Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
KENDRALL
W hen we arrived at Uncle WJ’s house, I was still in shock. I couldn’t believe everything that had happened in the span of an hour. Cassie’s bio mom is a no-good skank. Her bio mom is related to Courtney and Jameka. Cassie is biologically Uncle WJ’s half-sister. What the entire fuck? When Cassie punched the shit out of her, I was stunned. I expected maybe an open-handed slap. That fucking punch was filled with rage, irritation, animosity, and pain.
Cassie’s mother had never been who she needed her to be. Although she had Kendall, when she was younger, she craved that bond with Shayla’s trifling ass. She didn’t start living with her dad full time until she was eight years old. The crazy part was that Shayla dropped her off to him for his weekend and never came back to get her.
The next time she was involved with her mother was when she found out Price wasn’t her father. She was still in the hospital after that terrible accident when Shayla tried to flex her rights as the custodial parent and forbade Mr. Price from seeing her. It was only when Cassie refused to eat or talk and had started declining that she called Price to come back and had signed her rights away.
She only wanted Cassie because of the money being donated by people all over the place to help with Cassie’s medical costs and Mr. Price’s lost wages. From that day, her presence had been scarce in Cassie’s life, and secretly, she missed her. She didn’t want to offend Mrs. Kendall, so she vented to me or kept it to herself.
And now… a piece of herself that she was missing was right here in Nome… both sides of her biological family. I knew she didn’t want shit to do with her mom’s side, but at least she would have the big dawg to see about her.
I turned to her before we could get out of the car and asked, “You okay?”
She gave me a tight smile and nodded. I got out to help her out of the car. The ride over had been quiet, as had been the rest of the day once we left the diner. Her parents had come to Nome to check on her and love on her. Other than that, no conversation was had. She lay in my arms until it was time to come here to Uncle WJ’s house.
I could imagine she was emotionally drained. That was a lot of information dumped on her all at once. I just hoped Uncle WJ could provide the clarity she needed to move on from this. I almost snatched that check from her, but when she gave her reasons for not wanting it, I totally understood. Shayla would have been giving her grief about that money for years to come, saying if it weren’t for her, Cassie wouldn’t have gotten it.
When she said that, I was glad she gave that money back, because Shayla wasn’t gon’ stop until Cassie ended up in jail for real. Hopefully, she didn’t press charges for that punch Cassie hit her with. My baby had been through enough bullshit the past few weeks for a lifetime. I hoped that I could just do my job as her man and be there for her, making things easier for her to deal with.
I rang the doorbell as I held Cassie’s hand, and Nesha opened the door. “Hey, y’all! Come on in.”
Cassie met everyone at the celebratory dinner Dad threw for Karima and me, but I wasn’t sure if she remembered them all or not. Most of my cousins she didn’t remember from when we were young, just the ones that came around our house a lot when we were kids. “Cassie, in case you don’t remember, this is Nesha, Uncle WJ’s daughter and your niece.”
“Thanks, babe, but I remembered her.”
I smiled at her and kissed her head, then we followed Nesha to the lounging room. “Daddy, they’re here.”
Uncle WJ smiled and stood from his seat as we entered the room. Shakayla and Chenetra were already here too. I hadn’t seen them in a while, so I went to them and hugged them tightly while Cassie hugged Uncle WJ. He introduced her to everyone, including Aunt Liv, Decaurey, Tyies, and the twins. I supposed her being a teacher, she didn’t forget a face and put names and faces together easily. The only thing she didn’t remember were the twins’ names.
Once we were all seated, Unc went right in. “So, I can tell that you’re bothered. You don’t have to be shy around here. You were way livelier at dinner the other night. So I know what your happy looks like.”
She fidgeted for a bit as she lowered her head. Cassie wasn’t shy by any means. The situation at the diner today just embarrassed her, despite us saying she had no reason to be embarrassed. Finally, she looked up at him and said, “Thank you. I appreciate your kindness and your willingness to embrace me as your sister, despite not having a relationship with the man that bonded us together for life.”
“I know how you feel. I had a couple of interactions with the man, and one of those times was to try to talk me out of killing myself. My sisters and brothers were trying everything they knew to try to deter me. It didn’t help, because what was he gonna say to me? He didn’t know me… nor did he care to know me. We were right here in the same town, and he allowed another man to raise me as his own.”
