Page 91 of Dr. Bell

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and said, “You saved me and Quilo, Adir. This family welcomed us with open arms.” A few tears escaped. “I don’t want to be the reason there’s friction between any of you.”

Interesting, I thought.

“You know how much I love my people, Pretty. Do you know how much I love you?”

Without hesitation, she nodded.

“Nah, I don’t think you understand how much I love you.” I wiped her tears and stated, “If there is friction between me and you, my spirit is unsettled. Besides our sons, you’re the only person who is capable of wounding a part of me that would never heal should it be broken. If you understood the depth of my love for you, you wouldn’t be afraid to tell me anything aboutanythingand about anybody.”

Silently, she blinked, then nodded. “Okay.” She took another deep breath and exhaled it while gathering her emotions. “I uhm… I think I know… No, IknowI know…”

Whatever it was about, it was tearing Pretty apart to have to tell me. I braced myself for whatever came from her lips. Shit it couldn’t have been worse than what was already on my mind.

“Genika’s baby isn’t yours.”

Her soft admission contradicted that of baby boy’s face. However, this was my wife. On a spiritual level, Pretty was easily someone I trusted. While most women would’ve said that out of bitterness, jealousy, or envy, I knew my wife. She possessed none of those things and had no reason to.

“Her baby belongs to the same person who ordered the hit on me.”

“Who?”

Although she whispered it, hearing her say it caused my eyes to close as my brain processed what my gut knew was the truth.

ADIR

Thenextmorning,ashort walk down the street led me to Uncle Duval and Auntie Maddie’s house. I rang the doorbell and chuckled at Toast losing her shit. She weighed six pounds soaking wet. However, her bark sounded deadly as hell.

“Nephew!” Unc answered. Toast ran out of the front door, barking and carrying on like I was a complete stranger. I picked her up and shook my head at Auntie dressing her dog as if she was a little baby. Excitedly, Toast sniffed at my beard.

“You bite me, it’s gon’ be slow singin’ and biscuit bringin’,” I warned her. Auntie Maddie would’ve killed me if I hurt her precious dog, though. So, I put her back down to save us both. She nipped at my heels as I entered the house.

“What brings you by?” Unc questioned.

Glancing around the house, I asked, “Maddie home?”

Unc made a face and said, “She went out of town for the weekend. Her ass knows damn well I don’t like her being gone longer than one night.”

“I can understand that.” I wouldn’t have been able to sleep knowing Pretty wasn’t within arm’s reach. “I was hoping she’d make me a peach cobbler.”

Unc laughed. “My wife put herfootin those cobblers, don’t she?”

I grinned. “That’s why I took the walk. I needed it like ASAP.”

He shook his head and continued to laugh.

“I’ll harass her when she comes back,” I stated. Toast was sitting in front of me like an obedient child waiting for me to give her a treat.

“Dog is clingy as hell,” Unc mentioned. “I can’t walk a single step without her following me.”

“She misses her mama. If I were you I’d give her one of Auntie’s pillows. Auntie’s scent will help her relax. Might give you a break, too.”

He clapped me on the shoulder. “That’s a good idea, Nephew.”

“Aight, good luck. I’m out.”

Leaving Unc’s house, I ducked my head at his lead security guard, Cooley, inhaled a lungful of March’s gentle air, and thought about Auntie Maddie’s peach cobbler. There wasn’t a single person in this family who knew how to get the peaches perfectly tender and full of spices. While tender and perfectly tasteful, her peaches still managed to be juicy and not dry. Then there was the fluffy, buttery, sweet dough that made the whole cobbler set apart from any other I’d tasted. Man, I could eat that shit every damn day and wouldn’t care about the weight I put on because of it.

As I entered my driveway, Zel stepped out of the front door and met me halfway.

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