Chapter 1
“Girl, come get your goddaughter,” Iskyiah said as soon as Sophie answered the phone.
She currently had one hand on the wheel, steering through traffic, and one hand reaching back so her ten-year-old daughter could hold her hand. As much as Iskyiah wanted to roll her eyes toward the sunroof in her car, she didn’t. Instead, she fought a smile.
“Not too much, now. What my baby doing?” Sophie’s raspy voice sounded through the car, and Brooke, her daughter, decided to speak up.
“Nothing, god mom!”
Iskyiah chuckled. “Nah, don’t lie to her. This little girl is doing everything she can to make me miss this flight. She chose today, of all days, to activate her Velcro child syndrome.”
Brooke had always been independent, even when she was a baby, so it confused the hell out of Iskyiah that she suddenly wanted to be up her ass.
“Give the girl a break. She’s going through puberty,” Sophie reasoned.
Iskyiah’s brows pulled in as she looked in the rearview mirror at her daughter. She looked just like her damn daddy with smooth brown skin, not a pimple in sight, and the skinny build.
“No the hell she ain’t, Sophie. Don’t put that on my baby. She’s too young,” Iskyiah argued.
“Hell, I was eight when I got my period.”
Iskyiah cringed. She was nine when she got hers, but she wanted Brooke to hold on to her youthfulness for as long as possible.
Plus, she wasn’t ready for the attitude that came with puberty.
Brooke was a good kid, but Iskyiah had a feeling she would have to check her a time or two once she hit those pre-teen and teen years.
“Like I said, don’t put that on my baby. She ain’t going through puberty. She’s just being a pain,” Iskyiah said, but she stuck her tongue out in the rearview mirror at Brooke to show her she was joking.
If Iskyiah had it her way, she would spend all her time with Brooke, but she had to make money.
That was exactly why today was so important.
She had been a flight attendant for the past fifteen years.
The first time she got on a flight when she was eighteen years old, she knew she needed to be in the sky as much as possible.
And she eventually made that happen. She loved her job, and it allowed her and her daughter to travel as much as they wanted.
She hit the jackpot when she landed a job for a private jet company.
Not only did it up the pay, but it would also allow her to use a private jet for the same price as a commercial flight.
To say Iskyiah was in heaven was an understatement, but she would be lying if she said Brooke wasn’t bringing her mood down just a little.
She loved that her daughter wanted to be around her, but this newfound clinginess made her feel bad.
It was no secret that her job made it so she would be gone for a few days at a time sometimes.
That never used to bother Brooke, but today, for some reason, it did.
“Girl, boo. Brookie ain’t ever a pain. How about I come get you for some girl time once I get off this flight, baby girl?” Sophie asked, directing the conversation to Brooke.
Brooke’s entire face lit up, and she let go of Iskyiah’s hand. “Can we get our nails done and go to Cheesecake Factory?”
“Whatever you want,” Sophie replied.
Iskyiah did roll her eyes this time as she made a left turn onto her brother’s street. “That’s all it took, Brooke? Really?” Brooke shrugged, and Iskyiah laughed. “You are spoiled.”
“And whose fault is that?” Sophie asked.
Iskyiah chose to ignore that question because the answer was definitely Iskyiah Nathans.
“How long is your shift?” she asked instead.
She and Sophie met ten years ago just before Iskyiah went on maternity leave with Brooke.
They worked for the same airline and happened to be on the same flight, and the rest was history.
Iskyiah had never clicked so well with another woman, which was why she held Sophie so close to her heart.
Their friendship meant a lot to her and had gotten her through some tough shit.
Sophie hummed knowingly at Iskyiah’s change of subject before she responded. “Just a quick flight. Five hours round trip.”
“Okay, hit Hassan up when you’re coming to get her. I’ll only be gone until tomorrow morning,” Iskyiah informed her.
“Okay, I got you. I’m about to get on this flight.
Hit me when you land. I miss you already,” Sophie whined dramatically.
She had been going on and on about how happy for Iskyiah she was for upgrading her job, but she also made sure to point out how they were no longer coworkers every chance she got.
Iskyiah was sad about that, too, but hell, when money called . . .
“I miss you, too, crazy. Love you.”
“Love you. Love you, Brookie. I’ll see you later, and try not to give your mama a hard time. Think about the private jets we’ll get to fly on like we’re some bougie bit—”
“Bye, Sophie,” Iskyiah said before she hung up the phone.
