Love Don't Live Here Anymore (The Love Collection Book 3) (22 page)

The two ladies didn’t shake hands but they did listen as Braxdon spoke about Siyahna respecting him as a man and letting him move on with life. He told her that they had just suffered one of the greatest losses and this was not the time for them to have bad blood between them. Siyahna agreed and because she and Braxdon had not been intimate since the day she’d raped him and got herself pregnant, she had to deal with the fact that Braxdon had stopped being hers a long time ago.

The rest of the night was a bit awkward because Siyahna kept glancing at Summer and Braxdon as he tried to explain to Summer the concept of Spades. After the game was over and Braxdon and Bernice had beat his cousin and Siyahna, Summer announced that she was getting ready to go. It was two-thirty in the morning, and she was ready to lie down in her comfortable bed. Braxdon wasn’t ready for Summer to part from him. He wanted to be with her for as long as he could. He needed to hold her and be close to her because at that moment he felt like the loneliest man in the world.

“Damn, Miss Lady, I don’t want you to leave.” Summer saw the look of hope in his eyes and she had to admit to herself that she didn’t want to part from him either. During this past week, she’d learned that she had feelings for him and how his absence affected her. She was torn as to whether she should invite him over. That would have been the most convenient thing, but she still wasn’t ready to have another man at her home. 

“I’m sorry, Braxdon. I would invite you over my house, but I just can’t. It’s not you, per se, but the fact that my home is a place I shared with my fiancé and it’s still very difficult for me to allow another man, especially one that I’ve been intimate with, there. I hope you understand.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Will you come back to Gram’s with me then?” Braxdon asked.

That had never crossed Summer’s mind but she agreed to spend the rest of the early morning hours with Braxdon. She put on Akia’s coat and told her to say bye to Brenda. Brenda saw her daddy putting on his jacket and cried to go with him. Braxdon started to put her coat on, but Siyahna stopped him.

“She ain’t going nowhere.”

“And why not? Is she not my daughter too?” Braxdon asked.

“Braxdon, we ain’t about to get into all that. Any other time, I have to pull teeth to get you to spend time with her. Now, because you want to play house, you think you just gonna take her? Hell no. I don’t. Think. So.”

“Why you acting like that, man? You see she wants to come with me and you gonna try to keep her from me. That’s fucked up, Yahna, and you know it,” Braxdon barked. Arguing wasn’t a remedy. He scooped Brenda into his arms and loved her up. “Hey, baby girl. Daddy will come get you tomorrow and we can spend the whole day together, all right? Right now, you need to stay with Mommy and be a good girl, okay?”

“Okay,” Brenda said.

Braxdon kissed her and hugged her tightly. Summer could see the emotions welling inside of him and her heart went out to him. Everything happened for a reason and even though Sirad didn’t deserve to die, she felt like God was giving Braxdon a chance to be a great dad to his daughter, the opportunity to create a bond with her just as he had done with Sirad.

“It was nice meeting you all. Have a good night,” Summer announced. Everyone expressed the same and Braxdon, Summer, and Akia left together.

Braxdon entered the house and went to check on his Gram. As usual, she was half-asleep and half-awake, waiting for him to come in. There were times he even tried to leave after she had gone to bed, but she always woke up on his way out and told him to be safe. He showed Summer to the extra bedroom located right across from the bathroom and gave her a minute to get Akia settled. He couldn’t help but notice her maternal maneuverings and smiled inwardly at the sight. He straightened up his room and lit some incents to add a nice aroma to the room. He turned on his radio and rolled a Dutch. Summer entered the room ten minutes later and he smiled at her.

“I didn’t know you could sing?” he said to her.

“I can’t.”

“It sounded good to me. I’m sure little Miss Lady enjoyed it.”

“If you think that was something, you should hear my sister. Now, she can sang,” Summer said.

“I would love to meet your peoples,” Braxdon said and Summer realized that she still had not told him she was going back home.

“Braxdon, um, last week I decided that I’m moving back to Dallas.”

Time stopped. Everything stood still. Braxdon didn’t move for several moments. His heart dropped. More seconds passed. He closed his eyes and then slowly opened them. He looked to his left, into her eyes. “Hmph,” he grunted. Braxdon reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a lighter. He removed the Dutch from behind his ear and lit it.

After taking a few pulls, he looked at Summer again. “Why?” His voice was saturated with sadness.

“So much bad has happened since I’ve been here. I’m all alone and every time I go through something, I don’t have that family support that I need. So after everything that happened last week, I called my sister, hysterical, and she and my brother-in-law told me to come back home. I felt it was best as well, so I gave my job my resignation letter.”

