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When Hell Freezes Over
The unforgettable characters from the bestseller "What Goes Around Comes Around" are back -- in a smashingly suspenseful tale of love, trust, and the secrets that can make or break our lives.The dashingly handsome Keaton Lapahie has watched many of his friends do the one thing he has vowed he will never do: get married. His plan is to enjoy his retirement, open a restaurant, and remain a bachelor for life. But when he is unexpectedly put on mandatory medical leave, he decides to visit his sister and her family...not realizing fate is about to take him on a trip -- not just out of town, but toward his own heart.
In Philadelphia, Keaton is reacquainted with Dr. Meridan St. John, his sister's pediatrician. Meridan is seemingly the perfect woman -- smart, bold, and beautiful. Why can't Keaton attract her attention? He soon learns that Meridan is haunted by something in her past -- and though Keaton can read her better than anyone else, he cannot figure out the cause of her nightmares and fears. Things become even more complicated when Jacob, her jealous childhood friend, arrives in Philadelphia and threatens to expose all the dark secrets of her past. Worried that Keaton will not believe she was innocent in her situation, she does the only thing she can...run. Thus, Keaton must decide -- does he follow her, and get to the truth, or does he leave the woman he loves to her own dark nightmares?
Penetrating in language and powerful in meaning, "When Hell Freezes Over" is a remarkable story about how accepting the past is the only way to make a future.
In Philadelphia, Keaton is reacquainted with Dr. Meridan St. John, his sister's pediatrician. Meridan is seemingly the perfect woman -- smart, bold, and beautiful. Why can't Keaton attract her attention? He soon learns that Meridan is haunted by something in her past -- and though Keaton can read her better than anyone else, he cannot figure out the cause of her nightmares and fears. Things become even more complicated when Jacob, her jealous childhood friend, arrives in Philadelphia and threatens to expose all the dark secrets of her past. Worried that Keaton will not believe she was innocent in her situation, she does the only thing she can...run. Thus, Keaton must decide -- does he follow her, and get to the truth, or does he leave the woman he loves to her own dark nightmares?
Penetrating in language and powerful in meaning, "When Hell Freezes Over" is a remarkable story about how accepting the past is the only way to make a future.
- GenresRomance
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 18, 2005
11 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
About the author
Darrien Lee
21 books117 followersDarrien Lee, a graduate of Tennessee State University, is a two-time Essence bestselling author with four published works with Strebor Books. She has been featured in several periodicals, including Romantic Times magazine and the Nashville Tennessean. She lives in LaVergne, Tennessee, with her husband and two daughters.
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January 29, 2025When Hell Freezes Over
Keaton has been put on medical leave because his blood pressure has been high. So, he’s staying with Arnelle and her family. Arnelle tells him she hopes he’s being safe. He was out late last night with a woman named Deja. He’s not trying to hear it but says of course. That night, Winston is up for “Man of the Year”. Keaton can’t imagine having the type of love his sister and her husband have but then marriage isn’t for everyone. Keaton will be watching the kids.
Deja calls several times but he ignores her calls. They’ve gone out several times and now she’s getting too clingy. When he checks on Fredrick, he’s a little warm. When he picks him up he cries. Then he takes his temperature. It’s 103 degrees. Not good! He tries to call Arnelle but her phone is out of range. So, he gives him some milk. He ends up calling a lady named Mrs. Camille. She tells him the best thing is to take him to the hospital. She says she’s sure it’s not serious but better safe that sorry.
When there they come across Dr. Meridan. She’s been on Keaton’s mind ever since he meet her when Arnelle gave birth. Meridan gives Freddie an examination and then gives him a shot. She tells the nurse to get his medicine and takes them back out to Keaton. Now Arnelle and Winston are there. She tells them it’s just an ear infection. Arnelle thanks her but she says the credit should go to Keaton for bringing him there. It turns out Winston *did* win “Man of the Year”.
Keaton says he wants to take Merdian out to breakfast or dinner but she says she has to work. After he thanks MaLeah he turns around and she’s gone. She leaves a note to call her (and a number). The next morning, he tells Winston he hopes he’ll be taking the Dr. out tonight. Winston says her job is so demanding he’s surprised she has time for him. Keaton wonders why she works so hard. Winston says maybe she just loves her job. Keaton says perhaps she just likes what she sees. Winston says don’t think she’ll be what he’s use to but they have things in common. They’re both passionate about their jobs. There’s another thing he has to find out. Keaton says don’t make a big deal about the date. Hes still going to remain single. Winston says he bets she’ll turn him out. They make a bet.
