Redemption: AmBw Romantic Suspense

“Don’t say anything, yet. It might scare her. Plus, she might want to start dating other people first. Check out the field.”

“That won’t happen.”

“I doubt it too. Especially, with all the yelling last night.”

I quirked my brows. “You heard us?”

“I think the hogs up the hill heard you too.” Kevin winked and spooned more cereal into his mouth.

“I really think it’s safe to go back to your apartment.”

Kevin chuckled. “Oh no. The threat could still be there. And I can’t miss the feast.”

I finished my pancakes and leaned back in the chair. “You’re fine with babysitting this evening?”

“Of course. I bought booze, porn, and invited several strippers. The kids and I are going to have a blast. Snort some coke. Shoot-up a bunch of heroin.”

I frowned.

“Come on, Yo-yo. Of course I’m going to be responsible. Besides, Mabel hates strippers.”

I rose and washed my dishes. “What’s your plan for today?”

“Prepping my pies. I’m going to blow Ebony’s mind. You might have some competition.”

I glanced over my shoulder and glared at him.

“Wow. You must’ve got up on the wrong side of the bed today. These are playful jokes.”

“Try not to get a bullet in your head today, Kevin.”

“Fine. I won’t put all my secret ingredients in the pies. I don’t want to woo Ebony away from you. It wouldn’t be right.”

I ignored him, grabbed my winter coat, pulled out my old cassette radio, and headed out to the back house.

At this point, I didn’t want Ebony and the kids to move there anymore. They could stay right in the house with me. But the plan was for them to move and have their own sense of a home and privacy. I had to give them that and not try to hold them close to me against their will. If I forced it, I would be no better than Wyatt. Ebony and the kids had already done a great job with cleaning up the place. Now all it would need was a check for any repairs.

For the rest of the day, I worked on the place, blasting 80s rap. I grabbed some cans of paint from the basement and put a fresh coat on all the walls. L.L. Cool J served as the soundtrack. Later, I switched to Public Enemy, noticed a leak with the kitchen sink, pulled out my tools, and took care of it. Rocking to Queen Latifah, I spent an hour on the wiring, making sure the electricity worked fine as well as the Wi-Fi connection. By the time I’d played all my old tapes, the sun began to go down and I was certain the house was move-in ready.

Pride hit me from that fact, but so did a bit of sadness. In this month, the kids and Ebony had not only changed my life completely, they’d made me addicted to their noise and presence.

I hope they know that I’ll be visiting all the time.

All these years I’d lived alone and now I was nervous about returning to that solitude.

I cleaned everything up, took stuff into the basement, and headed home. I spotted the SUV parked on the side of the house, next to Mabel’s jeep.

It’s about time.

I checked my watch and realized I had less than an hour to get ready for our date.

I hope she understands that this is the first of many date nights.

Hopefully, Ebony could get used to our strange babysitters. Although the kids were awesome, she deserved a break once in a while. And I loved spending time alone with her.

When I got inside, Mabel was singing Holly Jolly Christmas with Poppy. They had two bowls of popcorn in front of them along with coils of thread and needles. Poppy’s voice was the most beautiful thing. No fear gleamed in her eyes as she strung popcorn together with her needles and belted out the notes.

A sweet scent rode the air.

Mabel noticed my shocked expression and waved. “Mr. Yo-yo is here. You better hurry up. You don’t want to keep your date waiting.”

“If you’re not ready, then I’ll take her.” Kevin chuckled from the kitchen.

Stunned, Jalen stopped stirring up some concoction next to him. “Well. . .this isn’t a date. They’re just going somewhere.”

Kia carried out pans from the pantry. “It’s definitely a date, butthead. That’s why Mommy bought the makeup.”

Jalen frowned. “Wait a minute. They’re just friends that kiss.”

When did you realize we were kissing?

I stood there shocked.

“Kissing friends are dating friends.” Kia waved him away and set the pans down by Kevin. “Catch up, Jalen.”

Damn these kids are smart. There’s nothing getting by them.

“Hold on. No one asked me about this.” Jalen turned his attention to me. “You’re dating my mommy?”

I cleared my throat. “I’m going to. . .go upstairs.”

Kia giggled.

I hurried away.

Jalen called back, “You better have her back at a decent hour.”

Kia yelled, “Oh shut up, Jalen! They’re grown.”