“It was cool. I ran into Ramsey and Cassi at IHOP earlier.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. After breakfast, we went to Ramseys’ crib to wash the girls up and so they could finish playin’. You know how they get when you try to break them apart,” he chuckled.
“Yes, I do. They love each other so much. Their play date must have tired her out, huh?”
“Yup, and Cassi was passed out, too,” he smiled.
“I’m gonna go see Cashmere tomorrow. After findin’ out how her accident was caused, I’m gonna be up there as much as I can.”
“Have you decided if you want to go back to work or not?”
“To be honest, I really don't know. I like bein’ home with you and Brandi.”
“That’s cool because startin’ tomorrow, I’m back on my grind. I’m gonna hook up with Randall tomorrow to see if he can put me on or see if he knows someone who can,” he stated seriously.
“Manny, I know the streets are a part of you, but I don't think that’s a good idea.” She got up from the couch, walking into the kitchen.
“You have every right to be worried, bae, but if I’m gonna find out who did this and make money, I gotta do what I gotta do.” He followed behind her.
“I thought when you came home, you would leave the streets. I was thinkin’ that maybe you should be legit and we could get married.”
“So, you want me to be a square?” he asked, becoming offended.
“It’s not called bein’ a square, Manny. It’s called stayin’ alive and keepin’ ya woman happy.” She removed a pack of chicken from the fridge.
“Look, all I wanna do is get enough bread so we can be straight and get back to livin’ the way I’m used to. I feel like a damn leech, and that ain’t never been me. The only thing I own is a car, and somebody gave that shit to me. I need to be able to provide for my family, and this is the only way I know how to do that. I would like for you to be okay with this, but if you’re not, I don't know what to tell ya ass.” He pecked her lips before returning to the living room.
Baylynn was pissed that Manny wanted to return to the streets, but there was nothing she could do about it. She had to let him be a man and handle his business. As she prepared dinner for her family, Baylynn couldn't help but think that she would never have a relationship like Cashmere’s. All she wanted was for Manny to commit to her the way Ramsey committed to Cashmere, and for him to make her his wife. She had grown to love Manny more and more each day, but she knew Manny might’ve still had his reservations about her. Baylynn still had to prove herself to him and she was determined to do so.
Once dinner was finished, Baylynn called Fateema from upstairs to eat. Manny placed Brandi in her high chair before he sat down at the table with the ladies. Everyone made their plates and made small talk as they enjoyed their meals. After Baylynn was finished with her food, she carried Brandi upstairs to get her washed and ready for bed. Once Brandi was off to sleep, she took a shower before climbing into bed. Baylynn waited until Manny came upstairs so she could fall asleep. She didn’t exactly need him in the bed with her, but knowing that he was in the room with her did the trick.
The following morning, Baylynn woke up at ten and didn’t waste any time getting ready for the day. Dressed in a PINK Victoria’s Secret sweat suit and UGG boots, she snatched up her purse along with her keys before walking down the stairs. She found Manny and Brandi in the kitchen and kissed them goodbye. Manny informed her that her mother had left out and she nodded as she walked out the front door. Unlocking the doors to her car, Baylynn jumped inside, bringing it to life. “Juice” by Yo Gotti was playing on the radio, and she turned the volume up as she backed out into the street and drove off.
When she arrived at the hospital forty minutes later, she parked in a spot and sat there with the engine running. Bay was cool on her way to the hospital, but she had a sudden urge to turn around and go back home. Baylynn thought about the history she had with Cashmere and how they had come to be in each other’s lives. The last time she saw Cashmere in person was when they were in the parking lot of the prison, and she replayed the conversation they’d had. They were never on good terms with each other, and Baylynn wasn’t sure if she was ready to take that step. But, when she thought about Cashmere being in a car accident while she was on her way to visit her in the hospital, Baylynn killed the engine and got her ass out the car.
