ZEN'S ZENITH (Zen Cooper Book 6)

For the past almost two years Zen Cooper had been traveling the world as a dancer and had become renown for her grace, elegance and style. She was a mixture of dance styles and sometimes watching her was like being in church, other times a jazz club and still in others, you mentally saw her on a pole. It was hard to categorize the beautiful dark chocolate woman who had just celebrated her twenty-fourth birthday dancing at The Theatre, de la ville in Paris. She was really the toast of Paris dance, having danced there more than anywhere and in many other European countries but she needed to go home. She had a neglected love affair with Marcellus who was fast becoming a sought after artist and she missed home. Center City was where her father, Charlie, mom, Frieda, little brother and grandmother were and though she had flown in an out and they visited her, she needed home.
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Marcellus’ intent with Zen had always been to be the right man, the man who would not demand her time or stand in the way of her successes because he was on a trajectory to success of his own but he missed her and wanted and needed to see her more than he admitted. Having lost his mother and gaining a long lost father and new brother, both of whom he had grown to love was a boon but there was no comparison to Zen. He had been advised that they were both young and should soar and fly before committing but that hadn’t lessened his yearning for her and sometimes his unexpressed feelings about her being gone. He needed her and it was past time to see where they were and where they were going, if anywhere.
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Charlie Jones held his wife Frieda on his paint splattered lap. He had been working fast and furiously on a one man show and wanted it to be done before Zen returned home for at least a year. Zen was the daughter who had loved from afar while suffering with mental illness and only in the last few years had they become a true family when her mother Frieda finally married him three years earlier. They had a two year old son, he adored but no one and nothing was like his Zen. Frieda looked up at him, a smile on her face.
“You are so excited about your baby coming home and promising not to travel for a year, aren’t you?” She teased. He grinned at her sheepishly.
“I am. That is my baby and I am so proud of her. She is a true miracle considering her father used to be vet with bi-polar issues that were untreated…”
“And her mom was in denial about everything… I know but Charlie you were always about her and her wellbeing and none of that really matters now. Just don’t forget we have two babies…”
“How could I? CJ is running things… and I actually have three babies, the forty one year old in my lap, wreaking havoc with my libido is baby one.” She wriggled a bit, giggling.
“And don’t you forget it either…”
Frieda had always been a bit jealous of the bond Charlie and Zen shared, as embarrassed as she was to admit it.