Cassie’s eyes had widened. “Wow. That’s sad. So he probably saw you grow up.”
“When he wasn’t in jail. That nigga was locked up more than he was on the streets. I wanted to tell you that to let you see you weren’t the only one who had it rough. The difference is we made something of ourselves. Our parents don’t define or dictate who we are or who we will become. That power belongs to us. King had nothing to do with us, and that was probably for the best.”
Cassie smiled. “I love you already, WJ. What do the initials stand for?”
“Wesley Junior. I was named after the man that raised me.”
“Aww. So you had a loving father that stepped up before you were even born… like me.”
“Well, I wouldn’t call him loving, but yeah. He’s loving now, but he was far from it back then. He was the main reason I was trying to kill myself. But I’m not trying to go down that rabbit hole. We would be here all night.”
Aunt Liv grabbed his hand. “But good always prevails. We met after his suicide attempt. I was one of his nurses.”
Cassie smiled. “That’s beautiful. So I have three nieces, one of which is older than me.”
Everybody chuckled. This would be a great moment for her. Like Aunt Liv said, good prevails. Through the turmoil today, she could build lasting relationships with a big brother she never knew she had. Hell, I was more than sure King probably had more kids out there, and the only way for her to find out was to talk to Shayla again. The only way that would happen was if Shayla tracked her down, because Cassie was done.
“They are having a hard time maintaining. Should we let everything collapse and then take over, or take over now before it collapses?” Uncle Jasper asked.
We were in a family meeting about the town infrastructure. Since Uncle Storm resigned as mayor, Uncle WJ had removed all Henderson funding from Nome. It was to prove to people how powerful our wealth was and how much they needed us. The town didn’t make enough money to survive on its own. Taxes went to the county, and the town only got a small kickback from that.
“We are going to let it completely fall apart. That way, there will be no confusion about who running shit around here. None of us benefit from any of the city’s facilities or services. All our homes and businesses have their own water wells and aerobics systems. What exactly is the city of Nome doing for us? Shit. Let it fall. When we come in and take shit over, no one will be able to say a word about it. If they don’t like it, they can move. This will officially be Hendersonville,” Uncle WJ explained.
“Are we going to change the name?” Uncle Marcus asked.
“Naw. It’s gon’ always be Big City Nome. Nome ain’t done nothing to us. It was its janky ass citizens. It’s kind of like how people turn their back on God because of people at church. God ain’t do that. That muthafucka over there did it,” Uncle WJ said, causing everybody to laugh.
“I know that’s right, brother!” Aunt Jen cosigned.
“So, Storm, when we take this shit over, you and Marcus will be right back in there. Despite how much you get on my nerves, you were a good mayor. You saw to the needs of the people… surprisingly.”
“Mm hmm. Don’t be a hater, nigga. You know I’m the Gabriel of Big City Nome.”
“Oh Lord! Are you going to ever let that go? That was at least fourteen years ago that woman said that. She was obviously delusional. Well, I take that back. She probably really was seeing Gabriel. Yo’ ass was just close enough for her to touch,” Aunt Jen said.
Uncle Storm shot her the finger as Uncle Carter slid his arm around her. I slowly shook my head. My aunts and uncles were something else, and they wondered why we acted a fool at times. Just as I was wondering why I was even in the meeting, Uncle WJ continued.
“Now, I know some of you aren’t involved in the family business, because you’re off doing other amazing things. Jess, you killing it on the runway. KJ, Karima, Rylan, and Milana, y’all are tearing those rodeo circuits to shreds. However, when y’all aren’t doing your thing, we could use all the help we can get. The beginning of this process is going to be hard, but we’re Hendersons. We can handle that shit if we all pull together… like we always do.”
Everyone clapped and yelled out words of agreement. When we quieted down, we heard the door open to the family barn, and nearly everyone in attendance frowned. Our cousin Malachi stood from his seat and so did Philly, as several white people entered our meeting.
Uncle WJ walked toward them. “This is a private business meeting, and you are trespassing on our property.”
“You would rather this town fall apart, no one having clean water or properly functioning sewer systems, to protect your pride?”
Uncle Storm stood, and so did everyone else. “First of all, I’m glad to see that you know who was running this fucking town. However, you need to go to city hall and talk to those muthafuckas. They are the reason the Hendersons have pulled out financially. Where were you nearly ten months ago when Storm resigned because the people were giving him all kinds of problems about improvements he was making with his own money? Get the fuck out of here,” Uncle WJ said.
