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Twenty-Seven
Kansas
It had been a week since that night.
The night she cried after I made love to her.
The same day, she learned the truth about her brother.
We all felt the loss. Even though we grieved, Kali hadn’t, and it was like Jinx died all over again. The worst part was that she was pulling away from me. I didn’t know how to stop it. No matter what I did, I could feel her distancing herself from me as if she was preparing for the worst. I knew what she was thinking. That I was next. That I would leave her. What she didn’t realize was I wasn’t going anywhere. She was it. I wanted no other. In the time I’d come to know Kali, she had quickly become my everything.
My reason for living.
I knew I could tell her that until I was blue in the face, but unless she believed it and trusted what I said, the divide between us would grow. How did I tell or show a woman who had lost everyone she ever loved that I was staying put?
“Prez,” a soft voice said, getting my attention. Looking up from my desk, I spotted Talia standing in the doorway, scuffing her shoe against the floor as her little head hung low. It wasn’t just me feeling the divide. Even the children knew something was wrong. How did I explain adult grief to a child when I was still going through it myself?
“Talia?”
When she looked up at me, my heart broke as her big blue eyes swam in unshed tears. Holding my arms out for her, Talia ran to me, climbing into my lap, hugging my neck hard. Holding her close, I whispered. “I’ve got you, baby girl.”
“Momma’s sad.”
“I know,” I murmured, rubbing her back.
“Why is she sad?”
Placing Talia on my lap, I said, “Your momma found out that someone she loved very much had died.”
“Uncle Kole?”
“Yeah, baby.”
“He was momma’s brother like the twins and Tanner is mine.”
“That’s right.”
“How did Uncle Kole die, Prez?”
“It was an accident, sweetheart.”
“Like Vega shot Marvin in the face? Like that accident?”
What in the world? Who shot who?
Turning her around so I could look at her, I asked, “Talia? Who are Vega and Marvin?”
“In the movie. Vega shooted Marvin in the face because Fury hit a bump.”
What in the hell was she talking about? And who in the hell were Vega, Marvin and Fury?
“You watched this in a movie?”
“Uh huh.” Talia’s little head bobbed up and down.
“Do you remember the name of the movie?”
Talia shook her head. “Tig showed me.”
