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    Unexpected Love
    Unexpected Love
    Unexpected Love
    Ebook116 pages2 hours

    Unexpected Love

    By Shelby Clark

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    About this ebook

    Casey Tylia Shaw, or TC, as she liked her friends to call her, had a hard life from the beginning. Her absentee father and drug-addicted mother taught her to fend for herself and not to trust anybody. She never knew love and didn't dare to let a man touch her body, not after all she's seen.

    Everything changed when she encountered Seth Howard, an instructor at the University of Tampa. One hot kiss from the sexy professor had her rethinking the walls she put up to guard her heart. A whirlwind affair in Rio and a secret from her past turns TC's life in a direction she never expected.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherShelby Clark
    Release dateSep 21, 2012
    ISBN9781301229857
    Unexpected Love
    Author

    Shelby Clark

    Shelby Clark is a native of Maryland, married for fourteen wonderful years to the love of her life, and has four children. She is new to the art of writing but believes she has what it takes to inspire her readers. She has always been a romantic at heart, and this is the tool that has motivated her to write interracial romance. She is looking forward to writing many books to not only please, but to stimulate her readers. Visit her on the web at: jamocharomanceink.blogspot.com.

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      Book preview

      Unexpected Love - Shelby Clark

      Unexpected Love

      By Shelby Clark

      Published by Shelby Clark at Smashwords

      jamocharomanceink.blogspot.com

      Copyright © September 2012, Shelby Clark

      Cover art by Mina Carter © September 2012

      This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Chapter One

      A Glance At The Past

      Sitting on the window terrace of her condo, TC meditated on her strengths, goals, and desires. She opened her eyes every so often to take a sip of gourmet loose tea that she ordered regularly from her favorite tea place, Zacari Tea House. She always drank her favorite flavor, Garden of Eden, every morning during her meditation. She used it to help her focus and had developed a ritual. Every morning at 4:30 she got up to fix her tea, grabbed her handheld organizer, and headed for the terrace.

      This morning was no different. The morning breeze blew, and her locks sailed like flags blowing in a soft breeze and dropped to her back. TC took another sip and closed her eyes to meditate. With her eyes still closed, she reached for her organizer to view her itinerary for the day. Before looking down, she took in a deep breath, and then exhaled.

      Opening her eyes to glance at the organizer, TC couldn’t help but notice the seagulls on her parking lot. Man, those are some big ass birds today, she mumbled to herself. Now, let’s see what’s on the itinerary for the day. Advance Grammar from 8 to 8:50, Math from 9 to 9:950, 10 to 10:50 come home for lunch and shower at 11, Biology from 1 to 1:50. Finally, Chemistry at 2 pm, and then Library from 3 to 8 pm. Oh yeah, that’s right. I’m supposed to get a new professor. Dr. Kimoto had to leave the semester early because of a family emergency. I hope everything works out ok for him. However, it does work out for me because I didn’t know what the hell he was saying half the time anyway. Thank goodness for the library and tutors. Otherwise I would not be on the Dean’s list.

      She started rocking side to side and dancing with her shoulders. "Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, I’m an A student. I’m an A student." After she was done acting like an idiot, she cleared her throat, and reverted back to her solemnity. She sat their stiff as a board.

      As TC was about to end her morning rumination, she looked down at her wristwatch noticing it was 6:00 am. Standing up, straightening out her red satin shorts and camisole, TC heard some noise coming from the next building in her complex. A young woman was running behind a man. She had short blonde hair and fair skin. TC could not tell if she was white or black. The woman grabbed the man’s arm. As he pulled away she lost her balance and fell. TC stepped forward and grabbed the terrace rail and yelled, What the hell, are you crazy?

      The couple was too far away to hear her because they were too busy fussing and yelling at each other. The woman was crying and crawling on her knees begging for the man. TC looked on with astonishment. She could not believe what was taking place before her eyes. She thought the man was abusing this woman.

      All men are assholes. I don’t know if I should leave and call the police or stay here in case he hits her again. I can be a witness. What the hell, I can’t believe this bastard.

