Fated An Alpha Male Romance - K. Alex Walker Page 0,28
plant or herb grow from soil. Many of them even live in houses where they’ve never seen actual fruits and vegetables. You can’t know how to heal the human body without knowing what nourishes it.”
He picked up a brown seed packet and handed it to me. There was a picture of a large ripe tomato on the front next to the face of a smiling little girl.
“You really have a soft spot for these kids, don’t you?” I asked.
“I used to be one of these kids, Alle.” He pointed to one of the seats. “My grandfather taught these classes when I was much younger. Although he wasn’t a man of much means, he still took time out of his day to volunteer down here. The days that he wasn’t working at the home improvement store, he was working with the land. He would always say that a man who didn’t know how to transform hard Earth wasn’t worth a spit in the face. So, imagine my surprise when I went to live with him when I was six. The same day I got there, he tossed a miniature shovel in my hands and said I had to prove my worth if I was to stay in his house. It was hard, grueling work, but it eventually proved itself to be a good outlet for my anger. I’d never come to love blisters more.”
From Ethan’s accolades and accomplishments, I’d assumed that he’d come from a line of renowned Johns Hopkins-educated Stewarts. The knowledge of how hard he’d worked to get to his position only made me respect him even more.
My life had been completely different. Gia and I had actually been forbidden from laborious work the minute we were old enough to get manicures, so I’d honestly never really known the value of true hard work, not even in college with a multitude of subject tutors at my disposal. My grandfather had also never shared the stories about the struggles that he’d endured in order to rise to his rank of prestige, and he’d come from a background very similar to what Ethan described as his upbringing. At least from an economic standpoint. Gia and I often wished that he’d shared his stories before his death. It was an amazing feat to get to the level that he’d obtained in the middle of racial strife and economic inopportunity.
My father, however, acted as though our lineage came from a history of wealth dating back to the prehistoric ages, and as though our family had never been enslaved or subjected to the segregation laws of the Civil Rights Era. He’d even once tried to convince me and Gia that there were certain people whose lives were worth less than ours solely based on their societal status. He and Gia had argued all the way home, but not quite surprisingly, I’d remained silent even though I’d disagreed with everything he’d said.
“Were you a bit of a handful?” I asked, bumping my side against his.
“A bit is an understatement,” he said, laughing. “I used to act as though I was the only kid in the world who’d ever grown up without knowing who my father was.”
I tried, but failed to stop my mouth from falling open.
“My mother got caught up in the eighties drug culture,” he explained. “Even after she got clean, in reality, she just traded one addiction for the next. She became addicted to men. In the process, I was born.”
I squeezed his hand. “I’m so sorry, Ethan.”
“It’s fine,” he replied with a nonchalant shrug. “I’m actually glad that I went to live with my grandfather because I wouldn’t have turned out as well as I did without those long hard evenings. Those days are the reason that I’ve been determined to find a way to bring more green space to the Lower Ninth Ward and surrounding areas. The community board just got approved for a plot of land, and we’re currently in the clear to begin development for a fresh market this spring. These kids,” he gestured to the space, “this is their future. They’ll be the ones responsible for sustaining it. Hence, why I do what I do.”
His eyes lit up briefly, but then the light was stolen by the first of what I’d later count as twenty students strolling in. On cue, I released his hand, but he grabbed it again.
“Embarrassed by me, Alle?” he jokingly asked. Then, without waiting for my answer, he kissed my knuckles and walked over