Chapter 17
Work was the last place Devyn wanted to be that Monday, but she’d already taken off a couple of days to attend the race.
The thought of the race event made her cringe.
It sucked because she had actually been having fun until Azul showed up.
The memory of his hot breath on her neck, laying his plan out to them, made her feel queasy.
Thankful that her workday was finally over, Devyn said goodbye to her employees and made a beeline to her truck.
It was Haze’s first day alone with Hazel.
She hadn’t even been nervous to leave them alone, but she knew Haze was a little, which caused her to check in on them every hour.
As the day wore on, he seemed more confident, which made Devyn happy.
Haze was an excellent father, and his confidence with Hazel grew every day.
Pride filled her when she thought about her little family.
They had taken the weekend to spend time together.
Not once did they step outside of Haze’s house on Saturday or Sunday.
They spent most of their time in bed, eating, watching movies, and talking.
It had quickly become one of Devyn’s favorite memories.
Excitement filled her when she made it to Haze’s home, but confusion filled her when she saw a moving truck. Quickly, she got out of her truck and rushed inside.
“Haze?” she yelled as she dodged a couple of movers.
Her eyes widened when she noticed her bookshelf, complete with all the books, sitting in the living room. And there was her coffee table . . . her sofa . . .
“What the fuck?” she mumbled as Haze rounded the corner holding Hazel.
“Hey, Thicka.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek.
She looked at him like he was crazy. “Haze, what’s going on? Why is all my stuff here?”
He looked around as if he saw all the boxes and new furniture for the first time. Then, he had the nerve to look at her like he was confused. “You live here now.”
“What? When did I agree to that? When did we have that conversation?”
“Conversation?” he asked wearily.
She looked at him like he was touched in the head. “Yes, conversation, Haze. We never talked about what this would look like. Who’s paying the bills—”
“I’m offended.”
Devyn continued like she didn’t hear him. “What this means for Hazel . . . This is a lot, bae.”
Haze sincerely looked lost before he said, “I’m sorry?”
It was more of a question than a statement. Devyn stared at him for a moment before she burst into laughter. “You are a mess.” She reached for Hazel, who came to her willingly. “Hey, pumpkin.”
“Hi, Mommy.” She laid her head on Devyn’s chest while Devyn shook her head.
“I guess we live here now, baby. How you feel about that?” Devyn asked.
Hazel pondered it for a moment and then pointed at Haze. “Daddy?”
“Yes, we live here with Daddy now.”
“Okay.” Hazel shrugged and laid her head on Devyn’s chest.
Haze grinned. “See, I knew my girl was down wit’ it.”
Devyn brushed by him. “Next time you make a big decision like this—” She stopped and thought about it—“actually, any decision, talk to me first.”
“You got it, Thicka.”
“I’m just going to change, and then we can go,” she called over her shoulder as she walked up the stairs of her new home.
She couldn’t believe she lived with Haze now.
Nothing about their relationship was traditional, but she couldn’t worry about that now.
She had bigger fish to fry. It was time for her to introduce Haze to her parents.
Devyn tried not to fidget as they walked up the driveway to her parents’ house. Haze seemed cool as a cucumber, and envy filled her. She wished she could be so calm and collected, but the fear that Haze was not the kind of man her parents would want her with had her in a chokehold.
Through the years, all the men they tried to set her up with were lawyers and doctors.
While Haze’s mom seemed down-to-earth and cool to hang around, her parents were a bit stuffier.
Loving, but stuffy. They expected greatness from Devyn.
Her fear was that they wouldn’t see how great Haze was—that they would judge a book by its cover.
Devyn glanced at Haze. He dressed how he always did: black jeans, black T-shirt, and black leather boots. He looked good as hell to Devyn, but how would her parents receive him?
She pushed the door open and stepped inside. The smell of home cooking wafted through the air, and Devyn’s stomach growled.
“Devyn?” Melanie called out from the kitchen.
“Hey, Mama,” Devyn called back.
“Go on into the dining room. Your father is already in there. Dinner’s almost ready,” Melanie yelled.
Devyn led Haze into the dining room. He held Hazel in his arms. Devyn had pointed out the other day that the girl could walk, but Haze told her to hush. She just laughed it off because she understood that Haze was only making up for lost time.
“Hey, Daddy,” Devyn said as they entered the dining room. Her father had been caught eating a rib off the bone from the platter in the middle of the table. He froze and then held his finger up to his lips. Devyn giggled and then whispered, “And where were you going to hide the bone?”