Winston says if he wins, he has to get up at the wedding reception and tell everyone how he vowed he’d been single for life and then he has to serenade her. Keaton says if he wins, he wants Winston’s motorcycle. He starts to feel a little fear but tells himself it’s just dinner. Arnelle asks who Keaton’s going out with and he says Meridan. She warns him not to mess around with her. He gets irritated and tells it’s not like he’ll hurt her. To this she says why not. It’s what he does. He says he always lets them know up front. Then he tells her to mind her business. Winston tells her to stay out of it.
By eight, Median hasn’t showed up and Keaton calls her. She’s overslept and apologizes and says she’s exhausted. She asks him if they can do this another time. He tells her it’s cool (but is disappointed) and to go back to sleep. Meridan does feel bad but her best friend Nikki calls and she says she’ll go out with her that night before she has to go out of town. Nikki asks if the nightmares have started back Merdian says no and she’s hoping to put the whole thing behind her, but Sam is getting out of jail in three weeks. Her friend tells her it’s time she moved on. Nikki says it’s time she found Mr. Right. Merdian says she’s just taking it one day at a time. (I REALLY HATE WHEN YOUR FRIENDS DECIDE FOR YOU WHEN ITS TIME FOR YOU TO DATE!) But she says it’s because of Nikki she’s there. Meridan wants to call Keaton but she didn’t get his number (and invite him to the club). She tells herself she will the next day.
Keaton sees Meridan at the club and tells her if she didn’t want to go out with him, she should have just told him. She tells him its not like that and she was tired but she wanted to spend time with her friend before she left town. So, he offers to take her home. They have dinner at an Italian restaurant and get to know each other a little over dinner. Until Meridan starts to fall asleep. Meridan invites him in, but he tells her he’d better go so she can get some sleep. She says she wants to make it up to him for standing him up. He says she already has.
Keaton goes to the gym and is hit on by a very attractive woman (China) but he turns her down flat (wondering why). Then he’s splashed with water by an upset Deja who confronts him. (For a minute I thought she was at the club and saw him with Meridian). He tells her she knew what it was from the jump and she can’t say she didn’t but she’s upset because she grew feelings. She says he could have at least told her. He apologizes and says they should just end it. So, she just says goodbye to him. A couple of weeks go by and Keaton and Merdian are still seeing each other. Their relationship grows stronger and stronger. Merdian’s dad is having a birthday party and Meridan surprises herself by inviting Keaton. Keaton asks her how her dad will feel about this but she says he’ll be happy to meet him. So, he accepts.
The guys are supposed to be playing a basket ball game, but one of the guys (Byron) wife goes into labor. Winston tells Keaton he’s got another player to fill in. It turns out to be Meridan who was an All-American player at her college in Tennessee. Merdian asks Keaton if it’ll be a problem and he says no. He just wants to see if she’s got game. After the game, Keaton offers to take Meridan home and Winston tells the other guys to dust off their tuxes. The player of the century is DONE! Keaton finds out that Meridan played one year for the WNBA (to pay for medical school) but then turned down a 3 year contract to be a pediatrician. Keaton wants hot wings. Meridan talks him into a salad. After this, Meridan invites him to dinner.
On their dinner date, things heat up and Merdian doesn’t know if she wants it to stop or continue. She thinks of the incident with Sam and tells herself she can do it. Keaton tho has to stop because he doesn’t have protection (which is something he NEVER forgets). That night he can’t sleep so he calls Meridan. They talk until she tells him he needs to be prepared for the trip tomorrow. At work, Meridan is surprised with a latex bouquet of gloves from Keaton that says you can never get enough latex . And that he won’t forget again. Winston sweetens the deal with Keaton and says if he’s wrong, he’ll go in with him on the Sports and Grill bar he’s been trying to open.
