End Zone Love (Connecticut Kings Book 4)

by Love Belvin

  There was an uncomfortable pause. Jade was hesitating.

  “Would that force us to increase the budget?” she asked.

  Tessie stopped typing and looked over to my wife, who seemed so small in that chair. She took off her glasses and shifted closer toward Jade with a friendly smile.

  “As your planner, it’s my job to protect your best interest for your big day. The day you’ll express your love to Mr. Bailey in your own special way.” She paused, deepening her smile.

  “I understand, and thank you. It’s just that my hus—fiancé conducts his financial affairs prudentially. His admin team calls him cheap, but I don’t mind adhering to it.”

  Cheap?

  I wanted to laugh my ass off.

  “Two hundred thousand dollars is very generous, if I may say so myself.” Tessie’s smile didn’t fade. “There’s so much we can do with that.”

  “Like LaChateau?”

  “Of course, and without cutting corners. Your guest list spares us that. Also, the two of you are forgoing an engagement party.” Her hand pushed over and covered Jade’s. “You and Mr. Bailey are going to have the most splendid wedding day, I assure you.”

  “Wow!” Jade blew out almost in a whisper. “My mother worships LaChateau. She wanted to marry my stepfather there, but learned it was way beyond their price range. He’s a corporate attorney! I heard her tell a friend she could only wish I’d have my wedding at a place half as elegant.” I saw her head bounce back in the chair and she giggled. “You’re telling me I can possibly have my reception there?”

  Tessie nodded with big eyes. After trying to convince her with a kind touch and warm smile, Tessie went back to her laptop. “Now, your wedding gown. Do you have one or would you like for me to assist with that?”

  Another pause.

  This time, I could see Jade’s shoulder and arm move. I could easily guess her hand moved to her belly.

  She’s thinking about being pregnant…

  “I had something in mind. Something my mother sent me just before Christmas. Circumstances being what they are, I don’t know if it’s still appropriate.” Shit. “If it’s not, I’ll need assistance in finding a reasonably priced one. I’ll have a definitive answer for that soon.”

  I felt my face getting hard.

  Chéri…

  She kept mentioning Chéri.

  Fuck…

  I need to talk to Chéri to help get my wife’s head back in the game. The pregnancy—if it’s true—I can’t control. These two beefing, I can damn sure try to get that right.

  I stepped further into the room. Tessie saw me approaching, on my way to the chair next to Jade.

  “Oh! You’re back.” Her tone was cool and pleasant as it had been since we started. She went to close her laptop and pack up her things. “I’m sure you’ll be happy to know we’re done. I have everything I need to get started.” I took Jade by the hand. “I’ll arrange the conference call in two weeks. Jade and I have set the date already, and I’ll have all the preliminaries of today settled by then. After that, we can move on to the smaller details of the ceremony and reception. And then we’ll take it from there.”

  Jade looked at me as I gripped her hand. I didn’t speak. Had lots of stuff to say, but wasn’t sure about what should come first. Tessie was all packed up and standing to go in no time. We stood to thank her and say goodbye, then she left out of the private room.

  I took my seat again and pulled at her arm for her to sit, too.

  “Little one, you know we’re partners. Right?”

  “Yeah.” I could see her throat as she swallowed.

  “You know what you go through, I go through. Right?” She nodded. “That’s what marriage is all about. God ordained two people to share the burden. There’re some things as a man, I gotta carry alone. But as your man, when it comes down to anything you’re going through—even if it’s about Ky—I’m here for you. You can come to me. I’m here to protect you and help you figure it out.”

  She nodded while staring me straight in the eyes. I could see the tears rimming, but she didn’t let them fall. They disappeared even quicker.

  Out of nowhere, she sniffled. “Okay. We have to go.” Jade turned to grab her coat and bag.

  And I knew she was shutting the conversation down. I waited for her to get her things together then followed her out of the room. I waited for her little feet in heels as we passed through the restaurant’s main dining room. My head was spinning. I didn’t know how we’d get through the next two days.

  She slowed for me to come to her side. “When was the last time you spoke to Trick?” Her amber eyes stayed on me for an answer.

