Page 45 of Can I?

Aww shit.I wasn’t up for no bullshit. My nerves were already on edge because I was worried about my family. Had my mama not talked to me before I left, I would still be in the calm state I was in after seeing the baby. That admission about all of them staying had me feeling slightly hostile and on edge. Anybody could get it if they approached me wrong. I nodded at her and fixed Ferris’s plate. I set it on the bar top in front of him and went back to fix my food. The twins were staring at me as if waiting for me to take them off their leashes. I would do no such thing.

When I got to the bar, I sat next to him. He’d sat in the middle, and I appreciated that. As we all settled in and were about to eat, Mrs. Paula asked, “Do y’all have boyfriends, ladies?”

“No,” they all answered in unison.

“So, umm . . . what do y’all do?”

“Ashanni and I just graduated this morning from Lamar, getting master’s degrees, and my twin sisters are in medicalschool. They are home on break. Ashanni and I work in the office for the family business, Henderson Ranch and Farms.”

“That’s great! Your parents must be extremely proud. That’s stability at its best,” she said, glancing at me. “What do you do, Milana?”

I knew that her ass knew I was barrel racer, but I played along with her lil game. “I’m a professional barrel racer.”

Before she could respond, Aunt Chas said, “Why you making that sound all miniscule, Lana? She’s one of the top barrel racers in the country. She’s predicted to go to nationals and win it all. Plus, she’s training to bareback and in the process of forming an all-black female rodeo team. She’s amazing.”

My cheeks heated up as Aunt Chas winked at me. “Thanks, Aunt Chas.”

That seemed to shut her ass up. Ferris said, “The first time I saw her race in Birmingham, I was in awe. She is definitely amazing.”

“Thank you, baby,” I said to him, and he kissed my head.

She nodded but didn’t offer any words of congratulations or anything. The twins were watching her like a damn hawk. Ashanni seemed to be in a different world, and I couldn’t wait to talk to her. I didn’t know if she was just worried about her dad and brothers or if it was something else. Maui was her normally happy self.

“The food is delicious, Paula,” Aunt Chas said.

Everyone agreed and complimented her on the food except me. I could be extremely petty, and I was feeling it in this moment. If she couldn’t compliment me, I wasn’t going to compliment her ass. I didn’t give a damn whether she was his mother or not. I thanked her for the food, and that was more than enough. Plus, it was just okay to me, since I wasn’t a fan of salmon.

She glanced at me and asked, “Milana, is it okay for you?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Well, you didn’t say anything when everyone else did, so I was just checking.”

I side-eyed her but didn’t respond. Ferris slid his hand up and down my leg as if trying to calm me down. He knew she was picking with me. I wanted to go sit with my cousins at this point, especially when I heard Maui ask, “Where did Angel go?”

“She went with her mom to Houston. Yendi, Jess, and Brix’s mom went with them, and Mya went to Mesquite to be with her dad. She’s probably still on the road since she came to the hospital before leaving, unless she’s leaving tomorrow,” Ashanni said.

“She’s leaving in the morning,” Aunt Chas said.

“Milana, why didn’t you go with your mom?” Mrs. Paula asked.

I glanced at her. “My mother is a Henderson sibling. She stayed in Nome with her brothers and sisters, my dad, and my brother.”

“Plus, I wanted her here with me,” Ferris added.

I looked up to see the frown on his face. It was my turn to lightly rub his leg. I didn’t want to see him get into it with his mother on my account. I went back to my food, forcing the salmon down so I wouldn’t look unappreciative. Aunt Chas’s and the twins’ eyebrows were lifted like they were ready for the word go.

I supposed Bali couldn’t take keeping her mouth closed any longer, because she said, “We didn’t go with our mother either.”

Mrs. Paula turned to her and asked, “Is your mother a Henderson? I’m sorry, I don’t remember which of your parents she said was.”

“Our father is a Henderson. Our mother went to her parents’ home in Houston.”

“Well, why didn’t y’all go with her to your grandparents’ house?”

“Because they are judgmental, bougie, and they treat my mother like a child. So to keep from disrespecting their asses and airing their dirty laundry, we don’t go over there.”

I wanted to laugh so badly. Bali’s gaze never wavered. She was staring at Mrs. Paula like she was daring her to say something, and apparently, she caught the hint. Noni was eyeballing her ass too. Ferris didn’t give a damn though. He chuckled. That chuckle from him produced chuckles from everyone else. Then I thought better of it. He probably chuckled to break the tension. He knew she was talking about his mama, but if he laughed, it would ease things over with his mother. She knew she was behaving just as Bali described her grandparents to be.

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