STACEY
Waking up, I turned to look at the empty space next to me, making me wonder how late it was. Roman liked blackout curtains, making the room dark no matter what time of day it was.
It must be pretty late because I could hear the hum of conversation and laughter that I recognised as Rosie’s. I was relieved that she seemed to be doing okay after yesterday, although I had a feeling it would haunt her on certain occasions. I made a mental note to find someone for her to talk to once I was able to.
That was for another day, though. Getting up, I hurried through my morning routine, wanting to get out there and find out what was going to happen today. Opal, Maura, and Chrissie, Cash and Lizzie’s youngest daughter, had all fallen asleep while watching a movie. It had made more sense to leave them and collect them this morning. I’m sure they’d want breakfast before they left. With that thought in mind, I tugged on a pair of leggings and a long, loose-flowing aqua-coloured top. Quickly braiding my hair, I called it a day.
Walking out of Roman’s bedroom, down the short passage towards the kitchen, I came to a halt in the doorway. There he was in all his glory, wearing a pair of black sweatpants, shirtless with his tattoos on display and the muscles—good Lord, the muscles on the man were phenomenal—and I’d know because I’d licked and kissed most of them.
But that wasn’t what had me stopping to watch. No, it was the fact that he was cooking breakfast for the girls and seemed perfectly comfortable doing it. This obviously wasn’t the first time he’d done this either, not with the way he expertly dropped pancakes onto a plate. Cash and Lizzie’s girls were comfortable getting cutlery and showing Opal where everything was. Rosie was at the stove with Roman, helping him. And that alone made my heart beat in an entirely different way. Roman had shown more care and attention to Rosie in the last month than Grudge had in her entire sixteen years.
In one way, it pissed me off that he’d treated her so badly, but in another way, I was fucking thrilled because she now knew the difference in the way that Roman treated her.
“Morning, Aunty Stacey,” Chrissie bubbled, happily coming towards me and giving me a hug. I don’t think this kid knew how to be unhappy or mad; from when she’d been a baby, she’d been a bundle of happiness.
“Morning, sweetheart,” I replied, returning her hug.
Walking up to Roman and Rosie and bussed a kiss to her cheek before tilting my head for a kiss from Roman, which he obliged me with. “Do you need any help?”
“Nah, baby. Grab a coffee and sit. Rosie and I have a system.”
Leaving them to it, I made myself a cup of coffee, topping Roman’s up while I was at it. Taking my coffee to the table, I sat down next to Opal.
“How did you girls sleep?” I asked.
“Really good,” Opal nodded. “Maestro’s couches are really comfortable. Probably because they haven’t had four boys throwing themselves down into them,” she sniggered.
Chuckling along with her, I had to agree; her brothers weren’t small, and I had a feeling they were hard on the furniture.
“Here you go,” Roman plunked a platter of pancakes on the table, and Rosie added a platter of bacon.
“That’s a lot of food,” I remarked.
“Cash and Lizzie will be over soon, and I have someone else arriving as well.”
Before I could ask who else was coming, his phone rang, and he walked out towards the living room, telling the person on the phone to hold. He turned to us, “Y’all start, I won’t be long.”
The girls, taking him at his word, got stuck in dishing up like they hadn’t eaten in days. At first, I thought I was hearing things when I heard my son’s voice, but then I realised that no, I wasn’t.
‘What the hell was he doing here instead of being at school?’ I wondered.
Rosie’s wide eyes met mine, and then she was up and out of her chair, running towards the front door. I heard the humph of her hitting her brother before her sobbed, “Kyle.”
Slowly getting up from the table, I walked into the lounge to find my daughter wrapped in her brother’s arms, sobbing her heart out. Tears pricked my eyes. My kids were close, they always had been, even with the four-year age gap. I’d still like to know what he was doing here, though. Turning my attention to Roman, I knew immediately how he’d found out what had happened. I didn’t know if I was angry or not.
Roman walked to me, snaking his arm around my waist; he pulled me towards him, bending his head, he softly said, “Don’t be mad, sweetheart. He’s been the man in your house for years; he’d have been pissed if I didn’t tell him. And I had a feeling Rosie needed him, but she’d never ask him to come home.”
Pressing my lips together tightly, I nodded because he was right; Rosie wouldn’t have asked, and honestly, I was glad to have him home. I hated that I’d made him choose the farthest college away from his father because I could see what was going to happen if they stayed in the same town.
“Okay,” I agreed, “but next time, Roman, speak to me first. If we’re going to do this, then I need communication. I don’t mean about Church or anything like that, but if it’s about the kids or us, then I need to know.”
“That’s fair, baby, I’ll try and do better. You’ll have to be patient or kick me in the ass because I’ve never been in a relationship before, so I’m bound to fuck up sometimes. Now, how about you go and greet your son so we can get to breakfast?” Kissing my cheek, he gently pushed me towards Kyle, who held out his arm for me. Walking towards him, I wondered when the hell my little boy had grown into a man who towered over me.
Rosie calmed down about the time Cash and Lizzie walked in the door with their son, RJ, meaning breakfast was loud and chaotic. When Roman’s dad, Red, then Tinman and Maggie walked in, we’d had to get some camp chairs from the garage. While I didn’t like the reason we were all together, I was grateful for all the extra support.