She frowned. “Go eat. I can’t do shit about that, unfortunately. We’ll catch up on the details later. Tonight is about you. You deserve all my attention. I’m worried about Aunt Syn and the kids, but I know my people are on top of that shit.”
I stroked her cheek with my thumb, suddenly feeling bad about her putting me before them. That shit was different.Normally, I would have been pissed beyond words had she put them before me.
“Baby, if you wanna go to the barn, we can go. I won’t be upset. We can always go out another night.”
“Nope.” She glanced at Bali, and said, “Are you wanting to stay?”
Bali’s face adorned the same frown hers did a minute ago. “Hell naw. I’m hungry as fuck. We’ll find out what’s going on when we get back. I’m pretty sure they are going to bring them back to Texas.”
Noni smiled at me, and said, “Come on. Let’s go.”
I walked around the vehicle, feeling happy as shit as she told Ashanni to go inside and get off her feet. She was full-term, so they knew she could go into labor at any moment. If I remembered correctly what Asad had told us, she was due in like two weeks. I couldn’t wait for my little niece to get here. If she was as calm as my nephew was, she would be a joy to be around. Jayceon was just like Asad. He asked a lot of questions at times, but he was a good kid.
After getting inside the truck, I grabbed Noni’s hand and kissed it, then checked my rearview mirror to see Carter had driven away. I backed out and followed him. Once we were on Highway 90, I grabbed Noni’s hand and gently caressed the top of it with my thumb. Despite her words before we left her house, I knew she was worried and wanting to be at the barn. As soon as we were done eating, we would be heading back to find out what was going on.
“Noni?”
She turned to me and gave me a slight smile. “Yes?”
“I love you so much. Thank you for sticking by me. I can’t thank you enough for that shit. You are the woman I was meant to live the rest of my life with and for.”
Her face reddened slightly as she said, “I love you, too, Red, more with each passing day.”
My face heated up so I knew it was probably red, too. I still wasn’t used to her expressing herself so freely. She told me that she’d spoken to Maui about opening up to me. I supposed her having someone to encourage her to do so made it a little easier for her. She said even Bali had been encouraging about the whole thing. That shit was surprising, knowing how she truly felt about me. She had been a little easier on me since what happened at the rodeo, but I would be a fool to think she couldn’t flip the fucking script on my ass for something I did six months ago.
When we got to Hearsay, I thought about how my dad said he and Uncle Legend had gone on double dates with my mama and Aunt Harper here. It used to be a restaurant called Suga’s, though. I smiled as I parked, realizing how our lives were mimicking theirs. They married first cousins, and Carter and I would marry twins.
After parking, I got out and walked around to help Noni out. Bali rushed over to us, and I frowned slightly. Some shit had gone down. I knew I should have taken her to the barn.
“They separated them from Uncle Marcus! Missus Taylor and Shy are trying to find where Aunt Syn and the kids are. Ace and PJ left for Dilley. They gon’ lock they ass up, too.”
“I thought Ace and Malia were supposed to be with them in Puerto Rico.”
Bali shook her head. “Ace had said he wasn’t running from shit, so Malia stayed with him.”
Noni’s lip twitched like she would cry any minute. She grabbed Bali’s hands, and I watched them both swallow hard and take deep breaths. They nodded and turned to us like nothing happened and smiled. I frowned slightly, trying tounderstand what had happened. I glanced over at Carter as he slid his arms around Bali’s waist.
I went to Noni and kissed the side of her head. She released Bali’s hands and turned to me, sliding her arms around my waist. We were almost the same height with the heels she’d worn. She had to be every bit of six feet two inches with them on. She rested her face against mine and took a deep breath. When their phones chimed, they both pulled away from us to check them.
I took that time to go to Carter. “Man, I think we should get something quick and take them back to Nome to be with their family.”
“I was thinking the same thing. Actually, I’m pretty sure Aunt Jen and Aunt Chrissy got the food covered.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
I looked back over at them to see them hugging each other. We walked over to them, and I said, “Come on, baby. Let’s get back to Nome.”
She fell against me. “I’m so sorry. We want to celebrate y’all.”
“Don’t worry. We have time for that shit. Let’s get back to the barn. Was there more news?”
“There was a mix-up. Aunt Syn is in Dilley with the kids. Uncle Marcus is in Louisiana. They are trying to deport him to Mexico. How can they do that shit? He’s an American citizen! They were forceful with Aunt Syn and the kids when they separated them from Uncle Marcus.”
I held her in my arms for a moment, trying to calm her down. I couldn’t imagine what he was feeling. I was pretty sure he got hostile when they separated them. I just hoped they were all unharmed.
CHAPTER 22
BALI