As she approached the door, she saw Ryan and Tiffany coming out, and she turned her head so they couldn’t see her. Baylynn walked to the nurses’ station and told her who she was there to see. The nurse gave her the room number and she headed towards the elevator. Stepping on the elevator, she pushed the button to the third floor and twiddle her thumbs on the ride up. When the doors opened, she walked down the hall to Cashmeres’ room. Baylynn stood at the door for a moment and took a deep breath before she walked in. Ramsey was staring out the window, but turned his head when he heard her walk in.
“Hey, Ramsey,” she waved.
“Hey,” he responded with irritation.
“How is she?” She walked over to the bed.
“She doin’ okay. She still hasn’t woke up yet.”
“I see she’s breathin’ on her own.”
“Yeah,” he smiled. “I heard you were in the hospital, too?”
“Yeah. I was shot three times.” She shook her head.
“Tamia told me what happened. I was lowkey mad at her because she played the coward role and ain’t say shit, but this situation is bigger than her. She’s a part of this just like me and Cashmere.”
Ramsey nodded.
“Do you think I can have a minute alone with my…sister, Rams?”
“It feels weird sayin’ that, huh?” he chuckled.
“It really does. I went from havin’ no sisters to havin’ two. Can you imagine how shocked I was when I found out Cashmere was my blood?”
“After everythin’ that went down with us, y’all were the last two I was expectin’ to be related,” he confessed. “Well, I’ll leave y’all alone, and when you’re done in here, I’ll take you to the nursery to see the twins.”
Baylynn smiled at him. When she heard the door close, she grabbed Cashmere’s hand before she spoke.
“Hey, Cashmere. It’s Baylynn, your sister. I know you probably wasn’t expectin’ me to come and, to be honest, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to see you either, but when I thought about you comin’ to see me when you found out I was in the hospital, and what happened to you, I couldn’t stay away. I feel like you were tryin’ to be the bigger person and take the first step in buildin’ a relationship with me, so comin’ to see you is the least I could do.”
She paused for a moment, then continued.
“Cash, I was hopin’ that when you get outta here, we can start gettin’ to know each other better. I know you probably think I’m a fucked-up individual for the things I did, but I just want us to start over again and bond and do all the shit that sisters do.” A tear rolled down her face.
“I need you to keep fightin’, sis. Your little ones need you, and so does that man out there. Hell, we all need you,” she chuckled.
Baylynn wiped her tears as she continued to hold her hand. She spent a few more moments with her before she left the room. As promised, Ramsey took her to the nursery to see the twins and Baylynn instantly fell in love with her nieces. They looked like a mixture of Ramsey and Cashmere. Both of the babies were chunky, but one was chunkier than the other. When Ramsey informed Baylynn that he was waiting for Cash to wake up so they could name the babies together, her heart melted. She couldn’t imagine what he was going through or how he felt.
After her visit, she got in her car and headed back home. She was happy that things had gone well between her and Ramsey. She didn’t know how he was going to react to her coming there, but she was glad he had played it cool. That wasn’t the same man who had kicked her and her baby out of his house months ago, or the aggressive and ruthless street nigga she h
ad fallen in love with. That was a completely different person she had just left.
“Cashmere must have really done a number on him because a nigga like Ramsey don’t just change for nothin’ or just anybody,” she laughed.
As she continued to think about how much Ramsey had changed, she wondered if Manny would decide to change his ways for her and their family. Even though she felt like he never would, a part of her felt like he would someday.
63
Tamia and Nick had been spending a lot of time together the past week, and despite the way she felt about her mother and her actions, being with Nick helped Tamia feel a little better. Nick was there whenever she needed him, and if he left out, he made sure he texted her while he was out in the streets to reassure her that he was cool and to make sure that she was cool, too. Tamia was slowly but surely falling in love with that man and it was his small gestures that were doing the job for her. Tamia’s love life before Nick wasn't that interesting or anything she talked about. The man she thought was the one for her turned out to be gay, and she was pissed that she didn't see the signs after being with him for two years. She dated for a little while after that, but none of the men she dated kept her interest. So, Tamia decided not to waste her time anymore.
