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“It wasn’t that type of trip. Are you done here?”
“No, I just told you I want the hat.”
“You don’t wear hats.”
“I do.” Kirsten shrugged. She kept a fly weave or braids most of the year. Her natural hair was shoulder length, thick and full, but a headache to maintain. She would occasionally rock it but preferred to keep her natural tresses locked tight and protected. It wasn’t often that she wore hats but occasionally one matched her fit and she would sport it.
“Nah, you really don’t and when you do, your sticky fingers are typically in my closet to get one.”
“My point exactly. If I buy the one that matches my saddle bag, then I won’t have to steal yours.” She winked and walked off. War watched as she approached the sales lady, smiling brightly when she pointed to a display that held a ball cap and bucket hat. He shook his head slightly when Kirsten pointed to both. She was good for running up a tab but he didn’t mind. She could get that.
Between her and his mother, they kept his childcare centers flourishing. Kirsten rotated between all four locations, keeping the books right. She hired, fired, and handled employee relations.
His mother loved kids even if she complained about them being aggravating and was constantly hinting at a few grandbabies. He made quick work of her filling in for teachers who needed time off for vacation and PTO. Her time with the kids at the centers provided a temporary solution and now that JoJo existed, she got to have a baby in her home to love on occasionally.
When she was back in his proximity, Kirsten jumped right back to the topic she’d dropped before walking away. “So did you buy her anything?”
“Who?” He played dumb but it got him nowhere. The smile dropped from his sister’s face and was replaced with a tight lipped glare.
“You know who, War. Did you buy her anything while you were here?”
“Some expensive ass candles but that was all.”
“Candles?”
“Yeah, some pop-up shop she was tripping over.”
“What’s the name?”
“I don’t remember and why does that matter?”
“Because I want to know and you remember everything, War, with your hyper focused ass.”
War chuckled as he looked up then dug his phone from his hoodie. She was right, he did remember everything which had him sending a text to see if there was information or a connection to the license plate on the BMW he ran across when pulling up on Neece.
Once he hit send, his eyes were on his sister again. “Light My Flame.”
“That can’t be it. Their store is by Blue Mountain.”
“I just said it was a pop-up shop. You need to be more like me and remember shit,” he teased. She waved him off as the sales associate approached with the hats she requested. Kirsten immediately took the bucket and began examining it with a huge smile on her face.
She’s about to get both them shits.
“I want these. I’ll take both of those.” Kirsten pointed to the shoes and saddle bag she collected.
“Is that all for you today, ma’am?”
“Hell yeah that’s all. Shit, that’s enough.” War scratched his beard in frustration and lifted from his seated position. He had more money than he could spend in a lifetime but he wasn’t the kind to do things in excess. He was and always would be a simple man, a learned behavior from his previous life. Excess meant attention and dirty hands didn’t need attention.
“You got it. What’s the problem?” Kirsten laughed, leading the way to the sales counter.
“I want to keep it and you don’t need any of that shit.”
“But I want it so…” She shrugged and he shook his head, leaning his back against the counter while they packaged and bagged up her items. Once the purchases were paid for, he was the one with bags in hand as they left the store.
“Where’s the candle place?”
“No.”
