Page 236 of When Love Takes Root

Onyx lifted both hands. “I ain’t say nothing.”

“You thought son.”

“I thought blessing.”

“You can bless yourself with flag football. I’m done.”

Celeste shook against me with laughter. I rested one hand over hers where it sat on her belly, feeling one of the twins shift beneath our palms.

Zuri leaned across Skye. “Which one was that?”

“Our son,” Celeste whispered.

Skye narrowed her eyes at her mother’s stomach. “Tell him this is Maya’s day.”

“He cannot hear you.”

“He can feel authority.”

JJ leaned around Kayden. “That baby ain’t even born, and she already trying to supervise him.”

“She’s preparing him for this family,” Zuri said.

“That child needs prayer,” I muttered.

Skye pointed at me. “That’s what Pop Siah is for.”

My heart still reacted every time one of them called me that.

It had started as one of Skye’s declarations and became part of the family before I had time to understand what they had given me. I wasn’t their father. I would never ask to be. Jamal’s place belonged to him, rooted in every memory, every resemblance, every story they still told with love in their voices.

But Pop Siah belonged to me.

It meant I had a place without taking anybody else’s.

Kayden nudged my arm. “You got the extra graduation programs, Pop Siah?” The question was casual. His eyes stayed on the stage while he held out his hand. Still, I looked at him. He glanced over. “What?”

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

His mouth pulled into a grin. “You looking emotional already.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

I pressed the program into his hand. “Take the program.”

He accepted it with a grin. “You gon’ be crying before Mama.”

“I’m a grown man. I can express joy.”

“You can express it without hollering when they call Maya’s name.”

“No promises.”

He shook his head. “Exactly why I asked you to sit by me. Somebody gotta regulate.”

“You chose the wrong man.”