      The man turned around and walked to a double-parked black convertible Jaguar. He threw his hands up in disgust. By this time TC could hear a faint buzzing going off. It was the alarm clock for her sisters to wake up. Good, maybe El or Dee will come out of the room, and I can tell them to call the police. Before TC realized, the man pulled off. The woman was getting up off the ground. Staring at the woman made her have a flash back of her past.

      TC could remember back as young as the age of two years old as well as the trauma in her life. She could still hear the screaming and crying from her mother.

      Please, please, don’t hit me anymore, her mother screamed to many of her boyfriends. She’d turn to TC and say, Babe, go in your room and play with your dolls. I have to talk to this man about some business.

      TC watched the men grab the back of her mother’s hair as they would guide her into her bedroom. They would close the door in TC’s face as she watch terrified.

      During another incident, TC remembered a knock at her front door. TC hid all the beer cans, cocaine packages, and paraphernalia on the living room table. The knock on the door was harder and more rapid. She opened the door out of breath thinking she cleaned the house spotless, but how much could one expect from a nine year old?

      Hello, Ms. Daniels, TC said to the woman at the door, my mother wanted to know if can you come back next week. She is not here right now.

      Well, where is she? She knew she had an inspection today. Also, I don’t understand why she would leave a nine-year-old child in the house all alone. How long have you been here by yourself? the social worker asked.

      I haven’t been here that long, just three or four hours, TC stuttered.

      Ms. Daniels waved her hand to someone outside the door. Casey, I want to talk to you. I need to take you to my office, sweetheart, Ms. Daniels stated. Don’t be afraid.

      TC started to cry when she saw the police enter her house. She heard her mother screaming and crying. Her mother had been in a dead sleep with a man in her bed. The two of them were getting high all night, but TC was trying to cover it up.

      The police told TC’s mother that they were arresting her for child neglect, possession of drugs, and prostitution. They said that child protective services had received numerous anonymous calls, had an open investigation case, and Ms. Corrine Shaw had been under surveillance for some time, and due to the charges we’re taking over the custody of the child named Casey Tylia Shaw also known as TC.

      "No, no, no, you will not take my baby from me. TC! TC!"

      Ma’am, why are you performing like this in front of your child? You are upsetting her. If you really care for her, you should stop fighting us and comply with your arrest, the officer said sternly.

      TC’s mother replied by saying, Go to hell, you bastard. All men are nothing but bastards!

      TC sat in the back of Ms. Daniels’ car with her face buried in her hands. Tears filled the palms of her hands like water in a wash bowl. She lifted her head as she wiped her eyes. On the other side of the window were her two best friends El, Laurie-El Towanda Ellis, and Dee, Desauni Obeyda who happens to be an African. Dee’s family was from Uganda, Africa. TC’s community was migrated with a lot of African natives. They had stayed in touch with each other by mail and phone.

      Recalling her experience, TC shook her head. Yeah, I remember, Ms. Bulldog Longwich. She was one mean foster parent. She treated me so bad, TC muttered.

      You ain’t nutin’ but trash. Your mother is trash, your father is trash, and you is trash. You think you is all that because you have long hair and perdy skin. Well let me tell you something, missy-poo. There is nutn’ perdy about you. Around here you will be the rag doll. You will do all the work. I don’t want you to become all swollen, thinking you is better than everyone else. I will teach you to be humle.

      TC recalled Ms. Longwich remarks. She meant to say humble, but she had an IQ problem. She never finished school. That’s why everyone used say she failed kindergarten. I think she was jealous of anyone that seemed like they might make it or had some type of potential for a better life.

      It wasn’t until TC wrote to El about how Bulldog Longwich would make her scrub the toilets with toothbrushes, wash everyone’s clothes, cook, and clean the whole house that brought about a change in her life. At the age of sixteen, TC knew how to take care of a home. That was when her friend, El, asked her mother to adopt her and take her into their family.

      That was when El, Dee, and TC declared their sisterhood for life.

      "I swear, El, as long as I live I will never be like my mother. I don’t know who my father is, but I do know he broke my mother’s heart. My mother wanted him, but when he found out she was carrying me, he dropped her like a hot potato. All she told me is that he was from a

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