Once You'Ve Touched the Heart

  Copyright © 2008 by Iris Bolling

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  Printed in the United States of America

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9801066-0-2

  ISBN-10: 0-9801066-0-5

  Cover and book design by: Judith R.E. Wansley

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are with the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, locales is entirely coincidental.

  SIRI ENTERPRISES

  RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

  www.sirient.com

  Acknowledgements

  To my Heavenly Father, Thank You.

  To Raymond, thank you for putting up with me all these years. The best is yet to come.

  To my mother, Evelyn, don’t think you can really retire now; you have more research ahead of you.

  To Turk, much love for you, big brother.

  To LaFonde Harris and Gemma Mejias, thank you for being my sounding boards and I pray my telephone calls will never go unanswered.

  To Valerie Johnson, Tanya Thompson and Rosaline Terry, do not ever learn restraint, stay real….

  To Judith Wansley, Justin Wansley, Sakeitha Horton, Shannon Pilgrim and Sonya Marie, your generosity will never be forgotten.

  To Linda Gordon, thank you for simply taking the time.

  To the “HU” boys, Devin, Jarrell, Scott, and of course, Chris, you guys are the epitome of awesomeness.

  To all of my readers, your wait is over. JD and Tracy have finally arrived. Thank you for your patience. Enjoy their story and the beginning of a saga of love, politics and intrigue that will lead to the White House…on Pennsylvania Avenue.

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my son, Chris. Regardless of what life brings you, always believe in yourself.

  ALSO BY IRIS BOLLING

  THE HEART SERIES

  ONCE YOU’VE TOUCHED THE HEART

  THE HEART OF HIM

  LOOK INTO MY HEART

  A HEART DIVIDED

  A LOST HEART

  THE HEART

  NIGHT OF SEDUCTION SERIES

  NIGHT OF SEDUCTION/HEAVEN’S GATE

  THE PENDLETON RULE

  GEMS & GENTS SERIES

  TEACH ME

  www.irisbolling.com

  www.sirient.com

  The Heart Series

  Book 1

  Once You’ve Touched The Heart

  Prologue

  We all go through life wondering if the old saying is true, “God has a plan for everyone. He made that special someone just for you. All you have to do is be patient and wait for him to reveal that one person to you.” We have no idea who that person may be, or if that person exists. Nevertheless, we go through life trying to find that someone to fulfill our meaning for life.

  We go out with men and women who we know are not right for us. Like the guy who comes up to you in a club and says, “If your left thigh was Thanksgiving and your right thigh was Christmas, can I visit you in between the holidays?” You laugh, but end up dancing with the fool anyway. Yes, you are desperate. But you are also tired of being alone. Everyone around you seems to be going out and having a good time while you are sitting in the dorm room with a book on a Friday night. So which do you choose? Well, Tracy Alexandria Washington chose the book. The fool could spend the holidays by himself.

  Tracy, the youngest of four children, was a quiet girl who spent most of her time in libraries. Any library would do; it didn’t matter, as long as there were endless books. She could get lost in them forever. Books were a comfort and escape from the day-to-day drama in her life. As long as a library was open, Tracy had a safe haven.

  Home was empty these days for her. None of the love and laughter that surrounded her as a child existed under the roof she once shared with her parents, two sisters and brother. Within the short time span of one summer, she lost her oldest sister Valerie to a husband; her brother Turk to the street life; her sister Joan died and her father—well, he just disappeared. Now, only Tracy and her mother, Lena, lived together; or more like existed under the same roof together. It seemed Tracy was always doing something to upset her mother, so she stayed away as much as possible.

  ♥

  Tracy never really knew what happened to her sister Joan and did not see her sister Valerie too often, but her brother Turk would come by to check on her. Turk spent time teaching her things, like dancing, shooting pool or hitting three pointers on the basketball court. He gave Tracy the love and guidance she believed her father would have given, if he were home.

  For some reason, Lena blamed Tracy for her dad leaving and acted as if she hated the sight of her. Tracy was young and didn’t understand. For a while she tried everything she could to make her mom love her again, but it didn’t work. By the time Tracy reached high school, she simply gave up. She put all her time into studying to earn scholarships for college. Turk said he would help her if she did well in school. Tracy never asked how, but Turk always had money to do things. Therefore, if he said she could go to college, she believed him.

  Tracy graduated from high school with honors and received scholarships, but not enough to attend Harmon University. But, true to his word, Turk was there in her time of need. You see, Harmon was a private university where, not all, but most girls went with the hope of meeting the next basketball player heading to the NBA, or maybe the next NFL prospect anticipating a signing bonus. Tracy, on the other hand, wanted to go there because it was away from home and it had an excellent five-year MBA program. The tuition was extremely high, but the biggest obstacle was the up-front cash needed to get in. Her scholarship money would not post to her account until later in the semester. Tracy had no idea where the money she needed was going to come from. But Harmon University was where she wanted to go. She didn’t know why, but in her heart she knew that was the only school for her.

