Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins

someone to love and live out your old age in contentment as I plan to do.”
    â€œI need to help, Drew.”
    Andrew paused and said seriously, “There are other men helping in their own way. Leave it to them. I don’t want you lynched or beaten to death. Even White men are being killed by the supremacists now.”
    â€œI know, and I appreciate your concern, but a stand has to be made to protect the gains made since the war. If I can put myself in a position of power to do so, why shouldn’t I?”
    â€œBecause not even you can stop the backsliding Republicans. Every day they’re moving farther away from what they once stood for. Your people have taken to calling them Lily White Republicans.”
    â€œI know, and it’s very apt.”
    After using the Black vote to swing political power their way and elect Grant to the presidency, more and more Republicans were now focused on gaining White voters in order to hold onto that power. Many were turning a blind eye to the rampaging supremacist groups like the Klan and the Order of the White Camellias even as their members were killing Colored men on their way to cast votes for candidates running on the Republican slate. It was maddening, but Rhine felt uniquely qualified to be a voice for those who did care, because of his passion, education, and ability to pass for White. He may have turned his back on being Black, but not on his race. Politics aside, he asked something that had been plaguing him. “Have you heard from Mavis?” Mavis was Drew’s sister and Rhine’s half sister.
    â€œNo. I hired the Pinkertons. If anyone can find her, they can. Hopefully she’s still among the living.” Just as Drew and Rhine were connected by their close birth dates, so were their sisters. Mavis and the enslaved Sable had been born six minutes apart.
    â€œAny word on Sable?” Drew asked.
    â€œNo, I’m still placing yearly notices in all the big papers, hoping she’ll see it, but so far nothing. If we are fortunate enough to be reunited, I’m not sure how Natalie will react, but I miss her dearly. I may have to go the Pinkerton route as well.”
    â€œRhine, I know you’re rowing your own boat, but is Natalie really the woman you want to bind your life to?”
    Drew had been married for three years to the daughter of one of his clients. Her name was Freda, and they had a two-­year-­old son named for Drew. The way she and Drew lit up a room in each other’s presence testified to their strong loving bond. A part of Rhine envied that closeness, but having never known love, he was certain he could live his life very well without it. He cared for Natalie, but as he’d stated, the marriage would be one of convenience, nothing more. Eddy’s face played across his mind but he instantly pushed the image away. “I’ll be fine.” He looked past the doubt in his brother’s eyes and his own inner doubts and steered the conversation to a subject they both enjoyed: money, stocks, and profit.
    Later that night, while lying in the bed in Drew and Freda’s guest room, Rhine thought about Drew’s advice on both politics and life. Rhine was certain he could make a difference, but did he really need to do it on such a grand stage? He’d thought about running for Congress but in truth wasn’t sure whether to actually pursue a political career. He was already on the city council, where he and a few other like-­minded Republicans were doing their best to keep the Colored community’s rights from being trampled. He was also helping in small, quieter ways by making loans and investing in businesses the White bankers refused to service. Knowing he had the ability to pass for White was one of the reasons he’d crossed over, that and that he hated being treated like less than a man simply because of the circumstances of his birth. By walking among those who deemed themselves