29. Lennox
Lennox
Istood on the sideline while Rhyse lined up for another rep. He had been in Titan’s program for a few weeks now, and I could already see a difference in how serious he took it.
“Move your feet, Rhyse!” His coach yelled.
Rhyse corrected himself before the next rep and stayed in front of the other kid.
“There you go!” I called from the sideline. “Stay with him!”
He made the play the way he was supposed to, and Coach pointed toward him.
“That’s better!” Coach praised.
Rhyse looked my way for half a second, and I gave him a nod before he got back in line. Titan was farther down the sideline talking to one of the coaches. He came through whenever his schedule allowed, and every time he did, the kids seemed to work a little harder. Rhyse was no different.
On his next rep, Rhyse got beat off the line but recovered before the play was over.
“Finish that shit, Boosie!” I yelled.
He kept going and managed to get himself back in position before Coach blew the whistle.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” I called.
A few minutes later, Coach ended practice and gathered everybody together. I stayed on the sideline while they finished up, and once they broke, Rhyse grabbed his helmet and bag before coming straight toward me.
“You saw me out there?” He asked.
“I saw, man,” I laughed at his excitement.
Rhyse nodded, still catching his breath as we started toward the parking lot. “Titan said my footwork looked better today too.”
“He’s right,” I agreed.
That put a smile on his face. “Coach said if I keep it up, I might get more plays Saturday.” He grinned.
“Then keep it up. Don’t worry about how many plays you get. When he put you out there, make whatever time you get count,” I told him.
“I will.” He nodded.
I reached over and gave the back of his helmet a light tap. “You did good today,” I praised.
“Thanks, Dad.” He smiled.
He spent most of the ride messing with his phone before telling me about something that happened at school earlier that day.
When we pulled into the driveway, Taryn’s car was parked behind Reiana’s. Rhyse left his cleats in the garage and carried his bag inside, calling for his mama before I had even closed the door behind us.
“In the kitchen,” Reiana called back.
Reiana was at the island with her laptop open while Taryn sat across from her going through a stack of printouts. They had been comparing furniture and office supplies for the new Cannon Hills location and judging by how much was spread across the island, they had been at it for a while.
Reiana looked up at Rhyse and immediately pointed toward the stairs. “Go shower, Boosie.”
“I just got here.” He frowned.
“I know… now go wash that funk off you,” she said again.
Rhyse looked ready to say something else until Reiana said his name. That ended it. He adjusted the bag on his shoulder and headed upstairs, still mumbling under his breath.
I walked around the island, and she rubbed my beard while I kissed her.
“You been working all day?” I asked.
“Most of it. I had a few things I wanted to finish, then Tay came over,” she stated.
“Bitch, don’t make it sound like I stopped you from working,” Tay said, trying to sound offended.
“You didn’t stop me, but you definitely didn’t help,” Reiana shot back.
I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and noticed dinner was already handled. Reiana had made smothered pork chops with mashed potatoes and green beans, and from the smell coming through the kitchen, Rhyse was probably going to come downstairs starving as soon as he finished his shower.
“You were waiting on us to eat?” I asked.
“Yeah. I figured Rhyse would be starving after practice,” he countered.
“When isn’t his little ass starving,” I laughed.
Taryn checked the time and grabbed her purse. “I’m about to head out,” she announced.
She hugged Reiana, yelled upstairs to Rhyse and headed for the door. I walked her to the door and when I got back to the kitchen, Reiana was putting some of her papers away.
“How everything looking with the new spot?” I asked.
“Good. The furniture comes next week, and I approved the signage today.” She pulled it up on her laptop and turned the screen toward me.
“That shit look good, baby,” I complimented.
“I think so too. I’ve got a few accounts lined up already, so I’m not starting from nothing,” she pointed out.
She turned the laptop back around and told me Tasha had called earlier with an update from Arbor Point. Everything was running the way it should, which was making it easier for Reiana to focus more of her attention on getting Cannon Hills ready.
“I knew she could handle it,” Reiana said. “I just had to get used to not being there for everything.”
“You getting there.” I kissed her.
Rhyse came downstairs after his shower and headed straight for the kitchen. Once we sat down, he told Reiana about practice. Most of it was the same stuff he had already told me, but she hadn’t heard it yet.
“I’m proud of you, Boosie,” she told him. “Keep working.”
“I am,” he responded.
After dinner, Rhyse went upstairs to call Lennyn while Reiana and I cleaned the kitchen. My phone buzzed with Rook’s name before we finished, so I stepped outside to answer.
“Wassup?” I answered.
“Ain’t shit… just letting you know everything is about done for the night,” he explained.
“Aight. Once it does… shut it down. We’ll handle the rest tomorrow,” I ordered.
“Bet.” He paused. “How you adjusting to Ree and little man being there?”
“Ain’t really shit to adjust to,” I said honestly.
“I can respect that,” he acknowledged.
“Aight then… hit me if you need me,” I said.
“I got you.”
When I went back inside, Reiana glanced up when I came back inside. “Everything okay?” She asked.
“Yeah.” I nodded as I pulled her body into mine and kissed the side of her neck.
She pushed the laptop aside and leaned back on the stool. “I really thought moving here was going to be harder than this.”
“Harder how?” I asked.
“Everything. Rhyse changing schools, me not being in Arbor Point every day, trying to get another location going.” She shook her head a little. “I had all these reasons in my head for why it might be too much, and now that we’re here, half of them don’t even matter.” She shrugged.
“Rhyse is happy, and that was one of the biggest things I worried about. I didn’t know how he would feel once everything actually changed.
” Reiana rested her head on my chest as I held her close.
“But he’s good… the business is good… I’m good,” she confirmed with a smile.
“I thought moving here might make me feel like I was giving up the life I built in Arbor Point. Instead, it just feels like I added to it.”
I looked at her for a second. Reiana had worried about the move from every angle before she finally agreed to it, so hearing her say she didn’t feel like she had lost anything that mattered.
“I’m glad you came.” I smiled down at her.
“So am I,” she simpered.
“I love you, Ree,” I confessed as I held her tighter.
“I love you too, Lennox,” she reciprocated.
After her confession, I kissed her slow at first before it deepened when her arms tightened around my neck. She stayed close when we finally pulled apart, and I kissed her once more before letting her go.
Later that night, Reiana was curled against me in bed with her head on my chest. The house was quiet except for the television playing low across the room, and for once, there wasn’t anything pulling at my attention.
A few months ago, my life looked nothing like this. Now I had Reiana back, I was finally raising my son, and both my kids had the chance to grow up knowing each other. That changed what mattered to me.
For a long time, business had been the first thing on my mind when I woke up and the last thing I dealt with before I went to sleep.
There was always another call, another problem or somebody waiting on me to handle something.
That part of my life wasn’t disappearing, but it didn’t get all of me anymore.
I wanted to be present for my kids in a way I hadn’t been before, and I wasn’t letting business keep taking the best of me. Reiana had given me another chance too, and I planned to make sure she never had to wonder where she stood with me.
“What you thinking about?” Reiana asked as she shifted against me.
“Us,” I admitted. “Just thinking about how much shit changed.”
“For the better?” She questioned.
“Absolutely,” I confirmed.
She settled against me again, and I kissed the top of her head. I had spent enough years letting everything else decide where my time went. For once, I wasn’t thinking about what I’d lost; I was thinking about everything I finally had.