Chapter 13 Hearts On Deck
HEARTS ON DECK
“Ugh, I did not come here for all this bullshit!” Giselle complained, tossing back a shot with Maisie across from her at the bar, infusing more drinks.
“Girl, but it’s bound to happen. You had to know that.”
“Maybe I should have started over somewhere else.” She sighed. “Saved everybody all my drama.”
“Really, G? I thought you had outgrown that shit. You want everything to be so fucking easy. I swear.” Maisie shook her head.
“That’s not true.” Giselle smacked her lips and adjusted her posture on her stool. “I made one of the hardest decisions of my life not telling anyone about Harlee and Heir.”
“And that was mostly selfish, too,” Maisie called her out. “What would anybody say about perfect, pretty little Giselle having two babies out of wedlock? Then, you would have to come back here and live like us little common folk.”
“Really, Mais?” Hurt locked across Giselle’s face.
“Giselle, you have always been bourgeois. I never held that against you. That Southwick comes out of you real quick when someone disrespects you, though.” Maisie snickered.
“All I’m saying is, you brought a lot of this on yourself, and sometimes you have to deal with the bullshit that comes with your choices.
Henna isn’t all the way wrong. Heavy is her brother, and she loves him.
Their family has also been through a lot.
So, if she’s mad, let her be mad. Don’t provoke her.
She’s his twin sister. Think about that connection. ”
It damn sure gave Giselle something to ponder.
“You’re right. As usual,” Giselle quipped, watching her bottle the leftover drink she’d created into plastic to-go containers.
“I know I am.” Maisie winked in her direction. “You have two beautiful children. They also have a father who adores them and an entire village surrounding them. This is the perfect time for you to focus on yourself and them without someone in your ear telling you what to do.”
“I kind of like it when Heavy tells me what to do,” she admitted reluctantly.
“I know you do, brat.” Maisie snickered, shaking her head. “And he’s not closed off with you or those babies. He doesn’t coddle you either.”
“We’re supposed to talk to them tomorrow, about who he is and his role in their lives. I don’t know if they’ll understand though, you know.”
“The only thing they need to recognize is that he’s there for them. They’re kids; they can clearly adjust.”
“They love being here, surrounded by so much family and people who just want to love on them and spoil them. I don’t regret coming back, for the record. I just regret that it took so long.”
“Have another drink. I’m going to the office to check on Crew. We’re going to be closing and heading home soon.”
Giselle grabbed another shot glass and filled it as Gem and Solo approached.
“And where are you off to?”
“To get something to eat. You want to come since you’ve rendered yourself my keeper?” Gem scrolled through her phone.
“I am your sister.” Giselle responded.
“When it’s convenient for you.” Gem looked up from her device, and Solo caught the ice in her tone when she and her sister exchanged stares.
“Clearly, it’s come for Giselle night. So, let’s put it on the table.” Giselle threw her hands up dramatically.
“Why bother? You’ll just leave again when some shit doesn’t suit you. Like everybody else. Come on.” She reached for Solo’s hand.
“No. Don’t leave. Tell me how you really feel.
” She spun on her bar stool and propped her arms on the counter.
“Wait, let me do it for you, please.” She steepled her hands together like she was praying.
“I’m selfish, spoiled, and entitled. I only think about myself, and I run when things get hard or don’t go my way, also the definition of being spoiled. ”
“Sounds like you’re good at the self-analyzation, too,” Gem quipped.
“Took years to master, baby sister,” Giselle conveyed. “I’m just as stubborn as you, by the way. It’s a Knox trait, so don’t think I’m just going away this time. Be safe, though.” Giselle swung on her stool to face the bar. “If anything happens to my sister, you’re going to answer for it, Solo.”
“Damn, Giselle. So sweet but so damn savage.” Solo seemed appalled.
“Goodnight.” Giselle waved to them as they padded toward the front entrance together.
“I don’t think you have to worry about her with him.” Heavy stepped up beside her. “Solo is solid.”
“Hmm, I guess I can take your word for it.” She sipped from her shot glass, and he rested a hand against the counter.
“You know what your sister made me realize?” Giselle rested her cheek against her hand propped on the counter. “We have two kids together and don’t know a whole lot about each other.”
“I think we know what’s important. Anything else we can figure out along the way.”
