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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

FERRIS

“ D ad, this is Milana Semien. She’s a phenomenal barrel racer and is gearing up to bareback at the next rodeo.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Hello! I’m Royston Botley. Nice to meet you. Are you kin to the guy that used to bull ride? Legend Semien?”

“Yes, sir. That’s my cousin. His dad and my grandfather were brothers. It’s nice to meet you also.”

They shook hands as I smiled. We’d come to my parents’ house for Sunday dinner.

Milana and her cousins had been with me over a week, but Bali and Noni were about to head back to school for a mini-session or something, and Ashanni and Maui were going to be going back to Nome this evening.

They were having another family meeting.

I’d overheard her conversation with her cousin Ace, saying that things were dying down out there.

I was shocked as hell to know all that shit was going down out there and no one had been arrested.

Milana informed me that the guys that were helping them were staying out of sight like snipers.

So, whenever a cop questioned a Henderson, it seemed like self-defense.

Sometimes it truly was, but other times, it wasn’t.

They were literally trying to wipe that family off the damn map.

Watchful Eyes’s job was to always make sure they were prepared.

They researched that family and dug up all kinds of shit.

It was like they knew the moves they were going to make before they even knew.

When they got that information, they fed it to not only the Hendersons but to Ryan and his crew as well.

Milana said Ryan had made a trip to the apartment complex in China and fucked some people up in their sleep.

I wasn’t no punk, but I was nowhere near the level they were on.

We sat on the couch as my dad watched TV and played on his phone to wait for dinner to be ready.

I was grateful my siblings weren’t here.

While I knew Milana wouldn’t have a problem meeting them, I wanted to attempt to clear the air between her and my mama.

She said that my mama didn’t like her, and I hated that she’d picked up that vibe from my mama.

She’d never behaved that way toward anyone I chose to talk to.

I knew the family situation and me getting shot over a week ago played a huge role in why she felt the way she did.

However, that was no reason to feel the way she did about Milana.

That shit felt personal, and I didn’t like it one bit.

However, I wanted to give her a chance to redeem herself.

Milana did nothing to deserve her shade, but here we were anyway.

“When is the next rodeo, Miss Milana?”

“Next month, so I have a lot of work to do to make sure I’m ready.”

“I know you have to be nervous. Barebacking isn’t easy, nor is it easy on the body.”

“Tell me about it. I’ve hit the dirt more times than I can count, and now that I’ve mastered not getting bucked off, I realize my body is still taking a beating, especially my back.”

“Oh, I can imagine with all the jerking. You have to be in really good shape to do that, right?”

“Yes. Your core has to be strong to endure it. I normally work out at my cousin’s gym at least twice a week, but I haven’t been in the past couple of weeks.”

He nodded as he glanced at me. “Ferris, you better not piss her off.”

I chuckled. “As intimidating as she sounds, she’s as meek as a lamb. I couldn’t dream of pissing her off though.”

I slid my fingertips down the side of her face as the goosebumps appeared on her skin.

I could see my dad smiling in my peripheral, but I could also see my mama approaching us and rolling her eyes.

While I wanted to address it, I would pretend I didn’t see it since I wasn’t supposed to see it.

If she stepped out of pocket, though, especially where Milana could hear her, I would definitely put her in her place, and we would leave.

“Dinner is almost ready, y’all. The table is set, so we can go in the dining room.”

I stood and helped Milana from her seat as her phone chimed. She glanced at it, and her eyebrows lifted slightly. After sliding it back to her pocket, she said, “The meeting is at four, because Ryan, Shawn, Dice, Shepherd, and Nathaniel will be flying out tonight.”

“Okay.”

I glanced at my watch to see it was already two.

We would have to get a move on. It would take us thirty minutes just to get to Nome from here.

I wasn’t sure who all those people were, but things had to have gotten better if they were leaving.

I knew who Ryan was because of him being at the graduation party and how the famous rapper, Noah, was his brother.

Her cousin Jessica had been in one of his music videos, and he did a whole premiere of the video in Nome, since that was where they shot it.

