***
Finally finished, they loaded up his truck and got the girls buckled into their seats. He looked at the time and called the pizza parlor and placed an order for pick up, figuring that by the time they got back to her house, it would be time to eat again. “Cherub? Will you take my phone and send a text to Thad and let him know I’m bringing pizza and wings?”
“Sure, Zeke,” she replied. Taking his phone, she sent Thad a text and was sure to let him know it was her sending it since his dad was driving, and heard the chime of an incoming text almost instantaneously. Looking at Zeke, she said, “He wants to know how many wings you ordered? Also, he said he’s got the back yard mowed and trimmed, and has started on the front yard.”
“Tell him I bought him his usual, and then got another thirty-piece bucket.”
Thirty pieces? They must like their wings she thought as she texted back Zeke’s response. When the phone chimed again, she looked at the response and burst into laughter.
“What’s so funny, Cherub?” he asked as he glanced over at her.
“He sent back a bunch of emojis of dancing characters and what looks like a fist bump,” she replied, still giggling.
He chuckled at her response and said, “He likes those.”
“I do too, sometimes. They can definitely help convey emotion because sometimes, texts can be misunderstood,” she replied.
He thought about what she said and finally nodded. “Yeah, I can see that happening.”
“Do you know what time Dex, Renda, Pongo and Debbie are getting in?” she asked as he pulled into the pizza parlor.
“They should be getting to your place around the same time we get there,” he told her as he put the vehicle in park, but kept it running. “Stay here, Cherub, so we don’t have to wake the two sleeping beauties in the back.”
She glanced over her shoulder and could see Melora sound asleep, her baby clutched against her chest. Turning around, she saw Cailyn in nearly the same position and then she smiled, seeing that they were holding hands. “Zeke, look,” she said softly.
He stuck his head back into the truck and saw the two little girls sleeping, holding their babies with one hand and holding hands in the middle. Smiling, he took his phone and snapped a picture. “That’s a keeper, Cherub. Be right back, yeah?”
She nodded and watched as he carefully closed the door and then walked into the pizza parlor. Her eyes grew huge when she saw him walk back out with four huge boxes of pizza and what looked like two paper grocery sacks holding what she presumed were the wings. He walked around to her side and she rolled down her window. He handed her the bags first, which she put on the floor, then he said, “Cherub, why don’t you scoot over to the middle? The boxes are hot and I don’t want you to get burned.”
Thoughtful she mused as she unbuckled then slid over to the middle seat as he put the pizzas where she had been sitting. She buckled up and waited for him to get back into the truck. “Can you just make sure the boxes don’t fall over?” he asked after he rolled up the passenger window.
“Sure,” she replied, but as she reached her right arm over, he stopped her and cupping her face, drew her toward him so he could kiss her. Each kiss they shared ramped up how she was feeling about him and this one was no different. He possessed her mouth, leaving no doubt what his eventual intentions were where she was concerned and she was hard-pressed to disagree with where things were leading, even though it was fast. He finally pulled back but not before he feathered kisses across her lips, nose and forehead.
She couldn’t breathe quite right and noticed that he was in the same shape, which caused her to smile inside. Running his thumb down her cheek and across her lips, he gave her a look that she couldn’t quite decipher before he buckled up and proceeded to back out and head back to her house.
***
“Angel! You look great,” Renda said as she came up to the truck, Debbie right beside her. Zeke helped her out on the driver’s side and she found herself engulfed in the arms of her two best friends.
“Oh I’ve missed you, Debbie! Wait until you meet Eva, she runs the salon up here. You two have so much in common and I can’t wait to introduce you,” she finally said as she untangled herself to get the girls.
“We’ve got them Cherub, and Thad grabbed the food so you ladies might want to head inside before he devours most the wings,” Zeke told the trio.
She smiled as she linked arms with the two women and they headed into the house. The guys carried the girls into their room and she woke each up enough to go to the bathroom before she laid them back down for their nap. They could eat when they got up. Closing the door, she headed to the kitchen where she found herself picked up and swung around by Pongo. “Pongo! You goof! Put me down before you hurt yourself,” she told him.
The big, burly biker just laughed as he hugged her, saying, “Half-pint, you don’t weigh much more than those babies in there.”
“Whatever. Put me down so I can introduce you, yeah?”
“Not before you pay the toll.”
She sighed before she threw her arms around his neck and loudly kissed each cheek. “There, you happy?”
“Well, I guess so,” he said, mock disappointment on his face.
“Zeke, this crazy man is Pongo and that’s his old lady, Debbie. Pongo, Debbie, this is Zeke, the North Georgia President.”
Handshakes and that strange male hug thing that the Brothers did ensued while Thad stood there, bouncing from leg to leg.
Looking over at him, Angelina started to laugh. It was obvious he was hungry, but he was trying to be polite as the introductions were made. Deciding to take pity on the teen, she said, “Thad, can you grab the paper plates and napkins? They’re in the pantry on the back shelf.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.
As everyone settled at the table, she went to the fridge and asked, “Who wants what to drink?”
“Do you have any tea, Angel?” Dex asked.
