“I hope this one’s a girl,” Seth said, taking Shiloh from me just to irritate him. Shiloh immediately frowned. “I need a daddy’s girl. I’m surrounded by mama’s boys.”
Rich shook his head dramatically. “A girl? Man, do I got enough guns for a goddaughter? Might need to start buying grenades.”
Most people would laugh at the comment thinking he was playing. Me I wasn’t too sure if he was.
Everyone flowed back into the music and celebration, coming up to hug us, congratulate us, toast us. It was love everywhere filling the room just how I hoped.
But then I saw it.
Out the corner of my eye Jo chasing after Noah, who pushed through the exit with a look on his face I didn’t like. Something dark, something I didn’t have the strength to face right now.
I swallowed, leaning into Seth’s side.
Tonight was supposed to be joyful. Tonight was our moment. Whatever was going on with Noah, I told myself I’d deal with it tomorrow.
Chapter
Twenty
NOAH
“Noah, listen to me.” Jo’s voice came soft, but there was an edge to it as if she was walking the line between patience and pleading. “I know you hurtin’. I know.All of this has been a lot. On all of us. But life is changing, you gotta change with us.”
I gripped the steering wheel tighter, eyes locked on the road as I weaved through traffic I had something to prove. My jaw clenched, heart beating too fast for me to breathe steady.
“You and Stormi changing for a nigga,” I spat. The anger was hot in my chest, and I didn’t care how ugly it came out. “That’s what it is. Y’all forgot where we came from soon as a little money and muscle came around.”
Jo didn’t flinch. She never did, but I saw her shake her head out the corner of my eye.
“Yeah,” she said, calm but firm. “Your sister married now. But don’t act like Stormi never wanted better for us. Before Seth, with Seth, even without him. She wanted more. For you. For herself. For all of us.”
“We could’ve had better!” I snapped. “We didn’t need Seth for that. Stormi didn’t need to get caught up in his war, his enemies, his bullshit! She almost died, Jo!”
My voice cracked on that last word, and I hated the way it sounded. Hated how close the truth sat behind it.
Jo’s hand reached for my thigh, resting there gently. That damn soft voice of hers came back, the one she started using ever since Stormi got shot like she was scared to say the wrong thing, scared I’d break into pieces she couldn’t pick up.
“It just so happened to align that way, baby,” she explained. “Stormi didn’t choose pain. It chose her. She just chose to fight through it.”
I didn’t say anything. Couldn’t. That tight feeling was crawling up my throat again, the one that felt like rage and grief all twisted together.
“Whatever,” I muttered, eyes burning. “I could’ve killed Dre.”
Jo didn’t react right away. She just looked at me for a moment she was trying to see past the anger; past the defense mechanisms and the hoodie I kept pulled low over my eyes.
“Can I read you something?” she asked, voice almost a whisper now.
I didn’t answer. Just side eyed her that look I always gave when I wasn’t tryna hear it but couldn’t outright say no either. I already knew what it was. She’d been carrying that damn letter around for months, tucked in her purse as if it was her lifeline.
She was supposed to read it the day Stormi got shot. I remembered her begging me to come to the therapy session. Tell me how we needed to rebuild our family. And after that she keptholding it like a secret she was scared I’d never let her share. I exhaled slow, my fingers still gripping the wheel.
“Jo... not now.”
“Please.” She didn’t push, just asked.
And something in me cracked. “Go ahead.”
To my baby boy,
