Chapter Thirty-One
Halle was still upset about Shania rushing out of the house that morning when she got the text from Shania asking if she could go to Quinton’s place after practice. They must have talked. Had they made up? If so, would Shania be as forgiving with Halle?
Instead of demanding that Shania come straight home and talk to her, she’d agreed to let her go visit her grandparents. Maybe Quinton had been right to let her calm down before they talked. Halle was used to facing everything head-on instead of letting it simmer and get worse. Her tendency to push did make Shania clam up. She hated to admit it, but this co-parenting thing might work if she and Quinton could tag team on dealing with Shania’s problems.
Her cell phone rang as she neared Quinton’s house. She quickly answered when she saw Imani’s number. “Hey, everything good?”
Imani sighed. “Yeah, it’s good. Work was hectic. Did you get a chance to talk to Tracey?”
Halle cringed. She was a horrible friend. “No, I was only able to text. She said she was okay, but I still want to check on her later today. What time are you done?”
“I’ll be finished here around seven. I can shower and meet you over there.”
“That’s fine. I’m picking Shania up from Quinton’s now. Call me when you’re leaving your place.”
“Oh, you’re letting Quinton take her home.” Humor entered Imani’s voice. “Look at you letting go of some of the reins.”
“I’m not that bad,” Halle said.
Imani laughed. “You’re not that good at sharing responsibility either.”
Halle rolled her eyes. “You may be right about that. But I’m learning. It’s not bad to have a little help with Shania. I think we’re figuring this out. Especially after today.”
“What happened today?”
Halle pulled up into Quinton’s driveway. Well, at least she had proof Kayla hadn’t put the word out to all their cousins. “I’ll tell you when I see you later. I just got to Quinton’s place.”
“I can’t wait to hear this. Okay, talk with you soon.”
“Talk with you soon.”
She hung up and got out of the car. She could only imagine Imani’s expression when she told her about Shania catching her with Quinton. She’d rather save that conversation for an in-person discussion.
She rang the bell and Shania came to the door. She had a smile on her face that slowly melted away to a look of unease when she met Halle’s eyes. Halle took a breath and clasped her hands in front of her.
“Are you still not talking to me?”
Shania lowered her head then looked up at Halle from beneath her lashes. “I’m sorry I ran out like that.”
Halle raised a brow. Surprised by the contrite nature of her daughter’s voice. She expected her to be upset. “You are?”
Shania nodded. “I thought you were only with Coach Q because of me.”
Halle stepped forward and lifted her daughter’s chin. “Why would you think that?”
“You were with Gregory, and I know you liked him, but I was worried you were trying to make him a part of the family because I kept asking about my dad. I don’t want you to be into Coach Q just for me.”
Shania’s unease and worry made sense. Halle had liked Gregory and thought he was the right guy for her. The strong feelings Quinton sparked in her had even taken her by surprise. The realization that Shania would be upset and confused about all the changes in her life softened her tone. “Did I want things to work out with Gregory, yes. I did like him and I was interested, but my life changed. Dramatically, and it became clear that we weren’t going to work out. But, I promise you, that I am not seeing Quinton just because he’s your dad.”
“But you kind of are. If I hadn’t found out, you would have stayed with Gregory. You two wouldn’t have gotten together.”
“Maybe we wouldn’t have gotten together. Maybe things with me and Gregory wouldn’t have worked out and I would have given Quinton a chance later. Maybe both of us would have gone our separate ways and never dated. We don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t discovered he was your father. That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try to get to know him because we were put together under these circumstances.”
Halle opened her arms. Shania stepped closer and accepted the hug. “This is all new and confusing and going to take some time to work out. But I promise you we’re going to be okay. No matter what happens.”
“Coach Q is a nice guy,” Shania said when they broke apart. “He’s also turning out to be an okay father. I guess it won’t be so bad if you two got together. But can we wait to tell everyone you’re officially a couple?”
“Why do you want to wait?”
“The kids at school aren’t saying much because they don’t want Coach Q to get on them, but they still talk.”
Halle frowned. “Are they saying things to you?”
She shrugged. “Not everyone, but Octavius’s girlfriend is trying to keep it going. She’s just jealous because she thinks that he likes me.”
“Does he?”
Shania rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but I don’t like him like that. So, she wants to make it weird. Most kids don’t care. I don’t want to give her anything else to add. Can you two just keep it quiet until after football season? Maybe after Christmas break?”
Halle didn’t mind waiting. The longer they kept the town out of their business, the easier it would be for them to get used to their new family dynamics. “I’ll talk to Quinton.” She wasn’t going to agree to something that included him without talking about it first.
