“No, ma’am,” I confessed.
“So, you’re Kannon?”
I turned to find a younger version of Carteay with a bushy ponytail standing behind me with her hands on her hips. Her smile grew when our eyes connected. I went ahead and nodded.
“I am.”
“You’re a strong man to put up with my sister. I like you already,” she told me.
“Thank you.”
“And he’s fine, Sis. Where she been hiding you?”
“I like to keep a low profile.”
“Try to keep this one, Sis. You know how I feel about that other situation.”
“Candice, bring your hot ass in here and help me find those albums,” Carteay’s mom yelled out.
Candice rolled her eyes. “Oh Lord, she’s about to pull out our baby pictures.”
“I can’t wait to see them.”
“You’re saying that now.” Carteay giggled.
“Can I holler at you for a minute?” I asked her, motioning toward the bedroom with my head.
Carteay’s eyes darted toward her mom and sister before landing back on me. “Um, sure.”
I led the way to the room, turning around once I was by the bed. Carteay walked in apprehensively. There was no need for me to tell her not to worry, because she wouldn’t listen. The best thing I could do was be honest with her.
“Carrie, baby, I promise I’m going to do everything I can do to come right back to you.”
“You’re leaving?”
“I can’t waste too much time, C. I got the information I need to get this over with. If I don’t make it back, I need you to know that you were loved by me.”
“Kannon, don’t even think like that.”
“Just listen, Carteay. I want you to know that you and that strawberry growing inside you mean the world to me. Let him know that. If I’m not here to say those words to my son, I need him to know that I loved him and that I loved you.”
“You can tell him yourself, Kannon. Promise me that.”
“I promise that I’ll do everything I can.”
“That’s all I ask.”
Carteay’s rapid blinking didn’t stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks. Her phone rang, making both of us look down.
“What the hell does Cyrus want?” she mumbled.
“Answer it,” I told her.
She rolled her eyes but still swiped the screen to answer the call. “Hello?”
“Put him on speaker.”
She hit the button, and Cyrus’s voice filled the room. “Carteay?”
