14. Faith
For thirty whole minutes, I stood in the doorway of Jada’s room watching her and Reed play with dolls. She had a crown on his head and a feathered boa around his shoulders, and he looked happier than I’d ever seen him.
Jada was having a ball. Every time she called Reed daddy, he looked like he was about to cry, but he refrained.
My heart was so full, watching them together.
I wanted to give them time to bond, but I wasn’t ready to leave my baby alone with someone she didn’t know, father or not.
I trusted that Reed wouldn’t do anything to her, but Jada was my baby too.
Was this what it would be like for her to have a dad?
All my hate and bitterness toward Reed was slowly fading away, and I didn’t know how to feel about it.
Part of me still wondered why he never came for me if he didn’t get married like he was supposed to but that was neither here nor there.
This was about our daughter. Hell, he could also wonder why I never told him he had a daughter in the first place.
Actually, if I were him, I was almost certain that I would hate my guts.
Reed hadn’t come to that conclusion yet, and I could only pray that he never arrived there.
Just in case he did, we really needed that DNA test. I didn’t need any more disappearing acts.
Knowing for sure that he had a daughter might help deter him from ghosting us once the novelty of seeing me again wore off.
Yet another knock on the door tore my attention away from my crew. Who the hell could it be now?
I wasn’t expecting anyone. If Jasper had come back, I wasn’t sure I would be able to talk Reed out of doing something to him this time.
Reed might have been a rich, pretty boy on the outside, but growing up in a mafia family had made him tough.
I was blown away the first time I saw him and Nicholas get active.
They knocked some dudes out after the club and stomped them out wearing Paraboots and Purple Label sweaters.
I didn’t think I would be able to calm Reed down, but as soon as we heard sirens, he swept me up in his arms and ushered me to the car like nothing had ever happened.
That was why it was so easy for me to believe that their asses were corrupt.
They could put up a good front, but they had another side to them.
Pushing off the wall, I walked over to the door to see who my surprise guest was this time. I learned my lesson the first time I opened the door without looking out or checking my app, so this time, I pulled my phone out of my back pocket as I made my way to the door.
My camera loaded just in time for me to see a delivery driver sprinting back to his truck.
I was convinced that it was a requirement that you had to run track to be a delivery driver.
I rarely ever saw them in action. Packages just magically appeared at my door most of the time.
This time, I had the feeling a certain new father was the culprit for my unexpected delivery.
I couldn’t even get out the door because of the huge brown box with an etching of a doll house on it. I didn’t even look at the other boxes because my head was already swimming. Reed was so hardheaded.
“Reed!”
“What’s up, my love?” he quizzed, sticking his head out into the hallway.
“Can I speak to you for a minute?”
“Sure. Come on, baby girl. I need to show you your gifts before your mom tries to ruin it.”
I shook my head, knowing there was no use in trying to reason with him. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t try to talk some sense into him though.
“Reed, what is all this? She doesn’t need all this stuff.”
“I was wondering if the bike would be put together. I was ready to get my tools out.”
“Ooo, Mama, can I ride my bike?”
“Let me get this stuff in the house, and we will go in the backyard.”
“If you pick up either one of those boxes, I know something,” Reed threatened.
“I’m trying to get them off the porch.”
“And I said you better not lay a hand on them. Take my baby to the back. I’ll put the boxes inside.”
“Is that a dollhouse, Daddy?”
“Yes, it is. I wasn’t sure if you had one, but just in case, I wanted to make sure you did.”
“Thank you!” Jada squealed.
Seeing how excited my daughter was made me feel like a hater for telling her dad he was doing too much.
I knew he was only trying to make up for lost time.
It was my fault that he had to do that in the first place.
Just before I talked myself into accepting Reed’s nonsense, I spotted a child-sized piano among the boxes.
“Uh-uh, Reed, you’re going to have to take that piano to your house. My nerves can’t take that.”
“That’s fine with me.”
“Where do you live, Daddy? Can I go to your house?”
“You sure can. We just have to wait until your mom has time.”
Jada’s head whipped in my direction in a flash. “When do you have time, Mama?”