“Yes, as a matter of fact I do and you should be glad I love you because you know I don’t drink it but for you and Renda, I’ll make it all day long!”
“Angelina? Can I have some tea too, please?” Thad asked.
“Sure, honey. Who else wants tea?”
“Now wait, I thought it was for me,” Dex said.
“Ha, no, I made it because I knew you two were going to be here, but there’s more than enough for everyone. I’ve got lemonade and water and soda as well. Debbie? Pongo? Zeke?”
“Lemonade for me, girl,” Pongo replied.
“I’ll take a diet soda if you have any,” Debbie said.
She gave her friend an incredulous look. “Does the sun rise in the east and set in the west? Of course, I have diet soda!”
“Cherub, do you have any coke?” Zeke finally asked after everyone else had gotten their drinks.
“Yeah, Zeke, I do,” she responded.
Once everyone had their drinks and plates were made, Zeke blessed the meal and they ate. Talk over lunch was constant, with Dex and Pongo and Zeke talking about the different businesses and the women talking about the party that night.
“So are you settling in okay, Angel?” Debbie finally asked.
“Definitely. They’re learning that I’m good with faces and the names take time and everyone has been beyond patient as I learn the ins and outs of their businesses. Once we’re done eating, I want to show you the house, too, so you can see what the Brothers and old ladies did for the girls and I,” she responded.
Zeke looked over at the woman who had pretty much captured him, even though she didn’t have a clue, and said, “She’s being modest. Not only does she have all the books in order, but she found the monies that the old accountant stole. The prosecutor is working to get it back and I know once he does, the Brothers are going to be thrilled.”
Angelina blushed at his praise. She hadn’t done it for that, she truly liked working with numbers and the challenges she had faced initially had been like a puzzle. She was
glad she had solved it for them because they were family, even if she didn’t know them all yet.
With lunch finally done, Thad excused himself and went back out armed with more Gatorade and water to finish the front yard. Angelina gave Debbie and Renda the tour, even though Renda had been involved in the furniture buying.
“Oh, Angel, I love your room!” Debbie said as she looked around. “It’s so spacious and fits your personality perfectly!”
“Even though I spend a good part of the day in my office, I love being in here or in the family room,” she replied. “Sometimes, I’ll bring my laptop over to my sitting area and pull up Netflix and play on Facebook while I’m binge watching my shows. C’mon, I want to show you the playhouse the Brothers got for the girls.”
As they headed out to the backyard, they passed the guys still sitting at the table and Zeke grabbed her hand to stop her. She looked down at him sitting there and saw a look on his face she couldn’t decipher. He tugged some more until she was closer and then cupped her face before he kissed her.
In front of his brothers she thought before she gave herself over to his kiss. It was brief but she felt like it sent a message, although she still wasn’t clear about what that was exactly.
In the backyard, the other two women looked at her with big eyes. “What?” she said.
“Angel, do you know what he just did by kissing you in front of Dex?” Renda asked.
“Not…not really. Care to fill me in?”
“Sweetie, he all but claimed you.”
“Claimed me? Why? I mean, well, hell, I don’t know what I mean,” she stammered.
“Dex said that Zeke called him earlier today and told him they needed to talk. He said the words kinsman-redeemer, sweetie. Do you remember what we talked about a while back?”
Angelina thought for a moment before she turned and looked at her friend with wide eyes. “You mean…no, surely not. I mean, we haven’t known each other very long. Hell, tonight is our first date!”
Debbie finally spoke up, saying, “Babe, that man has it bad for you. He watches you constantly and the look on his face? It’s swoon-worthy.”
Swoon-worthy? What the ever-loving fuck? Shaking her head, she looked at both of her friends before sternly saying, “Look, I’ve only been here what, two weeks? We spend a lot of time together but that’s just because we need to get the businesses back on track.”
Renda and Debbie looked at each other before they burst into laughter. “You keep telling yourself that, sweetie,” Renda finally said. “Now, let’s see this playhouse.”
Walking into the playhouse, she smiled. The Brothers and old ladies had really outdone themselves. It looked like a miniature house with a living room, a kitchen and a bedroom that had been set up as a nursery for the girls’ babies. In the little living room there was a small television that worked, which still had Angelina shaking her head. They had also run electricity and heat to it, and there was a window air conditioning unit. She knew that it was a playhouse that would grow with the girls.
Debbie looked around in astonishment. “This is fantastic! It’s almost like a tiny house, isn’t it?”
“Y’know, you’re right! The guys did a great job and the girls spend a lot of time out here in the afternoons. Zeke said while my job isn’t nine to five, when I pick the girls up from daycare, he wants me to focus on them, not the work. So, we usually come out here for an hour or two before dinner. In fact, I have a feeling their babysitter will be out here with them most of the evening, at least until it starts getting dark.”
“How do they like daycare?” Renda asked.
“Oh my goodness! They’re doing so well. They are nearly potty-trained for naps and overnight now. They’ve been learning their shapes and colors and even Cailyn is coming out of her shell more,” Angelina replied.
“This move was a good thing in more ways than one,” Renda said softly.
“Yeah, I think you’re right. But I want to ask you two while you’re both here-you don’t think it’s odd that all of this is happening between Zeke and I? I mean, whatever this is?”
