He refused to lose any connections to his ancestral tree.

  Once Ace got his act together and proposed, Talise had two stipulations to her holdout of saying yes. First, she didn’t want to be pregnant in a wedding dress. Second, her sister, who was serving in the Persian Gulf, had to be present. Today Talise had her wishes fulfilled. Women and their demands could really put a strain on a brother.

  Oddly, the “groom” was nervously pacing the floor.

  “Chill, dude. You’re already married. It’s not like Talise is going to leave you standing at the altar,” Cameron taunted his cousin, who was more like a third brother to him.

  “Today is all about my baby. You have no idea how important this is to her. Everything has to be perfect,” Ace replied. With a thoughtful pause, he stared down at Talise’s wedding rings and his band. Now cupped in his palm, those precious jewels had been on their fingers a day earlier.

  At that moment, Ace’s s cell phone rang and ended the discussion. When he answered, the photographer snapped a picture. Eavesdropping on the one-sided conversation, Cameron sensed something wasn’t going as planned.

  “She did what? You’ve got to be kidding me!” Ace roared. After listening a few minutes longer, his voice softened. “It’ll be okay, love,” he consoled. Then exhaling, he finished the conversation, “I’ll see you in a few. I love you, babe.”

  “Something is not okay. What’s going on?” Cameron, along with the other groomsmen, was ready to spring into action.

  “It’s Talise’s stepmother, Donna,” Ace responded. W
ith a quick glance around the room, he checked to see if his father-in-law had returned from the men’s room.

  “She’s in the bridal chamber giving Tay all kinds of grief. Among other things, she’s complaining about why she had to wear pink instead of white. You’d think it was her wedding day. If that’s not enough, the woman’s harping on why we couldn’t renew our vows in Talise’s hometown of Richmond. Her parents still live there, but my wife hasn’t lived there in years.”

  Cameron knew Ace didn’t hold his tongue if anyone upset his wife. This was supposed to be a joyful occasion.

  “The final straw was when Donna demanded to be escorted down the aisle as part of the wedding party. Thank God, Grandma BB stepped in and put the woman in her place.”

  “Yikes.” Cameron stuffed his hands in his pockets. It was a known fact that Talise did not refer to Donna as her stepmother. After the death of her mother, the best Talise could manage was to claim the woman as her father’s new wife.

  “Yikes is right. Grandma BB shoved Donna out the door with a warning. Unless Donna wanted to go home with a limp, she’d better not even try to put her big toe in the center aisle.”

  Cameron barked out a laugh. He would never get use to the antics of Mrs. Beatrice Tilly Beacon, better known as Grandma BB.

  Ace shook his head. “We’d better keep an eye on her, or Grandma BB will be fighting in church.”

  “Stranger things have happened,” Cameron mumbled, recalling the notorious behavior of the woman who claimed to be seventysomething years old. Interestingly enough, she vehemently maintained her status as part of the family–even though she didn’t have a drop of Jamieson blood. The childless widow took her role as grandma seriously.

  The photographer snapped a few more shots and walked out just as Talise’s father entered the room. “Wait until you see her. She’s beautiful and happy.” Frederick grinned and shook hands with Ace. “Keep her that way and there won’t be any problems.”

  After that statement, Parke, Cameron’s oldest brother, suggested they pray. Linking hands, the men bowed their heads.

  “Father, in the Name of Jesus, we come before Your throne of grace. We worship You today for this opportunity to witness the love between husband and wife. I ask that You bless my cousin’s marriage and bless his life in this Christian journey. Most of all, Father, bless their precious daughter.”

  Parke paused, before adding, “And, Lord Jesus, please bless every married man and their households represented here today. Help us never to fail You as the strong Christian men You created us to be, in the Name of Jesus. Amen.”

  A series of Amens echoed around the circle. One by one, the men patted Ace on the back. Frederick, the proud father-in-law, had the first honor.

  Ace tilted his head. “Ah, it appears there’s one man standing in this room who isn’t hitched. Cameron, you’re the lone ranger.”

  “Not for long. Even the Bible says it’s not good for man to be alone. With thirty-two knocking on my door, who am I to argue with God?”

  “You argue with us about God all the time,” Parke reminded him. “Why stop now?”

  “Trust me,” Cameron said with a wink. “I don’t need God’s help on this. I’m fully capable of choosing my own woman. Her body and beauty have to attract me, her intellect has to mesmerize me, her ambition must impress me, and a strong sense of family ties will keep me.”

  “She’s taken.” The sentiment floated around the room, as each Jamieson claimed they had already married that woman.

  Cameron confidently asserted, “There’s one more, and she won’t get away.”

  Chapter One

  Gabrielle Dupree, and her sidekick since college, Denise Rayford, quickly squeezed into the church pew. The processional was about to start any minute. It had been one delay after another to get there. Their flight from the East Coast was late, their rental car wasn’t ready, and then they made a wrong turn. It was amazing they’d made it on time.

  Talise and Gabrielle had become extremely close when they worked together at an airline in Boston. Before she relocated to St. Louis, Talise had come to depend on Gabrielle as her confidant for friendship, advice, and prayer.

