Page 162 of When Love Takes Root

I got out before memory could pull up a chair.

“Everybody, grab your stuff. And don’t leave anything in my car unless you plan on explaining to Jesus why your mama had to find old fries under the seat.”

Zuri gasped from the back seat. “That was one time.”

Maya shut her door and slid her sketchbook under her arm. “It was three times.”

Skye hugged her spelling test to her chest, offended on behalf of fresh potatoes everywhere. “My fries are always fresh.”

JJ walked past her with a grin. “Because you eat them before we leave the parking lot.”

Skye pointed her paper bag at him. “That’s called wisdom.”

Kayden headed for the porch without looking back.

My smile thinned.

Josiah came around the front of his truck with his sleeves pushed up, his braids falling down his back, and his expression calm enough to settle a room willing to be settled. My house looked different with him standing in front of it. Different enough for the porch light to seem brighter, for the flowerpots to look freshly judged, for every curtain in the front window to remind me my children were watching.

He stopped near the edge of the driveway. “You need me to bring anything in?”

My first instinct was to say no.

Most mothers needed help. We just learned to disguise it as efficiency, grocery lists, and statements ending with, “I got it.” Letting a man carry something into my house felt heavier than a bag. It felt like permission. It felt like another step. It felt like five children watching.

Before I could answer, Skye held out her paper bag. “You can carry my spelling test because it’s important.”

Josiah accepted it with a solemn nod. “Then I’ll guard it with my life.”

Zuri tilted her head, curiosity lighting her whole face. “Do you have a safe in your truck?”

“No.”

“You should get one,” she announced, already convinced she’d improved his entire future.

“I’ll consider it.”

“For papers and snacks,” Skye added, eyes wide with optimism.

Josiah glanced at me, then back at them. “That’s a strong business model.”

Skye beamed like she’d personally upgraded his whole life.

A smile tugged at me before I could stop it.

Kayden glanced back from the porch. “Y’all coming, or we doing a driveway meet-and-greet?”

JJ’s head turned slowly toward him. His mouth opened, then closed, and his jaw shifted like he’d bitten down on the first response trying to escape. He swept one hand over his face and looked toward the garage, nostrils flaring once.

I gave Kayden a look. “Watch your tone.”

He shrugged, but his shoulders stayed too high. “I asked a question.”

“You asked it ugly.”

His eyes moved to Josiah, then away.

I unlocked the front door and stepped in first. Some things, I wasn’t ready to let Josiah see unless I led the way. My house smelled like lemon cleaner, garlic butter, and the faint vanilla candle Maya had lit that morning, even though I kept telling her fire wasn’t a decorative suggestion. The entry table held a bowl for keys, a leaning stack of mail I’d sworn I was going to sort, and a framed picture of all seven of us at a church picnic three years before Jamal died.