Yearning for Love by Toye Lawson Brown Page A

refused to leave his wife and family to marry her once she learned she was pregnant.
    The strong scent of alcohol bathed Walker’s face as he focused on the gloating eyes of his half-brother. The two managed to find a common ground after a rocky start and never thought of themselves as anything but brothers after that.  Over the years, however, Walker was slowly seeing more of Mitch in Jeremy than he cared to admit.
    Jeremy patted Walker on the cheek. “Our old man may be an asshole but he holds the deed to your shop.  If you want to keep what you have, you better make sure he stays happy.”
    “What are you talking about, Jeremy?  I hold the deed to my auto shop.”
    “Oh, come on! Do you really think you got that building on your own?  I had to go to dad to get him to co-sign your loan papers for the building.  You presented an outstanding business plan to Patty, but your credit sucked, and you had no savings.  Patty and I wanted you to succeed at something since your mother was broke and couldn’t step in to help you.”
    “You’re lying! Mitch Collingsworth’s name is not on any loan documents I have.”
    “I know, right.  Having Patty in charge of overseeing your loan was a godsend.  She kept dad’s name off any public records so you wouldn’t know about him helping you.  So, in a way, you owe him.  The best way to keep him off your back is by keeping him happy.  Nicole would not make him happy, trust me.   He isn’t a liberal, and you doing the swirl with her, would push him over the edge.”
    Walker’s blood burned the longer he listened to Jeremy talk.  He wouldn’t allow himself to believe anything Jeremy was saying.  When he approached Patty about opening his business, she told him financing wouldn’t be a problem since she would handle processing the paperwork for the commercial loan. She also promised to extend him a personal line of credit with the bank.
    “You’re plastered and, don’t know what you’re talking about.  I saved $20,000 and got a line of credit for the rest of the down payment on the building!”
    Jeremy laughed. “You’re an idiot, Walker.  What commercial property, fully equipped and operational, could be purchased for the little money you had saved? The property was located in a prime area of town and the seller wanted $175,000 as half the down payment and not a penny less.  You needed a lot more than what you had saved.”
    Walker’s arms flopped listlessly at his side. Jeremy was airing his business in front of people who probably knew about the deceit his brother had hidden from him.  He gathered enough strength to ball his fists as Jeremy told details of his betrayal.
    Jeremy paced slowly around a stunned Walker.  “I received the information from Patty; spoke with the realtor and got her to stop the seller from going with another buyer.  I then went to dad and got the rest of the money you needed.  I convinced my father it was a small price to pay for him not being a part of your life.”
    The room became quiet as a church rectory when some of their friends left while others stuck around for the outcome of the developing saga.  Walker took off his coat, dropping it to the floor prepared to fight his brother if it came to that. “You know damn well, I would not ask Mitch for a glass of water much less money.”
    “You should be thanking me, brother.  Hell, we were living like royalty while your mother lived paycheck to paycheck in a rundown neighborhood, barely able to feed the both of you.”
    “My mother did okay taking care of me.  She did what she had to do for us to survive and I’m proud of her for not taking scraps from Mitch Collingsworth’s dinner table.”
    “Is that a true statement, Walker?  It seems to me your mother did accept scraps from my father.  Dad never left our home.   So technically, your mother did settle for whatever spare time he would throw her.  Which is pretty sad since your mom was an attractive woman