by Tiya Rayne
Unfortunately, Chante’s battle was not an easy one. For months, she kept her distance from the family. Despite everyone trying to reach out to her. Her addiction got so bad, Quincy threatened to leave her and take their son with him. The family called me in as a last resort. I took off the kids’ gloves everyone was trying to handle her with. I showed up at her house one day ready for battle. We screamed, we accused, we fought like cats and dogs, and then she cried. In the end, she agreed to go to rehab. It wasn’t an easy journey, but she pulled through. She has been sober ever sense.
Devin probably had the biggest success story so far. She never did go back to Miles, and after finishing cosmetology school, she realized that she actually enjoyed college and decided to enroll in a four-year business program. Now my cousin was working at a salon part time, raising her kids full time, and a full time college student. I couldn’t be any prouder of her. I knew she was capable of great things.
No one had heard from Nita since the day she walked out of my grandparents’ house. Grams wasn’t playing when she said she was done with her. I wasn’t too worried about her though, Nita would always find some unsuspecting man to take care of her.
As for Martin, he did make it back to California, but only to find his wife and kids had left him. Apparently he was a shitty husband and father. Go figure. I opted out of pressing charges. I knew I probably should have sought justice, but I was tired of letting that past dwell over me. After finally telling my family, I released it. I didn’t want to relive it for a jury. One day, Martin would get his, his battle with karma wasn’t over.
I opened the door to my bedroom and our one year old son, Jackson Junior, or JJ as we call him, walked into the room followed by King, our puppy German Shepherd.
“Mama, duise,” he ordered.
I scooped him up and placed a kiss on his forehead. After Jackson and I married, we had planned to live a childless life. That was until my cousins came to me with an offer I couldn’t refuse. Apparently, Devin, Keva, and Keisha had done research on my condition and found out that even though I couldn’t carry a baby, I could still have one by surrogacy. All three cousins volunteered their wombs to carry Jackson and my baby. However, it was Devin that won the coin toss. She gave me the greatest gift I could have asked for--the chance to be a mother to my boys.
JJ had his father’s eyes and nose, but he had my smile. Ellison, named after my favorite cousin, had my brown eyes, but still favored his twin.
“Mommy will get you juice,” I told him. “Where is your brother?”
“The good child is probably still sleep,” Jackson said as he got up from the bed. “El knows that Daddy is trying to get some.”
I hit Jackson in the arm when he walked up to me to plant a kiss on my cheek.
“Come on, JJ, Daddy will get you juice and breakfast.” Jackson took his son out my arms and kissed his head full of dark brown curls.
“I’ll grab El and join you,” I said, following them out of the room.
After the situation with Sean, I never went back to my house. I sold it and moved in with Jackson. However, once we found out that the procedure worked and Devin was pregnant, we sold Jackson’s house and bought a bigger one. The new home was a mix of both our style. Clean and modern for me, with a little rustic for him, and most importantly, it didn’t remind me of the ordeal I went through with Sean. The case was pretty open and shut. Even if they didn’t have all the evidence of him living in my house, shooting me, and the kid that pointed out Sean as a suspect in Cliff’s death, what they found in his house sealed the deal. Hours of video footage of me in my house. A room dedicated to me with pictures and stolen objects from me. And the most damning thing, the body of Rochelle locked in his deep freezer. That still brought tears to my eyes.
El was sitting up in his crib when I walked in. We had long ago stopped trying to figure out how JJ broke out of his crib. The moment El saw me, he reached up for me.
“Hey, my man,” I said, lifting him from the bed.
I changed his diaper and headed down the stairs. My phone chimed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see who it could be.
KEISHA: It’s positive.
I smiled at the notification. Jackson had been dying to have another baby. For most people, it would be too soon, the twins were only one. However, I still had three viable eggs left, and I wasn’t getting any younger. I couldn’t wait to be a mother again.
ME: Thank you! I’m going to announce it at Sunday dinner tomorrow.
KEISHA: Good! Bring some cheesecake, y’all baby greedy.
I rolled my eyes at that last part.
I walked into the kitchen to find my husband at the stove and my son in his high chair at the island, I placed El beside his brother in his high chair and went to join Jackson.
“Need some help?” I said, wrapping my arms around his waist from behind.
“Nope, I got this. You relax and get ready because I’m going to finish what I started this morning.”
I laughed and kissed his shoulder. I loved this man. Who would have ever thought that a girl as scarred as me, could find love?
ABOUT TIYA RAYNE
Tiya Rayne is an avid reader and writer. She has an unhealthy relationship with coffee and is known to hide numerous bags of jelly beans around the house.
When she is not reading or writing—which is rare—she’s trying to master this thing called parenting. She is married to her high school sweetheart and they live in Arkansas with their three— subjectively wonderful—children.
Although very pretty, Tiya Rayne is not her real name. It is a pen name that she chose to represent the two most important girls in her life, her daughters. She does, however, write Young Adult books under her real name, K.C. Connor.
Despite what you choose to call her, she still enjoys reading feedback on her work. So, please leave a review or send her an email.
OTHER BOOKS BY TIYA RAYNE
Please visit your favorite ebook retailer to discover other books by Tiya Rayne:
(Fantasy)
Lilly I
Lilly II
Lilly III
Lilly IV
Lilly V
(Contemporary Romance)
First Love
(Sci-fi)
Alpha
And, if you enjoy YA paranormal, check out the Keeper Series by KC Connor.
The Return
The Dagger
The Originals (Coming Soon)
CONNECT WITH TIYA RAYNE
I really appreciate you reading my book! Want to stay up to date on future books or contact me? Here are my social media coordinates:
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