by B. Love
There was no point in him obsessing over it at this point. All he had to do was hand her the envelope so she could open it and they find out. He hadn’t even checked his voicemail because he knew Cinde’s doctor had left the results there as well.
Nah.
This moment was one that he had to experience with her.
Good or bad.
Ransom released a heavy breath as he handed Leigh the envelope. As nervous as he was, she was just as calm. Smiling even. Ransom wanted to call her out on it, but he’d learned during his one session with Dr. Ranger that no matter how fucked up his mental and emotions were, it was never fair to put that on someone else and stain theirs. If she was happy and at peace, Ransom wouldn’t dare question her about it and lower her vibration.
“We’ll be good no matter what. Okay?” Leigh assured him, peeling the flap on the envelope.
All Ransom could do was nod as his heart began to palpitate. She pulled the results out, and Ransom read her face as her eyes read the contents of the letter. Leigh went from frowning to getting teary eyed, and that was all Ransom needed to see to know that the baby was his.
Then she started smiling and laughing and Ransom had no idea what the fuck was going on.
“Am I the father?”
She handed him the results with a smile. “You’re not, and I have to admit it, I was starting to look forward to our baby having someone her age to grow up with.”
Ransom snatched the paper as he scoffed, needing to see it for himself. There in black and white was proof that he wasn’t the father of Cinde’s baby. Which would explain why she hadn’t called him yet. When he was able to release the relief of that, Leigh’s words registered in his brain.
“Fuck you mean you was looking forward to our baby having someone his age to grow up with?”
Giggling, Leigh made her way into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I mean what I said! I had accepted Cinde having your baby. Now she won’t have a brother or sister to grow up with.”
Ransom’s face twisted up as he shook his head. “Mane fuck all that. If you want him to have a sibling around the same age, we can get started on baby number two six months after you give birth. But you gon’ be the only mother of my children.”
With a wide grin, Leigh rested her forehead on his. “And your only wife?”
“My only wife.”
Giggling again, she placed a sweet kiss to his lips. “I like the sound of that.”
“Yea?”
“Yea. And stopping calling her a him. It’s a girl, Ransom.”
“Boy.”
“Girl.”
“Boy.”
“Gir–”
Cutting off her word with a kiss, Ransom silently thanked God for His grace. Finally, he and Leigh were on the same page, and nothing would be able to come between them.
Maria had only agreed to meet with her father to be an example for Jax. He hadn’t seen or even answered Keith and Madeline’s calls since he found out the truth, and they’d gotten so desperate as to use Ina to contact her and ask her to set up a meeting for them. Maria agreed to see her father if he agreed to see them, but as they sat in his car in the parking lot of Cheddar’s, Maria was starting to have second thoughts.
Their situations weren’t really alike. Even though Jax had been fed a lie, he at least had two caregivers there who loved and supported him. Her father willingly choice to not be in her life and didn’t care if he’d have a replacement or not. Though Leigh was trying to establish a relationship with Ricky and Christian had at least seen him, Maria still didn’t desire to do either.
Placing her head on the headrest, she looked over at Jax as she asked, “Can I be honest with you?”
“Always.”
Her head shook and she released a heavy breath as she looked towards the restaurant, sure her father was inside.
“I like my life as it is without him in it. I don’t want him to disturb it. There’s no part of me that feels like I owe him a second chance. I’m okay leaving here without seeing his face.” Reaching against the center console, Maria took his hand into hers. “What I’m not okay with is you being in pain and not allowing yourself the opportunity to heal. That’s the only reason I came here. So you could talk to your folks as well.”
Jax’s head shook as he removed his hand from hers. “My healing ain’t connected to yours, bae. If you don’t want to see him, we can leave right now, but whether you do or don’t, I still got some shit to work through. I know one day I’ll be able to forgive and move on, but that shit gon’ take some time.”
Maria nodded as she sighed. “I just… don’t want you to allow this to blind you to how blessed you were to have them. I want you to release this and forgive them. Not for them, but for you. It’s people out here that don’t have a mother or father, and you got four. What they did was fucked up, but it was out of love. Keith and Madeline chose to love you when they didn’t have to.” Jax looked away as his nostrils flared. “Don’t ever take that for granted.”
“You’re right,” he mumbled, taking her hand back into his and kissing it. “You’re absolutely right.” His eyes returned to hers. “Why you care so much?”
Maria smiled as she lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it. “Because I care about you. You made my heart work again. I just want what’s best for you.”
“So…” The wide grin that covered his face let Maria know he was about to be on some bullshit. “In other words, you love me?” Rolling her eyes, she shook her head and groaned before laughing. “It’s okay to say it, Maria. Gon’ say it. Say it. Your ass love me, huh?”
When her laugh died down, she confessed, “Yes, okay? I love your annoying ass!”
When his laugh died down, Jax licked his lips before muttering, “I love you too.”
Silence fell between them as he caressed her hand with his thumb. Before she could stop it, giggles began to pour from her mouth. Maria couldn’t believe the changes that had happened within her, all because of Jax and his gently gangsta way of loving her. Jax pulled her onto his lap and pushed her flat ironed hair from her shoulders to her back.
