“They say you get delusional with age. Guess you just started early,” White grumbles.
“Fuck you,” Black laughs good-naturedly.
“Language. You don’t have a kiss for your Momma?” Ida Sue asks.
“White’s fault, Momma. He drives me to cussing,” Black says and leans up to kiss Ida Sue’s cheek when she bends down.
“Want some breakfast?”
“Nah, just coffee. I got a meeting with the mayor in about an hour. I can’t afford to be late.”
“You need to eat better or find a woman to take care of you. Lord knows you aren’t good at it on your own.”
“I keep trying to get Kayla here to leave my loser brother and run away with me, but the bastard won’t let her out of his sight.”
“Stay away from Kayla or that damn smile you like to flash all the ladies won’t be so pretty.”
“Love has made you a bitter man, brother. A bitter man.”
“Whatever,” White mumbles. “I’m going to go get our things together. Want to join me, Buttercup?”
“Kayla will be in after I show her the pretty things I got for CC’s baby shower.”
“She’s just had the baby. Isn’t it a little late for a baby shower, Mom?”
“Just never you mind. If she don’t have it now, then she’ll need it when she gets it.”
“Whatever that means. I’ll see you in a bit, Buttercup.”
“Okay, Sweetheart,” I tell him with a smile. I don’t know how it is possible, but right now everything feels perfect.
Ida Sue and Black keep me busy talking and going through all the various items that she’s gathered for CC and before I know it, I’ve been there over an hour. White and I were going to try and leave before now. He probably fell back asleep. He sure didn’t get any sleep last night.
“And what’s that blush for?” Black asks, and I look up to find him watching me.
“I don’t blush.”
“Kayla sweetheart, you blush more than any woman I’ve ever met.”
“Whatever, I’m going to go pack. White must have gotten lost.”
“He loves you, you know,” Black says and I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me. I stand up, wringing my hands together.
“I’m starting to believe it,” I tell him.
“Not every man is like that worthless stepfather you had, Kayla.”
At his words this time, real fear grips me. I look around to find that we’re alone. Ida Sue must have left when I was daydreaming about White.
“They don’t know, sweetheart.”
“How do you?”
“I’m a cop.”
“But that’s been forever ago. Oh God, you can’t tell White!”
“Relax, Kayla,” Black says, pulling me back down to my chair. He holds my hand tightly and I have to fight to hold his eyes with mine. I don’t want to be weak. I haven’t been weak in a long time. “I’m not going to tell anyone. Though, if you want to know what I think, I think you should tell White.”
“No.”
“Kayla—”
“He doesn’t need to know. No one does. It’s over. It’s been over a long time, Black. How did you even find out?”
“I found your file when we were archiving a bunch of shit when I first started. I’ve known for a long time, Kayla.”
“Well, you can just forget about it. It doesn’t matter anymore. It never did.”
“It does matter. White would want to know.”
“Why? He can’t change anything. Not now. It’s water under the bridge. I’m not that little girl anymore.”
“No, you’re not. You’re a beautiful woman, Kayla. A woman a man would be proud to have by his side. You’re fierce, you’re loyal, and you’re gorgeous…”
“I’m not, but…”
“You are, darlin’, and your beauty goes all the way through. You’re the only one who has never realized that,” Black says, letting his hand move to my chin, his finger brushing against the skin in a move that reminds me a lot of his brother. Black’s not looking at me with need, lust, or love, however. He’s looking at me with the one look on his face that I despise. The one look that makes me sick to my stomach and reminds me of a time when I felt alone and lost. He’s looking at me with pity.
“What the fuck is going on?” I jerk my head up to look at White. I don’t understand the look on his face. It scares me. Black must feel the same because instead of trying to add to White’s anger—because he is angry—he stands up, putting his body in front of mine.
“Easy, brother. I was just having a talk with Kayla.”
“Yeah, I could tell.” White spews the words out and there is more than anger in them. They feel… hateful.
I stand up to go to him. I don’t know what’s happening, but I need it to stop. I need White to be okay. I need us to be okay.
“White Hall, I don’t know what has got you upset, but let’s not do anything to make things worse here,” Black says and the trepidation in his voice worries me even more.
“You don’t know what the fuck you are talking about. This doesn’t concern you, so just get the fuck out of my way.”