I meant what I said when I told Reed that I felt like things were moving too fast. At this point, I knew it wasn’t a call I could make with a clear conscience. Reed had missed six years of Jada’s life. How slow did I want things to go?
“I have some work stuff, but I’ll be done with it soon,” I explained, hoping that would buy just a little bit of time.
“You’ve always been a workaholic. Remember when the fraternities had that big block party, and I found you in the library writing an article about it for the school paper?”
“Yes, I do. I was in there because my work comes first.”
“Or so you thought. How were you going to write about it when you hadn’t even been out there?”
“I was just giving the rundown of what it was.”
“Until I drug you out of that dungeon so you could experience it firsthand. You had a good time. Admit it.”
“I did.” I nodded my head, smiling at the fond memory of dancing in the street and eating so much barbecue that I thought I would pop.
“How do you like your job?” he asked, catching me off guard.
“I used to love it. I get to work behind the scenes and bring Cassidy and Barbara exclusive information. These days, everything is about what you can sensationalize. Nobody cares about anyone’s feelings or their reputation.
They don’t even care about the truth half the time. They just want a good story.”
“So basically, you hate it,” he deduced.
“I didn’t say all that. It’s not always fun, but I love what I do.”
“But if you had the chance to leave, you would?”
“Are you asking this because my current assignment is to find dirt on your business?”
“Not at all. I’ve already told you there’s nothing to find.”
“Yet, just a few days ago, counterfeit chips showed up out of nowhere,” I mentioned.
“So you think we had something to do with that?” he asked.
“How the hell else would they get there? I’ve seen the top-of-the-line financial security systems you guys use. Nothing is getting in or out without someone knowing it. That’s why I know it was an inside job.”
“Well, when you find out who’s behind it, you make sure to let me know.”
“I sure will.”
“Now back to my question. If you had the chance to quit your job, would you do it?”
“Quit and do what?”
“Anything your heart desires.” He shrugged.
“Daddy, can you open this computer for me?” Jada requested.
“Computer? What computer?” I asked, moving around Reed to walk over to where Jada balanced a box in her lap. “Reed, I know you did not buy this girl a laptop. What in the world does she need with a laptop?”
“There better be two of them,” he said, showing up at my side and removing the box from Jada’s lap as he sat down beside her to open it.
“Two?”
“I got you one too. They said this is the newest one. I figured it didn’t make sense for her to have the latest edition, and you not have it too. I want both of my babies to have the best.”
“Ooo, Mama, my daddy called you his baby,” Jada sang.
I tried to bite back my smile since Reed’s eyes seemed to be glued to my face. Of course, it didn’t work. No matter how hard I tried to fight it, I liked having my family together. It felt good for Jada to have a dad, and it had only been a few hours.
Reed and I had been out of touch for years, but I knew he would do what it took to put a smile on my baby’s face. That’s all I could ever ask for. He winked at me as he stood and walked over to the stack of boxes he’d brought into the house.
“I got you a new desk chair too.”
“Who said I needed a new chair, Reed? I keep telling you that this is too much.”
“You might as well change my name to Too Much because I’m going to do whatever I feel is necessary for my babies.”
“I’m just asking why you thought I needed a new chair.”
“Because you keep stretching and rubbing your back every time you get up,” he responded.
“That’s because my back gets stiff from sitting so much,” I explained.
Shaking his head, he replied, “I can’t have my baby with a bad back.”
“See, I can’t with you.” I shook my head.
“No, seriously, though. A new chair worked wonders for my back.”
I giggled. “I don’t have a bad back.”
“Well, this way you won’t get one. I need your back in full working order.”
“You know what? I’m not doing this with you.”
“Be honest. Do you like your job, or do you just like working yourself to death so you don’t have to live life?”
“I live life. Much of that life just happens to revolve around work.”
“Life isn’t all about work. You have to find a balance.”
“Like you did with Paula?” I questioned.
Damn. I didn’t even know where that came from, so I damn sure didn’t know how it came out. It was out now, and the shit-eating grin on Reed’s face showed just how much I would regret letting that slip.
“You don’t have to worry about her, baby. Anything I had going on before the moment you walked back into my life is dead.”
