Chapter 9
Patience
I never thought I’d like being married. Honestly, I never foresaw marriage ever being a space I was comfortable with, then these last few days of being married to Hondo came easy to me in a way I didn’t expect.
Maybe this was the honeymoon phase, getting me all used to him only to remind me who I married and all that he was capable of.
I could never forget that Hondo was the head of a crime organization and had just barely skirted jail.
I couldn’t forget how dangerous he was and how dangerous his life was, but I desperately wanted to ignore it.
I wanted to see him for who he showed me he was and not what the world and various news outlets reported.
That was much easier said than done, given our wedding pictures somehow made the front page of the BSS, better known as the Briar South Social.
It was our local newspaper and apparently it was their business that an O’Leary had married a Carter.
Even unknown, my former last name held its own tales.
Either way, it was a bit harder to start anew as Patience Carter, given my husband’s noted status and reputation.
Regardless of any of that, the last few days with my husband had been blissful, so much that I didn’t even harp over the fact that somebody had tried to kill me on our wedding day.
This morning started like the last few, except I had a busy day ahead, so I wouldn’t wind up stir crazy when Hondo came home.
I planned to spend four hours reorganizing my closet, then around eleven I’d start getting dressed as Amethyst and Mama Carter would be here to pick me up so we could shop for the house.
I knew absolutely nothing about decorating a space of this magnitude, so I was grateful for both of them.
“You were just fussing about having to go through your closet and you went quiet. Are you okay?” Paige reminded me I was on the phone with her.
“Yeah., I’m just thinking.”
“About what, Pat? I bet you’re overthinking.”
She was right, I was, but she didn’t have to know that. “So I’m still not permitted to go back to work after the vacation days I didn’t request.” I rolled my eyes to the ceiling.
She scoffed. “You know my theory on that.”
I laughed lightly. “Yes, I do.”
“Anyways, your husband isn’t gonna let that fly too long. Just being in the space with y’all lets me know he isn’t gonna let anything happen to you. Not only that, even though this whole thing was arranged, something about the whole space gave happily ever after.”
I laughed. “I said the same thing.”
“It was in the way he looked at you and the moment he told your simp ass daddy to sit his ass down. I trust you with him because he has your best interests at heart.”
“Shut up.”
“And mind you, I told you years ago when we were forced to be at all that family friends bullshit that he was feeling you. All quiet and stoic, insisting on calling you by your middle name. The same way he looks at you now is how he looked at you back then,” she pointed out.
I dropped a stack of shirts into the donation box before moving back to my phone. “Maybe.”
“Girl, fuck a maybe. The way y’all were at that reception lets me know you’re giving me a niece or nephew very soon and I am here for it.”
“Whoa, stop giving me kids before I have them, Paige.”
“Bitch, I’m not giving you kids. Your husband is gonna do that.”
Very soon unless I get on something or he wraps it up.
“But on another note. You are two days short of two weeks married. How is it?”
“To be honest, I like it and him. I know every moment isn’t gonna be perfect and this is probably the honeymoon stage talking, but he’s different, and our marriage isn’t what I expected.”
“That’s good. Now imagine if this arranged marriage had happened with someone you didn’t spend several summers of your adolescence crushing on.”
“It would be a disaster.”
“But it isn’t. It’s working out for the best and did I mention I love your mother-in-law? She’s the sweetest and she reminds me of Mom.”
I nodded, not responding immediately because she definitely did. That wholesome pureness oozed from her pores. “Yeah, she does.”
A knock at the door had me looking up from the stacks of clothes that seemed never-ending. I locked eyes with Alysia, who spoke immediately.
“You asked me to let you know when it was eleven, Mrs. Carter.”
“Dang, time flew that fast?” I looked from her to the clock above my shoe wall.
She grinned. “Yes, you’ve been here all morning. I took the liberty of preparing a to-go snack for you.”
I nodded. “Thank you. I’ll be down in a few.”
“No rush. I’ll alert you when the other Mrs. Carters arrive.”
“Thank you, Alysia.”
“Anytime.” She was gone seconds later, leaving me to talk to my sister.
Paige and I talked for a little while longer, then I had to rush and get dressed.
At this point, I was never gonna get through this damn closet because there was so much, including the clothes I used to keep in the guest bedroom of my condo.