They both looked at her, knowing what she had come out of and, to an extent, the life she lived with Laser and of course, what she went through after his death. Finally, Debbie said, “Babe, I gotta say this and please, don’t take it the wrong way, okay?”
“Um…okay.”
“We loved Laser, he was a good and solid Brother. But in a lot of ways, his fucked-up past kept him from giving himself to you fully. He loved you to the best of his ability, but babe? You deserve so much more and that man in there? I feel it down to my gut that he can give it all to you. And since I love you to pieces, gotta say, it’s something I’ve been praying about for you for years now.”
Angelina looked at Renda and was stunned to see her nodding her head in agreement. “He wasn’t that bad, y’all. He got me off the streets, remember?”
“Yeah, babe, he did. But there were things he did that weren’t right while you two were together and honestly? It’s time you faced those cold hard facts. He could be a bastard even to those he loved and we know, especially with you living in the clubhouse, that you bore the brunt of that.”
Angelina looked at her friends with tears in her eyes. She hadn’t wanted to think about that part of her life with Laser or how cruel he could sometimes be. She knew he didn’t really mean it, but his words and actions had hurt her countless times. She sank onto the little loveseat in the playhouse and covered her face as the sobs started and the tears came harder. She cried for the man he could have been. She cried for what their relationship wasn’t. She was still sobbing when strong arms lifted her and carried her out of the playhouse and into the house and to her room. As the door closed and she was carried over to her sitting area, a part of her brain realized that it was Zeke holding her close.
“Shhh, Cherub, I’ve got you,” he whispered as he stroked her back soothingly. “Let it go, sweetheart. Let it go and let God heal you fully from the past.”
She cried until all that was left were hiccups. Unwilling to look at the man whose shirt was now soaked with her tears, she softly said, “I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry, Angelina? There’s no shame in tears and I think you’ve needed to get those out for a long time. Tears don’t mean you’re weak and to me, you are one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”
Hearing his words and the tone he said them in had her tilting her face up to him. He wiped her tears away with his thumb before he leaned down and softly said, “God has you here for a reason, my Cherub, and we’re going to follow His will in all this, yeah?”
“Yeah, Zeke. I…I’m sorry I broke down like that. I…I tried to forget and push that all back and just remember the good stuff.”
“Things buried have a way of coming back, my Cherub. I hate that you had that hurt in your life and I don’t need to know any of the details unless you choose to share them with me, just know that I’m here and I’ll listen and I’ll never judge, okay?”
“Okay, Zeke. I should probably get cleaned up, I know I’m a hot mess.”
“Most beautiful hot mess I’ve ever seen,” he whispered. “Let’s make some new memories, Cherub,” he said before he claimed her lips in one of the sweetest kisses she had ever experienced before he picked her up and carried her into her bathroom and sat her on her vanity counter. He hunted down a washcloth and got it wet and then oh-so-gently wiped the evidence of her tears away. His touch was soothing and she found herself relaxing.
“C’mon, Cherub, let’s see if those two little ones are ready to eat some lunch.”
He helped her down and hugged her and she drew even more strength from the calm that radiated from him. Looking up, she traced his jaw with her hand and said, “Zeke, I have no clue what’s going on here and I sometimes feel like I fell down the rabbit hole, but I have felt from the moment I arrived that this is where I’m meant to be.”
Leaning down, he kissed her forehead before he said,
“I feel the same way, Cherub.”
Hand in hand, they went down the hall to the girls’ room only to find it empty. Once back in the kitchen, they found the girls eating and entertaining the four adults sitting at the table. As Angelina looked at her family, she found herself blushing. “I…I wanted to apologize for breaking down on y’all,” she started to say, only to be interrupted by Dex.
“Angel, no apologies are needed. Renda and I knew there was something not right for a long time, but there was no way to pursue it. We prayed constantly for His will to be done because we could see you slowly fading.”
Pongo looked at her and the anguish on his face just about gutted her. “Half-pint, we owe you an apology. We knew and while we all talked to him multiple times, we couldn’t get through. I want you to know this, though, every one of the Brothers that knew what was going on threw their protection on you. If he had laid a hand on you, and unfortunately, we knew it was coming, we would have demanded his patch and he would have been kicked out. You, however, will always be a part of the Heaven’s Sinners family. Always, Angelina, and you need to let that fact seep into your soul, y’hear?”
Since this was the most she had ever heard Pongo say, she couldn’t do anything but nod. “Thank you for what you were able to do, yeah? It wasn’t all bad, I had my girls and I had school.”
“And now you’re here and you’re actually living not existing,” Debbie said.
She thought about all they had said, then she realized that she was ensconced on Zeke’s lap and neither Dex nor Pongo were looking all crazy-eyed, and it dawned on her that for whatever reason, God had brought her through all of that to be able to appreciate all she finally had. “This may sound crazy, but you guys have to know that He was walking right beside me through it all. He knew what was happening and while I don’t ever understand the whys of why we have to go through valleys, I know it has made me appreciate the beautiful mountain I’ve found myself living on now.”
Her Kinsman-Redeemer Page 9