Nathaniel
“I KNOW I’M gonna have to lay this nigga out, Samp.”
I paced in my brother’s living room as he sat stoically watching me vent to get my feelings out.
“Why you think that, Nate?”
He ran a hand down his face, and I knew he was going through a lot of shit.
They weren’t saying anything but I knew that Yzabel was pregnant and it had brought up a lot of emotions in him.
My brother was going to be a damn good father because he’d always been an amazing family man.
But he’d never had to give his heart to anyone the way he’d done with Yzzy and now he was stressed about the changes her body was going through.
Sampson hadn’t confessed any of this to me but I could tell in the careful way he’d been handling her and stepping up to do more of her chores around the ranch so that she could rest. I didn’t want to get in the middle of their marriage, especially since it was still so new, but I wouldn’t let him drive her crazy either.
“He’s not gonna let her go. He’s gonna do some shit, I can feel it.”
Waking up with Charmy the last few mornings had me on cloud nine but it didn’t help that there was still so much unsettled.
I knew that she’d talked to her parents about the break she was taking from ol’ boy but I had a feeling in my gut it wasn’t going to end there.
He’d had this control over her for so long that her telling him she was done with their charade wasn’t going to be enough to dissuade him from trying to force her hand.
That thought crossed my mind and within minutes I was in my truck racing to see my brother so he could give me advice.
“What makes you think that?”
I stopped pacing and took a deep breath so I could articulate my reasons instead of flying off the handle. “He’s the type. I mean hell he’s already blackmailing her so it’s not like me having to whoop his ass ain’t already on the table.”
Sampson nodded and I was sure he’d be ready to do-si-do on that asswhoppin’ with me. “True. You think he’ll just pop his ass up here?”
“Yep.”
He rubbed his beard and I was sure it was part frustration on how to keep me from losing it and outrage that someone would have the gall. “Damn, you didn’t hesitate with that at all.”
“Was I supposed to?”
The question was purely rhetorical but we sat there staring at each other like one of us would actually relinquish our point. After a brief standoff, he moved on because he knew I was too stubborn to give in.
“Like you said, he’s already holding something over her. I owe him a few licks for that shit. But I know you’ve got it covered.”
“Damn right. I didn’t see you letting me do anything to Reza’s ass when you got rid of him.”
“We eventually got to righteously tag-team someone after that so it’s not like you missed out.”
Some people would’ve thought it was strange for my normally calm brother to be speaking so casually about the murders we’d committed together.
Well, one I’d had to sit out on. But with us it was a matter of honor and pride.
Someone had put hands on his wife and he wasn’t going to allow them to breathe air.
I hoped that it wouldn’t come to that with Charmy’s so called ex but that nigga didn’t seem the type to understand when he’d been defeated.
I’d seen her ignoring his calls and the message of him trying to do and say things to entice her back.
He’d asked for her address here and she’d refused to give it.
Charisma didn’t want him to have that kind of access to her.
So he went behind her back and asked her parents in order to send her flowers.
They’d had it because her father had begun shipping her artwork to her.
If I’d known about that shit those flowers would’ve been left at the fucking gate or fed to the hogs.
Trent’s ass would be too if he kept fucking with me.
“Say, is it a hate crime if I beat up a gay nigga?” I flopped down into an arm chair because my energy was too high to pace pointlessly. Tapping my foot would have to suffice for now.
“That depends.” My brother didn’t even flinch at my question because he already knew where my head was. I appreciated that he didn’t mind answering despite my knowing he thought it was stupid.
I balanced my left ankle on my right knee before crossing my arms. From the way he said depends he was about to say something that would probably help ground me. I was probably going to ignore that shit and do what I wanted to anyway but I’m sure Samp knew that too.
“On what?”
“If you beating his ass ‘cause he’s gay.”
“Hell nah. I don’t have any issue with where he sticks his dick cause that ain’t my business.”
He huffed like I should’ve never bothered him but it was his fault for being so damn good at being my brother all these years. Had he sucked I wouldn’t depend on his ass for guidance. The paradox of excellence. “Then it’s not a hate crime, Nate.”
