The Savvy Sistahs by Brenda Jackson Read Free Book Online Page B

need of major repairs. She had returned to Nashville with her report, along with several photographs, as well as an offer to her sisters: she wanted to buy the dilapidated piece of property and was willing to procure their share of the house to become the sole owner.
    Amber had been dying a slow death in Nashville. Most of the time she was so depressed over her divorce that she’d found comfort in eating, which only escalated her health problems.
    She saw moving permanently to Orlando as the answer to her prayers. Besides, she no longer wanted to remain in the same town where her ex-husband, Gary Stuart, also lived. She had never told anyone in her family but he had shown up late one night at her place, and with only a few kind words from him, she’d forgotten what a dog he was and let him get inside her panties. The next morning he’d left, acting like he had done her a favor and saying she was sex-crazed, hot between the legs. She’d felt cheap and stupid for falling off the wagon and saw distance between them as the only thing to help her get over Gary.
    Although her family hadn’t been happy at the thought of her leaving Nashville and moving to Orlando, they had understood her need to make a new life for herself and gave her their blessings.
    Now, over two years later, she had lost over sixty pounds, which meant her health was the best it had been in years. Being overweight had not been a size issue for her but a health issue, since diabetes ran in her family. Now she maintained good physical fitness by walking at least three miles each morning, something her doctor had highly recommended.
    She had done a number of major repairs to the house she now considered home and was the proud owner of Amber’s Books and Gifts, which was located in the Florida Mall. Her shop sold books by and about people of African descent, various figurines, greeting cards and calendars, children’s books, games, black history literature, and Masonic, fraternity, and sorority paraphernalia, as well as a number of other gift ideas. Because the mall was usually busy on any day of the week, the shop reaped the benefits of its location, and with a small business loan through the city, she’d recently expanded and had decorated it just the way she wanted. She had discovered that she was a natural at dealing with the many customers who came through her doors, some to make a purchase and others just to browse and check out her vast inventory.
    Her store hours mirrored those of the mall’s hours, which meant she opened at ten each morning and closed at ten each night. Those hours were no problem for her since she lived five miles from the mall. It also helped that she had two very dependable ladies who assisted her. They were older ladies, both in their sixties, who were retired librarians and loved books.
    In a few weeks the store would be celebrating its second anniversary. Already she’d made plans to host a party. Nothing extravagant, but just a little something to let her customers know how much she appreciated their business. Her menu would be simple and several of the distributors she dealt with had agreed to provide free books as giveaways.
    Amber glanced down at her watch. It was edging toward five o’clock and she needed to get home to shower and change. There was the monthly Savvy Sistahs Mean Business meeting tonight, as well as dinner afterward with Brandy and Carla.
    She smiled when she thought of her friendship with Brandy and Carla. Someone once told her that Philadelphia was the City of Brotherly Love. If that was true then Orlando deserved an award for being the City of Sisterly Love. It had been totally refreshing at her first Savvy Sistahs meeting to become acquainted with Carla and Brandy, and to discover as their friendship progressed that they were women who enjoyed being single and weren’t hard-pressed to find a man. From the beginning, they had felt an intrinsic need to bond and it had been special to get validation