“I’m not worried about anyone, and I didn’t exactly walk back into your life. I’m trying to take you down.”
“You know damn well the real reason you came back was because you missed me.”
I had to laugh at that. “You’re so full of yourself.”
“I want you to be full of me.” He smirked.
Jada came sprinting from her bedroom, stopping me from telling Reed about himself.
“Can my daddy watch the movie with us?” Jada asked once she slowed to a stop in front of us.
“I don’t mind. That’s if he doesn’t mind watching cartoons.”
“You like cartoons, Daddy? Auntie Hope says they’re just for kids, but anyone can watch them.”
“I’ll do whatever you want to do.” Reed smiled as he followed Jada over to the couch. He just didn’t know what he was agreeing to.
Since Jada was comfortable with him, I decided to stop hovering and give them a little space.
“I’m going to make dinner while the two of you start the movie.”
“OK,” Jada replied without even looking back. She was too busy showing Reed how to find kids movies on her favorite app.
It was a special occasion, so when I was done cooking, I served them in the living room. When we were done eating, I made sure to stay out of the way so they could spend time getting to know each other.
For hours, I watched the two of them interact.
After the unicorn movie, Reed tried his hand at putting together the dollhouse he had delivered.
At the end of the day, the dollhouse looked like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and both Reed and Jada were knocked out on the couch.
They had fallen asleep to another movie with talking animals. That was Jada’s favorite theme.
I let the movie play out before waking them up. It was after eight on a school night, which meant it was time for Jada to get ready for bed.
“Get your pajamas ready for your bath,” I told her once she was awake enough to understand.
“Can my daddy have a sleepover again?”
Reed’s eyes immediately shot over to me, and I shook my head to shut it down.
“Maybe another time.”
“Don’t worry, Jada. I’ll see you tomorrow after school.”
“OK!” Jada scurried off to her bedroom while I walked Reed to the door.
“Thank you for today. I didn’t know what to expect.”
“Expect me to take care of my family. That includes you, Faith.”
“You don’t have to do that. Just keep showing up for my baby. She’s used to it just being me, Granny, and my sisters. I haven’t had anyone coming in and out of her life, and I’m not going to start now.”
“Don’t even try me like that. You know how I’m coming.”
“I’m just so used to being let down. I don’t want her to have to go through that.”
“And she won’t. I promise I won’t let either of you down. It doesn’t even feel right to leave you here like this. I should be taking you both with me.”
“This is our home.”
“And you are mine, Faith. You know how I feel about you, baby. Stop blocking me out and let me love you. I promise I won’t let you down again.”
I sighed. “I guess we’ll see, won’t we.”
“I’m going to leave before you say you didn’t mean it like that.”
“Good night, Reed.”
“See you tomorrow?” he quizzed.
“Bright and early. I have to finish out my assignment. I still don’t really have enough to give them what they’re asking for.”
He chuckled before settling into an easy smile. “Fuck that job. Let me take care of you.”
“I told you I like my job.”
“That’s not exactly what you said. You basically said you hated it but were committed to it. You hate me, too, yet we have a mutual commitment. You know you’re never going to have to want for shit anymore. It wouldn’t matter if you didn’t have my child.”
“Well, I do, and I’ll be there bright and early in the morning.”
He chuckled. “Just tell me you want to be around your man and cut the bullshit.”
“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes but didn’t bother to try to hide my smile.
“I’m serious. I miss you and Jada already, and I’m still standing at your door.”
“Good night, Reed.”
“Don’t rush me. My daughter asked if I wanted to have a sleepover. I don’t think she wants me to leave, neither does mommy.”
“Boy, bye,” I said, shaking my head.
Grabbing my chin, he gave me a soft kiss on the lips.
My mind never even gave me the signal to fight it.
My body was all in, even if my heart still felt a little nervous about letting him access us again.
I cursed my knees for buckling. My entire body was at odds with this situation.
Thankfully, Reed didn’t seem to notice. He brushed his hand over his hair as he took a couple of steps back.
“See you in the morning, gorgeous. Kiss my baby girl good night for me.”
“I will.”