An awareness.
Understanding, maybe.
Was she happy with that statement?
I didn’t know, but there was something inside of me, deep down in my darkest depths, that wanted her there. That said that maybe this was my chance.
I could make this right for her.
I could give her a safe-harbor.
I could give her something that her own man could not.
Plus, I liked the way she smiled, and didn’t flinch at giving me full control of her son.
She knew danger.
She knew that I was an ex-con.
Yet, she’d trusted me with her kid anyway.
Sick or not, she had survival instincts.
She should’ve been scared, but she wasn’t.
“If you’re sure…” Shad said.
I dropped my chicken down onto the table and said, “Be right back. Gonna grab some drinks.”
Baker picked the plate up without acknowledging me or the fact that I’d taken over her conversation.
When I got inside, Silver and Webber were bickering.
I walked to the fridge and had to laugh when I saw Webber’s charge in a box next to the sink padded with the blanket off my couch.
Lips twitching, I caught up a couple of Cokes as I said, “Shad, she can’t go home with you.”
“Why?” Shad asked, not mad at the words that’d just slipped so easily from my lips.
“She’s mad as hell at your wife and her siblings,” I said. “She needs a bit of time to come to terms with her issues, and your family needs to start making amends.”
Shad was silent for a long moment and then, “Kenny’s kickin’ himself. He saw how his wife was struggling, being so pregnant and alone all the time, and he’s seein’ the light. My family is stubborn. They knew they did her wrong, yet they never stopped doin’ it. I’ve spent the last couple of months workin’ on ’em. But they didn’t see the big picture until I told them about Baker’s call last night.”
“Well, I think reaching out would be a good start,” I said. “Anyway, I have a guest room. And I was thinkin’ that I have this nice, fancy daycare in my building, I might as well put it to good use. And she can hole up in my office in the corner and do her work while I keep an eye on her.”
Shad sighed. “This is a fucking mess.”
“Agreed,” I said. “Just give her time. But you can come see her any time you want.”
When I hung up Webber said, “Can I take advantage of your daycare?”
I shrugged. “I’m paying for it. Why not?”
When I got back outside with the drinks, Baker didn’t ask about my conversation with her dad, and I didn’t tell.
But I did feed her as much as she could eat and told her what would happen tomorrow.
She didn’t argue.