Robert’s eyes grew wide, and Devyn shook her head while she held her hand out. Robert put the bone in her hand, and Devyn stealthily walked into the kitchen and disposed of it without her mother noticing. She was too busy plating the greens and fussing over the mac and cheese.
When she got back into the dining room, Haze and her father were shaking hands.
“Henry, but everyone calls me Haze.”
“Heard a lot about you, son. Nice to finally meet you,” Robert said as he sat back down.
“Have you, now?” Haze raised a brow at Devyn, who blushed.
Devyn sat down and ushered for Haze to do the same. “Of course, they knew about you. They didn’t think I got knocked up by a ghost.” She blushed at her words. “Sorry, Daddy.”
Robert waved her off and leaned toward Haze. “I’m the easygoing parent.”
“I heard that, Robert,” Melanie scolded as she entered the room with a plate.
Haze stood immediately, and when she put the hot plate down, he held his hand out. “Hi, Mrs. Frost. I’m Henry.”
“Haze, it’s so good to meet you.” Melanie beamed as she rounded the table and hugged Haze.
Okay, this is going better than I thought, Devyn thought as she watched the interaction.
Finally, they all sat down. Robert blessed the food, and they dug in.
“Haze, how are you adjusting to fatherhood?” Melanie asked as she passed the cornbread around.
“Wow, Ma. Right in with the heavy questions,” Devyn muttered.
“Hush, child,” Melanie fussed.
“It hasn’t been easy, honestly, but I love Hazel. She’s making it easier.” He looked down at Hazel, who currently tried to stuff a whole piece of cornbread into her mouth.
“Isn’t she the perfect angel?” Robert gushed.
“And here he goes,” Devyn teased.
“Hush,” Robert scolded.
Devyn giggled as she opted to eat her food quietly. Clearly, this dinner wasn’t for her to speak, and she was just fine with that. Haze was on his own now.
“I hear you’re in a motorcycle club?” Melanie asked, her brows raising.
Here we go, Devyn thought. She was ready to speak up if things got out of hand.
“I founded a motorcycle club, yes. I’m currently the president.”
“And what kinds of things do you do in this club?” Melanie asked.
Haze went into detail about the ride-alongs and the things they did for the community. Her mom seemed impressed the more he spoke.
“Next time you do a food drive, you just let me know. I can whip up some homemade stuff for you to give away.”
“I would love that. I’ll be sure to let you know,” Haze said.
After that, the conversation went smoothly. They ate their dinner and made it through dessert without incident. More and more, Devyn learned that her worrying would quite literally get her nowhere. It was a hard lesson to learn this way, but she was thankful for the lesson, nonetheless.
Later, while she helped her mother wash dishes, Melanie bumped Devyn’s hip. “Foolish girl.”
Devyn’s eyes ballooned. “Ma!”
Melanie shrugged. “Just sayin’. He’s a fine young man, and he’s clearly madly in love with you.”
Devyn blushed. “And I love him, too, Mama.”
It was Melanie’s turn to look surprised. “My daughter in love? I never thought I’d see the day.”
“I know this is all you’ve wanted.”
Melanie put the dish down that she had been rinsing.
“Honey, no. What I wanted was for you to be happy.
What I want is for you to have more than just work in your life.
I had to sit back and watch your father work his life away.
Now, all we have are a few years to really enjoy ourselves.
I sat back and watched your father give you the same work ethic he had. All I tried to do was give you balance.
“As you move through your life with Haze, because I think he’s around for the long haul, I want you to remember there’s more to life than work.
Delegate as much as you can. Your father put in all the hard work so you don’t have to.
The dealership is up, it’s running, and it has the best reputation.
All you need to do is maintain it and spend the rest of your time loving on your man and your daughter. Do you understand me?”
Devyn nodded with a lump in her throat. For so long, Devyn thought she and her mom just had different ideas about life in general. Now, she understood that her mom was simply trying to save her from a life of misery.
Dropping the pan she’d been washing, she hugged her mom. The two sat in that embrace for a moment before they pulled apart.
“Love you, Mama.”
“And I love you. Now, go ahead and check on your man. Make sure your daddy hasn’t talked his ear off. I’ll finish up here.”
Devyn kissed her mom’s cheek and found her way to the living room. Of course, Hazel had these two grown ass men wrapped around her finger, because Bluey currently played while Hazel twirled around the floor.
Devyn plopped down on the couch next to Haze and laid her head on his shoulder. “How you doing?”
“Great, baby. Perfect,” he replied before placing a kiss on her forehead.
Perfect was the proper word for this moment, and Devyn realized these were the moments she needed to chase for the rest of her life.
Haze put his arm around her, and she sank into his side, capturing this moment as another one of her favorites.