  ♥

  Jeffrey Daniel Harrison, better known to all as JD, was an assistant district attorney with the city of Richmond, which had one of the highest per capita murder rates in the country. Most of the murders were gang related. The city was where he wanted to be. JD wanted to help clean up the city that his father lost his life protecting. His father died at the hands of a 14-year-old gang member. Now JD was responsible for the family his father left behind. Even though they were financially stable, it was up to him to keep the family united. His father would say to him, “No matter what, make sure you always take care of your family.”

  James and Martha Harrison raised their children in a very loving environment. They would get their children up on Sunday mornings, have breakfast, and then head off to Sunday school and church. Afterwards, family and friends would come over for dinner. Both parents, or at the very least one parent, would be at every game JD had or at every recital Ashley, his little sister, performed. His parents had a strong sense of family and community values, and they showed it. As a police officer James Harrison was looked upon as the authority figure to the fatherless boys in the neighborhood. He tried to intervene whenever he saw one of the boys going in what one may call “the wrong direction.” Martha Harrison always had food on the table for the hungry and a pleasant word for anyone in need. JD and Ashley were raised to help others less fortunate than themselves. It was just a way of life for them. JD understood this and accepted the responsibility of looking out for others at a very young age. When his
little sister would get into fights in school, usually for taking up for someone else, he would go to the school and argue her case until the principal simply got tired and gave in. Afterwards, he would go home and try to argue Ashley’s case with his mom; but that was a lost cause. Martha Harrison did not care who Ashley was taking up for, fighting was not the way to do it.

  JD always had many friends. For some reason people always liked him; but none more than “the boys,” his friends Calvin, Brian and Douglas. They had been with him through the high school basketball championships, the football games and many other escapades that probably should never be mentioned. Calvin graduated from law school along with JD. He was the one voice of reason; he would get the boys to think about their actions before they got into trouble. Brian, who joined the FBI after college, was the protector. If you wanted a piece of the boys, you had to go through him first. Douglas was the oldest and the one with the business mind. He started a promotional company after high school and now owned one of the most exclusive clubs in the city. JD could turn to any one of them in any situation and he knew they would have his back. To them, he was the one each of them looked up to for answers to just about every question. If you asked them, each would say, “That boy is going to run the country one day.” Whether it was business, law or women, they were there for each other.

  Women: now that was one area where JD never seemed to have a problem. They seemed to come out of the woodwork for him. He never allowed any one woman to get too close. He had career plans to move up in the district attorney’s office. His focus was to eliminate, or at the very least reduce, gang activity in the city. It was the only way he knew to honor his dad’s life. There was no time for the drama women brought with them. Whenever his current girlfriend began with the drama, he would let her go. In a nice way, of course, but she had to go.

  Presently, JD’s problem was convincing the admissions counselor that his little sister was Harmon University material. Her grades were fine, as were her S.A.T. scores. However, the extracurricular activities that had landed her on the suspension list in high school more than once were not quite what Harmon University was looking for in a potential student. But Ashley had her heart set on Harmon, since some of her friends were going there. She begged JD to get her in. He was usually firm with women, but when it came to his little sister he could not say no. Fortunately for her, the admission counselor was a female. He worked his magic and got Ashley in at the last minute. Little did JD know, it was more his destiny for Ashley to be at Harmon than it was hers.

  Chapter 1

  On the day Tracy was scheduled to leave for Harmon she did not have the money needed for the initial payment. But Turk told her to pack her things, so she did, and he drove her to Harmon University. Knowing she was going to school strictly on financial aid and scholarships, Tracy prayed when the campus by the sea, as it was referred to in Tidewater, came into view, she would be allowed to register, (no up front cash, no entrance).

  Well, Tracy’s prayers were answered. Turk made the initial cash payment; made sure she had a room assignment and gave her cash to open a bank account. She was so overwhelmed that something good was happening in her life, she never asked where the money came from. Turk had given her a chance to make something of herself. She remembered his words to her, “I got you out. Make me proud baby girl and stay out.” Turk turned to leave and for some reason, Tracy had a feeling they may not see each other for a while. She ran over and hugged him, “Thank you, Turk. I won’t disappoint you.”

  He grabbed her around her neck and ruffled her hair. “Bye Sugie.” He smiled and then walked away.

  When Tracy moved her things into her assigned dorm room, her roommate had already moved in. While she was arranging her clothes, someone knocked on the door. She opened the door and there were two girls standing there.

  “Hey, is Ashley here?” one asked.

  “No, I’m not sure who Ashley is,” Tracy said with a smile, “but she’s not here.”

  “Well, tell her Cynthia and Rosaline came by.”

  “Okay,” Tracy said and closed the door. “Oh, I hope my roommate is not like them.” One had been drop-dead gorgeous, like Vanessa Williams, face, hair, body, the works. The other one was pretty too, just in a different way. She was shorter, with a short stylish haircut, chestnut brown skin, and very shapely.