I nodded glad that his thoughts aligned with mine and I wouldn’t have to disappoint him by doing something he’d consider crazy. I’d wear the banner of being a bigot if it meant protecting Charisma. She would just have to be mad at me for a minute.
“Cool. I ain’t trying to be a hypocrite and shit. But I’m ready to take a trip just to ensure I can lay hands on him the way he so obviously needs.”
“You really like her.”
“Way more than like. That’s my forever.”
He stopped tapping his finger and looked me in a way that should’ve offended me. “You say that without hesitation.”
“Because it’s the truth. Frankly, I was on the edge of losing my damn mind having to be in the dark like this. Here we can be open and shit but she hasn’t fully explained the situation to her parents. I’m not trying to push because I know the why behind it. But I don’t have to like the deal.”
I adjusted myself on the sofa trying to tamp down the feelings that were threatening to come back up.
The way I was moving was new for me. I’d never put myself out to these lengths or played by anyone’s rules but mine.
Charisma wasn’t demanding but she made it clear that she was going to talk to us with her parents on her own time.
Did I like it? Hell no. But I had no choice but to accept it because she had my heart in a fucking vice.
“In his mind she was always his fall back. And now he’s missing out on the security that came from this arrangement. I’ll make sure to tell the guys to keep a closer eye on who is coming and going.”
“He couldn’t be that damn dumb.” I said that despite thinking the same thing only a few minutes ago. Most people didn’t understand how well armed and well secured the ranch was. It was why the cattle going missing had been such a big deal.
Samp barked a laugh so loud it had one of his dogs raising its head to see what was wrong. “Desperate men do stupid things. If it’s just true and his entire identity is based on her being his beard then he’s very desperate.”
His point was valid but my self-assurance came from that man not knowing shit about us or how to get out to Chisholm-Love property or mine.
Hell, so many people in Dallas were transplants or folks who hadn’t bothered to learn about Black Gold Valley that even saying the name wouldn’t be enough for someone to find their way.
“This shit is annoying as hell. I don’t know how I’m supposed to get through this.
” I ran my hand down my face irritated yet again that I wasn’t getting my way.
I felt like an asshole because I didn’t want the man to be ostracized but his inability to man up was stopping the progress on my future. And I wouldn’t tolerate that for long.
“I mean, it seems like everyone in the family had something to go through to get their forever.”
“Speaking of, if I were Yzzy I would’ve chopped you in the fucking throat a few times.”
“Nigga, for what?”
He was laughing but I wasn’t joking at all. I had a new respect for my sister-in-love because she really went hard in the paint and was respectful as fuck of Samp’s situation.
I threw one of the pillows on the sofa I knew was part of Yzzy’s touch on his place and he caught it, giving me a look like he was gonna retaliate.
I didn’t give a good damn because he was wrong in this situation.
“For playing around with her damn feelings and making her wait! I’m in her shoes only a tenth of the way right now and I want to fuck something up. You owe that girl big time.”
His head fell back like I was supposed to feel bad for his ass. “I married her, Nate.”
I wanted to hit his ass again because he was sounding about as willfully ignorant as he would claim me to be. “Which typically benefits men more than women. She’s already doing the heavy lifting in the relationship.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I know she’s pregnant.”
He sat his ass up quick as shit looking around, panicked like my ass had said Beetle Juice or Candy Man almost one time too many.
“Don’t say shit. She doesn’t want to announce anything until she’s out of the woods.
” The second I saw my brother in that golf cart and not in the saddle or an ATV my suspicions were confirmed.
“Bruh, everyone on this ranch deals with new life on a daily basis. At best, we’re all just being respectful because we know the signs.
But I can guarantee you that everyone knows something is up.
She’s not climbing over fences and you took her damn horse away!
Covert is not your fucking forte, Sampson. ”
Now he was looking stressed because none of us were fooled. “I know I’m pissing her off but I just want her to be okay. Like you so eagerly pointed out, I put her through enough. Denied us both so much and everything seems so good. I’m fucking petrified of something going wrong.”