“Don’t make a big deal about Octavius’s girlfriend when you talk to him, okay? I can handle her. She wants me to react and I’m not giving her the satisfaction.”
“I’ll tell him that we want to be sure before we add more gossip for the town to feed off. That work?”
Shania grinned and nodded. “That works.”
They went inside where Quinton sat on the couch watching television. He saw them and raised a brow. “Everyone good?”
Shania beamed. “All good. You two can date, but please, keep the kissing and stuff to a minimum around me.”
“That’s not a problem,” Halle said.
“And use condoms. I’m not ready for a baby brother or sister.”
Halle’s eyes widened and her jaw nearly touched the floor. “Shania!”
Her daughter held up a hand. “What? You’d tell me the same thing if I was dating someone.”
Quinton shook his head. “I think we can all agree that we’re not ready to add another person to the mix.”
Shania sighed. “Good.” Her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket. “It’s Grandma.” She answered the call. “Hello? Now? Okay?” She looked at them. “Grandma is coming back from the store. She asked me to help her get something out of the car.”
They watched as she turned and ran out of the house. Quinton came over and wrapped an arm around her waist. “You okay?”
“Sometimes it takes three days to get Shania out of a mood. How did you do it in one day?”
“I was honest with her. I told her that I’m serious about you. And I reminded her that her mom is pretty smart and wouldn’t be with me just for her. She’s a rational kid. She understood.”
Shania was a straightforward kid. She shouldn’t be surprised that Quinton realized the best way to deal with Shania was to be straight up and honest. He didn’t raise his voice or fly off the handle. He was as calm and rational off the football field as he was intense and pushing on the field. And he’d been right to suggest they all cool down instead of talking in the heat of the moment.
“Thank you for talking to her. It’s hard for me to get used to having someone to help with this, but it’s kind of nice.”
“Get used to it. We’ll figure out how to make this a true partnership.”
“You want to figure this out with me?”
He leaned down and kissed her. “Don’t ask dumb questions you already know the answer to.”
Halle grinned and kissed him back. The sound of a shriek came from the front of the house. They froze and broke apart. The shriek came again, and they ran outside. They stopped on the porch where Shania jumped up and down next to her grandparents. The shriek coming over and over. Quinton’s parents laughed and clapped. Shania turned to them and pointed at the bright red car in the yard.
“They bought me a car! Can you believe it!”
A car. They’d bought Shania a freaking car! What in the world was she supposed to do with that? Hadn’t they clarified all of this after the shoes? Why would they go against her and Quinton’s wishes and get Shania a damn car?
The questions rolled through Halle’s head as she made her way to meet Imani at Tracey’s place. She had not handled the car surprise well. She’d immediately insisted that Shania couldn’t accept. Quinton’s parents had tried to make her feel guilty and Shania had cried. Shania never cried. Quinton had seemed just as shocked as she was. Thank goodness for that. She wouldn’t have been able to trust him if she’d known he’d been involved.
She and Shania left in a hurry after that. All the goodwill they’d built up after the day they’d had was thrown out the window with one impulsive move. They argued on the way home about keeping the gift or sending it back. When they’d arrived at their house, Halle had let Shania storm off to her room to let off steam. She needed to cool off herself before having that conversation again. She’d forgotten about her promise to check on Tracey with Imani until she’d gotten the text from Imani saying she was leaving her place.
So Halle opted to try letting Shania cool down before talking and headed off to be a good friend. No matter how much she felt like her life was out of control, Tracey’s had to be more so.
She and Imani arrived at Tracey’s place at the same time. Bernard’s car wasn’t in the yard, but Tracey’s Fresh Place Inn van was parked in the driveway.
“What’s wrong with you?” Imani asked after they hugged.
Halle rolled her eyes but waved off her friend’s words. “I’ll tell you later. Let’s check on Tracey first.”
Imani eyed her then nodded. “You’re not going to keep this to yourself, are you? You will tell us if you need anything?”
“I’ll tell you. I promise.”
They went to the door and rang the bell. No one answered, so they rang again. Halle knocked on the door. “Tracey, it’s us. If you don’t answer, I’ll use my key.” They knocked again.
A few seconds later, the lock clicked and Tracey answered. She was still wearing the outfit she’d had on the day before. Her braids hung loose around her face, and dark circles framed her eyes.
Imani and Halle immediately rushed forward and hugged her. Tracey let out a shaky laugh. “I’m okay. You don’t have to squeeze the life out of me.”
They pulled back. Imani studied her friend. “You don’t look okay.”