Merdian’s dad surprises her by calling Keaton “The Chef”. It turns out he played for the NBA team the San Antonio Spurts but busted his knee. Keaton finds out from her dad that Meridian never thinks she’s good enough. Something that he has to straighten her out on later when she says the younger pictures of her look a mess. While talking about Keaton going home (and how glad they are they got to know each other), things get hot again but again they’re distracted before it gets to the point of sex. At the party, Keaton gets introduced to Jacob-Meridian’s high school sweetheart who’s now a doctor in Atlanta-.
Meridian’s dad (William) pops the question to his girlfriend Leona. Meridian’s sister later apologizes to her (Gwen) about being a bad big sister and confesses she was jealous because her father loved her more because she looks like their mother. We find out that Meridan doesn’t feel like she’ll be enough for Keaton when he finds out she can’t have kids. Meridan tells Keaton before he leaves she wants to make love to him when they get back and he can’t wait to get back and show her how much he loves her. We find out that Sam got Meredith drunk and waited until she passed out to rape her at a party. Now he’s tracked her down and going to find her.
Jacob, Gwen, and William all tell Meredith before she leaves to tell Keaton the truth about her. When they get home, they make love for the first time. Keaton discovers that Meredith is a virgin. The next morning, she in the shower and points out the scar but she tells him she isn’t ready to talk about it. He tells her the scar isn’t important. To him she’s flawless. One morning, Sam calls Meridan while Keaton is there and he correctly guesses it’s the same person that gave her the scar, but Meridan says she doesn’t know if she’s ready to go to the police and tells Keaton not to worry about it.
Meredith tells Keaton that one of her classmates cut her with a bottle because he couldn’t accept that she just wanted to be friends. She owes Nichole her life because she head his over the head. He makes her promise the next time she gets a call to tell the police. She also tells him that Jacob invited her to a benefit Saturday night. But Keaton becomes uneasy when convinced to sleep the day in by Meridan and he hears a message left to her by Jacob that makes it clear he doesn’t just think of her as a friend. As he’s leaving, Meredith gets a call with the Halloween theme music playing in the background.
Keaton demands to know who it is and he hears a hoarse laugh. Keaton pays Meridan a surprise visit at work with chili for her (that he’s made). He makes it known he doesn’t want her to go to Atlanta and that she should call the police. Meredith says she can handle both situations. Wjem sje gets tp Atlanta, surprisingly she greeted by more than a hug from Jacob. (Before this Keaton lets Meredith know he will kick Jacob’s ass if he lays a hand on her. Well, he does. After the benefit, (quite drunk), he asks her to marry him and says that no one else will want her because she can’t have kids. He says he’s the only one that understands her condition. She tells him she’s sorry she ever told him and that she’ll never marry him. He leaves a passion mark on her and she hauls off and slaps him. Meredith returns home, but doesn’t call Keaton. She calls Nichole to come pick her up. When they get to Nichole’s place it’s broken into and there’s a message on the wall that says “Get ready to meet your maker.”
Keaton calls Meredith after she doesn’t call him and knows by the sound of her voice somethings wrong. So, he drives to Nichole’s and finds out about Jacob and the break-in. He tells Meredith to pack her bags. She’s coming with him to Texas. At the Chocolate Kat, Meridian’s cousins Devone and KaShawn see Jacob, follow him into the bathroom, and beat his ass. Shortly after, confusion breaks out outside the club and gun shots are heard. We find out that someone got shot but it wasn’t either cousin. Turns out it was Jacob that pulled the trigger.
Keaton throws a barbeque to introduce his friends to Meridan but his ex-shows up. Keaton cut her loose after he found her giving oral sex to another man IN HIS HOUSE! Sierra claims she still loves Keaton and tries to get back with him, but he tells her to kick rocks and throws her out. After the bbq, he takes Meridan to a yatch and is about to pop the question. Meridan freaks out and distracts him with sex. Seeing that she doesn’t want to talk about it he lets it go. Meredith gets a call the next day from her cousins -who tell her she doesn’t have to worry about Jacob anymore. She tells them to worriedly to stay out of trouble.
When Nichole comes home from work, she sees something that makes her pass out. When she wakes up Sam is holding a gun on her. He asks her where Meridan is. She tells him she doesn’t know. All she said was she needed to get out of town and clear her head. He tells her wrong answer bitch and pulls the trigger. Meridan gets a call from the hospital that Nikki has been brought in and she’s in a common. So, she packs. Keaton’s mom drives her to the hospital and on the way Meridan tells her her regrets about letting things go as far as they have with Keaton because she can’t have kids. Keaton’s mom tells her to pray and just talk to him about it. In other words (and I think she says) she’s making a big deal out of nothing. Keaton isn’t happy she’s leaving and tells Merdian he has a bad feeling. At the end of the chapter, he’s hurrying up with his paperwork at work so he can catch a flight and join her.
