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He was so sweet. I just wished my life was more in order before he came along.

He didn’t deserve this bullshit I was going through.

I really liked him. We talked nearly all day yesterday.

Since I wasn’t driving, I had plenty of time to kill on the eight-and-a-half-hour drive back from Birmingham.

He and Asad split the drive between the two of them.

I literally fell asleep on the phone with him last night.

When I woke up, my phone was on the floor, and he’d sent a text message telling me to sleep well.

He seemed so perfect, and I could only hope that he was the real deal.

Although I was only twenty-two, I craved what my parents had.

After almost twenty-five years of them being together, they still carried on like newlyweds. I loved that so much.

When I got to the porch, my daddy extended his arm for a hug and smiled at me. “Hey, baby girl.” A frown graced his face as he asked, “What happened? Your lip looks swollen. You got into a fight?”

“Hell, it wasn’t a fight at all. A woman showed up to the diner and was beating my ass until Uncle Storm yanked her off me. Turns out, she was Julius and Malik’s sister. She caught me off-guard. All I could do was get in a protective stance so she didn’t mess me up too badly.”

He slowly shook his head and opened the door. “You are definitely not your mother’s daughter. She would have found a way to fight back.”

I chuckled. “She wouldn’t have been caught off guard either. She’s always ready for smoke.”

He laughed too. “You got that shit right.”

He went to the kitchen and came back with an ice pack for me.

We kept those on deck with me rodeoing and Ryder J being involved in football and basketball.

Somebody was always swollen somewhere. He sat next to me as I placed the ice pack on my face.

That shit was so cold. I closed my eyes and released a sigh.

“So are you serious about the guy you were talking to?”

“I don’t know yet. He seems really nice though.”

“I’ve seen him at Red’s house before. Watching y’all, I could only think about how me and your mom met.”

I gave him a slight smile. I’d heard this story plenty of times, but I never got tired of it.

“After a rodeo, we ended up eating dinner together with the family. We started to get to know one another that day, and I spent the night with her that night since she had her own spot. It was like I was a fly, and she was sugar. I didn’t want to separate from her.

That was what I saw in the two of you night before last. I was waiting for an introduction. ”

“Sorry, Daddy. I wanted to get to know him better before I started introducing him to everyone. Mama introduced herself.”

“Yeah, I saw her. I saw him too. He looked excited to meet her.”

I giggled, thinking about how starstruck he was. “He really was. He was embarrassed about it after the fact. I thought it was cute though.”

“Well, I wish you the best. After dealing with that nigga’s bullshit, you deserve heaven, baby. Just be careful with your heart. I hate seeing you broken. As for that bitch that came in the diner, I’m pretty sure yo’ mama gon’ be on that like white on rice.”

“She knocked one of her teeth out.”

He laughed. “She a damn gangsta. One day, she gon’ realize she getting old. I’m probably gon’ have to massage her shoulder tonight.”

I slowly shook my head as my mama walked through the door.

“So, WJ wants to evenly divide the business between all of us. He said that was what Daddy wanted, but none of us agreed to it. We all agreed he should keep thirty percent and the rest of us will divide seventy percent. Had it not been for him, the business wouldn’t be half of what it is. ”

She smiled at us sitting on the couch as my dad nodded. “That’s good, baby. WJ worked hard for that. I’m glad he was willing to honor your father’s wishes. It proves how much he really loves y’all and wants what’s best for everyone.”

“Yeah.” She turned to me and asked, “Did you wanna practice today? I’m gonna go run some barrels.”

“Let me call Ferris first, then I’ll be ready,” I said as I stood from the couch and headed to my bedroom.

“Okay. I’ll be outside. We need to talk also.”

I nodded as I continued up the stairs. After going into my room, I closed the door then went straight to the mirror.

My lip was swollen for sure, and my face was bruised on one side.

I lifted my braids carefully to see my scalp was oozing a bit.

After taking a deep breath, I went to the bed and put the ice pack on my head then called Ferris.

“Hey, gorgeous,” he said as soon as he answered the phone.

“Hey. How’s your day going?”

“Shit, it’s going. Just started a game. This shit hard as hell. I needed a break.”

I chuckled. “You losing touch?”

He laughed. “Girl, I’m a professional. I don’t lose touch.”

“If you say so.”

“I miss being around you already. I wish I could see you.”

I smiled slightly. He couldn’t see me like this though. “Yeah. I have to practice. Maybe we can spend time together this weekend.”

“Damn. I gotta wait until then? Even if it’s just lunch at the diner, I’ll be cool with that.”

I closed my eyes, knowing that I would have to tell him about the bullshit I was dealing with. This bruise wasn’t going to go away overnight. “Umm, how about Wednesday or Thursday then?”

“I have to kick it with my mama Wednesday, but I can surely be out there Thursday. I can’t wait to see you.”

Hopefully this shit would be gone by then. I was gonna ice the hell right out of it. Maybe I wouldn’t have to tell him a thing. “I can’t wait to see you either. My mama is waiting on me to go practice, so if it’s okay, I’ll call you tonight.”

“Yeah, that’s cool. I’m glad you called so I could hear your voice.”

I smiled at the tenderness in his voice. “Okay. Talk to you later.”

I had to hurry and get off the phone. My emotions were getting the best of me.

My bullshit was gonna fuck this up. Maybe I deserved to be alone.

Daddy said I deserved better, but I didn’t know.

One day, I would be able to let go of the guilt from my actions, but I knew it wouldn’t be any time soon if shit kept popping off.