I knew Ryan owned an architectural firm, and she said her uncles and cousins were talking about bringing his firm in for new construction.

He was based in Baltimore and had a branch in Florida, but that nigga said he would gladly put a substation in Big City Nome, Texas.

She said they had all laughed at the thought of having a whole ass architectural firm in Nome.

That shit was hilarious. He would surely do well in Houston though.

Once we sat at the table, my mama brought the rice, corn on the cob, smothered okra, and mac and cheese to the table. “The yams are almost done.”

We all nodded as she glanced at Milana. I knew what she was thinking.

Milana never once offered to help her, and I knew that shit was intentional because they’d already gotten off on the wrong foot.

I was learning Milana more and more, and it seemed she was petty as hell.

Since her cousins had been at my house, I could clearly tell that was a Henderson trait.

Maui was the only one who didn’t seem to have it.

Her aunt Chas had only stayed two or three nights, but she hated being away from her husband.

She called him and told him she was going home and fuck what he thought about it.

My eyebrows had risen when she ended the call, and she quickly told me to fix my face then laughed about it.

She wasn’t a Henderson by blood, but her ass was just as rowdy as those niggas.

Within twenty minutes, somebody was at my house picking her ass up.

When my mama brought out the yams, she sat next to my dad and stared right at Milana. “Milana, would you mind blessing the food?”

“Not at all,” Milana said with a smile, looking unfazed.

She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I knew that shit meant she was giving me her frustrations.

She bowed her head and began. “Thank You, Lord, for this meal. Thank You for the cook who worked hard to assure her efforts were filled with love. We ask You to bless it for the nourishment of our bodies and the satisfaction of our taste buds.”

She giggled. “We love You and thank You. In Jesus’s name, amen.”

I kissed the side of her head. “That was good, baby. I’m gon’ have to pray that one more often, especially when I don’t know the cook.”

My dad chuckled as my mama looked on unamused.

Lana quickly grabbed my plate and began loading it with food.

The smothered okra had seafood, sausage, and chicken breast in it, so I was ready to dive into that.

Right after she fixed small portions on her plate, we got to it.

My daddy glanced at her plate and said, “Is that all you’re eating? ”

“Yes, sir. My family is having a meeting at four, and we always have food. I need to save room for whatever Aunt Jen and Aunt Chrissy cook.”

He chuckled. “So you’re double dipping. Smart woman.”

“Greedy ass,” I said.

She shoulder bumped me and ate some okra and rice. “This is good, Missus Paula,” she said after swallowing.

“Thank you.”

My mama hadn’t said a word. My dad kept glancing at her, like he was trying to figure out what her deal was. Finally, my mama said, “So y’all are going to eat and leave, huh?”

Milana looked up at her. “Well, I didn’t want to decline the invitation. I already know you don’t too much care for Ferris having a relationship with me. So instead of not coming at all, I wanted to make more of an effort for things that are important to him.”

My eyebrows lifted. Aww shit. Milana had answered her question before I could even attempt to. She was prepared for the shadiness. I was too, but she was definitely quicker with the draw.

“We wouldn’t have been offended, Milana, if you had other things you had to do. We could have picked another date.”

“Originally, the meeting was at six, so I thought I had time. They moved it up to four because some of the guys hired to help with issues in Nome have to fly out tonight.”

“We understand,” my dad said.

“Well, I wish you would have declined and picked another date so we wouldn’t feel rushed.”

“Ma, chill. You don’t have to feel rushed. Why would you feel rushed if you aren’t really talking to her? You’re doing more talking at her than to her.”

I glanced over at Milana to see her cleaning her plate, clearly not fazed by my mama’s foolishness. When I noticed she was done, I said, “I’m sorry, baby. Are you ready to leave?”

She looked up at me with her eyebrows lifted and scrunched together. “I’m okay unless you’re ready to leave. We have to leave in the next forty-five minutes anyway. Enjoy your family, baby. Excuse me.”

