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“Your daddy loved you with everything in him. The last thing he would’ve wanted was for his son to spend the rest of his life wondering.”

Kaiden immediately started crying. I opened my arms and Kaiden hesitated for a minute before he fell into them. I was trying to hold myself together, but the tears started falling out of my eyes.

“Kaiden, you don’t have to be the man of this family. I want you to just be a kid.”

“Why?” he asked, as I wiped off his tears. “That’s what my daddy would’ve wanted.”

“No, he would’ve wanted you to be a child. That is what your Uncle Meek is for.”

“You still got your dad.”

“But guess what?”

“What?” He leaned up.

“I never had my mama. So, I understand how you feel.”

“Really?”

“Yep, I’ve only had my daddy. I never had a woman teach me how to be a woman. But you still got your uncle to teach you everything from here on out.”

“Thank you, Ms. Kyenna.”

“Why are you thanking me?”

“Because you’re still letting us come over here like our daddy will walk through the door at any minute.”

“This is still your home. Whenever you need to feel close to him you let me know, and I’ll come and get you. Deal?”

“Deal,” he said.

“You can take as many pictures as you want back home with you. When you’re ready, come downstairs and get some breakfast.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Hours later, Khari had her swim cap on so she wouldn’t mess up her hair as she jumped into the pool. One thing Rah did was teach all three of the kids to swim. Even though they knew how, I still wouldn’t allow them back there without supervision. Kaiden finally appeared out of the house with his swim trunks on and jumped right in with her. This was the first time I had seen him laugh and Rah not be around. My heart was still grieving but this gave me peace. I sat there soaking in the sun, my phone buzzed.

“Mrs. King,” Grif said.

“Please call me Kyenna, Grif.”

“I’m sorry to bother you, Kyenna. The liquor shipment just came, and Monday’s schedule is packed.”

“Whatever it is, I’ll deal with it tomorrow. I only have a few more hours with the kids.”

“Yes ma’am. Have a good rest of your evening.”

As the sun was setting, I was pulling up to Averie’s house to drop the kids off. This was my first time seeing where she laid her head. It really wasn’t my business before. Now that we shared the kids, it was. I helped Khari out and walked them to the door where Averie was waiting. Surprisingly, Kaiden gave me a hug. Even his mama was shocked. I hugged him back and then hugged Khari.

“They’ve eaten and had their baths. I really appreciate you for doing this for me.”

“No problem. I see you and Kaiden had a breakthrough,” she said, putting her hand on her hip.

I wasn’t sure if it was shade or if she was genuine. This shit was new and I was trying to read her. I thought we had gotten somewhere yesterday. Today, she was giving me something else.

“Yes, we had a conversation.”

“You have a way with the King men. I’ll call you if they ask to come over.”