At this point I felt my ex-shopaholic ways catching up with me.
“How are either of you existing in an empty home?” Amethyst asked as me, her, and Mama Carter sat down for lunch after countless hours of shopping.
I shrugged. “It’s not that empty. There are the basics, considering when we came back from our honeymoon he had the contents of my condo sitting in the living room.”
Mama Carter laughed, nearly choking on her food. “Everything?” she repeated.
I nodded. “Except my bed. The bed we sleep in is like this massive canopy built from the ceiling.”
“Ohh. That sounds nice. You’ve gotta show it to me,” Amethyst said, then something behind me caught her attention.
Mama Carter caught her. “Stop staring, Amethyst. It isn’t polite.”
I glanced around, not knowing what I missed before she began speaking.
“Kolton Curr, eligible bachelor and a complete asshole. Excuse my language, Tete.” Amethyst looked away from the stranger and her eyes landed back on me. “You don’t have to worry about that considering you’re married to one of my favorite assholes.”
I laughed. Amethyst was hilarious and extremely outspoken. If she had a question or comment, she made it, never mind the moment or who was in attendance.
“Speaking of, will your children have brokered marriages too?”
“Brokered marriage,” I repeated. Now it was my time to choke on my food. I was barely wrapping my head around my own, now I had to think about my future kids too.
“Look what you’ve done, Amethyst. You’ve broken her. I’m trying to get grandchildren and you’re asking about marriage arrangements I’m sure she and Hondo have not discussed yet,” Mama Carter responded.
“Well, it’s just a question. Families are only so big, and with Briar only having four main ones since you and Uncle Sterling combined the Bethunes and Carters, I can only ask.”
“Again, Amethyst. There is a time and place for everything. This is not either. How about we change the subject to your idea for the first floor of the project?”
I was grateful for the save because Hondo and I had definitely not talked about brokering marriages for our children. Hell, we didn’t even have kids yet. Though it should have been a conversation, it was a bridge we’d cross when we got there.
We talked and ate for a while longer before it was time to head out. We were walking toward the front when I felt my phone vibrating in my back pocket. When I pulled the phone out, I wasn’t shocked to see it was Hondo. Lately my calls came from either him, his mother, or my sister.
“Hello?” I answered, a smile on its way to my features.
“I’m coming home early. How much longer you gonna be?”
“Um, not long at all. We were headed back that way.” There that smile was because of course I was already becoming obsessed with this man.
“Good. You wanna do something tonight?”
“Something being?” I exited Bistro behind Mama Carter and Amethyst.
“Lemme surprise you. Just tell me yes.”
I grinned, biting into my bottom lip. “You like when I tell you ye—” My sentence was interrupted by the sound of shattering glass and what sounded like a barrage of bullets. Everything happened so fast, and before I knew it, I was shielded by guards as they pulled me low toward the car.
It wasn’t until the shooting stopped that I heard Hondo screaming my name… Not my nickname, but my government.
“Patience! Do you hear me? Patience.”
“I’m here… I’m fine,” I said right before everything around me went dark and every single voice in the car seemed to be moving away, including his.
When I opened my eyes again, we were no longer in the car but instead in a hospital room. The room was dark and the only thing I could see was the skyline of Briar outside the windows. I could tell it wasn’t too dark because the sun was setting.
I glanced around before I felt a tightness on my hand. I looked down and immediately made out Hondo’s head on the blanket while his hand held mine. I had this overwhelming need to pee, so I tried to remove my hand from his, but that had him lifting his head almost instantly.
“Nic, you’re awake,” he asked, his voice hoarse and every nerve in his body affecting mine.
“Yes, I’m awake and I really have to pee.”
He let my hand go and got on his feet immediately. “Lemme help you.”
“Um, no, I got it.” That came out sharper than I intended, but I really did, and I wasn’t fragile.
He didn’t give a shit though because he still helped me to the bathroom.
Then, to make matters worse, the nigga did not step out and close the door.
He stood his ass right in that doorway and watched me pee then wipe my pussy like it was one of Einstein’s equations.
I almost asked if he wanted to wipe it for me, but he would’ve said yes.
Once I was done in the washroom, he walked me back to the bed and held the cover up for me to get under.
“Do you remember what happened earlier?” His voice was heavy and filled with concern.
