Page 9 of The Big Catch

There was nothing like chilling with family and being worry-free. “So, you still want me to go with you to Africa?” Toolie asked.

Another skill that I was an expert on was hunting. Five years ago, I was invited to Africa for a safari hunting trip. From that trip, I started the process of becoming a licensed, certified Safari Hunting Guide. When I went to Africa, I stayed for a few weeks to a month. My parents and sister took care of my babies while I was away. Over a year and a half ago, I purchased some land in Namibia, where I worked when I was there, and had a small house built.

“Yeah, man. I told Abidemi that you were coming. His wife, Muna, can’t wait to meet and feed you,” I told him. Toolie just got his license to hunt in Africa, so I wanted him to spend more time there with me.

People were amazed at the things that I did. When they saw me, all they saw was a country ass, tatted up nigga from a small ass town. They assumed that country meant broke, just like Adabelle did. When she was in high school, the females in town stayed on her ass because of her stuck-up attitude. She never wavered though. That stuck-up attitude rode with her until she rode her ass out of Newsome.

My dogs started to bark, letting me know someone had pulled into my front yard. I pulled out my phone to check my cameras. My brow perked when I saw Mr. Lee’s truck.Whatdoes he want?I got out of my seat to walk around to the front yard to greet him. My feet stopped when I realized he had a passenger with him. “What’s up, Mr. Lee?”

“Hey, Gunner. How you doing, son? Boy, ya lookin’ just like ya daddy.” We dapped each other up.

I tittered. He wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last to tell me that. I was my father’s twin while my sister, Nadine, was our mother’s mini-me. “Looking like my daddy is a compliment. I’m doing good. What can I do for you today?”

Adabelle stood behind him, fidgeting with her fingers with her head down. She looked like a kid that had gotten in trouble. She probably did. She was cute in her leggings and cropped t-shirt. For her to be as thick as she was, her stomach was toned. The tiny pouch she had was noticeable but didn’t take away from anything.

Mr. Lee looked over his shoulder. “Come on here, girl. You know what you came here to do,” he coaxed his daughter.

I knew Toolie was behind me from the sounds of his snicker. That nigga was nosy as hell. Mr. Lee stepped to the side to allow his daughter the room to come forward. Her eyes pinballed between Toolie, her father, and me. It felt like she walked in slow motion to reach the place where she stood in front of me. “Um, Gunner, I apologize for how I acted the other night. I shouldn’t have been rude and called the puppy a mutt, but I didn’t know it wasn’t.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. I was relaxed today in a wife beater, sweatpants, socks, and a pair of slides. My brows furrowed and head leaned to the side. “You do know that but cancels out the first part of the sentence. Whether you knew My Boy was a mutt or not, you still called him one. Apologies with excuses aren’t apologies.”

Her chest expanded before it fell.Yeah, she wants to curse my ass out.She peeked in her father’s direction. His expressiondared her to buck. Her attention came back to me. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have disrespected you. Um, I would still like to have the puppy if you still have it.”

My nostrils widened, my forehead creased, and my lip turned up. This girl must have bumped her head. My chin moved toward each shoulder. “Yeah, I still have him, but nah. I don’t feel comfortable letting you take him right now with the attitude you had about him the other day.”

She kissed her teeth before her hand went to her hip as it stuck out. “Look, I apologized. I’m not going to beg you for a damn puppy I didn’t even ask for. You can kiss?—”

“Adabelle Caroline Lee!”

Mr. Lee’s outburst caused her to jump and shut the hell up. I saw why her ass came over here initially acting like a little girl. When he yelled, he sounded like Mufasa. Just a loud, roaring lion. That was more than likely why he tried to keep calm.

“I done told you about your fuck ass attitude. He has every right to not trust you with that puppy, especially now. If anyone needs to kiss your ass, it needs to be your damn self. That seems to be where your head is, up your fuckin’ ass!”Well, damn.He hurt my damn feelings.

Toolie chuckled behind me. “Damn shame. I hope your ass don’t smell like your attitude. If it does, I know that shit stinks.”

Don’t laugh, Gunner. Don’t fuckin’ laugh.Yeah, that little inner peptalk was a waste of time. My eruption of laughter was disrespectful. What was even more disrespectful was Mr. Lee’s laugh. It took us a few more seconds to calm down. Adabelle glared at us the entire time like she wanted to blow us off the map.

“Alright, Gunner. What she need to do to get a puppy? I know she said she didn’t ask for one, which she didn’t, but I want her to have one. I want her to see how it feels to take care ofsomething outside of her. If she does, I pray God blesses her with some genuine compassion,” Mr. Lee said.

His daughter huffed. “Daddy, you act like I didn’t have a husband to take care of.” When we all got quiet, her eyes turned to slits. “Regardless of how fake my marriage was, I didn’t know it. I was in it for ten years, so yes. I’ve taken care of something or someone other than me.”

“Shit, you must not be a good caretaker. That nigga sure got another one and bred with her,” Toolie mumbled. The way her face dropped from his comment made me feel bad.

I flung my hand back to smack him on his chest. “Come on, man. All that ain’t called for.” My softened eyes moved to Adabelle. “Look, if you want My Boy, I’m going to need you to come over here and spend time with him. Once I feel comfortable about you and him together, then you can take him.”

Her eyes bulged. Before she could say anything, her daddy grabbed her hand. “That’s fine. When do you want her here?”

It was clear that she wanted nothing more than to not have to come here, but oh well. If she wanted My Boy, she would. I understood why her father wanted her to have a pet. It was true that pets could reduce stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, as well as a slew of other things. Now, I wasn’t sure if it would help her be compassionate. “My Boy eats around six thirty, then goes for a walk no more than thirty minutes after he eats.

“Six thirty in the morning!” Her entire body became an animation. “You expect me to be over here at six thirty in the fuckin’ morning!”

Yeah, I’m gonna have to break her fake, privileged ass down.My head bucked back. “Oh God, no.” I smirked when she breathed a sigh of relief. “I expect you to be here at six in the morning. My Boy needs to be settled for a little while before he eats.”

Her body turned to face her dad. “Daddy, are you serious right now? I don’t even roll over in the bed until like nine.”

“Well, good. Now you’ll have something to get up for.” He cut his eyes from her to me. “She’ll be here, Gunner. Let’s go, Adabelle.”

If looks could kill, I would have been dead, resurrected, then blown the hell up. I didn’t give a fuck.This is going to be fun.Toolie and I watched Mr. Lee and Adabelle get into his truck, then pull off. Once they were out of sight, I noticed my cousin was gawking at me. “What?”

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