  Where’d that come from?

  My mind went back to the hospital, a couple of weeks back. There was no way I was going to cop to that. I wasn’t ready.

  “It’s been a minute.”

  We made it up to the hostess desk. “I think you should reach out to him.” My eyes blew up as I tried keeping pace with her little legs. “With all this talk of the wedding, I think now is a good time.”

  “Why?”

  “The wedding makes me think about Shank and how we can honor him. I think one way is by you personally inviting Trick now that we have a date. Maybe that can initiate some kind of communication between you two to bring about reconciliation.”

  We made our way out of the restaurant. A blonde haired girl recognized me and asked for a picture. After Jade said yes with her eyes, I took a few shots real quick. By that time, Tyheem had pulled up with the truck. That one yes had others realizing who I was. Eyes popped and minds were going. Soon, someone else would ask and that would hold us up. We were able to hop in the truck without trouble.

  I helped Jade in and climbed in on the other side. Never agreeing or responding to her suggestion, I pulled her by the shoulder over to me and kissed her head. I may not have been down with reaching out to Trick, but I was happy to have a sign of my petite, bossy pit bull back.

  ~Ten

  “That catfish was good, Jade,” April complimented me as I wiped down the stove.

  I turned and offered a humble grin. “Thanks. The only time I can get Ky to eat grits is with fish. He says catfish is his favorite, but when Mommy didn’t have it, he’d eat whiting; didn’t know it and didn’t complain.”

  I caught Trent snickering, forking the last of his food, before I turned back for the sink.

  “I can’t wait to get to this flower house. Sounds so nice from how you explained it.”

  “Jade stay in that place,” Trent grumbled. “I made the mistake of running her over there and waiting in the truck one day.” April laughed. “Man, I was hot when she came out with a box of flowers.”

  I realized over the past few days I enjoyed the sound of April’s cackle. It was spirited and filled the room.

  “Yeah. I gots to see this place. These flowers Jade got around here are gorgeous. I can’t believe how long they last before dying!” April exclaimed.

  I tossed my chin over my shoulder at the kitchen sink and winked at her. April had been taken by the fresh snowballs, zinnias, and other blooms I kept in her room and around the house. I told her about the young woman in Englewood, who owned her own flower shop that was more like a house, it was so massive in space. She even imported exotics and out-of-seasons. I tried making my way over there weekly for fresh cuts for the house. It relaxed me, walking the shop and viewing her selections. And her outdoor garden in the back was gorgeous. I suggested April take a trip there for a retreat.

  “You’ll enjoy it. I already placed my order online for this week. She’ll have it ready when you leave. Take a cup of coffee. Take pix on your phone,” I suggested. “I’m kind of jealous. I wish I was headed over there this morning instead of what’s on my agenda.” I smiled and somehow locked eyes with a perceptive Trenton at the table.

  His expression dropped as I turned back for the sink to wring out the dishrag.

  “I’m ready!” Kyree flew into the kitchen with his
coat and book bag on.

  “Come here, pumpkin pie.” I dried my hands on a towel and turned for him. “Let me fix your collar and zip your coat.”

  I knelt to right him.

  “You ready, big guy?” Kyree playfully asked Trent.

  I froze, my face still to Ky’s chest. Within a few seconds, I turned toward Trent, whose glass was inches away from his mouth as he sat steeled, too.

  “Lil boy, who you calling big?” April screeched, finding that reference humorous.

  Ky smiled and shrugged. “He hates that name. That’s what Mommy calls him.”

  “Ah—oh.” April’s guffawing halted when revelation hit. Her eyes ballooned. “Ohh!” She turned to Trent, whose regard was stapled onto Ky and me. “I see why he hates when you say it.” She stood from the table. “Later on, we’ll find a better name for him that’ll tease him even more. Let Mommy keep that one all to herself. Deal?”

  Ky giggled. “It’s a deal.”

  My child had no idea of the significance of the name, but could sense it was something he wasn’t welcome to.

