Page 65 of A Hood Wife And A Rich Goon

“Love you my babies.” Lotus kissed the top of each of their heads.

Javon examined his baby girl and extended a hand to stroke her cheek. Right now, she looked more like her mother than ever. Her glossy eyes blinked a few times, and he knew she was trying to hold it together. He pulled her into a hug, and Lotus exhaled in his arms while holding him tight. She hadn’t realized how much she needed that until they pushed away from each other.

“I love you, Lo. You don’t ever have to keep anything from me. You still my baby girl, and I’m always here if you need me. You better call me and let me know what’s going on.” He thumbed her chin and gently kissed her forehead.

“That makes two of us.” Kissa pulled her into her arms. “I know you think I’m always in your business.”

“Because you are,” Lotus voiced with a chuckle.

“Always with the right intention, though.”

“I know, Ma.” She groaned with an annoyed eyeroll.

“I can’t tell you what to do⁠—”

“But you can still tell me what to do.” Lotus leaned against the doorframe.

“You have an entire village behind you. You know that, right?” Kissa checked with her.

“It’s not as simple as that, Ma. I’m going to make a doctor’s appointment to confirm everything, and I’ll let everybody know what I decide when I decide it. Please don’t go running your mouth to your friends or anyone else,” Lotus begged.

“Goodnight. Get some rest.” Kissa blew her a kiss before turning to leave with the rest of the family.

“What you still doing up?” Bull was in all black when he stepped into his home after midnight. Everything was still, but the warm fire from the living room drew his attention, and he found Toni seated beside it. Sipping wine and smoking a joint while looking into the burning wood, her head turned when he entered.

“Just thinking,” she answered, eyes low while turning back to the fire and resting her palm over the rim of her glass.

“Everything okay?” Bull slowly slipped his hoodie over his head.

“Yeah.” Toni’s brows drew together, and he knelt so he could slide in behind her.

With both knees bent, he reached for the joint in her hand and kissed her gently.

“Why don’t you tell me what’s going on in that busy ass head?” he suggested, taking a tug off the joint and holding the smoke.

“I was just looking around at all we have, and… I’m grateful. It’s not traditional, but we make it work. Our kids are happy, and they have everything I never had and then some.” She tipped the glass to her lips.

“True.” He nodded.

“You saved my life. In more ways than one,” she confessed. “I didn’t really have any direction. Having Breeze and Jou Jou gives me a purpose. I was aimless before they came along. When my mama married Urso, the only thing I had was school. I participated in as many after school programs as I could, so I didn’t have to go home and deal with them. Mostly the stuff that didn’t cost a lot because it wasn’t like my family was going to pay for it. When I graduated, I got a partial scholarship and went to college, but finding a career was a different story. Most places are looking for people to do internships, and I couldn’t afford that. So, I went from one dead-end job to the next.”

“Do you know what you want to do?” Bull asked, passing the joint in her direction.

“At first, I thought I wanted to do social work, but there is so much politics and other bullshit you have to go through when you’re in that field. I know I want to serve. It’s what I’m good at. Lately, I can’t stop thinking about the cost of sports and other after school activities. I thought about starting a foundation or becoming one of those fundraiser type people. When I was in middle school and high school, we would organize drives for different things to get money if the school didn’t have it. I wouldn’t know where to start, though.”

“What if you had the opportunity to start your own foundation?” he presented, a light bulb going off when he thought about some people he might know. “Something run by you and a team of people with the same vision. You could create your own policies and run things how you see fit,” Bull suggested.

“It sounds too good to be true. Something like that takes time, connections, and a lot of money.”

“What would you think about maybe getting your feet wet first? See if it’s something you genuinely want to do, and then take it from there?”

“I would be interested, but what about the kids? We would have to do daycare, and I really don’t want some stranger taking care of them.” She puffed her joint again and let the smoke sit in her lungs before her eyes lit up. “What did you think about Lotus?”

“Jewel’s sister?” Bull frowned before shrugging. “She seemed cool. Free spirited, shit talking.”

“The kids adored her. She said she was a nanny for some rich couple, and she has a degree in child psychology. She practically raised Jewel’s daughters,” Toni went on, the idea suddenly making perfect sense.

She loved Lotus’s entire vibe, even off just the one interaction they’d had.