After he finished talking, Uncle Marcus pulled out his gun and cocked it. When I turned to my dad, I saw he had his gun pulled out as well. Shit. Even Grandpa had stood and walked over to Uncle WJ. He put his hand on his shoulder and said, “Either you can wait until the transition of power has happened or you can move. It won’t make us a bit of difference. We have money to do what we need to do until then. What about you? You heard my son. Get the fuck out of here.”
My eyebrows were lifted as I watched everything unfold. Uncle Marcus and my dad walked closer to them, and they held their hands up and backed out of the door. This shit was about to get real crazy around here. Once they walked out, Aunt Tiff went to the door and locked it. When she came back, Uncle WJ continued the meeting.
“We all gon’ have to be on guard around here. Y’all see how they coming. We stronger than that. I’ll get more cops to patrol the area more frequently. They don’t know who they fucking with. Fucking trailer trash muthafuckas.”
“You should have shot one of ’em,” Uncle Storm said to Uncle Marcus. “It’s way more Hendersons and friends of Hendersons around this bitch than it is of them. I can tell you one thing: They step foot on my property, they getting lit up.”
“Just make sure all your no-trespassing signs are visible on your properties. I know it’s visible on this one because people thought this was a place they could rent out. So there is a huge sign, letting them know this is private property as well. I hate it had to come to this, but those muthafuckas are at our mercy now. Like Pop said, they can either stay on board and be patient or move around.”
I hadn’t seen my family all fired up like this in a long ass time. All I knew was that I was ready for this shit to be over so I could get back to my baby. It had been two weeks since her run-in with her mother, and she had been progressing well. Between talking to Uncle WJ and Karima, her mental seemed to get better daily.
She’d started her community service hours at a place called Integrity. It was owned by Serita Gardner, the lady that had counseled Uncle WJ, Aunt Chrissy, Aunt Jen, Aunt Syn, and a few of my cousins. She was gracious enough to allow Cassie to work there and had even said she would be willing to offer her a position once she’d finished her community service.
Cassie was so damn happy about that she’d called me on her way home to tell me about it. She was still attending Lamar, but the summer session was about to be over. She said she would take the rest of the summer off to decide if she would continue in the fall. Thankfully, she didn’t lose her scholarship since it was only a misdemeanor charge. Plus, the circumstances around that charge were considered as well.
If the case with the vase hadn’t been dismissed, things would be a lot different. While what Cassie had done had caused the concussion, it was Mesani’s negligence that caused everything afterward. Had he followed the doctor’s orders, he wouldn’t have suffered the effects of it. It would have been mild, and he would have been back to normal a couple of weeks later.
Breaking me from my thoughts, my dad asked, “How long before you think everything will completely fall apart?”
“Honestly, I give it another two weeks. They are already way behind on maintenance. The company they outsource inspections to will be coming to evaluate things then, and I’m pretty sure they gon’ shut the shit down. Ain’t no telling what people drinking in that water. In less than a year without Henderson funding, they are struggling to keep up.”
Uncle WJ shook his head then rubbed his hand down his face. “It’s sad it had to come to this, but I know it was a race thing. These white folks can’t stand that a black family is running shit. Please, y’all, be diligent about locking your doors and paying attention to your surroundings. I don’t trust these folks, especially since the two gangstas pulled their guns.”
Uncle WJ smiled slightly, causing Grandpa to chuckle. Grandpa was up in age now, but not so long ago, he would have done the same thing.
“If there aren’t any more questions, we can go.”
“Not a question, but I wanted to let y’all know Yendi is pregnant.”
Everyone offered congratulatory hugs and handshakes. When I got to Jakari, I said, “Shiiiid, they better nail Nome down, because JJ already ’bout to take it off the map. Now y’all finna give him a partner in crime?”
Jakari almost choked. “Nigga, you gon’ get off my son though. I’ma bring him over to your house to keep you and Cassie company.”
“Like hell. Poor Angel look like a six-engine train done ran over her by the time y’all pick his lil ass up. I feel sorry for her every time I see her.”
“Nigga, shut up!”
He laughed so hard, but I was serious. JJ probably had Angel rethinking that whole idea about wanting a daycare. Jacey was bad, but she was no match for that nigga. Yendi must have been a bad child because I didn’t ever recall stories of Jakari being bad.