Since hearing her mother’s conversation a week ago, Tamia didn’t know how to feel about the woman who had birthed her. A small part of her wanted to forgive her mother, put the situation behind them and rebuild, but even the thought of forgiving her mother caused her to hurt even more. Tamia had lost all respect for her mother and there was nothing that anyone could say or do to make her change her mind.
After a relaxing weekend, Tamia was ready for their family meeting that Monday. She texted everyone who needed to be there the address to her parents’ house and told them to be there by noon. Tamia washed and got dressed for the day before she woke Nick up to do the same. When Nick went into the bathroom, Tamia headed to the kitchen where she took a seat at the counter. With her phone in hand, she logged into Facebook to see if anything interesting would catch her eye. She commented on a few post and figured she would see what was happening on Cashmeres’ page. A lot of people had tagged her in the upcoming release of their books, but the post that had just appeared on Cashmere’s wall made her eyes grow wide. A guy by the name of Darren wrote, “The love I have for you will never die and nobody will keep me from having you!” Tamia took a screen shot of the post before going to his profile to find a picture of him. She found a good picture of him and saved it to her phone. She thought about sending the photos to Ramsey via text, but decided to wait until she saw him first.
Nick walked into the kitchen with his keys in hand, letting Tamia know it was time to go. They walked out of the building hand in hand as they approached Nick’s navy-blue Bentley Coupe. Unlocking the doors, they both hopped in, slamming the doors shut. Nick revved the engine to the car before pulling out the lot and into traffic. They arrived at her parents’ a few minutes before noon and found a parking spot close to the house. Tamia saw Baylynn, Fateema and Manny walking from the opposite end of the block as they walked up the porch steps. When her sister was close, Tamia opened the door and saw Ramsey and Cassandra sitting in the living room. They greeted each other with hugs and handshakes as they familiarized themselves with each other. When the formalities were done, they all took a seat on the chaise and love seat while Charles sat in his favorite recliner and started the meeting.
“I would just like to say that I am pleased to meet my daughters’ spouses and I want to thank each of you for taking care of my little girls the way you do. I know you fellas probably have questions for me that are unrelated to the topic that brought us together today, but whatever issues you would like to discuss with me, we can address it at a later date.”
The men nodded in understanding.
“Cool. Now that I got that out of the way, everyone knows why we’re here, so I’m going to get straight to it. It has been brought to my attention that my wife, Olivia, has partnered up with a rival of mine to seek vengeance against me and my daughters. The man who is behind all of this is Simon Green. He was my opponent when I was in the running to be elected for judge. He tried to pin false accusations against me to get me disqualified from the race, but when his plan backfired and all his dirty dealings came to light, Simon ended up doing some jail time. He was released about a year ago and ran into Olivia six months after his release, which was around the time Tamia told us she had met Cashmere for the first time. I never thought my wife would be having an affair with my enemy, but I guess me wanting to have a relationship with my girls refueled a fire inside of her that I thought had died.”
“I called my mother about a week ago and she didn’t know Simon put a hit out on me, too. She said I wasn’t part of the plan. That night I left the hospital, I came here looking for her and was knocked unconscious. Nick killed the guy and saved me.” Tamia fought back her tears.
“Damn! He couldn’t even spare Tamia even though he was fuckin’ her mom?” Fateema shouted.
“I’m tellin’ you now, Charles, when I get my hands on that bitch, it’s gonna be some furniture movin’ around this motherfucka!” Fateema fumed.
“Calm down, mom.” Baylynn rubbed her back.
Fateema held her hands up to let everyone know she was cool.
“The man Nick shot was actually one of Simon’s sons.” He opened the folder that was lying on the table.
“These are the men who played a hand in the girls’ accidents. This is the man who was killed.”
