"He needs his food, Granny. His stomach can't take table food."
Swift realized then how much he loved Papa. He walked into his life by barking at him, getting his attention. He didn't even recognize he was lost when it came to forming new bonds outside his family until Papa showed up.
"How 'bout you CartDash it, and I'll be here to get it. Now go before your granddaddy gets here. He'll keep you up all night, playing that damn banjo and drinking hooch." She leaned forward and whispered, "Do the Steels got any left around there? That Lucky sho' nuff made the best hooch. I'm gonna miss him. It's a damn shame what happened."
That was the first Swift had heard about hooch, or that Lucky had made any. He scratched his head, wondering what else he didn't know about the Steels.
"I don't know, but I'll find out. Until then, I'll CartDash Papa some dog food." He chuckled, loving how she combined Instacart and DoorDash.
"Papa, you cool with staying?" Papa barked once, then ran and sat next to Granny, his head on her foot. Swift knew then that Papa had the power to pull people in, the same way he'd done with him the first time he saw him.
"You made it?"They slapped hands when Money opened the door to his hotel room. He finally had some time away from Tasha, and unlike Swift, he had plans to find some random pussy to fall inside of.
"Hell yeah." Swift entered the hotel room and smirked. "Nigga, what you think you're about to have, a bachelor party? Granny has three bedrooms. You could have crashed at her crib or Uncle Law's. Does your daddy know you're in town?"
"Pfft, you already know he does, but I'm not refereeing anything those two have going on. I stopped by the liquor store and ran into Quick. Remember, he threw the best parties, even when we were in middle school? His mama would be at workovernight at the hospital, and he had a whole party in his backyard. The summers used to be crazy."
"Hell yeah." Swift took the seat facing the most populated area, downtown Pellum, but because Money was on the top floor, he could see the next city, Lancaster. "What are you getting into while you're here, nigga?"
Swift wanted to see if Money came out of concern or curiosity. Crazily, he couldn't even tell him what was going on. All Swift knew was that he'd been walking around in his head while Star stayed hidden in her bedroom or would leave without him knowing. She wouldn't stay gone long, but she also didn't let him know where she'd been. It was frustrating as hell, and because he'd never checked a woman about how she moved, he didn't even know how to approach Starlah.
"Shit, Tastees! Quick said that he's deejaying tonight and tomorrow night, and they are giving away cash prizes to amateur strippers." Money grabbed a bottle of bourbon and opened it, pouring himself a glass. "Want some?"
"Naw." Swift shook his head.
"Say, what you're not about to do is sit like you lost your goddamn best friend." He stood and lifted both arms. "Bitch, that's me! Your fucking best friend."
Swift couldn't help but laugh, realizing how much he missed his cousin.
"I know. I just… Shit, pour me a glass."
"Exactly, nigga. I ain't trying to get all in your business, but I figured I need to holla at you, find where your head is."
"Moms done put all my shit out there, huh?" He took the glass, swirled it a few times, then downed it. "Whew, that shit's smooth."
"Hell yeah, and this." Money pulled out a small jar and slid it across the table close to Swift. "Open it up."
Switch looked at him suspiciously because Money was known to have the weakest weed. Anytime they chilled, and most times, which wasn't often because Swift drove for a living, Money would have the worst grade of marijuana.
"Bells and Bliss?" Swift recited, reading the label on the jar.
"Quick said they sell that shit in this store where they sell girly products. The owner, I think her name is Charlie, has that marijuana dispensary on lock. He had about three of these. This is pineapple-infused marijuana. I'm thinking about tapping into that."
"Thought you wanted in on the trucking shit?"
"I do, but to stay ahead, we need three to four streams of income. Tasha's hood as shit, but she reads different books to me and has me following those financial strategists on TikTok. Women are good for more than fucking, Swift."
Swift knew. He couldn't wait to see Starlah back at the mechanic shop, doing her thing. He'd even heard she rode horses almost better than professional riders.
"So, what do you say? We're going to Tastees, or what? Just looking, no touching. You're almost a committed man," he jested when Swift smirked. "Aye, ain't nothing wrong with that, but let's have some fun. Give Starlah some space."
"I have," Swift grunted, but he'd mostly ignored her. He knew that wasn't exactly the same, but it led to the same result. He was missing her.
"One night, then tomorrow we'll figure out how you can go get your girl."
"You sure you ain't lowkey married Tasha, nigga?" Swift asked. Money grinned but shook his head. "Lying motherfucker but thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. Let's see what's going on with Tastees first."
