A Wrong Turn Towards Love by Pepper Pace Page B

you sitting out here. You been out here a while. Um...I’m Debbie. Debbie Roberts.”
    He nodded. “I remember you.”
    Debbie glanced down at the marker that represented Keegan’s final resting place. “Me and Keegan went to school together,” she said in a soft voice. “He was about the only person that didn’t make fun of me for how poor I was. I knew it was because he was even more poor than me.”
    Derrick grunted. “I know your Daddy didn’t do much for y’all.” How could he when he spent all his disability money drinking up in the bar with them?
    Debbie suddenly stiffened and he gave her a curious look.
    “Benny wasn’t my daddy.” He stared into her eyes and saw something there that hinted at a story that he didn’t even want to guess at. It caused a cold chill to run down his back. Yeah, Benny had died in a fiery crash and maybe that was a very good thing…He looked down at his hands.
    “We got plenty of food if you want to come up.” When she waited for his response he nodded. He hadn’t eaten in days. He stood and then looked down at his soiled clothes that smelled as if he hadn’t bathed in a month of Tuesdays.
    “Don’t worry. Pastor and First Lady don’t care about that.” She held out her hand to him and the sight of her pretty clean hand caused something inside of him to come to a skidding halt. His throat closed and he felt too ashamed of all of his sins to step foot into a church or to touch her clean hand.
    She reached out and slowly took hold of his. He wanted to say, Wait. I’m going to make you dirty . But…what if there was something that could make him clean? He allowed her to lead him to the church and it was so white and clean, and as he stepped through the doorway he realized that he didn’t want to be dirty anymore.
    Later, in what would seem like another lifetime, Derrick would gaze into the face of his newborn son feeling an overwhelming sense of love for his wife and child. He would remember a time when he had wished for what Bodie had and he would smile. He would then look at his exhausted wife and ask a question that he had feared voicing aloud; why had she reached out to a loser like him? A haunted look would cross her face as she replied that once upon a time she had turned her back on someone in need and then she would meet his eyes with a smile replacing the sadness. He would know that it was him that was responsible for bringing that smile to her face.
    Derrick took a deep, cleansing breath and followed the girl to what he hoped would be his salvation.
     
    The End
 

 
    PEPPER PACE BOOKS
    ~~***~~
    STRANDED!
    Juicy
    Love Intertwined Vol. 1
    Love Intertwined Vol. 2
    Urban Vampire; The Turning
    Urban Vampire; Creature of the Night
    Wheels of Steel Book 1
    Wheels of Steel Book 2
    Wheels of Steel Book 3
    Angel Over My Shoulder
    CRASH
    Miscegenist Sabishii
    They Say Love Is Blind
    Beast
    A Seal Upon Your Heart
     
    SHORT STORIES
    ~~***~~
    Someone to Love
    MILF
    Blair and the Emoboy
    Babygirl and the Mean Boss
     
    COLLABORATIONS
    ~~***~~
    Seduction: An Interracial Romance Anthology Vol. 1
 

 
     
    About the Author
    Pepper Pace creates a unique brand of Interracial/multicultural erotic romance.  While her stories span the gamut from humorous to heartfelt, the common theme is crossing racial boundaries.
    The author is comfortable in dealing with situations that are often times considered taboo. Readers find themselves questioning their own sense of right and wrong, attraction and desire. The author believes that an erotic romance should first begin with romance and only then does she offers a look behind the closed doors to the passion.
    Pepper Pace lives in Cincinnati, Ohio where many of her stories take place. She writes in the genres of science fiction, youth, horror, urban lit and poetry.  She is a member of several online role-playing groups and hosts several blogs.  In addition to writing, the author is also an artist, an introverted recluse, a self