Page 63 of Memphis

“So…you hate yourself?”

She smiled and shook her head, eyes still on the table. “No, I think I envy her. I envy that you love her so much. I could see it in you when you brought her to meet me for the first time. I knew you’d give her the world…and you did.”

I frowned. “Ain’t that how love is supposed to work?”

“In theory, yes. Didn’t work out like that for me.”

“So, all this time, it was jealousy….”

Finally, her eyes met mine again. “Yes. Your love for her endured all these years, and I realize you purposely didn’t have children with Layla because of Memphis. I thank you for Tavares, though. He’s a light.”

“Tavares is an ungrateful ass.”

“He’s misunderstood.”

“Like Zaccai, huh? You love to make excuses for sorry ass niggas.”

“You’re so much like your father; it’s actually a little frightening. He was so no-nonsense.”

I shrugged. “What’s going on, Ma? Why are we here?”

She sighed, her gaze now out the window beside us. “I’m getting old. As I said, I want to be a part of your life.”

I smiled. “Don’t worry. I won’t cut you off as long as you show my wife the respect she deserves. An apology would be nice, too.”

“I’m not worried about money. I want my son. I love you.”

Our eyes were locked, and though she looked and sounded sincere, my cold-ass heart couldn’t accept it. She’d wreaked too much havoc in my life, upending my one real source of happiness—Memphis King.

So, all I did was grunt, “I’ll think about it.”

35

“So, your sister lunch was a hit, huh?” Bo asked.

We were in my favorite position—naked, skin to skin with my face in his chest inhaling a scent I’d memorized decades ago, the fragrance ofhim.

“Yep. We decided to take turns hosting lunch every couple of weeks. Umber volunteered for the next one, but I’ma haveto make an excuse to miss it. I ain’t tryna eat some damn fried squirrel legs out in the middle of nowhere,” I replied.

He chuckled. “Why you acting like she lives in a lean-to or a pop-up tent or something?”

“Close enough. It’s a damn decommissioned fire lookout tower thing, or at least the cabin attached to it. She has a pre-law degree but decided not to go to law school, came home from college, worked a corporate job, saved her money, and bought her place. I don’t know. I think between our mom’s death and her first love ghosting her, she just said fuck it and decided to commune with nature, hunting and foraging for food.”

“Damn. She still working the corporate job?”

“No, she owns her own hiking coordination company or something like that. It’s called Trill Trailblazers. It keeps her bills paid.”

“She leads the hikes or just plans them?”

“Both. She’s hiked all over the country.”

“Damn, she must be in top tier shape.”

“Right.”

“My mom is jealous of you,” he said randomly.

“Huh? She told you that?”

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