While visiting Nichole, Meridan goes to the bathroom to pull herself together and who appears behind her but Sam. Only we find out Sam is short for Samantha. Samatha wraps her hands around Meridan’s throat and says if she can’t have her no one can. Even tho Meridan has told her repeatedly she’s not gay. She tells her she won’t stop until she’s had her and she’d better get rid of Keaton or he might have a worse accident than Nikki before she exits the bathroom. Nikki’s boyfriend Deacon goes after her and tells Meridan he might just have to take justice into his own hands.
Merdian calls Keaton and updates him on Nikki’s progress. He says he’s flying out. She tells him don’t. She then breaks up with him and tells him she needs time to put things in perspective. She’s under a lot of stress and maybe they can revisit things when things calm down. Keaton tells her to forget about everything and hangs up in anger. But he doesn’t let it stop him from showing up at Nikki’s. Keaton tells Meridan it doesn’t matter to him one way or another if she can have kids. They’ll adopt. He finally proposes to her and she accepts. She also tells him Sam is a woman and for a while she made everyone at college think she was gay. Keaton eventually leaves to go back to Texas, but Sam finds out who he was (The Chief) in his NBA days.
Keaton has an accident and knows it’s Sam that tampered with the breaks on his car. William and Leona marry. The wedding goes off without interference. Keaton shows up to assure Meridan it’ll be ok. At, (I think this is Keaton’s and Arnell’s father’s election party-he’s running for mayor-), Keaton asks Meridan if she’s ready to get out of there. He says he’s going upstairs to get some things, but Meridan notices he left his key in his jacket pocket. Then a protest breaks out. Meridan uses this as a distraction to slip past the guards that were assigned to watch her. Keaton summons a maid to let him into the room When Meridan reach’s the room she sees the bloody body of a guard on the floor.
Then she sees Sam holding a gun on Keaton. Sam says she’s going to do Meridan right there in front of Keaton, but changes her mind and decides to kill him instead. She shots at Keaton but then Jacob comes in and calls her name. Then he shots her. When Jacob goes over to check on Keaton and Meridan (who feel to the floor when Keaton knocked down Meridan to protect her) Sam shots Jacob in the back and since Meridan is holding Jacob she gets shot too. Jacob and Sam die. Meridan survives and the doctor says the baby will be ok. Two weeks later, Meridan is released. Keaton and Meridan announce to their friends and family they’re married and have been for a while. Keaton surprises Meridan with a nursery. She’s confused. Then he tells her the good news. (Why didn’t the doctors tell her this themselves?). Since they have a secret wedding, Winston makes Keaton serande Meridan (he chooses a Luther Vandross song).
Meridan has a boy and names him Jeremiah Matthew. Merian receives a letter from Jacob that confesses he had HIV and fooled around with a lot of fast women. He left her a TON of money. She decides to donate it to the high school back home.
My Thoughts:
This was entirely too long and not as good as “All That” “Been There” and even “What Goes Around.’ And that’s because of the thing books tend to do when something happens and then it’s repeated (in a phone conversation usually) to another character (relative, friend, etc) two or three times stretched out in several chapters.
Then I just thought this plot was a lot of drama over *nothing*. Meridan’s secret just wasn’t as good as Arnelle’s. Keaton’s mother and Keaton himself told her “Oh that’s not big deal” and brushed it off almost INSTANTLY and she spent practically the WHOLE BOOK worrying about not being able to give Keaton kids. Probably if she just would have *asked* him this book would have been much shorter. Then I don’t see why the thought of adoption never even crossed her mind. It’s just weird to me how easily some people dismiss this as a possibility because they just want a *biological* kid. I’ve always just seen it as if you adopt the baby (or kid) and you raise and love it (whereas someone else has abandoned it or couldn’t care for it) then it IS yours. Blood or not. Does it really matter if it came from your body. That is *NOT* the important thing. What’s important is the love you give it.