“How do you do that?” she asked, shaking her head then pausing. “You make everything seem so simple.”
“People tend to complicate things,” Heavy recited, taking her shot glass from her and tossing it back.
“Do you ever think about that night?” she asked, surprising him.
Heavy swallowed his drink and faced her. Her low eyes were sexy, drinking him in slowly and waiting for him to respond.
“I have,” she confessed. “Just some more selfish shit. Wondering how I let myself be stupid and caught up in Alonzo and the illusion he provided. Safety. Financial security. Clout. I talked myself into thinking this was the best thing for me and for Harlee and Heir. The whole time, the same thing I sought in him, he was ready to take from me. And I robbed them of you in the process.”
“I think you’ve had enough to drink, princess. Let’s get you home.” Heavy eased between her legs and dropped a hand against her cheek. Stroking his thumb across her plush mouth, he searched her warm brown eyes, which were fixed on him.
“Yes, please do,” Maisie encouraged, coming down the stairs from the office with Crew behind her.
“Lou left with Gem and Solo, and Oz slipped out of here when he got word that one of his baby mamas slid into town on his ass. I’m letting Anna shut things down tonight.
” Maisie slipped into her jacket, and Crew walked with her, arms locked around her, falling in stride with her steps.
“Fine.” Giselle pouted, allowing Heavy to help her off the stool.
“Goodnight, G!” Crew called after them as Heavy escorted her through the back where he’d parked his car.
Giselle settled in his soft leather seats and faced him when he got inside.
“I’m starving. Can we please stop at Dash Diner and get burgers?” she requested.
“Yeah, aight.” Heavy backed out of his parking spot and drove twenty minutes to the local spot.
It was an old-school drive-in spot, so they came out to take their order, and Heavy and Giselle waited in the car to be served.
By that time, she’d kicked off her shoes and gotten comfortable in his passenger seat.
The aroma of the burgers and fries along with the chatter from Sally and her staff brought back memories for Giselle.
It was a family-owned business. The name Dash came from Sally’s son’s father, who passed away in a bad car accident decades ago.
Everyone knew Dash, though. He was a local celebrity, known for his driving skills.
He could beat anybody in a street race. The man was a legend around these parts.
“What did Henna mean about your mother?” she asked, breaking the silence between them that had been filled by ’80s R&B softly playing on the Sirius XM station. “What grudge could you possibly hold against her?”
“She left us,” Heavy answered, tapping the steering wheel and looking out his window.
“Oh.” Giselle felt like shit.
“She didn’t have a lot of control over it. Or she was too selfish to figure it out. According to my pops, she suffered from some bipolar shit, add that to the fact that she couldn’t shake smoking crack, it was a recipe for disaster.”
“Is she still alive?” Giselle pried.
“Technically.” Heavy ran his hand down his face and took a breath. “I don’t see her or talk to her, but… she’s around. Pretty sure Henna tries to keep up with her, but she’s grown and still out here fighting that monkey on her back. Ain’t much any of us can do for her, so I stopped trying.”
“I’m sorry.”
His attention spun in her direction. He’d heard her melancholy tone, so he knew she meant it. She had no idea how her leaving had triggered some shit he thought he was past.
“I can look beyond what you did because I can see that even with the selfish shit… you’re a good mother, princess.
I can be mad, but I can’t take that from you.
You light up their whole world. They love you more than anything, and the fact that they’re so happy puts a lot in perspective.
How could I come in and fuck that up? I don’t want to be that kind of man. ”
“No. That’s not the kind of man you are at all. Those two don’t even realize how lucky they are to have you.”
Moments later, their food arrived. Giselle set up an entire picnic in her lap and dug into her double steakburger with cheese and the works with a side of fries and mozzarella sticks.
She sealed it off with a strawberry shake and sat slurping it through a straw while Heavy indulged in his bacon cheeseburger and fries.
“Ain’t no way you just sat and smashed all that like a fat kid,” he jested.
Giselle snickered. “This was me and my daddy’s go-to spot whenever we landed in Southwick.
It was mandatory that we pull up and eat right here in the lot, too.
” She smiled at the memory and reminded herself to bring Heir and Harlee the next time.
“Even my mama enjoyed it, though she swore this fatty food wasn’t good for us.
She couldn’t deny this burger if she tried. They still taste the same too.”