“Or smell okay,” Halle said, raising a brow. “You smell like wine.”
“I needed a lot of wine after Bernard left,” Tracey said blithely. Her natural defense mechanism. This was bad.
Imani pointed toward the stairs. “Go shower and then we’ll talk. You’ll feel better after a shower.”
Tracey didn’t argue. She just turned and followed instructions. Halle and Imani exchanged glances before getting to work cleaning up the bottles of wine and empty ice cream tubs littering Tracey’s kitchen. When Tracey came back to them freshly showered, her braids in a ponytail and in a pair of sweats, they handed her a cup of tea.
Tracey frowned at the mug. “Tea? I need something stronger than this.”
Imani shook her head. “Doctor’s orders. You’re drinking tea for now.”
Tracey sighed and sank onto her sofa. “Wait until you hear this and then we’ll talk about what I do and don’t need.”
They settled on either side of her. Halle placed a hand on Tracey’s knee. “What happened?”
Tracey stared straight ahead. “They’ve been seeing each other for a year. It started off as just sex, according to him. One time they hooked up and he said they never would again, but of course that was a lie. All the visits to help his cousin were nothing but a front for him to meet up with her in Augusta. Same for her, all her sick days or family emergencies were him. He said they fell in love three months ago.”
Halle scoffed. Her hand balled into a fist. A fist she wished she could put in Bernard’s face. “I can’t believe this.”
“He’s such an asshole,” Imani said.
Tracey’s lips lifted in a sad half smile. “That’s not all. She’s pregnant. She told him at the luncheon and that’s why they were kissing.” A tear slipped down Tracey’s cheek. “They’re keeping it. He’s going to be there for his kid.” She said the last part with a sneer.
Halle sucked in a breath. “No, Tracey. How could he?”
Tracey looked at Halle with sad, angry eyes. “I wanted to have a kid. I asked him about having a baby. He said the time wasn’t right. That he wasn’t ready for kids. That kids would hold us back with me starting a new business. That fucking asshole said that shit to me just last week. And now he’s ready to be a fucking dad?”
Tracey jerked up the mug and Halle quickly put a hand on her friend’s arm. “Let’s not throw the mug.”
Imani nodded. “Especially since that is expensive-ass tea and Bernard isn’t across the room to hit in the face.”
The three of them let out a shaky laugh. Tracey sighed and sipped her tea. “Thank you. I’d only have to clean it up.”
After a few quiet breaths, Imani asked softly, “What are you going to do?”
“What can I do? I’m not fighting for a man who cheated on me and got someone else pregnant. If she wants his trifling ass she can have him.”
Halle ran a hand over her friend’s back. “What do you need us to do?”
Tracey shook her head. “What you’re doing now. Be here.” Tracey groaned and pressed a hand to her forehead. “This is going to suck. Everyone in this town is going to know. They’re going to talk about nothing but this.”
“But this isn’t on you. This is all on Bernard and Monique. You’re the wronged person.”
“Do you think the old gossips will care?” Tracey said bitterly. “They’ll talk about me and my family. They always said Bernard was too good for me. That I was the hood chick he was giving a come up.”
“Forget that,” Halle said seriously. “He is not too good for you. Just look at what he did. He’s the worst for you and anyone who blames this on you will have the Get Fresh Crew to deal with.”
Imani nodded. “I’m ready to go off on anyone that has anything to say about you. And you know my mom, Cyril and his dad will do the same. You won’t have to face this alone, Tracey.”
Tracey gave them a grateful smile. Another tear spilled down her cheek and she hastily wiped it away. “Fuck Bernard. He’s not worth my tears.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about him anymore. Not tonight. Tell me something good.”
“I got to eat lunch today,” Imani said brightly. “Sit down and eat and everything.”
Tracey laughed. “That is good.” She looked at Halle. “What about you? No fights at the school?”
Halle sighed. “Shania caught me and Quinton kissing this morning, and this afternoon his parents bought her a car. So, my day’s been interesting.”
Imani sputtered. “What!”
Tracey’s grin widened. “You must have lost it.”
“I didn’t,” Halle said, lifting her chin. Her friends eyed her and she sighed. “I did. Quinton calmed her down when it came to us being together. She just wants us to keep it quiet for a while. The car thing. That’s not going to settle for a while.”
Tracey shook her head. “In-laws.”
“They aren’t my in-laws,” Halle shot back.
“Maybe not now, but if you and Quinton stay together, they will be. Girl, nip this in the bud now. Bernard’s parents were always in our business. Telling him that I was too busy and filling his head with nonsense. Get them together before things get out of hand.”