When I initially wrote this review, I wondered do men really care about that are hard as Meridan made it out to be. Then I wondered on this read, why Meridan thought she *couldn’t* have kids. From what I understood of the story she was raped but she wasn’t penetrated. Was it something about the bottle cutting her that damaged some of he reproductive hormones. It never said what the condition even was. What did surprise me (first read and this read -because I didn’t remember practically anything about this one- was that Sam was female. Also that Keaton and Meridan had secretly gotten married by the end of the book.
Rating: 5
Keaton has been put on medical leave because his blood pressure has been high. So, he’s staying with Arnelle and her family. Arnelle tells him she hopes he’s being safe. He was out late last night with a woman named Deja. He’s not trying to hear it but says of course. That night, Winston is up for “Man of the Year”. Keaton can’t imagine having the type of love his sister and her husband have but then marriage isn’t for everyone. Keaton will be watching the kids.
Deja calls several times but he ignores her calls. They’ve gone out several times and now she’s getting too clingy. When he checks on Fredrick, he’s a little warm. When he picks him up he cries. Then he takes his temperature. It’s 103 degrees. Not good! He tries to call Arnelle but her phone is out of range. So, he gives him some milk. He ends up calling a lady named Mrs. Camille. She tells him the best thing is to take him to the hospital. She says she’s sure it’s not serious but better safe that sorry.
When there they come across Dr. Meridan. She’s been on Keaton’s mind ever since he meet her when Arnelle gave birth. Meridan gives Freddie an examination and then gives him a shot. She tells the nurse to get his medicine and takes them back out to Keaton. Now Arnelle and Winston are there. She tells them it’s just an ear infection. Arnelle thanks her but she says the credit should go to Keaton for bringing him there. It turns out Winston *did* win “Man of the Year”.
Keaton says he wants to take Merdian out to breakfast or dinner but she says she has to work. After he thanks MaLeah he turns around and she’s gone. She leaves a note to call her (and a number). The next morning, he tells Winston he hopes he’ll be taking the Dr. out tonight. Winston says her job is so demanding he’s surprised she has time for him. Keaton wonders why she works so hard. Winston says maybe she just loves her job. Keaton says perhaps she just likes what she sees. Winston says don’t think she’ll be what he’s use to but they have things in common. They’re both passionate about their jobs. There’s another thing he has to find out. Keaton says don’t make a big deal about the date. Hes still going to remain single. Winston says he bets she’ll turn him out. They make a bet.
Winston says if he wins, he has to get up at the wedding reception and tell everyone how he vowed he’d been single for life and then he has to serenade her. Keaton says if he wins, he wants Winston’s motorcycle. He starts to feel a little fear but tells himself it’s just dinner. Arnelle asks who Keaton’s going out with and he says Meridan. She warns him not to mess around with her. He gets irritated and tells it’s not like he’ll hurt her. To this she says why not. It’s what he does. He says he always lets them know up front. Then he tells her to mind her business. Winston tells her to stay out of it.
By eight, Median hasn’t showed up and Keaton calls her. She’s overslept and apologizes and says she’s exhausted. She asks him if they can do this another time. He tells her it’s cool (but is disappointed) and to go back to sleep. Meridan does feel bad but her best friend Nikki calls and she says she’ll go out with her that night before she has to go out of town. Nikki asks if the nightmares have started back Merdian says no and she’s hoping to put the whole thing behind her, but Sam is getting out of jail in three weeks. Her friend tells her it’s time she moved on. Nikki says it’s time she found Mr. Right. Merdian says she’s just taking it one day at a time. (I REALLY HATE WHEN YOUR FRIENDS DECIDE FOR YOU WHEN ITS TIME FOR YOU TO DATE!) But she says it’s because of Nikki she’s there. Meridan wants to call Keaton but she didn’t get his number (and invite him to the club). She tells herself she will the next day.
Keaton sees Meridan at the club and tells her if she didn’t want to go out with him, she should have just told him. She tells him its not like that and she was tired but she wanted to spend time with her friend before she left town. So, he offers to take her home. They have dinner at an Italian restaurant and get to know each other a little over dinner. Until Meridan starts to fall asleep. Meridan invites him in, but he tells her he’d better go so she can get some sleep. She says she wants to make it up to him for standing him up. He says she already has.