“When you leave?”

“Next Friday is my last day at work. I decided to give all my furniture away and just take my personal items. I reserved an SUV and will drive us back home,” Summer said.

Braxdon kept pulling on his weed and for a long time didn’t speak. Summer knew he wouldn’t take the news lightly but she didn’t want to wait to tell him.  Braxdon passed the Dutch to Summer. She really didn’t want to smoke but she did anyway to help ease her nerves and break the awkward silence.

“I’m all ready to change my life around. My son’s death changed me in ways I’m still trying to understand. Sirad was such a smart, young kid, with a bright future. I feel like I needed to step my shit up and be the best man I can be. I owe it to him, I owe it to Brenda, and I owe it to myself. And to be honest, when I see my future, I see you in it. I know you just lost your man and shit, but I want you as my lady, Miss Lady. Don’t give me an answer right now, but I just wanted to let you know what I was feeling.”

Summer allowed his words to seep in before she spoke. She cared a lot about Braxdon but worried that she wasn’t ready for a committed kind of love.

“I hear you. I feel you too. But with me being in Dallas and you here in Atlanta, how are we going to make that work? It would be hard. I … I just think it’s too soon for that.”

“I can move to Dallas,” Braxdon said.

“What about Brenda and Ms. Honey and the rest of your family? You guys seem really close and I don’t want to be the reason for that separation.”

“And you won’t be. Life is about growth, changes, and making moves. My family will understand and my Gram would love for me to be with you. She has been telling me that since the day y’all met,” Braxdon said.

That caused Summer to smile because she remembered Ms. Honey making such comments. “Braxdon, all that sounds good, but I can’t see you leaving your daughter behind or your grandmother, for that matter. You need to think long and hard about what you’re trying to do. What’s your plans for the near future?” she asked him.

“I’m still interested in school. In fact, I signed up already and I start in January. I had to take out a loan though.”

“See!” Summer said. “Things are looking up for you. The last thing I want you to do is hinder your progress.” Summer patted his leg.

“It’s only a six-month program. I wanna ask you to wait until I finish school to leave. I know how much you miss being home and although the you leaving is an emotional blow, the thought of you staying someplace you’re not happy hurts just as much. “

“By the way, I spoke to my brother-in-law and he agreed to pay for your school expenses,” Summer told him. She could have sworn she saw his eyes light up.

“Say word?”

“Word!” Summer joked. “He just needs the information and he will make sure they get paid in full.”

“Damn, that’s dope. What, is he rich or something? Why you do that?” Braxdon asked.

Summer laughed
.
“Well, let’s just say he’s not hurting for money. Plus, I could tell you were serious and I didn’t want you turning to the streets for anything. I figured if your school expenses were covered then you’d be less likely to hustle to pay for it. Speaking of which, did you finally get bail?”

“Nah, man, I got called back into court and the judge told me that the angels were on my side because I was being released. The cops had fucked up when they arrested me, a technicality or some shit, and their mistake made me a free man. I don’t know what the fuck happened, but all I know is that I was released from jail and told that my son’s funeral was paid in full. I can’t tell you how good that shit felt. The crazy part is no one knew who gave up the money. I know no one in my family did because ain’t nobody got that kind of dough, nah mean?”

Summer smiled inwardly.
Technicality, my ass. That was all Vincent!

He looked at Summer and studied her face. It was something about her reaction or lack thereof that made him ask, “Did you have something to do with that?”

Summer licked her lips. “Why would you think that?”

“Damn, Miss Lady. I know you did. Nothing that damn good has come to me until I met you. First, it was the health insurance, and then you helping me with my Gram, encouraging me to sign up for school, my freedom, my son’s funeral. My whole outlook on life has changed for the better since I met you. You’re like my guardian angel. I guess the judge
was
right,” Braxdon said.

And with those words, Summer began to cry. All this time, she’d felt like she was nothing but bad luck, like everything she touched she bruised or damaged, and here was someone letting her know that she had brought nothing but good into his life. That made her feel better than he would have ever known. Braxdon held her and cried with her. The two of them were starting to quickly realize that they’d found more in each other than they had when they were apart.

Braxdon lay back on the bed and pulled Summer into him. “I love you, Miss Lady.” He kissed her gently on the cheek. Although Summer didn’t say the words, the look in her eyes gave Braxdon all the confirmation he needed. He had a special place in her heart too.

The following morning, Summer was awakened by Akia’s crying. She stumbled out of Braxdon’s embrace and went into the other room.

“Hey, sweetie. What’s wrong?” Summer asked.

