“You know I love you, too.”
Nodding, she said, “I do. Just so you know, I cannot be held liable for what I do to Preston when you’re no longer the buffer.”
I chuckled. “Leave the man alone. I don’t know why y’all keep hanging out if you can’t get along.”
“I feel sorry for his dopey ass.”
“Right.”
“I’m so serious. He needs help. I can’t wait until he finds a woman.” She slid into car. “Bye, Coop. Answer your damn phone next time I call.”
“Maybe. Bye, Dallas.” I closed her door and waited until she drove off before I left.
* * *
“Mr. Cooper?”
I looked down at Mehki, who was cuddled up next to me. Instead of asking me to read him a story, he’d asked me to explain to him why I thought Spider-Man wasn’t the greatest Avenger. The six-year-old had already made up his mind, so he had an argument ready for every point I attempted to make. In the end, we agreed to disagree.
“Yeah, Lil Man?”
“When we move into our house, are you still going to come see us?”
I peered into his innocent brown eyes. The question caught me off guard. I didn’t want to tell him yes, and I couldn’t tell him no. “Do you want me to come see you?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yes. I would miss you if you didn’t come see me. I want you to marry my Mommie so I can have a Daddy. When I grow up, I want to build houses like you.”
My throat closed up. Clearing it, I said, “Really?” Having a legacy, someone to take overmybusiness was a dream I didn’t know I had before now.
“Yes. And I hope my hands get as big as yours so I can shuffle cards like you do.”
I laughed, remembering our game of Uno last night. “You’ll get there soon enough.”
“Mommie smiles when you’re here. She sings more. Not just lullabies but love songs.”
Mehki was killing me, systematically taking me apart with his words. He was so sincere, so honest, I couldn’t lie to him. “I’m happy when your mom is here, too.” On my birthday last month, she’d called me and sang Happy Birthday on my voicemail. I lost count of the amount of times I’d listened to the recording. “And I’m glad she’s singing.”
Angel had confessed that she loved to sing, but for so long she didn’t have anything to sing about.
“She’s good,” he said.
She’s my Angel. “I agree.”
“Mr. Cooper?”
“Yes, Lil Man?”
“I love you.”
Closing my eyes, I let out a slow breath. “I love you, too. And you don’t have to worry about what happens when you move into the house. I’m always going to be here for you if you need me.”
“Alright, boys.” Angel ventured into the room. “Time for this little one to get some sleep.”
I slid off the bed and watched her tuck Mehki in. Once she finished, we walked out into the living room.
“He was so sad we couldn’t finish the game of Monopoly we started last night,” she said.
“He mentioned it the moment I got here.” The board was still set up on the kitchen table. But Lil Man fell asleep right before he landed on Boardwalk and had to give me all of his money. “Maybe we can finish tomorrow.”