“No, but it’s cold in here, come lay with me.” I stopped him in his tracks.
“That bed ain’t big enough for both of us and I need to page somebody so they can come in here and check you out. You passed out, Nic.”
“Okay, can you come lay with me?” I didn’t know what it was, but I felt this overwhelming need to be close to him.
He looked at me for a minute before responding. “Lemme let these people check you out, Nic. If I don’t, that shit is gonna bother me for the rest of the night.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
I watched him press the call button on the side of the bed, then patiently waited for them to come in. They didn’t take long, but I was completely shocked when along with the doctors was Mama Carter. She approached the bed on the side where her son was and gave me a warm smile.
It took them fifteen minutes to check me out.
Long story short, I passed out from exhaustion and overexertion.
I was in the middle of a shooting, both of those things absolutely tracked.
I was glad when they finished, because with every test and word, Hondo grew more furious.
He was pissed, but I was fine… Couldn’t he see that?
After the doctor was gone, the first to speak was Mama Carter. “While I am happy you are alright, don’t you ever scare me like that again!”
I laughed and nodded. “Understood.” Then my eyes went to him.
He had just kicked his shoes off and was now coming up out of his suit jacket. He was doing as I’d asked before his mother or the doctors had come in. He was in bed with me a second later, his chin on top of my head and his hand holding me close.
“Tell me I’m about to be a grandmother without telling me I’m gonna be a grandmother.”
I laughed because everything went back to her being a grandmother.
Hondo’s intensity cracked a little, with him also laughing. “If that were so, I still wouldn’t let her tell you. Would rather let you find out at the last minute.”
“And I’d kick your ass. My daughter-in-law isn’t gonna let you keep that from me, in no way, shape, or form.”
I listened to them bantering, just basking in it. Before long, I was discharged and we went home. There at the house waiting on us was Otto, Mr. Carter, Amethyst, and Hondo’s uncle who I had also met at the wedding.
I didn’t have to tell Hondo I didn’t really want to be around anyone at the moment because he already ushered me to our bedroom while telling me to give him a minute to talk to his father, brother, and uncle before getting rid of them.
Instead of going right to sleep, I turned the shower on.
I truly just needed a minute to gather my feelings and thoughts.
Today had been eventful, way too eventful for my boring ass.
I hate that I was sitting here questioning if the bullets that pierced the corner bakery were meant for me because both Amethyst and Mama Carter were in the car when the shooting started.
Was somebody trying to kill me? If so, why?
I didn’t know how long I was in the shower before I heard the glass doors open and I heard his voice.
“You’ve been in this hot ass box for too long. Thought you had for sure melted.”
I smiled, feeling him pull my body against his. Now I was melting. “Everybody gone?”
“Except Amethyst. She’s in the guest room on the first floor.”
A brief silence filled the shower room, then he turned me around. He took the soapy sponge from me and began to move it against my skin.
“Lotta shit is happening right now. Motherfuckers testing to see if I belong here, if this is my place. If I fit here like I wasn’t born to run it.” He spoke aimlessly.
“But you are,” I assured him.
“Yeah, but this shit is different. You’re mine, my fucking wife, so instead of coming at me head up, why come for my wife? Niggas wanna see the demon in me.” He pulled me under the water. “The part of me I left in that courtroom so I could be the man you deserve.”
“I think you can do both.”
His eyes locked on me like there was something he wanted to say but he was thinking too hard about it. “But would you still be able to love me?”
I blinked several times, looking at him.
This man, who always seemed to have it together, needed assurance at this moment.
My husband needed to know I accepted him for every side of himself.
We talked about everything but love, maybe because of how our union happened.
Either way he didn’t have to be a saint for me to love him, he just had to be himself.
And he was himself. The man I found myself falling more and more irrevocably in love with daily because he was him.
“You got me, Hondo. I fall deeper in love with you every day because you are you. So be who you gotta be out there. As long as you come home to me every night, we’re good.” I made sure to point to his heart when I said you.
“I got you,” he assured me, hanging my sponge behind him on the hook.
“Good, now you let me clean you.” I grabbed the sponge I got him. He hated it but I made sure to return the favor by massaging the day from his skin.
He threw his hands up, sure to give me access to every tattooed and hard part of himself.