To Break a Vow
Page 24
“It’s good to have y’all here, man.”
Glancing back at me, Tonya smiled. “It’s good to be here.”
And not that I’d ever doubted her about this particular thing, but it meant something to me that I could clearly see in her eyes that she meant it. It meant something that despite the nerves that had been plaguing her since we hopped in the car to embark on the road trip here that she felt good about being here, being around my family. And maybe the good energy she possessed could rub off on me and make me less anxious about this meet and greet. I jogged ahead, greeting my brother, dodging his swings as I pointed out that he also seemed to be gaining some pregnancy weight and brought the two halves of my family together with a smile.
Ma was still nowhere to be found and—after leaving Wisdom at the table where he’d already engaged in conversation with my niece—I took Tonya behind the gazebo to find my mother standing at the grill, wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat and an apron that read Not My Husband’s Apron.
“Here you are. I’ve been looking all over for you, woman.”
With a wide smile on her face, my mother dropped the tongs she was holding on the wooden shelf beside the grill and wiped her hands on her apron before taking two steps to hug first me, then Tonya. Eying her curiously, she didn’t seem to be holding in any anger, but I couldn’t be too sure. I nodded at Tonya.
“Mrs. Hawkins—” she began but when Ma started shaking her head, she bit her lip, effectively halting the rest of her plea. I knew it was too good to be true.
“Come on, Ma. You know what she’s trying to say, why we’re here. Give her a chance; we all know what went down was my fault.”
Tonya squeezed my hand. “Hold on, Jereth. I need to be the one to apologize.”
Ma put her hands in the air. "No need!”
Tonya shook her head. “Mrs. Hawkins, I—”
Grabbing Tonya’s other hand, Ma squeezed. “Didn’t I tell you to call me Sabrina?”
Tonya licked her lips as her eyes flitted from me to my mother nervously. “Yes, ma’am, but—”
“No buts. I said it and I meant it. I’ve already forgiven you, and from the looks of you standing here shaking like a leaf, you now need to forgive yourself. You said what you said out of hurt, and I understood that immediately. My son hurt you and wasn’t around to fix that hurt so you took it out on me. It wasn’t right, but what’s done is done.” Reaching up to wipe at Tonya’s tears, Ma cupped her cheek. “We can move on from this, can’t we?”
Tonya nodded and allowed herself to be pulled into a tight hug by my mother who rocked her gently from side to side and murmured comforting things that I couldn’t understand nor hear. And later, as we all sat around the long table under the gazebo and laughed over barbecued ribs and chicken while the sun began to set over the horizon, I looked at the beautiful woman sitting next to me who was fully engaged with Nedra in conversation about guns. At that moment, I felt the universe beaming down on me. Despite the rocky road, this thing was good. I was blessed.
Without rhyme or reason, I leaned over and kissed Tonya on her temple softly, and when she turned to me repeated my action on her lips, ignoring the course of “awwws” that came from Nedra and Lisa.
“You good?” I asked for her ears only.
The way her lips curved into a smile warmed my soul from within.
“I am, actually. I’m great.”
It was so simple, her reply, and yet, it was everything I needed to hear at that moment.
“I’m glad to hear that, baby. That’s all I wanted.”
Tilting her head, she looked at me, that smile dancing on her lips. “What about you? You good?”
“Yeah,” I drawled. “I’ll always be good when I have you by my side.”
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Other titles by Chencia C. Higgins
JustOneNight.com Novella Series:
No Strings Allowed - Book 1
No Love Allowed - Book 2
No Games Allowed - Book 3
The Vow Series:
To Buy a Vow
To Build a Vow
The Color Spectrum Duet:
a collaborative duet with Sabrina B. Scales
The Color Spectrum: Ebony
Wolves of West Texas Series:
Janine: His True Alpha
Standalones:
Her & Them
Novelettes:
Remember Our Love
Loud & Lew’d
Benefriends