Keaton goes to the gym and is hit on by a very attractive woman (China) but he turns her down flat (wondering why). Then he’s splashed with water by an upset Deja who confronts him. (For a minute I thought she was at the club and saw him with Meridian). He tells her she knew what it was from the jump and she can’t say she didn’t but she’s upset because she grew feelings. She says he could have at least told her. He apologizes and says they should just end it. So, she just says goodbye to him. A couple of weeks go by and Keaton and Merdian are still seeing each other. Their relationship grows stronger and stronger. Merdian’s dad is having a birthday party and Meridan surprises herself by inviting Keaton. Keaton asks her how her dad will feel about this but she says he’ll be happy to meet him. So, he accepts.
The guys are supposed to be playing a basket ball game, but one of the guys (Byron) wife goes into labor. Winston tells Keaton he’s got another player to fill in. It turns out to be Meridan who was an All-American player at her college in Tennessee. Merdian asks Keaton if it’ll be a problem and he says no. He just wants to see if she’s got game. After the game, Keaton offers to take Meridan home and Winston tells the other guys to dust off their tuxes. The player of the century is DONE! Keaton finds out that Meridan played one year for the WNBA (to pay for medical school) but then turned down a 3 year contract to be a pediatrician. Keaton wants hot wings. Meridan talks him into a salad. After this, Meridan invites him to dinner.
On their dinner date, things heat up and Merdian doesn’t know if she wants it to stop or continue. She thinks of the incident with Sam and tells herself she can do it. Keaton tho has to stop because he doesn’t have protection (which is something he NEVER forgets). That night he can’t sleep so he calls Meridan. They talk until she tells him he needs to be prepared for the trip tomorrow. At work, Meridan is surprised with a latex bouquet of gloves from Keaton that says you can never get enough latex . And that he won’t forget again. Winston sweetens the deal with Keaton and says if he’s wrong, he’ll go in with him on the Sports and Grill bar he’s been trying to open.
Merdian’s dad surprises her by calling Keaton “The Chef”. It turns out he played for the NBA team the San Antonio Spurts but busted his knee. Keaton finds out from her dad that Meridian never thinks she’s good enough. Something that he has to straighten her out on later when she says the younger pictures of her look a mess. While talking about Keaton going home (and how glad they are they got to know each other), things get hot again but again they’re distracted before it gets to the point of sex. At the party, Keaton gets introduced to Jacob-Meridian’s high school sweetheart who’s now a doctor in Atlanta-.
Meridian’s dad (William) pops the question to his girlfriend Leona. Meridian’s sister later apologizes to her (Gwen) about being a bad big sister and confesses she was jealous because her father loved her more because she looks like their mother. We find out that Meridan doesn’t feel like she’ll be enough for Keaton when he finds out she can’t have kids. Meridan tells Keaton before he leaves she wants to make love to him when they get back and he can’t wait to get back and show her how much he loves her. We find out that Sam got Meredith drunk and waited until she passed out to rape her at a party. Now he’s tracked her down and going to find her.
Jacob, Gwen, and William all tell Meredith before she leaves to tell Keaton the truth about her. When they get home, they make love for the first time. Keaton discovers that Meredith is a virgin. The next morning, she in the shower and points out the scar but she tells him she isn’t ready to talk about it. He tells her the scar isn’t important. To him she’s flawless. One morning, Sam calls Meridan while Keaton is there and he correctly guesses it’s the same person that gave her the scar, but Meridan says she doesn’t know if she’s ready to go to the police and tells Keaton not to worry about it.
Meredith tells Keaton that one of her classmates cut her with a bottle because he couldn’t accept that she just wanted to be friends. She owes Nichole her life because she head his over the head. He makes her promise the next time she gets a call to tell the police. She also tells him that Jacob invited her to a benefit Saturday night. But Keaton becomes uneasy when convinced to sleep the day in by Meridan and he hears a message left to her by Jacob that makes it clear he doesn’t just think of her as a friend. As he’s leaving, Meredith gets a call with the Halloween theme music playing in the background.
