Page 47 of Love Set Me Free

“Mama!” Paisley exclaimed in amusement.

“She ain’t say nothing wrong,” Leon, her father, said from his spot at the grill.

Paisley looked up at Kydrick nervously before glancing at Linda and Charles, who sat next to her mother. Sensing her hesitation, Kydrick leaned down and kissed her temple.

“You good?”

Paisley’s eyes traveled over to Jaden and Janelle who sat at a picnic table, watching their children play with a ball while pretending not to notice them. She shrugged before nodding.

“Yeah. It’ll just take some getting used to.”

They walked over to Linda and Charles.

“Happy birthday, ol’ lady,” Kydrick said, giving Linda a hug.

“Boy, I’ll show you old.” Linda hugged him back before pinching him on the arm. For her sake, he feigned pain, causing her to giggle.

Paisley took that time to hug Charles, who whispered, “Y’all look good together, Paisley P. Don’t worry about Nelle. She’s happy for you two.”

He was always so insightful. Paisley would always love Janelle’s parents as if they were a second set of her own. She nodded and smiled at him while he patted her cheek before she gave Linda some love.

“Kydrick, let me introduce you to my son-in-law and my grandbabies,” Linda said, hopping up from her seat and grabbing him by the arm.

Paisley tensed as she trailed behind them. She stood back while Linda engaged in conversation with Kydrick and Jaden and then Nasir, who joined them.

Janelle sat just in front of her at the table, and she turned to look up at Paisley with a small smile.

“Love looks good on you, Paisley P.”

It felt like a full circle moment. A year ago, if Janelle had said some shit like that to her, she probably would have knocked all this shit over. Now, though, she felt warmth spread through her as she stared at her old friend. Janelle looked back at Jaden, and her smile widened.

“It looks good on you, too, Janey J.”

When Janelle looked back at her, there were tears in her eyes. Paisley offered her a sad smile before squeezing Janelle’s shoulder and walking toward her man.

“Hey, Jaden.” She greeted Janelle’s husband before looking up at Kydrick, who put his arm around her waist. “You okay, baby?”

He looked down at her with love dancing in his eyes before he looked up at the sky. A breeze picked up, sending chills over Paisley. When he looked back down at her, he had a look of deep satisfaction on his face.

“I’m absolutely perfect.”

And that was all she had ever wanted for him. Kydrick deserved nothing less than perfection, and she would gladly spend the rest of her life chasing that for the both of them. They had come such a long way, but somehow, that very moment felt like only the beginning.

“He was a good boy, wasn’t he?” Kydrick asked, looking down at the small grave that sat in their backyard.

Paisley hugged him around his middle. “He was the absolute best boy.”

They did this often—visited Biscuit’s grave and reminisced about their time with him. He died eight years prior, and it had been a hard blow for their entire family. They never got another dog, unable to go through that kind of heartbreak again, but the twelve years they got with him settled warmly within their hearts.

“Why are old people so slow?” Nadia, their middle child, joked as she walked out of the house in her swimsuit and a towel.

Paisley rolled her eyes. “Just because we are taking time to enjoy the little things in life does not make us slow.”

“But you always do that,” Jace complained as he walked out behind his sister, ready to swim.

Kydrick pulled him in by his head, wrapping him up in a headlock. “You gon’ learn one day to appreciate shit like this, young boy.”

“Dad, cut it out.” Jace tried wiggling out of his father’s grasp while Paisley stood back and watched with Nadia standing next to her, tapping away on her phone.

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