“Congratulations, though, man. I can’t wait to follow in y’all’s footsteps.”
“What’s up, y’all?” Decaurey said as he shook Jakari’s hand.
I gave him a head nod then a handshake. I was never really all that close to him since he was older and hung with Jakari, Nesha, and Jess, but I was loyal to my boys. Christian couldn’t stand his ass. Rylan had forgiven him for all the turmoil he put him through when he was just trying to love Angel the way she deserved, but Christian had said on several occasions, “Fuck that nigga.”
I was never rude to Decaurey, but I never really hung around him to engage in conversation either. I truly felt like if Rylan could forgive him and move on, then the rest of us should, too, but Christian wasn’t having it. As I walked away, I ran right into him.
“Nigga, you wanna watch where you going?”
I chuckled as I slapped his outstretched hand and gave him a half hug. “How’s everything?”
“It’s cool. I mean, I ain’t seen yo’ ass in over a week. Ever since Cassie moved in wit’ yo’ ass, sightings of you been scarce. Y’all coming to the house tomorrow?”
I slowly shook my head. “Says the man with a wife and a baby. I been tryna give y’all your space, like we did Rylan and Angel after they had Renzo. Yeah, we still coming, because I need to talk to you about Dad’s birthday party. My mama suggested we combine it with Grandpa’s since his birthday is only a week after Dad’s.”
“A’ight. We can do that.”
As we talked, I noticed Jacob and Uncle Storm in what looked to be a deep conversation. SS was over there too. “What’s up with Jacob?”
“Nothing, other than the usual. He keep getting unknown phone calls, but he knows it’s from that dumb bitch, Jameka. Like… how slow she gotta be to think he wouldn’t know it was her? I’m just grateful Courtney’s ass is still locked up.”
I slowly shook my head. “What about SS?”
“That civil trial gon’ be coming up in a hot minute. They are saying that the judge is a fucking friend of the other family. Mister Berotte is trying to get him to recuse himself. He’s claiming that he isn’t necessarily a friend of the family. He just knows them. Get the fuck outta here. Shy was pissed. That nigga way too hood to be a lawyer, I swear.”
Christian chuckled as I glanced over at Jacob again. His face was red, and he wasn’t as bright skinned as me. “Well, I guess we’ll be hearing more about that when the time gets closer. I just hope Jacob can get Jameka’s ass out of his life. I can’t see nothing good coming out of that, man. He gon’ mess around and end up in jail.”
“Hell yeah. Well, I’m gon’ holla at’chu tomorrow. I gotta go check on my women.”
I smiled and slapped his hand. Family looked good on Christian. As I was about to head out, Karima caught up with me, along with my dad. I frowned slightly, because they looked like there was something they wanted to say. Rima had already gotten everything moved to Nashville last week and had gotten back yesterday to spend time with the family.
“What’s up, y’all?”
Karima looked over at Dad, and he smiled slightly. Whatever it was couldn’t be bad. “I told the people I’m going to be working for in Nashville that you were my brother, and they about lost their minds. Turns out, the owner has show horses, and his son competes in reining. They would really be honored to meet you.”
I smiled slightly. “Hmm. They acting like I’m famous and shit.”
“Bruh, you are to them. They really admire your work. They asked if I was related to you since we have the same last name and are from the same town. When I said you were my big brother, I didn’t do anything but answer questions about you after that.”
“Well, I guess we gon’ have to make a trip before my next competition. You thinking about reining while you out there? Ain’t nobody can work a horse like you… well, maybe Aunt Tiffany, but that’s it.”
She giggled. “I’ve been thinking about it,” she responded as Dad kissed her head.
I could always see the love and pride he felt whenever he was around us. He put his hand to my head and swished it through my curls, making them bounce everywhere. My hair wasn’t quite as long as his was yet, but it was getting there. I needed to get to my mama so she could braid it for me. He pulled me to him and put his arm around me and the other around Karima.
“I’m beyond proud of both of you. Hopefully, Kingsley and Kane follow the examples the two of you have provided.”
I smiled at him as he walked us out. Before I could get in my truck, he said, “I’m just waiting on an announcement like Jakari just made. I feel like it won’t be long. For the record, I wanna be called Pop Pop.”
I slowly shook my head. These older Hendersons were thirsty as hell for grandbabies, but what they didn’t know was that I was just as thirsty to start my family too.