  “C’mon, Ky.” Trent stood, too, bringing his plate to the sink. “Jordan’s probably ready. Let’s get crackin’.”

  While at his level, I embraced Ky tightly, bestowed a lingering kiss on his soft cheek. A dramatic moan followed.

  “You know I love you with my first because you are, my love. Right?” I was sure Ky could see the betraying twinkle in my eyes. He was the cause of it. This little guy melted my heart.

  This morning felt different. I felt raw. So much could change between now and when he returned home from school.

  “Mmhmm.” He nodded. “You love me because I’m your only, too.”

  I smiled with a heavy heart. That would’ve been my second line to him.

  As a child of a mother who dangled the carrot of satisfaction over my head, I never wanted Kyree to forget I loved him. I showered him with emotional and physical affirmation. Lately, I’d been second-guessing my stamina in doing that. Since moving in with Trent and completely falling for him, I had to share my affection with someone else. In fact, my object of reciprocated affection had changed. Instead of pulling on Kyree for adoration, I’d been getting it from Trent.

  A passing chat with Pastor Carmichael one afternoon when I dropped by the business wing of the church to pick up Lex for lunch cleared it up for me. He mentioned how single mothers of boys inappropriately place their sons in the role of a lover or man of the house. How these mothers, emotionally, expect kings when they should be raising their sons for the role of it. He said what they’re doing instead is raising inept and confused men.

  “It’s important to raise a child with both mother and father—and preferably in the same home—for mental and emotional development. It’s key for balance, as well. Note how many mothers effeminize their sons unintentionally by dressing them in skinny jeans and disciplining them with too many words rather than actions. An attending father balances that. Parenting is one of the most daunting jobs. All mothers and fathers need regular reprieve by having the other parent tend to them emotionally and physically and to take over the task of discipline.”

  As I gazed into Ky’s beautiful brown eyes while he bounced impatiently on his toes, I wondered if balance was this delicate with just him, how could I possibly absorb another child?

  I stood. “Okay, baby. You go and make today a success. Okay?”

  “Yup!” He agreed before taking off toward Trent, waiting by the entryway to the hall.

  Ky bolted down the hall to the garage and Trent slowly turned to follow, his ruminative eyes on me. I snatched mine away at the sense of April’s movements near me.

  “I’m out, too.” She placed her plate on the counter, near the sink. “I’m gonna take your advice and pick up a cup of coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts on the way. See ya later.”

  I waved her off, happy to see her excited. Moving quickly, I knew I had to finish with the chicken soup I was up early preparing for dinner, and settle the kitchen before my conference call with Ase Garb. One of the guest bedrooms here on the main floor where Trent’s security would be staying needed to be cleared out when that was done. All of this before my GYN appointment this morning.

  As I was cutting up herbs, my cell rang on the island countertop behind me. Wiping my hands, I stepped backwards, curious about the call. My lungs filled at the sight of my mother’s name on the face.

  Should I ignore it?

  My first instinct was to. I’d had enough on my plate this morning and couldn’t afford to lose my cool before a business call. But then something deep inside—something needy—wanted to cry out to her. To lay out at her feet my dilemma and receive comfort. Without coordination, my hand went for my phone.

  “He—” the phone fumbled in my hand, I was so desperate not to miss the call, waiting too long to answer. “Hello!”

  “Hi, Jade!”

  My shoulders dropped in disappointment, and suddenly I felt foolish for allowing myself that fantasy.

  “Ginger?”

  “Yeah. Cutie pie Ky left his Kindle Fire here back in February. At first, I was counting down the hours before he had you call and come for it.” Ginger, my parents’ housekeeper, was not much older than my mother. She was made a widower young and most of her family was either in Minneapolis or back home in Romania. She was kind and endearing, so much that I never understood how she got along with my mother for fifteen plus years. “So, your Mom asked me to call and follow up with you. I’m hoping it’ll be soon. He’s the best cookie inspector before they reach Mr. McDowell.”

  The muscles in my face struggled to form a smile. I could only imagine how well Ginger and Kyree got along. She often acted as a buffer during my teenaged years when I fought with my mother more than I did catty schoolmates.

