Love Me Again Read online

  A Louisiana Christmas Book 1

  Also by Danyelle Scroggins

  Fiction Books

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  Put It In Ink

  Not Too Far Gone

  The Power Series:

  Pain, Restoration, Love, & Forgiving

  Non-Fiction

  Not Until You’re Ready

  His Mistress or God’s Daughter

  Processed For Purpose

  40 Days of Healing Journal

  Series

  Enduring Love

  Enchanting Love

  Everlasting Love

  Love Me

  Again

  A Louisiana Christmas Book 1

  DANYELLE SCROGGINS

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used facetiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. If you would like to use material from this book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the author at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  "Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

  Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

  Published by: Divinely Sown Publishing

  LOVE ME AGAIN

  A Louisiana Christmas Book 1

  Copyright © 2019 by Danyelle Scroggins

  A LOUISIANA CHRISTMAS BOOK 1

  First Edition paperback

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Printed in the United States of America

  Book Cover Design by Danyelle Scroggins

  Exclusive discounts are available for quantity purchases. For details, contact the publisher at the address above.

  Printed in the United States of America

  This Series is Dedicated To…

  All of the patriarchs of Greater Hope Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana that has gone on before us; including my wonderful grandmother, L. B. Murray—Ford (MiMi). May she rest in peace.

  To the Booker T. Washington High School of Shreveport, Louisiana, I am proud to forever say, “I was a BTW Lion!”

  To Shriner’s Children Hospitals all over the world and the staff that helps to make these places run, may God continue to bless you and send people who are willing to sow into the ministry of healing for our babies.

  To Kevin Gatlin and the wonderful staff of PlayTime EDventures LLC. Thanks for having the faith to see the vision and the tenacity to make it happen. A vision greater than yourself, but one that will bless children all over the world and last forever.

  And last but never least, to the greatest editor in the world, Paulette Nunlee. See, you never know how much people mean to you until they are absent. Y’all do me a favor, keep her in your prayers. I for one cannot imagine not having her with me as I pumped out books for you. She’s been my lifeline. Lady P, with all of my heart I thank and appreciate you. May God continue to heal you whole in Jesus’ name.

  “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him." Lamentations 3:22-24

  Preface

  The Funeral

  Jade strolled up to her grandmother’s casket, her hands folded and the only thing missing was the gold floral shaped ring with the birthstones of each of her children she wore daily. Like her grandmother, the ring had been a complete constant in Jade’s life.

  As the choir song a rendition of Ole Happy Day, Jade’s eyes couldn’t leave the casket. Her heart screamed, ‘get up Momma. Please don’t leave me. I can’t live without you. I’m going to be so alone.’ But her face was set in stone.

  Jasper grabbed her hand occasionally, but she felt nothing. Then it was her time to do a tribute. Her heart willed her to abandon her, yes to say anything, but MiMi (the name she affectionately called her grandmother) was most proud when she was saying something in the church.

  And although it was a funeral, it was still foremost and forever the House of the Lord. So, like a zombie, she made her way to the microphone with one story in mind. With strength that only could come from the Most High God, Jade told the congregation of the day her MiMi told her she had, like her grandmother, done all she could do in the church. And the only thing she had longed to be was a deaconess. She said that when her pastor made her a deaconess, her job was then complete. And now, it was time for the mantle to be passed on to her granddaughter.

  Then, Jade song a rendition of a song she would always sing for her grandmother. In spite of her not being a songstress, her grandmother had always made her feel like anything you do for the Lord was more than melodious to His ears. When Jade took her seat, her heart still filled with so much pain, she wondered who will ever love me again?

  Who would do for me all that MiMi has ever done? Who will ever care about my welfare, hurts, desires, and dreams as she did? And for certain in Jade’s heart, there was not one person left on earth that would. When the funeral was over, Jade stood by the gravesite still and stiff. If ever she wished to be the one covered by dirt, it was now.

  Silently, she said good-bye, but in her heart she could never say good-bye. But she would say good-bye to everything and everyone else because there was no way she could talk herself into staying in the house or the town where MiMi had left her.

  So, with all the strength she could muster, she kissed Jasper and promised to see him later. Yet in her heart, Jade knew that later would be far later than he’d thought. It was time for her to run, and never look back. Run, until she was too tired to run anymore. Run, until her heart stopped hurting and the tears stopped falling.

  The Invitation

  Jasper Booth, you’re invited to the Booker T. Washington Christmas in The Field.

  This event will be one to remember for a lifetime. This ticket entitles you to bring one guest, and one guest only.

  The chairpersons only ask two things of you: that you bring a generous donation for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Shreveport, and that each business brings twenty girl toys and twenty boy toys. You could also purchase products from Mr. Kevin, CEO of Playtime EDventures for the children’s beds at Shriners. Your choice.

