Phoebe Randall has waited forever to marry the love of her life. But just when sheâs about to get her dream proposal, she meets Abraham Teka.
After a tragic accident, Abe needs her help. And Phoebe finds herself helping him, at least thatâs the plan until she starts to catch feelings for the manâand his whole familyâat the worst possible time.
But Abe isn't ready for something deeper. After a lifetime of being let down by people, will he ever be able to open up to another woman?
Will Phoebe make the impossible choice between the man of her past or the man of her future? Or will she be forced to let go of this precious gift sheâs waited for all of her life?
Perfect for those who love sweet contemporary romance with no heat, Teka Legacy is a heartwarming story of love, family, and sacrifice, and how the unexpected can turn out to be exactly what you never knew you needed and couldnât live without.
Phoebe Randall has waited forever to marry the love of her life. But just when sheâs about to get her dream proposal, she meets Abraham Teka.
After a tragic accident, Abe needs her help. And Phoebe finds herself helping him, at least thatâs the plan until she starts to catch feelings for the manâand his whole familyâat the worst possible time.
But Abe isn't ready for something deeper. After a lifetime of being let down by people, will he ever be able to open up to another woman?
Will Phoebe make the impossible choice between the man of her past or the man of her future? Or will she be forced to let go of this precious gift sheâs waited for all of her life?
Perfect for those who love sweet contemporary romance with no heat, Teka Legacy is a heartwarming story of love, family, and sacrifice, and how the unexpected can turn out to be exactly what you never knew you needed and couldnât live without.
Phoebe had waited almost a decade for this moment. Zephaniah Jenkins, the man of her dreams, was finally ready to marry her.
âYou love me?â Phoebe asked. âWhen did that start?â
His hand stroked her hand on the table, and she couldnât remember when last he looked at her with his soft special smile, as if the wasted years were only a thorn in her dreams, and he had always loved her as much as she always knew he did.
âI love you,â Zef said.
Phoebe grabbed her thigh to stop her leg from shaking. After all this time, was he finally going to ask her?
âIâve always loved you, Phoebe.â
She squeezed his hand and blinked away hot tears. Now wasnât the time to choke. If she broke down, he might rethink his words.
âSorry it took me this long to realize how I felt,â he said.
His gentle voice drowned out the flowery pop music, the customers ordering food, and the staff hustling about the Chinese restaurant. For the longest time, her prayer was to hear him say the words. In college, she made up a song she imagined playing in the background when Zef finally confessed to her. But she forgot the tune some years back. Â
âFee,â he said.Â
It was his cute pet name for her. These days, everything he did was adorable. Last week heâd announced he was flying to Houston to tell her important news. But nothing could have prepared her for his bold confession. Zef was in love with her. How and when did this miracle happen? He wasnât saying âMuch love, sis,â or âI love you, Fee,â but the words: âIâm in love with you and I hopeââ Hope what? What was he thinking? Recently, she had sensed that their Forever-21 friendship was maturing. He never talked about other women anymore, and he seemed fully interested in who she was as a woman and what she expected out of her man.
âI love you,â Zef said again. Â
âHow much?â Zef was always a playboy in the process of becoming a man who somehow never materialized.
He didnât hesitate. âEnough to give you all of me.â
Phoebe didnât blink, just in case he might disappear. What happened to him in Pittsburgh?
Zef kissed her hand. âI want to know you.â
âYou already know me.â
âNo, Iâve never really taken the time to understand you.â
Phoebe stared at their joined hands. He was the only man she ever imagined being intimate with.
The light globe hanging from the ceiling flashed twice as if the power went out. A woman walking by their table smiled at Zef, the sort of invite a woman gave to a man she liked. The old Zef would have returned the smile, but this Zef didnât bother to look.
âYouâve always been there for me,â Zef said. âNow itâs my turn to be here for you. Take all the time you need to think about us.â
He looked like a pirate stranded at sea, his handsome face with those wicked sharp edges. Sure he had his faults, but how could she ever stop loving him? Just last month, he canceled his long-awaited vacation to Rome and joined some doctors on a tour of West Africa performing free surgeries for kids.
âIâm not going anywhere,â he said.
He kissed her hand and Phoebe laughed. She wanted to say something cute, but her mouth felt dry. She reached for her glass and sucked up cold water through her straw.
âI thinkââ Zef went on.
âGet it right then,â someone shouted from another table.Â
The voice came from the back of the restaurant. Three boys sat at a round table, the youngest of them probably no more than fifteen, a baby-faced kid built like a football player. The second boy looked like a straight-up gangster, with teardrop tattoos, a red bandana around his neck. But the last boy sitting beside him made Phoebe shift in her chair.
âClement Teka,â she whispered. Three weeks ago, Phoebe got a call that a studentâs parents were killed when an 18-wheeler crashed into them. Phoebe attended the wake with two other teachers, and she least expected to see the boy at school just days after the funeral. Any grieving human was entitled to hide away for a while, but this boy wasnât normal. His hard eyes stared like a man whoâd seen everything life could offer and stopped caring along the way. In her time at the State, Phoebe met boys with faces like men, and it never ended well for them.
âYou know big boy?â Zef asked.
âNo, the tall skinny one. Heâs a student at my school. We have a counseling session every week.â
âBut this is the second time,â the waiter grumbled.