She stood and took her plate to the sink and rinsed it out as I stared at my mama. “Why are you being like this toward Milana?” my dad asked.

My mama cut her eyes at him as I stood from my seat. I scratched the rest of my food in the trash. My disgust was speaking loudly because I didn’t throw food away. I joined Milana at the sink and rinsed my plate off then grabbed her hand, pulling her away from it. “Let’s go, baby.”

She rubbed my hand between hers and stopped my forward progress. When I turned to her, she lowered her head. “I’m sorry the drama with my family and the shit I did is coming between you and your family. That’s your mother.”

I lifted her head by placing my fingertips under her chin. “You my woman. I want you to be my family. You come first, Lana.”

I went to the front room and shook my dad’s hand before my anger spilled over and affected everyone.

“So you just gon’ leave? Why can’t you see that she isn’t good for you? You done already got shot fooling with her, Ferris! You gon’ choose her over your family?”

I was wondering when her issues would come falling out of her mouth.

I could feel my lip twitching, my anger threatening to take over.

Holding our joined hands up, I said, “This is the woman I love. This is the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. I know that, because it happened so fast. I don’t typically move this quickly.

She came into my life, and her aura sucked me all the way in.

I refuse to let her go because of your reservations. ”

I closed my eyes for a second, realizing I’d spilled the contents of my heart, stunning Milana in the process.

I pulled her out of there before I revealed anything else.

That wasn’t the way I planned to tell her that I loved her.

I wanted to be deep within her walls, stroking her to ecstasy when I confessed my love and obsession with her beautiful ass.

I opened the door, allowing her to walk out first, and slammed the door behind me.

My dad was completely stunned. I was too.

My mama had never behaved this way, and I didn’t understand what her beef was with the Hendersons.

I understood her concern with the situation because of what had happened to me, but this shit was next level.

We quietly walked to my vehicle, and after I helped her in, I went to my side and got in.

Milana was staring at me, and I saw a couple of tears grace her cheeks.

I didn’t respond to her, because the last place I wanted to be when I looked into her eyes and expressed my love was at a place she wasn’t comfortable at.

I refused to do that in a place that represented hate and envy right now.

The ride to my house was quiet. I hadn’t even turned on music, because I wanted to think about how she was feeling right now.

Hearing her sniff every few seconds was making me softer and softer by the minute.

The minute I parked in the driveway, I turned off the engine and hopped out, making my way to her side.

I opened her door and helped her out then pulled her in my arms for a moment.

Her body trembled as she hugged me back.

It was too hot outside to be spilling feelings everywhere though.

The sun was being disrespectful, and it was only May.

The summer was gonna be damn near unbearable if it was already in the nineties.

Pulling away from her, I led her inside.

After closing the door, I turned to find her leaned against the counter, staring at me.

I slowly walked over to her, staring directly into her eyes.

I needed her to see my love and admiration through my gaze.

This shit hit me fast, and I didn’t know how, especially with everything that was going on.

When I stood directly in front of her, I leaned against her, our bodies flushed. Her tears were falling still, and I gently swiped each one away then leaned in and kissed her lips. Pulling her tank off her shoulder, I kissed her there too.

“Milana,” I said close to her ear.

I rubbed the tip of my nose up the length of her neck then did the same with my tongue.

“Mmmm, . . . yes, Ferris?”

I gently bit her earlobe then said, “I love you, baby. So much already. You the woman for me. I hate you had to hear that the way you did.”

“Nothing else matters. What makes you think you love me?”

“Even when I tried to move on without you, I couldn’t. My every thought was filled with you, how you were feeling, what you were doing. My entire body heats up when I’m close to you. Your presence rocks me in more than one way,” I said, grinding my dick into her.

I wrapped my arms around her and continued subtly grinding into her. “I can barely function without you, girl. When you got bucked off that horse, I damn near had a heart attack. You are in every breath I take. You have all of me, Milana. Is that enough, baby?”

She moaned as her head dropped back. I licked up her neck to her chin as she said, “More than I ever expected from anyone. Oh, shit, Ferris. More than enough.”