  The Shriners Hospital has been a staple in our community since 1922. The wonderful staff has treated children from all walks of life, with so many different orthopedic conditions. Children are indeed our future and we would like to do something special not only for the children who visit Shriners this Christmas but also for their parents. These parents who leave their other children behind to care for an ill child, or who have the burdens of being off work without pay, or with very minimal finances, need our help.

  Christmas is the season for miracles and blessings, right? And we, the B.T.W. Alumni desire to be the instrument that God uses to bring forth miracles and blessings to those who are in need.

  Remember the dress attire is formal.

  Please make sure to check the weather as we will be on the field and it does get a little chilly. There will be heated tents, lots of food, fun, and laughter. There will also be musical guests from our very own city singing Gospel, Blues, and Jazz.

  We also will have a silent auction where you can bid on so many wonderful and extravagant items such as memorabilia, books, paintings, jerseys, and so much more, and all by local artists and athletes in t
he NFL and NBA from the state of Louisiana.

  Some of Louisiana’s finest have made pledges and donations that you will definitely enjoy.

  Together, let’s make this an event that the entire town will forever remember and most of all, let’s do it for the children.

  The Chairlady & Alumni of B.T.W.

  Chapter One

  Jade sat on the porch of her grandmother’s abandoned home staring at the leaves from the old pecan tree that covered the yard. Thankfully, someone had the good sense to keep the yard manicured. But you could still tell that the love once put into the flowers was gone.

  No one had lived in the house since her grandmother passed four years ago. The uncertainty she felt in her heart at this moment caused tears to run down her cheeks. For some strange reason, the pain had presented itself once again.

  The very pain she tried to escape. The place her heart persuaded her to abscond had beckoned her right back. She’d avoided what was before her long enough, and now she had no choice but face the facts. Her grandmother wanted her right here and this is where she belonged.

  For four years, she was able to avoid all things family.

  When the attorney called her the first year, she quickly sent the call to the voice message. Whatever he had to say to her would wait until her heart was able to receive it. The second and third time he’d called she answered but acted as though she was in an area that made it hard for her to hear him.

  By the fourth time, his voicemail had all but indicated that this was his last attempt to reach her. He even made sure to declare that if she did not make contact, he would turn the estate over to the state of Louisiana.

  There was no way she would allow everything her grandmother had worked so hard for to go to the state. The same state that had made turning the Oxford Street home into a business so hard that her grandmother had cried for many nights.

  She did what any fighting granddaughter would do, she packed her bags, booked a flight, and mentally prepared herself to do what it had taken her four years to do.

  As soon as her flight landed, she called for Uber driving service. She went straight to the Law offices of Jackson & Booth. Jasper Booth was the grandson of her grandmother’s best friend, Leola. And her grandmother trusted Jasper with her life, literally. He had assisted her in making all of her burial and estate plans, and although Jade knew he’d only do what was absolutely necessary, she still hated the fact that it was Jasper.

  The only guy she’d ever dated.

  She sat ten minutes in the Uber car trying to will herself to go inside the office.

  “Ma’am, your charges are going up,” the driver interrupted her thoughts.

  Which gave her two reasons to finally get out of the car—charges and up.

  She slowly opened the door, got out of the car, asked the driver to wait, and walked towards the law office doors.

  This has to be done so you might as well put on your big girl panties.

  When she finally walked through the doors, the secretary greeted her.

  “Well hello. How can I help you?”

  “My name is Jade Bishop.”

  “So you are the infamous Jade? Ms. JB is what they call you around here.”

  “Yes, ma’am, I am. Is Jackson or Booth in?”

  “Unfortunately, they’re both out, but Booth left this envelope for you.”

  “Thank you.” Jade reached for the envelope, put it under her arm as she adjusted the strap on her purse, and turned to leave the office.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Jade turned back and flashed a smile and said, “Have a good day,” as she pulled the doors open and left.

  Thank you, Lord, for helping me to dodge that bullet.

  She got back into the Uber car and asked the driver to take her to 1500 Oxford Street.

  Jade was certain she wasn’t just afraid to face her grandmother speaking from beyond the grave. Four years had passed since she’d seen Jasper as well. When her grandmother died, so did her relationship with Jasper.

  He was a constant reminder of the life she wanted to leave behind.

  Jade paid the Uber driver, opened the door, swung her stilettoed feet onto the ground, and stood. She peered at the door as if it were an unfamiliar place. The Uber driver retrieved both her bags from the trunk and kindly placed them on the porch.

  She thanked him and decided to give him a tip.

