Chapter 35
“Hey, Unc. How is she doing?” When he called me to the hospital, I automatically assumed the worst. However, once I stepped into the room and I saw her face, my nerves settled.
“What’s up, Tootie? You were tryna check out on us, weren’t you?” I headed over to her side of the bed to give her a hug. When I made contact with her, I let out all of the emotions I had bottled up for the last few months. From finding out about her being my birth mother to her almost dying, everything hit me all at one time. Her hand massaged my back, something she always did whenever I was upset.
When I got myself together, I pulled back to get a good look at her. Her light brown skin seemed paler than I’d grown accustomed to. However, she appeared to be in good spirits.
“I didn’t know if you would come or not,” she croaked with a strained voice.
“Why wouldn’t I? Even if I were mad at you, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re family. I would never truly walk away from you,” I admitted. Although there were still some things we needed to sort through, I couldn’t stay mad if I wanted to. They were a part of me.
“I’m glad to hear it. How are you doing? I feel like I’ve missed so much in your life.”
“How are you in the hospital asking about me? I should be the last thing on your mind,” I teased.
“You’re always on my mind. Where are those handsome boys at? Your father showed me pictures of them. They have their mother’s face, but I see you all through them. Cashynn looks like he gives people hell.” I chuckled, knowing her observation was spot on.
“He acts more like me than I care to admit, but we’re working on it.”
“I’m happy for you. I’ve always believed you and Charae were meant to be together. The fact that you two have children together only solidifies my predictions.” Tootie always told me that Charae was the one, and I agreed. We were supposed to be endgame, but life got in the way.
“Yeah, I’m working on it. My life is complicated right now.”
“Those complications are the reason we called you here. I reached out to a buddy of mine to see if they could look into the accident, and I found out some interesting information. Do you know a Boris Monarch?” My head jerked back when he mentioned the coach’s name.
“Yeah, he’s Harper’s father.” Uncle Ro and Tootie glanced at each other strangely, as if they were communicating without saying a single word.
“What? What does he have to do with this?”
“According to my friend, he owns the vehicle that caused the accident. The driver sped away after the hit, but the cameras at a nearby gas station were able to get an image of the license plate. There is also footage of the driver getting out of the SUV before they were seen fleeing the scene.” The news he revealed took me by surprise as I paced the floor.
“Wait. Are you saying this was intentional? Why would anyone intentionally crash into another vehicle?”
“Those are the questions I was seeking the answers to. I have a few people looking at this, but the woman who caused the accident has her face hidden in most of the footage. We’re trying to blow up a few still shots to see if there are any identifiers that we can use. I don’t know what kind of game those people are playing, but they messed with the wrong one.” Uncle Ro’s eyes were cold and dark as he looked out into the window.
“There is something I haven’t told you about my situation. I don’t understand why they would target Tootie, but it might be helpful later on.”
“I’m listening.” Taking a deep breath, I began to relay the story to the both of them. After I finished, Uncle Ro’s temperament went from bad to worse.
“Why the hell wouldn’t you call me if you were in trouble? What were you thinking?” he hissed, pacing the room.
“We weren’t exactly on speaking terms, and I thought I could handle things on my own.”
“You weren’t thinking. If you were, you would have put your pride to the side and called me. Regardless of what we have going on, I am your family. If someone threatened you, then they threatened me. I’ve killed many for thinking that was a wise thing to do.” Uncle Ro vented in a low tone.
“It sounds as if these people are mentally unstable. How the hell did you get caught up with them? When I ran her background, there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. However, your description of her current behavior sounds like someone who may have suffered from mental health issues. I’m gonna call Mason and see if he can dig a little deeper into this family. I’m sure they are moving like this because they have some dirt of their own they don’t want exposed. I’m going to turn over every rock until I find some information we can use against them. In the meantime, I need you to get close to her.”
“What do you mean?” I questioned, narrowing my eyes in his direction.
“Look, this woman is obsessed with you. Right now, she is probably grasping at straws out of fear that their plan won’t work. I need you to get close to her. Reassure her that you are no longer upset and that you can’t wait to marry her. She'll fall for it if she is as unstable as she sounds. Do whatever you have to do in order to regain her trust. The more comfortable you make her, the sloppier she will be.
“Her father may be the brains of the operation, but Harper is the key to dismantling this entire plan.”
“I don’t know. This has gotten so far out of hand. Plus, you’re asking me to get close to her knowing she might have been involved with the accident. I don’t know if I can be around her and pretend as if everything is okay.”
“I’m sure you can manage. You went this long pretending to be in love with her; a couple more weeks won’t hurt. Help me so I can help you. Otherwise, my only other solution would be to eliminate the entire family down to the pets.”
