Page 1 of And Everything In Between (Love By Any Means #3)

Paige’s phone buzzed on her desk for the third time in the last hour.

It was JT’s worrisome ass again. Same line, same weight in her stomach.

But she didn’t groan this time. Didn’t roll her eyes or curse under her breath.

She swiped to answer, because he would keep calling until she answered or blocked him.

“What, JT?” she answered, her voice flat.

No warmth, no softness. At least not anymore.

She was drained, over it, and tired of telling him that.

A nigga in prison embodied persistence. With nothing but time, they became the walking definition of I got time today.

JT was no different. She was halfway regretting ever getting involved with him.

“Damn, that’s how we doing now?” The line crackled with prison chaos in the background.

“We already had this talk.” She swiveled her chair away from the loan application she was halfway through reviewing. “I told you this wasn’t working and that hasn’t changed.”

"I need a favor." That was always the case. Always something he needed. She’d easily become his personal assistant. Going here, calling there, printing and mailing this. If he was calling, he wanted something.

“What is it this time?” She asked, already reaching for a pen. Already preparing to add one more thing to her endless list. The truth was, she’d started pitying JT, and that’s when he lost her attention and heart.

“My momma’s birthday is coming up.” JT paused. “I was hoping you could fuck with me on that.”

Before Paige could respond, a light knock sounded on her office door before it opened.

“Paige, can I chat with you in my office for a moment?” her boss Ashton called from the doorway, saving her from whatever guilt trip was loading up.

Paige looked up, relief washing through her and curiosity taking over. Whatever Ashton wanted, it couldn’t be bad. Paige loved her job. Loved numbers. Loved her customers. If there was one thing she knew, it was that she was damn good at what she did.

“I gotta go.” She didn’t bother hiding her eagerness to end the call. “Work needs me.”

“You’re always putting stuff before us.”

“You’re right,” she replied, unapologetic. “I am.”

She hung up without waiting for the goodbye, slid her phone into her desk drawer, and took a deep breath. After that, she was back to work mode. Paige the professional. Not Paige, drowning in everyone else’s needs, wants, and phone calls.

Paige took quick steps to the office across the hall from her.

“Close the door.”

Paige closed the door behind her and took a seat. “Am I getting fired? You’re acting cryptic and mysterious.”

“Girl don’t make me knock you out,” Ashton grinned, her belly round under her fitted dress. “You’re my favorite employee. Best loan officer at Coupeville Federal Credit Union’s got. I could never let you go.”

She let out a quiet laugh, her shoulders finally loosening. “You had me nervous. Spill it.”

“You know I’m about to go on maternity leave in a few weeks,” Ashton said, smoothing a hand over her stomach.

Paige beamed slightly, getting lost in the idea of one day experiencing bringing a child into the world. Her closest friends were all at that stage in life and Paige wasn’t jealous.But she wondered if she’d have enough time to love and let someone’s son have her barefoot and pregnant.

“It’s time to get ready for this baby to come. I need you.”

Ashton finished, causing Paige to come out of her thoughts and back to the conversation.

“Need me to do what? You know I got your back, whatever it is.”

“My keys. My access to the bank. I want you to take over while I’m gone. Trina is going on leave as well.”

Paige blinked. “Ashton, that’s a lot. I mean, I can do it, but are you sure you want me stealing your job from you?”

They sat there for a beat before both of them cracked up. Paige loved her some Ashton. She’d taken over the bank a bit before Paige got hired and they instantly clicked and had built a friendship since.

“I got a feeling once I lay eyes on this baby, I won’t care,” Ashton admitted, still grinning.

“But seriously, this is step one. I want you to think about submitting for the loan manager position. You’re good, Paige.

Real good. And the people love you. You care about your loan candidates.

You care about the bank. And you can teach others how to have a little care and compassion. I want this for you.”

Paige leaned back in her chair, heart thumping in her chest. “Can I think about it?”

Ashton nodded. “Of course. But don’t think about it for too long. I want to personally recommend you.”

Paige left Ashton’s office buzzing; she was so excited that her hard work was paying off. She’d been grinding for this. And she was finally being seen, finally being trusted. They were giving her the shot she’d earned.

Ashton’s trust meant a lot to her. She was her shero for being the second and youngest black woman in their small town to become a bank manager. Paige had been grinding harder than anybody in the bank, waiting for them to see that she could be the third.