âAnd if it come back looking wrong again,â the football kid said, âI ainât paying for it.â He jabbed his finger at the flustered waiter, who bolted from the table as if they shot him out of a gun. The two boys bumped fists and looked around the restaurant, daring anyone to talk to them. Clement Teka glanced at Phoebeâs table and dropped his eyes.
âWhatâs he doing with them?â Phoebe said. The baby-faced boy sort of looked like Clement. Was that his brother? She never saw him at the funeral.
âIt doesnât matter.â She faced her pepper steak, the reason she chose this restaurant. If she knew Zef was about to confess, they could have gone to the park or stayed at her condo where they would never be caught up in such foolishness.
When the terrified waiter returned to the boysâ table with another entree, the football kid waved his hand like a knife cutting his neck. âYou blind or something?â
Next to the boysâ table, an older white couple scrambled out of their seats and left the restaurant. A middle-aged white man with thinning red-brown hair sat in a corner booth with a steeled face. He looked as if he might get up.
Zef left his seat. âGive me a sec.â Â
Phoebe reached for his hand. âNo, please donât get involved.â
He marched to the table before she could stop him. âFellas, take it easy.â At almost six feet, Zef was all muscle with massive hands. Seeing him had to make the boys think a little.
 âWhat you want?â the football kid asked.
âJust here to pay your bill,â Zef said.
âWe donât need your money,â he said.Â
The boy with the red bandana raised his hand and glared at Zef. âGo pay it then.â
âOkay, but you guys gotta stop messing with my man here.â Zef tapped the waiterâs shoulder.
Phoebe stumbled to the front of the restaurant, trying to calm her breath. Did Zef want her to pay the bill while he defused the situation? She placed her credit card on the counter in front of the distracted woman.
âCan I pay for our bill and theirs?âÂ
The woman frowned. Phoebe pressed her glasses to her face and took another gulp of air. Maybe her words were slurred. Dad said she always mumbled whenever she started spazzing.
The boy with the red bandana got up. âYou want problems?â
âThis kid,â Zef said.
âZef,â Phoebe heard her voice shout. She had somehow moved closer to the table without realizing it.Â
âListen to your girl,â the boy said, a black lion tattoo peeking from his bandana. âSheâs fine, for real.âÂ
A black object flashed at the boyâs waist. Phoebe looked up and he winked at her. He adjusted his t-shirt to cover the weapon.
For a moment Phoebe thought she blacked out, but the boyâs creepy grin never left her sight. She turned and met Clement Tekaâs eyes.
âYou good?â Clement asked.
Phoebe reached for her neck, and the scar long healed seemed to throb, a reminder of why it was always best to stay in your lane. No more trying to save everyone, or fighting to help one kid at a time. No, silly stuff like that only belonged in the movies.
Phoebe took a step back. Her legs collapsed under her. Zef caught her arm and pulled her to him. He led her toward the door.
âIâm so sorry,â Zef said. He snatched her credit card from the woman at the counter. Phoebe forgot to breathe until they were outside of the restaurant.
âAre you okay?â he asked. Â
She could only nod as they walked to the car. Her glasses were foggy and her neck wouldnât stop throbbing. Never again, she almost said out loud. She would never again get too involved. Nothing good ever came from trying to help fools who didnât want to be helped.
As a school guidance counselor, it is Phoebeâs job to help students through life. But Phoebe has gotten too close once before and it nearly cost her life. Now sheâs trying to help as best she can, from a safe distance. So when she finds herself giving stoic and mysterious Clement Teka a ride home and meeting the rest of his intimidating family, Phoebe is thinking sheâs in way over her head. But Phoebe finds herself drawn to this family, especially the statuesque and handsome Abe Teka, whom sheâs falling for, and soon realizes that the Tekas are still grieving the loss of their adoptive parents and theyâre tough exterior is just their way of coping. Now it is a question of if she should help, but how. Yet can Phoebe help this family without falling in too deep?
Teka Legacy is unlike anything Iâve read before. What started as a contemporary romance delved into a story about love and loss. I like that the reader gets a look into Phoebeâs life as well as the Teka household. I especially love the interactions between Phoebe and Abe. I like how Abe can relax around Phoebe and Phoebe is somehow the healing balm for this grieving family.Â
Although, I do not like Phoebeâs indecisiveness in the beginning. There are times where Phoebe convinces herself to help the Tekas and within the same paragraph, sheâs all of sudden too scared. It was unclear if the author was trying to show the internal struggle Phoebe was having with her decision, but the constant back and forth came across as Phoebe being wishy-washy.Â
Because of this, it takes a while to get into the story. Itâs several chapters before Phoebe finally gets involved with the Teka family. The story begins with Phoebe and her boyfriend, Zef, with a glimpse inside the Teka world that isnât made clear right away. However, as soon as Phoebe injects herself into the Teka family, Zef is all but forgotten and sprinkled sparingly throughout the novel; maybe Zefâs storyline feels like an afterthought and just unnecessary to the story as a whole.Â
Despite this, Teka Legacy is quite the read. This novel takes the reader on a journey of love and loss but also a journey of self-discovery and family. That sometimes you need to rely on family to discover who you are as well as who youâre truly meant to me. I give Teka Legacy 3 out of 5 stars.