“I want my mommy,” Akia cried.

That was the fourth or fifth time Akia had suddenly cried out for her mom since that day she was left in her care. Her cries hurt Summer more because there was nothing Summer could do about it. There was no number to call or place to visit to allow Akia to see the only mother she’d ever known. Summer picked her up and cradled her in her arms. She gently rocked her back and forth, singing her favorite song.

On one of the forms Jessica had left, she’d written down all of Akia’s favorite things and “This Little Light of Mine” was a song that brought her comfort. Every time Summer sang it to her, she would quiet down and relax. Summer kissed her sweetly and told her that her mommy had to go away and she wanted her to be happy and not to cry. She wiped the remainder of Akia’s tears and held her tightly. Summer said a prayer, asking God to heal her little heart.

“She okay?” Braxdon asked. He was standing in the doorway with his gym shorts on and nothing on his chest.

“Yeah, she’s fine. She just misses her mommy, that’s all.”

“She’s a cutie.”

“Yeah, she is.” Summer continued to rock Akia in her arms. She looked at Braxdon and smiled. He really was a great man. She hoped that things worked out with him and Brenda, because they really did need one another.

Braxdon made Akia some eggs and toast and sat her at the kitchen table so she could eat. He and Summer stood near the stove and she told him what happened.

“Damn,” he said. And then it hit him. “I’ve been treating Brenda the same way that Akia’s mother treated her, and Brenda probably feels the same way about me as Akia does about her mom right now. Regardless of how she was conceived, Brenda is my daughter and there is no way I’m going to keep living without making sure I spend time with her every day. This just made me realize how messed up I’ve been treating my daughter. I never got to tell you why. About a year and a half before Siyahna got pregnant with Brenda, I found out she was sleeping with one of my home boys and I cut her ass off. I mean really cut her off. She was my shorty from back in the day and we was together all the time. But when I found that shit out, it was dead. Everything we had vanished. She begged and begged to get me back, but I was done. Call it what you want, ego, pride, whatever, but I wasn’t dealing with her ass anymore. So one night, she called me over and said Sirad couldn’t sleep. I went over there, and long story short, she made me a drink. Next thing I know, shorty was all on top of my shit.” Braxdon motioned his hands and glanced down at his private area. “I was so messed up from whatever it was she gave me that I couldn’t even get her up off me. Man, two months later, I found out this bitch was pregnant,” he whispered, trying not to let Akia hear him. “I denied the baby until a paternity test proved otherwise. I was so pissed. I hated her ass ever since!”

“I know!” Summer responded.

“How you know?”

“Because, I saw y’all. One day, AJ and I were at a sandwich shop and you two were in there arguing. I felt so embarrassed for you two.”

Before Summer could finish her statement, Ms. Honey exited the bathroom and walked into the kitchen. “Who was doing all that crying so early?” she teased.

“That would be miss Akia Myari. Hi, Ms. Honey. Good to see you again.” Summer stood to hug her. She sat back down. “Akia, say hi to Ms. Honey.”

“Hi,” Akia said, with a mouth full of food.

“Hi, baby,” Ms. Honey said to Akia. “Summer, it’s always good to see you. I’m glad that grandson of mine finally came to his senses. I told him he would be a fool to let his emotions run you away.”

“Oh Gram, here you go. I told you I was gonna make it right,” Braxdon said. Then his mood dampened. “Gramma, she’s leaving us.”

“Who’s leaving where?” Ms. Honey asked.

Braxdon looked at Summer to see if she would speak up and she did. “I’m moving back to Dallas, Ms. Honey. I leave next Friday.”

“Really!” she screeched in shock and a twinge of disappointment swept over her. “Oh Summer, baby, I’m happy for you. I could tell how much you missed your sister and friends. We’ll miss you here too. You’re like my granddaughter, you know.”

Her words massaged Summer’s heart. “Thank you, Ms. Honey. I feel the same way,” Summer said, tearing up. “I made arrangements for a nurse friend of mine to come by, the same as I have been doing, that’s if you feel the need.” Summer smirked. She visited Ms. Honey because she wanted to. Since getting her the medical dispenser machine, she had been taking her meds accurately.

Ms. Honey confirmed what Summer had figured. “No, baby, that’s okay. If I call you with a concern, then you can ask her to come by. And make sure you come by before you leave,” she told Summer.

“I wouldn’t do it any other way.” She hugged Ms. Honey and noticed that her grip was tighter and her hold was longer than usual. Summer genuinely loved her like a grandmother. It was people like her who made leaving Atlanta that much more difficult.