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“You making that move to Washington?”
“Yeah. Alicia and Paisley love it there, and like I said, I need a fresh start.”
Elite nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “I feel you. I was on the same wave until I met Denali.”
“You sticking around now?”
“For the time being.”
“Whatever’s best for you.” They held each other’s gaze, both looking away at the same time. Jacintha chuckled quietly. “I won’t hold you long. Before we go in, I wanted to see if you’d heard anything about Henry while I was out?”
“Nah, I haven’t. Have you heard from him?”
“I have actually. He sent me a message on Facebook from a dummy page and basically threatened me. He told me he didn’t have anything else to lose and that if I tried to find him and his wife to tell her the truth, he would kill me.”
“Aight, bet. Send me his profile information and any pictures you have of him. Give me the Google number he used too. I’ll give everything to Antonne, and if he finds him, I’ll take it from there.”
“Okay, thanks. I, um… I know you’re in a good space now, so I don’t want you doing anything to jeopardize that, especially since I’m leaving. I just feel like he’s hanging over my head, you know?”
“I feel you. I’m the same way. Life is good, but I still keep thinking about that nigga. He gots to fucking pay.”
Nodding, Jacintha released a shaky breath. “Well… I’ll send you that information. Thank you in advance.”
“Always. You know I got you.”
Replying would have put her further in her feelings, so Jacintha smiled and opened the door. They walked into the living room, and as soon as the girls saw him, they looked from one to the other before jumping from their seats and running to give Elite a hug.
“My girls…” He kneeled in front of them. “I’m so happy to see y’all. How’s Washington? Where’s my souvenir?”
“We got you a gift, but we forgot to pack it,” Paisley answered, and Elite chuckled.
“I know y’all are enjoying time with your mom, but I just wanted to stop by and let you both know that I miss you and I’m happy you’re doing well in Washington and getting closer to your dad.”
“We miss you too,” Alicia replied before hugging his neck, and that made Jacintha get a little teary eyed.
Out of the two, Alicia gave Elite the hardest time. They both loved him, but when Dedrick was active in their lives, they treated Elite differently. Elite never allowed that to change the way he loved and cared about them, and Jacintha would always love him for that. He always went above and beyond for all three of them… trying to make them happier when they gave him attitude or went out of their way to remind him that he wasn’t their dad. She couldn’t imagine how difficult that was for him, but he never complained, and now that they no longer had him… it seemed like they appreciated him more.
“I got y’all something,” he said, pulling out two pearl necklaces with what looked like gold oysters around them. “I made this for y’all. The oyster protects the pearl when it’s in the sea, right?” They nodded. “I’m your oyster, and you both are my pearls. No matter where you are, I will always love and protect you. Call me whenever you need me and I’ll be there no matter what, aight?”
Covering her mouth, Jacintha fought back tears as he placed the necklaces on them. They hugged and thanked him profusely before running into the bathroom to look at them. Her tears finally fell when Paisley said she wanted to take a picture of what her stepdaddy gave her to send to their father.
“You good?” Elite asked with a soft smile.
“Whew.” She chuckled softly. “I will be.”
“I got something for you too.”
As he exhaled a hard, shaky breath, Elite pulled her engagement ring out of his pocket. The square diamond with a pair of silver hands wrapped around it had been her most prized possession. Even when he replaced it at their wedding, Jacintha treasured it and hadn’t planned to ever let it go. When he proposed, he told her he’d be her life partner, holding her hand, by her side, no matter what.
“I didn’t know if you’d intentionally left this at the house when you packed up or…”
“No.” Her head shook adamantly. “Not at all. I’d been looking for it like crazy at my storage unit since I got out. Where did you find it?”
“On top of the bible in the closet.”
Squeezing her eyes shut, Jacintha whispered, “Can I have it back? Please?”
Elite took her right hand into his and slipped the ring onto her finger. He kissed it, then told her, “I’m here for you too. Always. Aight?” All she could do was nod and hold the ring to her chest. To her heart. “I’ll call you when Henry is taken care of. Be well, Jacintha.”
