Chapter 14
Kaiser hugged his mother and his father, then picked up his duffel bag and stood looking at them for a few moments.
“It’ll be fine, son,” Basilio said. “I’m glad you finally told us. I just didn’t understand why you were so angry and so distant. I get it now. I’m sorry I wasn’t more patient.”
“I didn’t exactly give you any indication of what was happening.”
“For what it’s worth, though I hate the thought of you not being here for a while, I think you’re doing the right thing. I believe it will all work out,” Renata said.
“I hope so. I just don’t know what else to do. Anything else is unfair to her,” Kaiser said.
“And that is what lets me know that you will be a fantastic mate,” Renata said.
Kaiser smiled, but it was clearly forced.
“Well, drive safe, Kaiser. Let us know when you get home, yeah?” Basilio asked.
“I will.”
“I love you,” Renata said, embracing her son and patting his back. “So, so much.”
“Me, too,” Basilio said, waiting for his turn, then embracing Kaiser so tightly it cracked his back.
“Oh, that’s good. I needed that,” Kaiser said.
“Been tense, huh?” Basilio said, chuckling.
“You just don’t know,” Kaiser said.
“Oh, we do. We had our own share of trouble to overcome. The good thing is that Keegan’s here, among the Pride and surrounded by not only her father, but all the uncles. Nothing will happen to her. And if something comes up that you need to know, I’ll let you know immediately,” Renata said.
“We both will,” Basilio said.
“Thanks, Mom,” Kaiser said, hugging her again. “And take care of Buster Bee for me. I hate to leave him again, but…”
They all looked behind themselves at the dog sleeping on the sofa, upside down on his back, all feet in the air, snoring heavily. All three of them started laughing. “He doesn’t care. As long as somebody fills his bowl, and makes sure his doggie steps are pushed up against the sofa, he’s good.”
“Make sure he only gets his diet food and his diet snacks,” Kaiser said.
“We will. And when he starts getting low on food, we’ll go get some more from Cristie,” Renata promised.
“Thanks, Mom.”
“I hope you’ll find a way to come home for the holidays,” Renata said. “But if not, maybe we can come to you.”
“I’m hoping to be able to be here. This is home. I want to be here. Maybe after some time away it’ll be easier to deal with and I’ll be able to be around her without nearly losing my mind.”
“We hope so, too,” Basilio said. “Hey, did you talk to everybody?”
“I called Riley. Told him I had to get back to Atlanta. I didn’t tell anybody else — there’d be too many questions. But Remi knows. I really like him. He’s a good male.”
“That’s what I hear. I got a good feeling from him when we met him yesterday. And Roman thinks the world of him, too. Roman’s a hard sell.”
“Yeah he is.”
“What about Cristie?” Renata asked.
“I have a text message ready to send to Cristie after I’m on the road. I don’t want to give her time to track me down and try to make me confess the reason I’m heading home. She knows I had some time left to be here.”
“Yeah, she’s persistent,” Basilio said.
“To say the least,” Kaiser agreed. “I’ll miss her, too, though.”
“Of course, she’s your bestie,” Renata said.
“I guess that’s it,” he said, taking a few steps backward. “I’ll let you guys know when I get home,” Kaiser said, repeating what he’d already promised.
“We’ll walk you out,” Renata said.
“No, you don’t have to do that. It’s still dark out.” He stepped forward again, kissed both his mother and his father, waved as he backed away, then turned and hurried to the door.
“Talk to you soon, Kaiser!” Basilio said.
“Don’t forget to call,” Renata called out.
“I won’t forget. Love you guys,” Kaiser said, stepping through the massive front door and closing it behind himself.
He walked out onto the front porch, then around the shrubbery and flowers that decorated the exterior of the family home.
His step faltered as he rounded the corner and got a good look at his car.
He took a deep breath and prepared himself for whatever was to come, then forced himself to continue on toward his vehicle, and the male leaning against it.
Lucas stood there, leaning against Kaiser’s car, his legs crossed at the ankles, his arms crossed over his chest, as he calmly regarded Kaiser. “Mornin’,” he called out.
“Morning, Lucas. What brings you out here before 4:00 A. M.?” Kaiser asked.
“Thought I’d come see when you’re planning on returning,” Lucas said.
Kaiser came to a stop several feet away from Lucas, careful not to challenge his personal space since he didn’t really know the reason for the male being here and didn’t want to piss off his mate’s father before she even knew he was her mate. “There’s not really a hard target on when I’ll be back.”