“I don’t know if killing them will be the best route for now, so I will do my part.”
“Make sure you have a talk with Sunny. If you are anything like me, then she doesn’t know what has taken place. This isn’t the time to leave her in the dark. You never know what these people have planned, and it would be unwise to leave your family out of the loop.”
“I held off from telling her because I thought I could take care of things before they got out of hand,” I admitted. Sunny had been on my ass about leaving her in the dark, but I thought it was for the best.
“When you get back home, you need to sit her down and explain it the same way you explained it to me. Make sure she has protection around her or a weapon. When an unstable person feels like they are losing control, they will hit you where it hurts. Keep your eyes open and prepare your family. Moolah has the same characteristics you possessed as a child. You might see him as a kid, but he could be a great asset to you.”
“No. I understand involving Sunny, but I draw the line with my sons. I know what it’s like to grow up too fast. Those are some scars that never heal. I’m not willing to take their childhood from them.”
“You are thinking with your emotions and not your instincts. I would never suggest anything that would hurt my grandsons. However, you can’t be everywhere at once. All I’m saying is that you need to prepare them. Take them to the gun range and get them familiar with a gun. You may not be ready for them to grow up, but would you rather them get ambushed with no ability to protect themselves? Can you live with that?”
His revelation angered me, but he was right. I couldn’t guarantee Harper and her father wouldn’t go after them if I failed to cooperate with them. As much as I wanted to shield them, I couldn’t.
“I know this is hard on you, baby. However, you must do everything in your power to ensure your family’s safety. It was one of the reasons Roman insisted on you taking those boxing classes and taking you to the range. When your parents passed away, the people responsible attempted to come after you. Roman made sure we were heavily detailed, but in the event that something went wrong, you would have been ready for anything.” Tootie shared some information I’d never heard before.
“Did you catch them?” Uncle Ro and I never discussed what happened to my parents when they died. After the funeral, he sent Tootie and me out of the state for a month. Then we randomly returned home as if nothing happened.
“You should already know the answer. No one hurts my family and lives to tell the story. I ended three generations of their bloodline. No one is off limits.” I could tell by the grimace on his face that he was reliving those moments.
“Thank you for your help.”
“Money, don’t insult me. You are my blood. I’ll end my own life if it means protecting you.” In Uncle Ro’s way, he was letting me know he loved me. I needed to hear that.
“When am I going to be able to meet my grandbabies?” Tootie asked. A huge smile spread across her face.
“As soon as you’re better and out of this place. I want you to come stay with me until you get better.” Sunny and I talked about it on the way back home last week. Rhyann was scheduled to be discharged in a few days, and she would be staying with me as well.
“Are you sure that is a good idea? I don’t want to be a burden on you.”
“I’m sure. My girl is a physical therapist, and she will be helping you regain mobility. I’ve also hired a nurse to monitor your day-to-day. If I am going up against these people, I need my family close to me.”
“I don’t know if that would be a good idea. If Harper and her family were involved, do you think having them under the same roof would be a wise decision?”
“When I said home, I meant the one I have with my family. I bought a new house for them. With the baby coming, I thought we needed more space. Charae doesn’t know about it yet, but I’ll be surprising her after her baby shower this week. It has already been furnished, thanks to her best friend and the interior designer. All we have to do is move in.” I let them in on a secret I had been holding for a while now.
When Sunny told me she was pregnant, I decided to find a house for her. Of course, I got her input before I started the process. She had no idea why I kept asking her questions about what she wanted for her dream home. Tamia helped me search until we finally settled on a home we would both love. My old house held too many bad memories, so I planned to sell it the moment this was all over.
“Are you sure?”
“There is nothing to be sure about. You and my sister will stay with me until you get better. If you decide to leave afterwards, it will be your decision. Right now, I would feel more comfortable knowing you are being properly cared for. Plus, I’m sure Sunny would appreciate the extra sets of hands when the baby comes.”
“I see you’ve got it all figured out. I will need to inspect the place and verify the security system is up to par, but I agree with you. I can sell the houses we have here and put the money in an account for the two of you,” Uncle Ro offered.
“Sell my house? I don’t know. Could we rent it out maybe? I don’t know if I’m ready to completely let go of it yet.”
“It’s time, Toots. This city has nothing else to offer you, and your son needs you.”
“What about you?” she probed.
“I don’t know yet. Maybe I’ll find a house out there so I can be closer to my family. My grandsons asked me to take them fishing, and I think it’s time for me to get back to my roots.”
“Wait. Are you serious? You’re leaving the organization for good?” I never thought I would see the day Uncle Ro would settle down and come back home.