  As a result, Gabrielle wouldn’t have missed Talise’s big day for anything. Denise, on the other hand, had her own agenda for attending the ceremony. Her sole purpose was to verify if she was related to the wedding party. It was a long, complicated story that still confused her.

  If Gabrielle could have rearranged her work schedule to be there days earlier, she would have been a bridesmaid along with the others. Still, Talise wanted to include her in the wedding pictures and ordered her to wear pink.

  About two hundred guests packed the sanctuary. Besides the many floral arrangements positioned throughout, silver and pink satin bows adorned the ends of each pew. Suddenly, the lights dimmed and candles flickered.

  Romantic was the only word Gabrielle could utter to describe the setting. Minutes later, a minister led a group of five, tall, buffed, and jaw-dropping handsome groomsmen to the altar. She had to exhale over the awesome spectacle. Particularly noting the one with a shaved head and a goatee, Gabrielle thought, Wow, bald never looked so good on a man.

  With a laser-like focus on the back of the church, the groom stood erect by the minister.

  Denise nudged her. Gabrielle was breathless with awe. “The darker ones are almost carbon copies of my brother.”

  “Really?” Gabrielle said casually. “I have no complaints about God’s handiwork. They are all fine. My girl has good taste,” Gabrielle whispered to her friend, whom she had dubbed the “wedding crasher.”

  Denise was under the impression Talise’s husband and brother-in-law could be her half brothers—all because of the last name Jamieson. There must be thousands of Jamiesons in the world. Still, Denise was on a mission to track down and unite the eleven children her deceased father, Samuel, had spawned in his younger years.

  “But are you sure?” Gabrielle looked around to see if anyone nearby was eavesdropping. She had never met any of Denise’s brothers, only her older sister.

  “Now what?”

  Frowning, Gabrielle leaned closer. “What do you mean, ‘now what’? You’re the one who masterminded this scheme.”

  “I know. When you said your friend was marrying Aaron Jamieson from Boston, I cross-referenced his name with the information I’ve gathered. There were too many coincidences for me to ignore. But how do you approach someone who is possibly your sibling and say, ‘We have the same no-good daddy. I thought we should meet and get to know each other’?”

  This was all Gabrielle’s fault. Somewhat regretfully, she had mentioned an invitation to a Jamieson wedding. When Denise asked her if she was taking a date along, Gabrielle responded no. She had yet to understand why there was an unspoken rule about attending nuptials alone. Yet she didn’t think having one of her brothers to escort her was necessary. All of that gave Denise a perfect opportunity to invite herself.

  Gabrielle glanced around at some of the guests. Many were coupled off. A few seemed to be in hushed intimate conversations. Love was thick in the air. She sighed. It had been a while since a man who put the Lord first in his life had come her way. Being the romantic that she was, Gabrielle believed just witnessing the ceremony would renew her hope that true love was still possible for single Black Christian women.

  As the music shifted to the wedding march, guests turned their attention to the back of the church where the double doors slowly opened. As though she were the main attraction, an elderly woman stood smiling and then slightly bowed her head. With what appeared to be a death grip on her usher’s arm, the woman began her slow, unsteady walk. Watching her proudly holding her chin high, one would have thought it was a runway performance.

  Murmurs increased with her every step. As the distinguished matron neared her pew, Gabrielle blinked. Although elegantly dressed, she raised a brow at the woman’s peculiar choice of footwear. Two-tone burgundy-and-white Stacy Adams sho
es seemed to swallow up her delicate feet. The shoestrings were replaced with pink satin ribbons that complemented her rose-colored evening gown. Eccentric was the only word to describe her.

  “Who dressed her?” Denise whispered.

  “I think she did. I believe that’s Grandma BB. Talise told me about her. The woman is a force to be reckoned with.”

  “I’ll remember that if she’s related on the Jamieson side.”

  Next, as a memorial to Talise’s deceased mother, a female usher slowly walked down the aisle, carrying a single white candle with a pink bow around the base. She paused at the altar and then proceeded to light a large candelabrum nearby.

  Waiting in the wings was Talise’s mother-in-law. Sandra stood regally in a pink satin dress that wrapped around her slender but shapely figure. No one would believe she was in her mid-fifties.

  Watching her walk down the aisle, Gabrielle hoped she had a body like Sandra’s when she hit fifty. Plus legs like Tina Turner’s. Talise told her it was a long story why her mother-in-law had never married.

  Oohs and ahhs could be heard as Sandra moved in step with the music, cradling Talise and Ace’s infant daughter in her arms. Ten-week-old Lauren was also adorned in a long, pink satin dress and bonnet. She looked more like a porcelain doll than a baby.

  “Wow.” Gabrielle sighed, as she followed the graceful glide. Her eyes misted in happiness that her friend had found the love of her life, even if Ace had to beg for her forgiveness. Talise called him a jerk during most of her pregnancy.

  “Do you think I should say something?” Denise asked, breaking into her reverie.

  “Huh?” Gabrielle blinked, not appreciating the interruption of her thoughts. “What? I don’t know. This is a festive occasion. If they don’t already know about you, then I don’t think now is the time. Saying something that might dampen the mood, I’m sure, will not go over well. You’re only supposed to be an observer, remember? Not an interloper.”