Keaton demands to know who it is and he hears a hoarse laugh. Keaton pays Meridan a surprise visit at work with chili for her (that he’s made). He makes it known he doesn’t want her to go to Atlanta and that she should call the police. Meredith says she can handle both situations. Wjem sje gets tp Atlanta, surprisingly she greeted by more than a hug from Jacob. (Before this Keaton lets Meredith know he will kick Jacob’s ass if he lays a hand on her. Well, he does. After the benefit, (quite drunk), he asks her to marry him and says that no one else will want her because she can’t have kids. He says he’s the only one that understands her condition. She tells him she’s sorry she ever told him and that she’ll never marry him. He leaves a passion mark on her and she hauls off and slaps him. Meredith returns home, but doesn’t call Keaton. She calls Nichole to come pick her up. When they get to Nichole’s place it’s broken into and there’s a message on the wall that says “Get ready to meet your maker.”
Keaton calls Meredith after she doesn’t call him and knows by the sound of her voice somethings wrong. So, he drives to Nichole’s and finds out about Jacob and the break-in. He tells Meredith to pack her bags. She’s coming with him to Texas. At the Chocolate Kat, Meridian’s cousins Devone and KaShawn see Jacob, follow him into the bathroom, and beat his ass. Shortly after, confusion breaks out outside the club and gun shots are heard. We find out that someone got shot but it wasn’t either cousin. Turns out it was Jacob that pulled the trigger.
Keaton throws a barbeque to introduce his friends to Meridan but his ex-shows up. Keaton cut her loose after he found her giving oral sex to another man IN HIS HOUSE! Sierra claims she still loves Keaton and tries to get back with him, but he tells her to kick rocks and throws her out. After the bbq, he takes Meridan to a yatch and is about to pop the question. Meridan freaks out and distracts him with sex. Seeing that she doesn’t want to talk about it he lets it go. Meredith gets a call the next day from her cousins -who tell her she doesn’t have to worry about Jacob anymore. She tells them to worriedly to stay out of trouble.
When Nichole comes home from work, she sees something that makes her pass out. When she wakes up Sam is holding a gun on her. He asks her where Meridan is. She tells him she doesn’t know. All she said was she needed to get out of town and clear her head. He tells her wrong answer bitch and pulls the trigger. Meridan gets a call from the hospital that Nikki has been brought in and she’s in a common. So, she packs. Keaton’s mom drives her to the hospital and on the way Meridan tells her her regrets about letting things go as far as they have with Keaton because she can’t have kids. Keaton’s mom tells her to pray and just talk to him about it. In other words (and I think she says) she’s making a big deal out of nothing. Keaton isn’t happy she’s leaving and tells Merdian he has a bad feeling. At the end of the chapter, he’s hurrying up with his paperwork at work so he can catch a flight and join her.
While visiting Nichole, Meridan goes to the bathroom to pull herself together and who appears behind her but Sam. Only we find out Sam is short for Samantha. Samatha wraps her hands around Meridan’s throat and says if she can’t have her no one can. Even tho Meridan has told her repeatedly she’s not gay. She tells her she won’t stop until she’s had her and she’d better get rid of Keaton or he might have a worse accident than Nikki before she exits the bathroom. Nikki’s boyfriend Deacon goes after her and tells Meridan he might just have to take justice into his own hands.
Merdian calls Keaton and updates him on Nikki’s progress. He says he’s flying out. She tells him don’t. She then breaks up with him and tells him she needs time to put things in perspective. She’s under a lot of stress and maybe they can revisit things when things calm down. Keaton tells her to forget about everything and hangs up in anger. But he doesn’t let it stop him from showing up at Nikki’s. Keaton tells Meridan it doesn’t matter to him one way or another if she can have kids. They’ll adopt. He finally proposes to her and she accepts. She also tells him Sam is a woman and for a while she made everyone at college think she was gay. Keaton eventually leaves to go back to Texas, but Sam finds out who he was (The Chief) in his NBA days.
Keaton has an accident and knows it’s Sam that tampered with the breaks on his car. William and Leona marry. The wedding goes off without interference. Keaton shows up to assure Meridan it’ll be ok. At, (I think this is Keaton’s and Arnell’s father’s election party-he’s running for mayor-), Keaton asks Meridan if she’s ready to get out of there. He says he’s going upstairs to get some things, but Meridan notices he left his key in his jacket pocket. Then a protest breaks out. Meridan uses this as a distraction to slip past the guards that were assigned to watch her. Keaton summons a maid to let him into the room When Meridan reach’s the room she sees the bloody body of a guard on the floor.
