Chapter 10 #4
“So, what are you two up to this weekend?” Inari grabbed the guacamole container and a handful of chips.
She sat on her sofa while Moose lowered himself to the floor on the opposite side of the table from Tiara.
“Barbecue at the house tomorrow. You and Dane should come through.” Moose grabbed a taco and brought it to his mouth.
He was constantly including her in family shit.
Sunday dinners and game nights had become a thing at the Blackmoor estate.
As bad as Inari wanted to keep her distance, it was kind of hard.
Dane had built relationships with all the Blackmoor men.
Audiemar even pulled up once or twice to watch him in his basketball games with Mozzi, Moose, and Kong.
They would cheer him on and taunt the refs all night long.
Mozzi had it the worst. He was quick to get in their faces if they were calling bullshit calls.
Sometimes they were a little much, but Dane now had the type of male influences she always wished for him.
On top of all that, Ayla and Kong were on whatever they were on.
Her sister had moved out and into her own condo about fifteen minutes from the house.
Although Inari was against it at first, she knew Ayla needed it.
She had to get used to living her life again and not being in fear all the time.
She wanted to see what it was like to stand on her own two feet, and so far, she’d been doing great.
It took her a while, but with therapy, she was figuring things out.
Slowly but surely, her passion for cooking and eating good food had returned.
Using the money she had saved before she was declared dead, she was able to pay her deposit and rent for a few months.
Now, she was relying on her streaming money, which was rolling in even faster once her story got out there.
When the world thought she had died, there was an outpouring of love and condolences.
It all sounded like rumorville when people heard about her being taken and her death being faked.
A lot of stuff had been made up, but most of it was true and still sounded crazy as hell.
“Please,” Tiara said after a quick prayer over her food. “We can get in the pool too. Paw Paw Audie said it’s heated.”
Moose chuckled and peered over at Inari.
They weren’t where he wanted them to be, but he was knocking her walls down one layer at a time.
He wanted to be knocking them down in another way, especially with how good she always looked.
Even now, on chill mode with Wild and Free displayed across the top of her graphic shirt.
The way the skin of her shoulder glowed even got his dick tingling.
“Hmm, I’ll have to think about it.” Inari dipped a chip and brought it to her lips.
She smiled at Tiara but felt Moose’s eyes all over her. She was on some comfy, homebody shit, but he was still looking at her like he was starving with a plate full of tacos stacked on his lap.
“Moose says don’t think, just do.”
“Hmm, that sounds about right.” Inari rolled her eyes cutely, and Moose chuckled.
“What we watching, yo? Me, personally, a nigga feeling some Cars or Incredibles.”
“We always watch the Incredibles. I want to watch the Aristocats.” Her little face frowned up cutely, and she brought a taco to her mouth and took a bite.
“Aight, cool.” Moose sucked the salsa from his thumb and picked up the remote with his other hand. “I mean, unless Inari kicking us out.” He lifted his rich, hooded eyes to her.
“She not kicking me out!” Tiara announced.
“I would never.” Inari told her with a smile. “Your daddy, on the other hand…”
“Nana Desiree says he just needs somebody to pop him upside the head every now and then. She said it knocks all his marbles back in place.”
Inari hollered with laughter, nearly choking on her food. She reached out to pour herself a cup of Kool-Aid and took a sip. Moose looked at her, taco still in place near his mouth.
“That shit wasn’t even that funny.”
“Not only was it funny, it was accurate as hell. Look how many times you had to bump your head.” She set her glass on the table and picked up a taco for herself.
After a bite of the first one, she added two more. Moose sucked his teeth.
“Whatever.” He selected the movie Tiara wanted on the TV and let it play.
Once they finished eating, Inari got ice cream for them, and they settled in for the night on the couch with Tiara in the middle and Moose and Inari in opposite corners.
After filling Inari in on all the latest, Tiara ended up dozing off, and Inari wasn’t far behind her.
Moose played a game on his phone after coming in from his smoke session outside.
He assumed Dane was either asleep or still on his game, but he paused in the doorway to the living room and decided to snap a photo with Inari and Tiara all snuggled up on the couch.
After saving the shot, he sighed with annoyance when Tulla’s number flashed across his screen. He didn’t want to answer, but he tried to be mature when it came to co-parenting. He swiped to pick up, pressing the phone against his ear.
“What’s up?”
“Where are you right now?” she demanded.
“Minding my fucking business. The fuck?”
“I have a right to know where my daughter is, Moose. It’s late, and I know you’re not at home,” Tulla voiced.
“And how the fuck you know that?”
“Because I have your shit under surveillance, nigga. So where is—”
“First of all, calm the fuck down, Tulla. Whatever you going through, you brought that shit on yourself.”
“Fuck you, Moose! You have ruined my fucking life and my marriage! You think I’m going to let you use my daughter to try and create some ready made family with that bitch, Inari?”
“You don’t really have a choice, Tulla. Ain’t that a bitch, the law is actually on my side for once. Tiara asked to see Inari, and I ain’t one for denying my baby girl what she wants. I missed a lot of time to spoil her.”
Those words gained silence from the other side of the phone. Moose nodded. He figured as much. Tulla didn’t have a leg to stand on. Now that her power was slipping, she was only growing more desperate.
“Moose, you have no idea what all this is doing to my reputation. My family won’t talk to me, my husband moved out. I got my department whispering behind my back because I have a secret love child with a fucking Blackmoor!”
“Ain’t none of that shit my problem, Tulla. It could have all been different if you told the truth to begin with.”
“It would have been better if you just kept your fucking mouth shut! Don’t you get it?
Tiara was already a target with me as her mother, now she’s your daughter, and I’m supposed to believe you can protect her?
You and that bitch, Inari. Trouble follows that bitch wherever she goes too.
I will not have my daughter be some casualty to your bullshit! ”
“Goodnight, Tulla. It’s my weekend. I’ll drop her off at school on Monday. Have a nice fucking night.” Moose hung up and set his phone to Do Not Disturb.
Inari stirred on the couch when he lowered himself to the cushions.
She blinked a few times, a little disoriented.
Peering down, she relaxed, and a warm smile claimed her lips when she found Tiara sleeping soundly against her.
Moose sat up on the edge of the sofa, placing his phone face down on the table.
“I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” She yawned.
“How long we doing this, Nari?”
“What are you talking about, Moose?”
“I’m talking about you pretending like you don’t know what the fuck I want. You making friends with my daughter. She adores you and Dane. The fuck I’m supposed to do with that? I want you. I want us.” He threw his hands up in frustration.
“Moose—”
“I ain’t trying to hear no politically correct shit, ma.
Real talk. You either gon’ give me another chance or this the last time I’m putting in any kind of effort.
I ain’t that same nigga. I had a lot of demons I was fighting.
Still fighting. But I know now what I want and what’s at risk.
” He glimpsed her over his shoulder, eyes raking over his sleeping child in her arms.
The shit only made him love her more. She didn’t bat a fucking eye when it came to embracing her. Real woman type shit that he knew he couldn’t find just anywhere. He couldn’t even check for another bitch because all he thought about was her.
“You are not making this easy, or fair.” She dragged her fingers over her sleepy eyes.