Page 73 of When a Soul Cries

“And you love me.”

“Unfortunately.”

“Boy, fuck you.”

I laughed. “Love you too, Ma.”

“Mhm. And don’t call me later asking what you should text Sol. I ain’t helping your grown ass flirt.”

“I don’t even have her number.”

Mama went quiet.

Then she started laughing.

“Mama.”

“Oh, this is even worse than I thought.”

“Goodbye.”

“Boy, you done had Darius investigating this woman and can’t even call her?”

My eyes narrowed. “Who said anything about Darius?”

“Wait—what?”

Shit.

“Goodbye, Ma.”

“ROME—”

I hung up.

I stared at the phone.

“Fuck.”

⸻

Once the laughter faded, everything Mama had said was still sitting there.

Sol wasn’t just some woman I was attracted to. She was a mother. She had a little girl depending on her, a car giving her problems, an eviction hanging over her head, and no close family here that I knew of. Somewhere in the middle of all that was a father nobody could seem to find.

And Mama was right.

If all I wanted to do was help Sol, then I needed to offer and let her decide.

But if I wanted something more?

That was different.

I wouldn’t just be stepping into Sol’s life. Eventually, I’d be stepping into her daughter’s too.

I leaned back in my chair and rubbed a hand across my face. “Man…”

Twenty-four hours ago, I didn’t know this woman existed. Now I was questioning whether I was ready for responsibilities nobody had even asked me to take on.