  Jade sat on her grandmother’s porch and three hours later, she was in the same space. She reminisced on her younger years. There were so many children in the neighborhood; all but two houses were visiting their grandparents. If she had her way, she would have never, ever, left her grandmother’s house.

  So many memories flooded her mind. Some sweet and others painful. But they were hers to have for the rest of her life. The Louisiana wind began to remind Jade that she was still on the porch. In fact, she had made no attempts to enter the house. How could she? How would she ever be able to do this alone?

  The old wooden swing was as far as she could go. It still held the same beauty it did on the day it was built. And after all of these years, it proved to have more tenacity and strength than Jade.

  Girl, you need to get up and get in this house and take care of the inevitable.

  She kept telling herself it had to be done, but couldn’t will her feet to do what her head knew she had to do. The later it got, the colder it got and allowing dark to catch her stuck on the porch was not a good idea.

  Jade looked down at her Fitbit watch which now displayed 5:45. A whole three-and-a-half hours of swinging and thinking and still nothing.

  No ideas beyond today, no thoughts of anything, just fear. Fear of the unknown that lay beyond the threshold of the front door. Would her grandmother’s bed still be the way it was when the EMTs picked her up and placed her on the stretcher? Would her room still be filled with clothes she’d thrown all over the place?

  Would she have all the stuffed animals Jasper had won at the local Louisiana State Fair since the time she was in the fifth grade? Would the house have the same welcoming feeling it always had when Jade was a child?

  If the answer to her questions was yes, then maybe the fear of going into the house was all just a part of her mind. She was never scared when she was young, in spite of the fact the only thing dividing the house from the railroad tracks was a street.

  But, that had never mattered.

  The love in this house was so powerful it would have destroyed anything that was not like Christ.

  Jade could feel a tear float down her face, and she quickly swiped her eyes with the back of her hand. How could MiMi—the name she affectionately called her grandmother—leave her? How did she know I was ready to face the world all by myself?

  “Jade, she knew that you knew Me,” the voice spoke.

  “Well, knowing You has not eased the pain from my heart or my mind. Okay, I don’t want to argue with You. Can You please just give me the strength to go into the house?”

  Chapter Two

  Veronica moved about her office as free as a bird. She had so many things on her mind, including Jasper Booth. For years, she had been trying to capture his heart and truly felt like she was almost about to break through his Jade wall.

  She’d met Jasper when she first moved into town and had some work done at the Law Offices of Jackson & Booth. He had been quite the gentleman, taking her on lunch dates to secure the deal. But the deal was not all he secured; he won over the heart of a woman who had almost given up on love.

  Veronica Kimbrel was a sharp and witty engineer and developer who loved all things creative. Her desire to build started early when her mother and father gifted her a set of Legos for Christmas. Of course, like most children, she’d started out just stacking them based upon color, but by the time she was seven, she was building houses with fences. And, by ten, skyrise buildings with bridges leading to parks.

  Now, her imagination and fascination with buildings made a name for her that no new deve
loper could ever forget. An assignment for Dwight Esplanade’s Construction Firm had brought her to Shreveport, and Jackson & Booth represented all of the legal business of Mr. Esplanade.

  Shreveport was very different from her Miami residence. The people were as country as they come; some so polite she often thought she’d stepped into Mayberry, the popular town for the hit show Andy Griffith.

  Nevertheless, she was learning to adapt.

  Occasionally, she would visit Faith Temple Cathedral, one of the popular churches with Mrs. Harris. To date, Jasper and his brother Kane, Dwight and his wife, Jayla, were the only persons she considered as friends. To be honest, both Kane Jackson and Jasper Booth were good looking men, but Jasper was a little friendlier.

  She would have hung out with Dwight’s wife, Jayla, but she was busy running a new business. Veronica never expected her to play girlfriend with her. But Mrs. Harris, their secretary, had become a staple and a friend, at least, more than the others. It was just like her to gravitate to someone older, but at least Mrs. Harris didn’t mind telling her the business.

  Like the information, she’d told her about Jade Bishop. Apparently Jasper and Jade had been one another’s first love, and all things were fairytale-ish until Jade’s grandmother passed away. That’s when she up and moved without a forwarding address. Mrs. Harris said that Jasper found her, but she didn’t have a clue that he knew exactly where she was.

  To Veronica, as soon as she left him, he should have realized it was over. But of course, she had her own selfish reasons for thinking as she did. Jasper was not only fine, but he was also smart, gentle, thoughtful. And to think of a woman running away from him? She had to be out of her mind.

  Although Veronica wanted to aggressively go after Jasper, she thought better of it. There was no way she was going to give her mind, body, attention, and love to a man in love with another woman. Not going to happen. She was not going to be the jilted lover left on the sidelines crying.