Then she sees Sam holding a gun on Keaton. Sam says she’s going to do Meridan right there in front of Keaton, but changes her mind and decides to kill him instead. She shots at Keaton but then Jacob comes in and calls her name. Then he shots her. When Jacob goes over to check on Keaton and Meridan (who feel to the floor when Keaton knocked down Meridan to protect her) Sam shots Jacob in the back and since Meridan is holding Jacob she gets shot too. Jacob and Sam die. Meridan survives and the doctor says the baby will be ok. Two weeks later, Meridan is released. Keaton and Meridan announce to their friends and family they’re married and have been for a while. Keaton surprises Meridan with a nursery. She’s confused. Then he tells her the good news. (Why didn’t the doctors tell her this themselves?). Since they have a secret wedding, Winston makes Keaton serande Meridan (he chooses a Luther Vandross song).
Meridan has a boy and names him Jeremiah Matthew. Merian receives a letter from Jacob that confesses he had HIV and fooled around with a lot of fast women. He left her a TON of money. She decides to donate it to the high school back home.
My Thoughts:
This was entirely too long and not as good as “All That” “Been There” and even “What Goes Around.’ And that’s because of the thing books tend to do when something happens and then it’s repeated (in a phone conversation usually) to another character (relative, friend, etc) two or three times stretched out in several chapters.
Then I just thought this plot was a lot of drama over *nothing*. Meridan’s secret just wasn’t as good as Arnelle’s. Keaton’s mother and Keaton himself told her “Oh that’s not big deal” and brushed it off almost INSTANTLY and she spent practically the WHOLE BOOK worrying about not being able to give Keaton kids. Probably if she just would have *asked* him this book would have been much shorter. Then I don’t see why the thought of adoption never even crossed her mind. It’s just weird to me how easily some people dismiss this as a possibility because they just want a *biological* kid. I’ve always just seen it as if you adopt the baby (or kid) and you raise and love it (whereas someone else has abandoned it or couldn’t care for it) then it IS yours. Blood or not. Does it really matter if it came from your body. That is *NOT* the important thing. What’s important is the love you give it.
When I initially wrote this review, I wondered do men really care about that are hard as Meridan made it out to be. Then I wondered on this read, why Meridan thought she *couldn’t* have kids. From what I understood of the story she was raped but she wasn’t penetrated. Was it something about the bottle cutting her that damaged some of he reproductive hormones. It never said what the condition even was. What did surprise me (first read and this read -because I didn’t remember practically anything about this one- was that Sam was female. Also that Keaton and Meridan had secretly gotten married by the end of the book.
Rating: 5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 6, 2015
Okay, were do I start so that I won't ruin the book for you? So maybe I won't tell you the story but, I will say it started out kind of slow but quickly picked up the pace, and once it did boy did it. I really could not put this book down. It was great and had so many twist and turns, and had you at the edge of your seat. This was really a good book. I like the way she wrote the book and the way she chose to reveal certain things at certain times and when you think you know everything, someone says something that let's you know you still don't know the full story. I am an avid reader and I say GET THIS BOOK............And it's romantic. :)
May 11, 2013
I read it and reread it. Good job.
February 11, 2025
Book four of five, Arnelle's older brother Keaton finds himself in a complicated relationship with pediatrician Meridan who wants to love, but finds herself yet again running from her past that continues to bring her night mares. Keaton is a man's man that doesn't play about the woman that he loves. For all the men crushes in books, Keaton should be one of them.
September 20, 2017
I went to the library and picked up this and part 3 of what was a series but was not aware of. The book was slow but I thought I give it a chance but it got slower. I really don't think I would have found the first 2 books interesting. I flipped to the last page just to see how it ended.
September 20, 2011
I absolutely hated this book! The reason for this is because Darrien Lee went from the carefully written story of Craig and Venice to this rollercoaster story of Keaton and Meridan. As far as content I didn’t enjoy it. Her style in this poem was ever where. She didn’t have structure with this novel. There were parts that she rushed the reader, where she should have spent time and explained what had taken place during that timeline. The only thing I would take from this novel is not to rush reader into a place they are not ready to go because lack of information.
May 11, 2013
This book was awesome. It just goes to show you, that you never know what will happen when you fall in love.
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