They all leaned forward to examine the photos and the men were unfamiliar to Tamia, but their faces were etched in her memory.
“I know this nig--, I mean the one right here. He used to talk to my friend and he’s the friend of someone I used to talk to.” Baylynn picked up the photo to get a closer look.
“I think he might’ve killed my friend, too. Or should I say, ex-friend.” She tossed the photo back on the table.
“Where can we find them?” Ramsey eyed the pictures a little longer than the rest.
“I don’t know. I had their addresses, but when I sent someone there to check it out, they were vacant. So, we’re going to have to be extra careful in our travels. Simon probably knows that the girls are alive and that means they’re going to come back harder than ever. We just need to be ready for them when they strike.” Charles looked at everyone to make sure they were on the same page.
“Who’s with Cashmere, Ramsey?” Baylynn questioned.
“Ryan. I never leave the hospital without havin’ someone there. Since an unknown person sent flowers to Cashmere, I had to tighten up on security. I have people posted up in the parking lot and only family is allowed in the room.”
Baylynn nodded.
The mention of the flowers reminded Tamia of what she’d found on Facebook and she decided now was the time to bring it to Ramsey’s attention.
“Ramsey, can I talk to you for a minute?”
Tamia and Ramsey got up and walked into the kitchen, and when they were out of earshot, she pulled out her phone.
“I found this on Cashmere’s Facebook page.” She handed him her phone.
“Who the fuck is this?”
Tamia swiped to the photo of Darren.
“This the nigga that was at Cashmere’s book store a while back. This nigga got some fuckin’ nerve!” Ramsey roared. “Send this to my phone and tell the rest of the family about this. I gotta go.”
“Okay.”
They walked out the kitchen and Tamia watched as Ramsey said a quick goodbye and flew out the door. Tamia informed the family about Darren and sent a photo of him to everyone in the family. After their father promised to get some information on Darren, Baylynn and her family left while Nick, Tamia and Cassandra stayed behind. Tamia watched as Cassandra and Charles interacted with each other and knew that something was going on between them. With everything that was going on with Olivia, Tamia didn’t understand how her father could be focused
on another woman. Even if they did have history. She didn’t know how to feel about her father’s flirtatious ways towards Cassandra, but she decided to remain calm as if she was blind to it. They had more important things at hand like her sister’s recovery and finding the men behind their accidents.
64
After Ramsey left the meeting, he hopped into his car and drove back to the hospital. His temper was through the roof as he thought about Darren’s Facebook post that Tamia had shown him. Social media wasn’t Ramsey’s thing, but he knew how that shit worked, and for that nigga to post something like that for the world to see made Ramsey believe that Darren would try to kill him if the opportunity presented itself, and he wasn’t going to give that lame-ass nigga the chance.
He parked in the hospital lot and made his way to Cashmere’s room where his sister was glued to her cell phone. When he walked across the room, she looked in his direction with a concerned expression on her face.
“Wassup?”
“I was looking at this post on Cashmere’s page from Darren.”
“I know about that. Tamia showed it to me at the meetin’,” he sighed.
“If I woulda known that nigga was batshit crazy, I wouldn’t have encouraged her to go out with him.” Ryan shook her head.
“Say what?” he expressed with anger.
“Uh. Nothing, Ramsey,” she chuckled nervously.
“Nothin’ my ass, Ryan. You encouraged Cash to go out with this nigga and you know she had me. What the fuck is wrong with you?!” he shouted.
“Keep your damn voice down,” she yelled in a whisper. “While Cashmere was still your side piece, I couldn’t stand seeing her crying over you, so I told her about Darren. He was our math tutor from Temple and he always had a thing for her. I know she went on a date with him once, but I don’t know anything else,” she huffed.
“Well, that date must have turned into somethin’ else because he was at her bookstore the day I went to go get her for the party I had at my house. I guess she hooked up with him after she moved to West Chester. She never told me if she bumped into him again after that.”
My Other Baby Mama Box Set Page 29