But nothing she ever wanted came without a fight. She calmed down deciding she wasn’t going to get too excited, afraid she’d sabotage it. Good things seldomly happened to her by chance.

Her phone buzzed again in her desk, and she rushed to grab it. It was her father’s ring tone. She answered and heard him coughing roughly on the other end.

Her father, Perry Bishop, had only been out of prison for almost year, and he hadn’t come out the way he went in.

He was thinner now, slower, smaller in ways that scared her if she thought about it too long.

Three days a week, he sat tethered to a dialysis machine, his body betraying him piece by piece.

“Hey daddy, what’s going on?”

“Oh, hell, I didn’t mean to call you shit. I can’t ever work this damn phone. But while I have you, can you bring me some of them jalapeno pepper poppers? You know when you get off.”

“Yes, but you know you can text me during the day. I’m working.”

“I know. How is work?”

“It’s work. But it’s good. Good things are coming.”

She looked down at the photo of her and her father the day he was released.

It was hard to look at him and not remember PJ sometimes.

Her twin brother, forever ten, smiling. Wrong place, wrong time.

One bullet, one funeral, a family torn apart.

But that was the story of multiple communities and families. Hers wasn’t the exception.

“Proud of you, Paige. I know it’s not always easy to look your wound in the face and help it, but your, Pops, appreciates you.”

“Dad don’t start that. Look, I’ll bring the poppers if you learn to text me unless it’s an emergency.”

Paige hated it when he did that. She hadn’t completely forgiven Perry Not when his choices and enemies had taken PJ.

But she was working on it and taking it day by day.

Now the roles reversed. Perry’s health problems had become her responsibility, his appointments her responsibility, his medication another line on a to-do list that never ended.

“Thanks. Try to come before Wheel of Fortune comes on. That’s my snack.”

“Ok, I’ll call when I’m on the way.” They disconnected, and Paige flopped back in her chair.

Most days, Paige felt stretched thinner than Slim Thug’s goatee.

She carried it all - her daddy, JT, her job. Had been since she was ten. Could she carry anything else?

Yes, she told herself. Because that’s what Bishops did. And she would have to because this next season was going to be hers. She was claiming it.

The rest of her shift blurred past. Her face was buried in crunching numbers, lunch, and then back to it until Donna reminded her it was time to clock out. She barely remembered clocking out, grabbing Perry’s snack, and driving home, her mind stuck in a tight loop of what-ifs and maybe-I-coulds.

When she finally stepped into her home, she stripped down to nothing but her robe.

She tied it loose around her waist and stepped out onto the patio of her townhouse.

It was her own little oasis, full of plants, cute furniture, and lights.

She inhaled and exhaled. It was barely summer, but the nice day followed them into the evening. She was grateful.

The blunt trembled between her fingers as she lit it. Smoke slipped past her lips as the weight of the day eased off her shoulders. For now. She reclined and kicked her feet up on the edge. Today was one of those days. Her mind was all spun up, and she didn’t know why.

She was barely ten minutes into her peace when three sharp taps came.

“This is the shit I’m talking about.”

Paige pulled her robe tighter and padded to the door, already frowning and tired. Not to mention, someone was popping up unannounced. When she opened the door, there stood her momma, sunglasses perched on her nose, one hand clutching a brown paper bag, the other holding a white envelope.

“Hmph. Good. You ain’t dead. Sure, living like you’re trying to be.”

Without waiting for an invitation, Myra Saint swept inside, the scent of house fried rice and chicken wings trailing behind her like perfume. Paige leaned against the door, exhaling slowly, trying to summon the energy she didn’t have.

“What are you doing here, Momma?”

“Bringing you food so you don’t shrivel up and disappear,” her momma said, plopping the bag onto the kitchen counter. She peeled off her sunglasses with a dramatic roll of her eyes. “And bringing you a little surprise since you act like you’re allergic to joy?”

Paige squinted. Suspicious. She was always suspicious when her mother came around. The conversation was always going to go one or two ways, maybe both if she was lucky.

“I’m not allergic to joy. I’m focused. Big difference.”

Her momma’s mouth curled into a mischievous grin as she waved the envelope like a wand. Absolutely nothing but a vacation on a faraway island with no responsibilities would entice Paige, but she’d hear her mother out.