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Unknown: At least a few weeks. Maybe more. I don’t know when I’ll be back home.
Just then, Talia runs up to me.
She points to her phone, wiggling it in victory. I guess Dare responded to her too.
We share a smile, bonding in our excitement over the man we both lo—I mean… like.
Ahem.
Call him.
I show Talia my note and she video calls her uncle.
Dare’s face and upper body fill the screen and my heart jumps out of my chest. He looks handsome as usual, but his hair is mussed, like he aggressively ran his hands through it on multiple occasions. Those warm brown eyes struggle to sparkle thanks to the thick, under-eye shadows. Whatever he’s doing on this trip, it’s exhausting.
“What’s going on?” Dare signs. “How are you two together?”
Talia voices, but her back is to me so I can only guess that she’s updating him on our deal.
Dare blinks so slowly, I wonder if our internet is lagging. Finally, his pixelated face looks up at me and he signs, “No, absolutely not.”
He must have voiced it too because Talia gives me a panicked look.
I keep my wits about me. Dare might be hesitant because he thinks Talia will walk all over us the way she does everyone else. That isnotgoing to happen.
Patting Talia on the shoulder, I make a ‘walking away’ gesture and continue the conversation with Dare alone in my room.
Setting the phone on my vanity dresser so he can see me signing clearly, I frown at him.
“Talia’s just settling into school and making friends. Plus, her mom is only a drive away, and we can take her to visit when it’s convenient.”
“Yaya, I can’t let you do this.”
“Are you moving overseas permanently? Is that why you sent for her?” This time, my hands shake a bit, and I can’t hide the worry creeping into my expression.
“Of course not.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. Now that I know Dare’s coming back and he’s not running away from us, everything else feels like gravy.
Dare keeps signing, “I sent for her because no one but me can handle her.”
“That’s not true!”
“I heard what she did to the nanny.”
My eyes dart to the side because I was hoping he wouldn’t have gotten that update.
“And that isn’t the first time. She’s a handful. More than a handful. I don’t want her to hurt you or your family. For her sake and for yours.”
“Dare, look at this.” I lift my hand and point to my dark skin. “We don’t play those games in a black household. Have you ever seen the show ‘World’s Strictest Parents’?” I know he hasn’t so I don’t even wait for him to shake his head no. “There’s a reason most of those ‘strict parents’ are from the Caribbean or Africa. Talia will straighten up. Trust me. Besides, there’s nothing else on my schedule. I don’t have a problem taking care of her until you return.”
“Still, I don’t think it’s right.”
“What’s not right,” I make the sign firmly, “is you buying an entire company just to help me. Ru-Carpsel is the reason you’re having such a hard time, isn’t it?”
He pulls his lips into his mouth. It’s a tell.
Hands in his pockets—he’s trying to hide. Dare fidgets when he’s anxious and he consciously dunks his hands out of sight to disguise that. But since he can’t hide his hands when he’s signing, he hides his mouth.