Page 135 of Steel
I leaned in and pecked his lips. The next thing I knew, he was lifting me onto the bed of the truck. Carefully, he removed my heels and placed them in the truck. I crawled toward the pillows and felt a slap on my ass that made me squeal.
He grinned as he climbed in behind me. After grabbing the chilled bottle of wine, he joined me and popped the top, pouring us each a glass.
“This is nice,” I said as he handed me one. “It’s so peaceful up here.”
“It is. When . . . when I first lost Donna, I’d come up here all the time with KJ. I don’t know why. I guess it just made me feel closer to her. This was one of her favorite spots. She told me she used to hike up here with her dad when she was a kid, and coming here made her feel like she was closer to him. I guess I wanted that for my son.”
“I understand that. I’m sure you miss her.”
“I do. Sometimes I look at my son, and I cry for him, you know? He has all these wonderful women in his life, but he doesn’t have the one he needs most. I felt lost the first couple of weeks. Having my nieces and nephews wasn’t like having my own child. I had to learn him and his little quirks and cues. Like the difference between a hungry cry, a diaper cry, or when he just wanted me to hold him. We figure this shit out together.”
“You did an amazing job with him, Kerrion. He’s one of the happiest babies I’ve ever seen.”
“I’m trying my best.”
“He adores you. His face lights up when he sees you.”
He chuckled. “He’s funny acting. We’re cool when it’s just us, but he acts brand new around certain people, like you. Lil’ nigga don’t give a fuck about me when he sees you.”
I giggled. “I smell a hater.”
“You damn sure do.” He took a sip of the wine and peered down at me. “It’s cool, though. Our daughter is the same way when it comes to me.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, whatever, sir!”
“She’s a daddy’s girl, and that’s okay. Every woman in my family is just like that. My sisters are sickening about their daddies.”
“And their brothers are sickening about them. Jaeda told me how y’all were acting when she met Quaid. Y’all gave that man hell and then got mad when he wasn’t a punk.”
“That was Smoke and Deuce. Me and Maceo were cool on him.”
“So you didn’t break into her house along with the rest of them?”
“That’s neither here nor there.”
I laughed out loud. “No, no, no! It’s very much relevant. Y’all tried to bully that man.”
“Nah, we just needed to make sure he was a good fit for her. I mean, the nigga hacked her shit and almost got away with it. He’s neck and neck with her with that intellect shit. Now, Jaeda might seem innocent, but sis can handle herself. Baby’s got hands, and she can shoot. Even with that being said, I’m always gonna step behind her.”
“As you should.”
“You know we’ll step behind you too now, right?”
“I know. The girls made that very clear at girls’ night. Although, most of them were pretty drunk when they told me they would shoot a bitch in the face about me.”
“I promise they were serious. We don’t play about family, and you are family. You’re forever protected from any and everything. Past, present, and future.”
He looked at me like he had something more to say. I sat up and looked at him.
“What?” I asked.
“Whatchu mean, what?”
“You look like something is on your mind, . . . like you had something to say.”
He shook his head. “Nah. I’m good.”
“You sure? What you said . . . about being protected from the past, present, and future. What did you mean by that?”
