Berotte Family

A love lost is hard, especially when that loss appears in your face weekly, reminding you of what once was. Anissa Dent is experiencing heartbreak like none she's ever felt. Her husband of nearly twenty years has fallen victim to crack cocaine after a devastating loss. All her efforts to help him have failed, and to protect herself and her sons, she divorces him and has him removed from their home. That doesn't stop him from popping in and out of their lives with promises of getting clean. Anissa desperately wants to move on in her life, but her love for what once was is holding her back. However, attending a family barbeque with her son proves to be the restart she desperately needs. The host penetrates her exterior and has her questioning why she's been single for the last fifteen years with someone like him available. Grief can be a hard thing to overcome. Sheldon Berotte has been grieving the loss of his wife for nearly twenty-five years, not giving another relationship a second thought. When she dies during childbirth, he is left to raise their five children, all under the age of ten, alone. His in-laws all live out of town, so help was minimal. However, he stepped up to the plate and devoted his life to his children. Now that they are grown, they are worried about him. He has lost his ability to even entertain other people, nearly becoming a recluse. The only thing that gives him purpose is volunteering as security at one of the local high schools. Allowing his children to convince him into having a family barbeque and them inviting some of their friends and their families, is the moment his life changes forever. Anissa and Sheldon have immediate chemistry that he tries to fight. The feeling of guilt consumes him and threatens to destroy their future before they can even have a present. Can Sheldon let go of the torment guilt is putting him through and embrace the budding relationship between him and Anissa or will he allow her to slip from his fingertips?

Gangsta is a state of mind and a state of being… Everything I do is gangsta. Joel Knight, although the righthand of a kingpin, is a boss in his own right. Being raised by his father, who was a part of a kingpin's inner circle, afforded him knowledge of the streets. His name is feared simply because he has followed in his father's footsteps. He's never known his mother and has no desire to even know who she is. Recently leaving the game behind and traveling the world, he's determined to find out what his next steps should be. While in Puerto Rico, he takes part in what he believes is an island rendezvous. However, when he sees her two years later in Houston, she smooths out his rough demeanor and has him questioning life as it is. I need a gangsta to always be down for me… handling me like I'm the only woman that matters. Losing her father at a young age, Keondra Mott has learned to make things happen on her own. Observing the code of the streets from the small amount of time she had with him proves to serve her well. She's a no-nonsense type of woman and feels like if a man can do it, so can she, especially regarding her love life. While she's looking for love, she's far from being desperate. She's about her money and about experiencing the pleasures life has to offer. All that comes to a screeching halt when she reconnects with a fling from a vacation two years prior. While hiding her true emotions to guard her heart, being around him makes her weak. Gangsta loving at its best… that's what's required. Fighting the feeling is the type of time Joel is on, and Keondra doesn't mind following suit. He doesn't know how to accept his emotions for what they are, because he's always had to be hard and unapproachable. Keondra doesn't want just another notch on her studded belt, but she refuses to accept his potential to be better and refuses to wait for him to fulfill it. Joel has a decision to make, but will he have the ability to make the right one?

Loving hard doesn't do anyone any good when the love isn't reciprocated. If Rondo Simpson could have a do over in his love life, he would jump at the opportunity. The woman he's loved for over ten years has committed the ultimate betrayal and has convinced him that love just isn't in the cards for him. Even attempts at love before her seemed to be one-sided and leaves him heartbroken. However, unexpectedly, the type of woman he's been longing for walks into his life when everything is in disarray, stealing his attention from the word go. Dinalee Cadien knows what it feels like to give her all to the man she loves, and it still not be enough. Now a single mother and divorcee, life just isn't what she thought it would be. After being stationed in a city where she doesn't know anyone, Dinalee attempts to make the best of it, creating a new start for herself and her children, thinking this is what's best for them. A fateful day at the gas station changes everything. Rondo and Dinalee are on the fast track to something special, but unfortunate incidents cause doubt and hesitancy to rear their ugly heads, bringing their journey to a screeching halt. Their intense connection suffers, because they can't seem to move past their insecurities about love. Will they fight for what they know their love can become, or will they continue to let destiny elude them and allow complacency to set in?