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“Yes, it did.”

“Girl, go get the pillows out the bag.”

She rolled her eyes but did what I asked. By the time MJ came back with the rest of the decorations, we had the mantel finished and the coffee table cleared. I pulled a couple of throw pillows out of the bags while Maylee arranged small pumpkins along the sideboard.

MJ stood in the middle of the room holding a folded blanket like he was waiting for somebody to give him instructions.

“Put that on the couch,” I told him.

“Where?”

“On the couch, MJ.”

“I know that. Which side?”

I stared at him, and he stared back. It was a throw blanket, so I expected him to know that he could toss it over the back of the couch or at the far end of the sectional, but I should have damn known better.

“Actually, give it here,” I said.

“Nah, nah. I got it.” He tossed it over the arm of the couch and spread it out with one hand. “See? Interior designer.”

“You better not quit your day job,” I quickly responded.

He laughed and dropped onto the couch. I pulled my phone out to check the time. Daddy and Mama were supposed to be leaving the rehabilitation facility soon. She had insisted on handling the discharge paperwork herself, even though she was far enough along in her pregnancy that Daddy had been fussing at her about doing too much. I had offered to go with them, but she told me to stay home and help get everything ready, and for once, I hadn’t argued.

My phone buzzed while I was checking it.

Trigga: You make it back?

I smiled and typed a response.

Yes. Bags and all.

He wasted no time responding to me.

Trigga: Proud of you, baby.

I read the message twice before putting my phone down.

“What are you smiling at?” Maylee asked.

“Nothing.”

“Liar.”

“Mind your business.”

MJ looked over from the couch.

“She’s talking to Tahari. Who else?”

“Don’t you have something to do?” I asked him with my face turned up.

“Yeah. Sit here until Pops gets home.”

He grinned and stretched his legs out across the coffee table. I knocked his feet down as I walked past. I had some things to tend to in the kitchen. A little while later, the house finally started to look the way I had pictured it. The living room was warm with orange, cream, and brown decorations, and Maylee had even gone back and picked up the fake leaves in the foyer without me having to tell her again. MJ had disappeared into the kitchen to check on the food, which meant he was probably sneaking something out of one of the containers. I was standing near the mantel, trying to decide whether the last pumpkin looked better on the left or the right, when my phone rang.

Mama Love