“I’ll never truly be out of the organization, but I’ve decided to keep my availability on a case-by-case basis. I’m ready to plant roots and spend time with the people who matter most.” It sounded too good to be true, and to be honest, I stopped getting my hopes up a long time ago. If, by some chance, he did move closer to us, I would welcome him with open arms. However, I wasn’t comfortable with him making promises to my children that he couldn’t keep. Unc had always been unpredictable, and I wouldn’t allow anyone to make false promises to my kids.
“I think it would be a great idea. You aren’t getting any younger,” Tootie pointed out. The two of them continued to talk amongst themselves while I took a moment to check on Sunny. She replied back that she was headed home to take a nap on her lunch break. I checked the cameras at both houses to make sure everything was in order. This week would be hectic with the baby shower, along with us moving into the new house. I made sure to hire a moving team to handle all the tedious work I had no desire to do. My gut told me Sunny wouldn’t be comfortable with strangers packing up her house, so Dreis agreed to help me with her things this weekend.
I planned to have a talk with her tonight so I could lay everything out on the table. I’d made my intentions clear, but now it was time to put some action behind it.
“I’m going to get out of your way so the two of you can talk. I’ll be in touch within two days, Money. Please take what I said into consideration. If you need me to train my grandsons myself, I will.”
“No, that won’t be necessary. I’ve got it. I appreciate all of your help. If anything comes up on my end, I’ll be sure to let you know.” He walked over to hug me before his attention went back to Tootie.
“I’ll be back tonight. Since you’ve been cleared to eat solids, I’ll sneak you in some real food later on,” he promised, kissing her on the forehead. For some reason, they reminded me of Sunny and me. Even through all they’d been through, the love between them was undeniable.
“Take care of her while I’m gone.”
“I will.”
“He means well.”
“You seem to be his biggest cheerleader,” I replied, taking the seat Uncle Ro occupied.
“I’m well versed in all things Roman. He can be a very complicated man, but when he loves you, his loyalty runs deep.” I wasn’t in the mood to talk about my uncle.
“Do you regret it?”
“Yes and no. When Roman and his family first suggested I give you up, I shut it down. You were mine. The one person in the world who wanted me around.” She spoke in a soft voice which I assumed was due to her being intubated for more than a week.
“The day you were born, I made a promise that I would give you a great life. In my mind, I would right all of the wrongs my parents made with me. In an instant, everything changed. I thought I could handle it, but I failed. The pills became a crutch for me. There were times when I would sit in the room high out of my mind while you screamed to the top of your lungs. It crushed my soul because I was supposed to be better than her.” Tears cascaded down the side of her face.
“You were everything I could ever want in a child. When I looked into your sweet face, I wondered how God could create something so perfect in such an imperfect world. You were my angel. There were times when I would sit and watch your chest rise and fall for hours. I prayed that you wouldn’t grow up to hate me because I wasn’t worthy to be blessed with a gift as great as you.
“When we came to an agreement, they offered to allow me as much access to you as I wanted. I took advantage every chance I could, even if it were just a moment to sniff your neck or sing to you. Your mom made sure to update me on every single milestone, and I would document it in my scrapbook. When I went to rehab, your pics were taped to my walls to remind me that someone out there needed me to push through. I fucked up so badly.” She wiped her face with her hands.
“When I came home from the last stint in rehab, you were four years old. I wanted you back with me, but everyone feared I would relapse again. It motivated me to prove them wrong, but by that time, you were already calling them mom and dad. Every time I heard the words, it felt like a dagger to the heart. It was nobody’s fault but mine, though. I decided being in your life in any capacity would be better than no longer having access to you at all.
“You were always wanted, Dinero. Always. You were my reason. Every time you accomplished something great, I would thank the Most High for blessing the world with your light. Whenever you would hug me and tell me you loved me, I would melt into pieces. I did the right thing, baby. Maybe I should have told you when you got older. I certainly could have handled the situation better. However, your parents provided you with love and stability. I never experienced either of those as a child, so in my mind, you were already better off.
“Regardless of the mistakes I made, you were wanted. You were loved, Dinero. I prayed for you every single day. I saved every memory God allowed me to have with you because you were the best thing I’ve done in life. You are a star. You are a blessing. You’re my blessing.” Her hand reached out for mine, and I obliged.
As I reflected over all the moments that were important in my life, Tootie was present in all of them. Even after Sunny left, Tootie came to check on me. She prayed over me while I was drunk and broken.
She had flaws like everyone else, but she was there through it all. Forgiveness had been a struggle for me, but life taught me that every situation couldn’t be handled the same way. Anger and resentment would only hinder me, and I wanted more for myself and my children. It was time for me to put the past behind me so I could become the man my family needed me to be. Hell, I’d made my own mistakes that required the forgiveness of others. Who was I to deny the same to the people who loved me?
“I love you, Tootie.”
“I love you more.”