“That’s a shame,” Lucas said.
“Why’s that?” Kaiser asked.
“Because the last thing I want is my daughter to live her life without a mate in her life because he ran.”
“Who told you?” Kaiser asked.
“Could have been Remi,” Lucas said.
“No, Remi wouldn’t tell.”
Lucas grinned. “No, he wouldn’t. But y’all need to be more careful when you’re talking about sensitive shit. Take it inside. Turn on the faucet to drown out the sound of your whispers so nobody else that happens to be nearby can hear you.”
Kaiser nodded slowly. “Suppose having that conversation outside wasn’t the smartest decision I’ve ever had.”
Lucas laughed. “No, it wasn’t. But, I’m glad you did it anyway, because I wouldn’t have a clue of what’s going on if you didn’t.”
“Look, if you’re trying to warn me off…”
“Nope, not a single thought of it.”
“Then why are you here?” Kaiser asked.
“To make sure that somewhere in this plan of yours to give Keegan the opportunity to live before she has to make the choice of settling down — or not — you remember to come back. She’s going to be looking for you in everyone she meets.
And she’s going to at some point think that she’s not worthy of a mate since the fates didn’t give her one.
That shit is almost as bad as being rejected by one. ”
Kaiser nodded slowly. “I can imagine it might be.”
“And I also wanted to tell you how much I think of you, and how much I respect your decision. Was a time that regardless of her age, her family would have been making arrangements to marry her off. Some males nowadays make their intentions known, even if the female is still too young. You decided you’d bear the brunt of the pain so that she wouldn’t have to have the knowledge of her mate’s existence color her choices.
It takes a strong male to do that. My Anahla and I want you to know that we appreciate that, and are thankful that it’s you who was made for our Keegan.
So, while you’re off doing your thing, don’t get so far from home that you forget she’s here. ”
Kaiser moved closer to Lucas and extended his hand.
Lucas shook his hand, then pulled him in for a hug. “You’re a good kid, Kaiser. She’ll be lucky to have you, when she’s ready.”
“Let’s hope she feels the same way when the time comes,” Kaiser said.
Lucas let go of Kaiser and backed away from him. “This is a good thing you’re doing here, Kaiser.”
“I’m trying,” Kaiser said.
“We’ll see you soon?” Lucas asked.
“Soon enough. We’ll see how it goes. This is all kind of for nothing if I come back here and can’t keep it to myself, isn’t it?”
“You are right about that. Let us know how you are,” Lucas said.
“I will.”
“Drive safe,” Lucas said, then walked off into the darkness.
Kaiser watched him go for a few minutes, then got in his car and tossed his duffel into the tiny back seat.
He sat there smiling to himself. Lucas didn’t come to kill him.
Instead, he came to make sure that he planned to come back for Keegan.
He reached out and started his car, then eased it out of his parking place and slowly made his way down the long driveway.
As he took a right onto the road that led to the highway, he noticed Lucas getting into his truck a little way down the road.
Lucas had intentionally parked far enough away that nobody would notice his arrival.
Kaiser watched in his rear view for the headlights of Lucas’s truck to come on when Lucas started the truck.
Once he saw just that, he went ahead and accelerated, leaving the male to get home, now that he’d gotten confirmation that his truck had started.
It wasn’t that he expected the truck not to start, it was that he just always watched to make sure anyone with him was able to get home before he left any place.
The headlights coming on let him know the vehicle started, and people were on their way home.
It was the only way he’d leave anywhere if others were leaving in their own cars.
Otherwise, he’d have to circle back to make sure they got off okay.
Kaiser drove to town, then through it. Stopping at the last stop light before he jumped on the interstate to send Cristie’s text explaining that he had to get back and promising to call her soon.
He looked down at the text before he hit send.
Hey, had to go back to Atlanta suddenly. Thanks for hanging out. I needed that.
I’m going to put my phone on do not disturb while I’m driving so I’ll call you when
I get there. I’ll see you soon. I’ll miss you.
PS: Stop giving Remi so much shit. You’ll end up old and bitter because you didn’t
forgive your mate for being a male of integrity. That’s what the whole issue was.
And even if he made mistakes, which among us hasn’t? You’re making yours right
now. Talk to that male, and be nice.
I love you, girl. See you soon.
Kaiser pressed send, then looked up at the light in time to see it turn green, glanced down at his phone once more to make sure that the message sent, then dropped his phone in the cup holder in the middle console he kept it in while he was driving.
He merged onto the entrance ramp that led up and onto the interstate.