Brooke giggled as Iskyiah pulled into the parking lot at her brother’s apartment complex.
After she parked, she turned in her seat and looked at her daughter.
Her curly hair was pulled back into a puff, and her Hello Kitty earrings were on full display, along with the clear gloss on her lips.
Brooke was definitely a diva in the making.
“You okay, baby?” Brook looked down at her pink leggings and mumbled something.
Iskyiah frowned and leaned in. “I didn’t hear you.
Look at me.” Brooke looked at her, and there were tears in her big brown eyes.
Alarmed, Iskyiah unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car.
When she opened Brooke’s door, she crouched down and pulled her daughter in for a hug. “Honey, what’s wrong?”
“Why don’t I have a daddy?”
Iskyiah stilled. She’d had this conversation with Brooke before, but she was so young. Brooke always seemed so happy, so Iskyiah never brought her father up. Besides, in Iskyiah’s opinion, Brooke was so much better off without him. She would never tell her that, though.
Iskyiah rubbed Brooke’s back and kept her in a tight embrace as she spoke. “Because he died when you were just a baby, Brooke. You know that.”
“Yeah, but Jainey has a daddy, even though her real one is in jail. Her mom just got married last week to a new guy.”
Iskyiah shook her head. It would be freezing in hell before she got into another relationship.
Her high school sweetheart, Charles, turned out to be a nightmare on wheels, and it had been impossible to get rid of him.
Literally only his death allowed her some peace.
Not only was he physically abusive, but he had also gotten heavy into drugs.
His impulsive behavior made her pregnancy and Brooke’s first year of life the worst time for her.
Whenever she tried to leave, he would manipulate her or beat her into submission.
It was a vicious cycle that started when she was nineteen.
At least when she was in high school, he was tolerable.
He wasn’t the best boyfriend, but he wasn’t like that.
She had dealt with him for over a decade, and when he finally overdosed, she didn’t cry.
She could only feel relief that her daughter wouldn’t have to grow up with that kind of dark presence.
Charles made it hard for Iskyiah to take dating seriously.
He died nine years ago, and she still had yet to take a man seriously.
If she got horny enough, she might fuck on a man a time or two, but that was the extent of it.
Her heart ached now that she realized Brooke thought that was an option for them.
That Iskyiah could somehow magically appear with a man good enough to be Brooke’s daddy. It simply didn’t work like that.
Unable to find the words to address that specifically, Iskyiah pulled away and wiped her daughter’s tears. “You know Mommy loves you, right?”
“Bigger than the sky?”
Iskyiah smiled sadly. “Bigger than the universe. Nobody can love you more than me. You hear me?”
Brooke nodded with tears still in her eyes. “Can you at least try?”
“It doesn’t really work like that, baby,” Iskyiah said.
She didn’t know how to explain to a ten-year-old that men were terrible.
She also didn’t want to ruin her baby’s understanding of fairytales.
She deserved to live in those dreams for as long as possible, but Iskyiah knew that when Brooke experienced her first heartbreak, she would be there to help her through it.
She had enough experience in that department to be a damn life coach.
“Maybe Uncle has some friends he can introduce you to,” Brooke suggested hopefully.
Iskyiah snorted. “We know all of your uncle’s friends. Not a chance, Brooke.”
Brooke thought about it before she nodded slowly. “I guess you’re right, but Mommy?”
“Yes, my love?” Iskyiah said as she caressed Brooke’s cheek.
“Try for me, okay? I think having a daddy would be pretty cool.”
Iskyiah couldn’t do anything but nod, though she knew there would be no trying. She stood and held her hand out for Brooke while she grabbed her overnight bag.
Together, they walked into the apartment building entryway and buzzed in. Brooke let go of her mother’s hand, suddenly excited to see her uncle. Iskyiah chuckled as she shook her head. Just like that, Brooke was happy again.
To be a kid again. Not a worry in the world, Iskyiah mused.
Brooke didn’t even knock on the door. She just twisted the doorknob and let herself in. “Uncle, I’m here!”
“Girl, ya mama ain’t teach you no home training? You can’t just walk into people’s houses,” Hassan said as he rounded the corner.
Brooke stopped as she looked up at him. “I don’t walk into people’s houses. I walk into your house and god mom’s house.”
Hassan shook his head with a playful smile. He ruffled her head, and Brooke swatted him away before she turned and gave Iskyiah a hug. “Love you, Mama. Fly safe.”