“Let’s make a deal,” Jax suggested as she drew invisible circles on his chest with her pointer finger. “We won’t focus on our past, only our present and our future. As long as we’re at peace, that’s all that matters right now. If you decide to see him one day that’s cool, and if you don’t that’s cool too. If I decide to reconcile with them that’s cool, if I don’t that’s cool too. Right now, all that I care about is my peace and the family I one day want to build with you.”
“That sounds perfect to me,” Maria confessed, cupping the back of his neck for a kiss.
Because that was the truth -- all that mattered was what they had in that moment, and in that moment, they had each other, their love, and their California dreams.
Them
“Party hard, party hard, party hard for me when I'm gone
Party hard, party hard, party hard for me”
As the sound of Jhene Aiko’s sweet voice filled the room, laughter, singing, and conversation permeated the air. The Gucci Gang had come together for their first official meeting to discuss business, and now that business was over, the red cups were filled and blunts were being rotated.
Grandma Ever had been moved to a nursing home, but someone from the family was visiting her almost every day. Ironically, it was the one Pinky worked at, so she kept an eye on her whenever she could. She was still having her good and bad days, more good than bad now that she had structure and stability. It warmed her heart to hear that Leigh was keeping the baby and would soon be delivering a grandson that would be named after her – Liam For-Ever Castillo.
Things between Ransom and Leigh were better than ever. He’d cut off all his bed partners and Leigh had done the same. Now that they were committed to each other and on the same level, it was almost as if God had wrapped them up in His love, allowing them to consistently pour it into one another. She’d tempora
rily stopped working but vowed to be back as soon as their son was three months old.
Christian and Nash were doing great as well. They had an official date for their wedding, her grandmother’s birthday, August thirteenth. Though she still had no desire to mend her relationship with her father, she knew that she’d need to at least have a sit down with him once before she began the next phase of her life. Since Derrick and Porsha wanted to have a baby soon, they found a different surrogate, and Christian was admittedly happy about that. Even though she’d do whatever she could for her mother, including carry her child, that was a special moment that she wanted to share with Nash when the time came after their wedding.
Her new bakery was still in the works, and so far, she was loving everything that Kindred was doing. After seeing one picture of him, Brook Lynn vowed to stay away. He looked like trouble… the kind of trouble that could be too much fun for her right now. Tyrell was still lingering around but only as a friend so she could continue on with her bond with Trent, who had slowly began to release the anger he held towards the people closest to him for the secret they kept.
And to everyone’s surprise, Jax and Maria were expecting their first baby as well. Maria wasn’t on birth control, and the first time they made love their child was conceived. They still had their plans to retire in three to five years and move to California, even more so now that they had a little one on the way.
“Come on y’all let’s do this toast before niggas start heading out,” Pressure ordered, cutting the volume on the Beats speaker down. He waited until everyone’s cups were in the air to continue. “You can say what you want to say about Ricky Gucci, but nobody can ever say that mane ain’t make some solid ass kids. We’re an army. We’re one. We’re mighty apart, but together we will be unstoppable. This is just the beginning for us, and I guarantee y’all that by the time we’re done, everybody gon’ know the Gucci name.” With a smile, Pressure put the peace sign to his heart. “Gucci Gang. One love.”
“We all we got,” they all yelled back before taking their drinks to the head.
“No fair! All I got is apple juice!” Leigh whined, causing the room to erupt with laughter.
“Mane you,” Maria added. “My shit apple juice too.”
“We gotta do this again after we drop these loads.”
“You wanna be next?”
Turning at the sound of Nash’s voice, Christian’s mouth formed an O before she smiled. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I appreciate being an honorary member of the Gucci Gang, but now that I’m about to change your last name, it’s time for us to start a little gang of our own.”
Christian chuckled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Is that your way of saying you want me to get off my birth control?”
“That’s exactly what the fuck I’m saying. Will you?”
Biting back her smile, Christian nodded before standing on the tips of her toes and planting a kiss to his lips. “Yes,” she muttered before kissing him again.
She couldn’t believe the changes that had formed in her and her sisters lives and hearts… especially changes that came from a gangsta’s love. But the more she thought about it, what other type of man could handle them and do it better? When Nash released her, her eyes scanned the room and landed on Donovan, Drecco, and Pressure. They were so sure that love and babies and a life or normality wasn’t in the cards for them. But as she watched her family surround each other in love… there was no doubt in her mind that those three would be up next.
The End… for now!
You can catch up with the sisters in Pressure, Donovan, and Drecco’s series that will be out this summer! Or… I may do a special edition novella that shows you their babies and Christian’s wedding. I don’t know! Let me know in your review which one you’d prefer!
Thank you again for taking this journey with me, and remember to use your hashtags when talking about this series on social media! To become an honorary member of the Gucci Gang, use #OneLove in your review!
#GucciGang
#OneLove
#WeAllWeGot