  “He asked about it over the weekend. I’ll see if Trent can swing by and pick it up this week.”

  “Doesn’t he have a birthday nearing?” She scoffed. “Certainly Mrs. McDowell can hand it off with his gift.”

  She remembered. Ginger was always good at that. I bent over the island and rested my elbows on it.

  “Ummmm…” I licked my lips, eyes scanning the ceiling for the right words. “He’s having a party here at the house on Saturday, Ginger.”

  “Should I prepare a cake or goodie bags? I came across this fun Lemon Vanilla Cookie Krispie Treats recipe that could prove to be successful…” she pushed.

  First, a snort slipped my nose, a smile followed until tears raised, and I swallowed them back.

  “I don’t think she’s going to make the party. Don’t worry: I have enough of your recipes to give those kids a sugar rush.”

  I tried laughing to brush over that first ugly fact.

  “Not again, Ms. Jade!” She gasped. I could envision her eyes growing. “I had a hunch something was going on. Each time I mention Kyree her eyes immediately light up then go dark, and it’s like her shoulders drop.”

  Similar to how it was explained she reacted after my pregnancy.

  “Yeah. Well, you can write a tell-all about our never-ending bouts.”

  “I was hoping a new day was in order, dear.” The sadness in her voice was palpable.

  “So did I.” I sighed, leaning my forehead on the back of my hand. “But, hey, at least Ky got to know a loving side of his grandma. Right?” A wry smile spread on my face.

  “I’m hoping this isn’t the end. You two just came back to each other, something I’d lost hope for after the second year.”

  My eyes squeezed from the pain of the picture she just painted. How does one go so long without speaking to their healthy, able-bodied mother or daughter?

  My phone vibrated from a text in my ear. I put Ginger on speaker while I peeked.

  +1(973)555-5666: Yo pull up tonite wit ky. I got something for him tell him to bring clothes to stay the nite

  I shuddered.

  Stay the night where?

  My reaction to that command was so fixed,
it hardly registered that another text had come through from LaShawn.

  “Did you hear me, Ms. Jade?”

  My lashes fluttered. “Oh. Uhhh…” I pinched the bridge of my nose between my eyes. “A text popped up on my phone. What was that?”

  “I said, I’m hopeful things will be different this time. Mrs. McDowell is absolutely smitten with Kyree. She brags about him like nothing I’ve ever seen!” I could hear the wonder in her words.

  Yeah. Definitely not like her own daughter…

  “We’ll see, Ginger. We’ll see.” I stood from the counter, shifting all my weight to my feet. “Listen, I’ll talk to Trent about picking up the Kindle Fire and arrange it with you. Okay?”

  “Okay, dear. Give my best hug to Kyree.”

  “Will do.” I smiled genuinely before disconnecting the call.

  My phone buzzed again.

  Shawnie: Mufukas always talk shit they don’t know!

  That incendiary remark reminded me to go to her original text. I tapped away to find a link to Instagram. There was a post from Spilling That Hot Tea blog of Trent with Pastor Carmichael in front of DiFillippo’s here in Jersey. He was hugging a woman and smiling during the embrace. It was Lex. They met for lunch this week, but I didn’t know Lex was there. She looked like a Nubian goddess with dark chocolate fingers with nails dipped in a soft white polish. The attention grabber was that robust radiant cut engagement solitaire that had to be over three carats as she cupped Trent’s shoulder. The brown rust hued long coat she wore reached her heeled boots and looked great against her voluminous black afro falling freely over her shoulders and near Trent’s face as they enfolded.

  Lex once told me how Pastor Carmichael craved DiFillippo’s when she was pregnant with Lisa-Mare. That memory led me to wonder if they’d told Trent about the pregnancy. I’d been so preoccupied lately, I’d forgotten to mention it to him. It was probably best for them to deliver the news. It wasn’t mine to tell, seeing Lex wasn’t thrilled about it.

  The comments of the post had already been in the thousands. Like the glutton I am, I clicked to read them.

  “Two fine ass bearded men. I’ll fuck em both!”

  “Are they brothers?”