Just A Woman (The Porter Trilogy Book 2) by Shannon Youngblood Page A

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    Similar to his work life, he made a deep impact in his own personal life. His wife, Abigail, was the love of his life and I know I speak for her and the rest of Dimitri’s children when I say he will be greatly missed.
    In honor of my father, the management at Hightower Holdings has decided to set up a scholarship fund for one employee's child every year. My father was extremely passionate about education and believed everyone deserved to succeed. We will have more details to follow in regards to the scholarship, but my family and I felt this would have made Dimitri incredibly proud.
    Dimitri Hightower was a great man, who was loved by many and will be missed by all. On behalf of his family, I truly thank you for coming out to honor him today. Thank you.”
    I watched as she carefully folded her paper, and stepped out from behind the microphone. She looked a mixture of relieved and sad and my heart went out to her. She took her seat at the front of the church and we all waited as one by one employees and family went up to pay their respects. I watched her back and the soft waves of her hair falling over one shoulder falling from her side bun. Almost as if I was next to her, I could tell when she was sobbing or when she suppressed a small laugh when someone would tell an amusing tale of Dimitri Hightower. Throughout the ceremony, I watched as her shoulders slumped and, after the proceedings were completed, saw her entire body shiver and shake as sobs racked her body. It tore my heart out.
    Row by row, family and friends walked up to say goodbye and give the family hugs of condolences. I observed the way she spoke with each individual person and nodded in thanks to each apology. Her speech, although quite impersonal, was delivered with sincerity, strength, and grace. She was so incredibly strong and I admired her so much.
    When my turn came to say goodbye, I walked up to the front of the church. Her eyes found mine as I made my way to the casket first. I wanted to run to her side, but I knew she wouldn’t appreciate me taking the spotlight off of her father, only to shine it on her. I needed to be slow about my approach. I needed to think like Charlotte.
    After I stood in front of the wooden box for a seemingly respectable amount of time, I followed the line heading towards the family. I hugged his wife and offered a warm handshake to his sons. The grief rolling off of them all was enough to make the bile rise in my throat, but I choked it down for Charlotte.
    When I walked up to her, I saw the indecision flit across her eyes before she pushed out her hand for a shake. My mouth came up in a half smile and I lightly shook my head at her before I spread my arms and pulled her into my embrace. She stiffened in my grasp for a moment before relaxing into my hold. A perfect fit. I pressed my lips to the top of her head and kissed her hair, inhaling the sweet smell of the woman I loved. I never wanted to let her go. The perfection in that moment was indescribable. It was as if our bodies had finally figured out what had been missing and were clinging to their other halves. She melded into me like she had never left, like I had never hurt her. I felt safe, and I knew she did as well, but I needed to let her go, the line behind me was building and I didn’t want to make a scene.
    Before she could pull away, I gripped her shoulders and gently separated our bodies. Looking into her eyes, I leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. She tasted of salty tears and the morbid part within me wanted to drink all of the tears that had fallen. Before withdrawing, I bent to her ear and whispered a question, “Meet me at the LA Cafe after the service?”
    When I let her go and she looked up at me, her bottom lip was caught firmly in her teeth as she gnawed away, deciding if she would join me or not. Although it felt like it took her a year to answer, a few moments later she nodded her head and refocused her gaze on the person