  Tracy knew when she decided to come to Harmon that she was not going to fit in with the “in” crowd. The girls on this campus were the cream of the crop. There were very few who could not be on any page of a fashion magazine or in somebody’s video. In Tracy’s mind, she did not fit in with that group. Oh well, that’s not why I’m here, Tracy thought as she continued to set up her room.

  Tracy had crawled under her bed to run the cable cord to the 27” flat panel television Turk brought, so visitors would not see the cord, when the door opened.

  “Hey, you must be Tracy.”

  Tracy hit her head as she was trying to get out from under the bed.“Hi,” Tracy replied, smiling as she beat the dust off her jeans. “Yeah, I’m Tracy.”

  “I’m Ashley. I guess we are roommates.”

  “Looks that way.”

  Ashley sat on the bed. “Do you need some help with your things?” she asked Tracy.

  “No, this is it.”

  Ashley giggled. “I think I brought everything from my room at home and some more. My brother said he was not bringing one more thing up to this room. Did I leave you enough space for your things?”

  “I’m good,” Tracy replied. She was not used to talking this much to anyone. “Two girls came by looking for you earlier.”

  Ashley sucked in her lip. “That would be Cynthia and Rosaline.”

  “Yeah, that’s who it was.”

  “I was kind of hoping they wouldn’t find me this soon. Oh, well, I’ll deal with them later; I’m late for registration.”

  Tracy looked at her watch. “Me too.”

  “Come on.” Ashley grabbed her hand. “Let’s go.”

  Ashley talked the whole time they were walking, while Tracy listened and answered whenever she had to. Ashley seemed different from her friends. Just like the other girls, Ashley had the kind of beauty that you would see in the center of Jet magazine. Her skin tone was peanut butter brown. She had silky, shoulder length hair. Her figure was one men dream of, standing five feet eight inches and 130 pounds or so, with long legs that had a graceful and confident stride. This girl could wear anything, or nothing at all, and it would still look good on her. She had the look of a fly girl—the ones that are so cute they can’t be touched—but without the attitude. Ashley smiled and had a pleasant comment for everyone she encountered. It was easy to be around Ashley and Tracy liked her immediately, although she felt insignificant standing next to this girl.

  Ashley’s two friends came into the hall where late registration was being held. Ashley introduced them to Tracy. When Tracy said hello, Cynthia looked at her as if she were nonexistent. “Whatever,” she said, then turned her back and continued talking to Ashley. The other one, Rosaline, said, “Girl, pay her no mind, and it’s nice to meet you.”

  Tracy took a step back to allow them space to talk. The two were telling Ashley about people on campus.

  “Look, I’ll have to catch you guys later. Right now I have to register for these classes,” Ashley said as she turned back to Tracy.

  “I’m sorry. Cynthia is just like that. Come on; let’s get this English class straight.”

  The only English class still open was one being instructed by a Professor Wood. Ashley asked the girl helping with registration, “Why is this class so empty?”

  The girl replied, “Professor Wood is really good, but does not take any nonsense from his students. If you take his class you will work and learn or you will not pass.”

  Ashley turned to Tracy. “I ain’t scared of him… Are you?”

  “The correct phrase would be,” Tracy replied, “‘I am not scared of him,’ and no, I ain’t sc
arrrrred of him either, bring him on…”

  Ashley laughed as they registered for the class. “I sure hope you are good at English, 'cause I can’t fail a class my first semester.”

  Tracy smiled. “I got your back.”

  That’s how it was throughout their time at Harmon: Ashley had Tracy’s back and Tracy had Ashley’s back. Not even Ashley’s friends were able to penetrate the bond the two of them developed during their time at Harmon. As for Ashley’s friends, Tracy liked both of them, but she did not fit into Cynthia’s idea of a Harmon girl. To Cynthia, Tracy was from the wrong side of the tracks and did not belong. She referred to Tracy often as “the wannabe from the projects.” Tracy’s family did not come from money and no one was involved in politics, law, medicine or any other influential career. In addition to that, Tracy was not fly girl material; she did not act, look or dress the part.

  Tracy was not hard on the eyes by any stretch of the imagination. She was 5 foot 6, 125 pounds, with a smooth paper bag brown complexion, and very curvy, but no one would ever know it. Tracy’s entire wardrobe consisted of jeans, big white tee shirts and Nike Air Force One sneakers. She had all the right equipment, but just did not know how to display it. She was what the guys would dub “what if.” What if she dressed differently? Or, what if she got her hair styled? But those surface issues did not faze Tracy. Her goal was to get a degree in business administration, start her own business by the age of 21 and be on her way to Oprah-rich by 30. She did not have time to be concerned with makeup, clothes, partying or men. Her objective was making enough money to never have to go home to live again. Her objective was about to change. She was about to meet Ashley’s brother, JD.