Page 79 of The Impact (Parachutes #3)

“You’re so much like me. But Robert is going to give you your determination.

You’ll go on and be successful. You’ll be brave and you’ll test waters, and you’ll get burned.

But Robert and Vanessa will make a solid foundation for you to land on.

I’ll always be here if you want to come run wild with me, but I have a feeling, you’ll have your own story.

Robert…I may be what you want…But she’s everything you need.

I love you so much. Don’t ever doubt it.

We made beautiful babies and beautiful times.

” She sighed. “So, to you three…I give you this last gift. My gift of song.”

Her mother shut her eyes and started to hum without any music… Then, familiar lyrics that only elite songbirds tackled began.

“If I…should stay…I will only…” Tahli squeezed her eyes shut as her mother began belting Whitney Houston’s version of I Will Always Love You.

A skilled musician whose voice was a tool, her mother knew opera and Egyptian notes, could go from alto to soprano and back again.

And now…she channeled Whitney effortlessly.

By the time she made it to the chorus, Tahli had tears tumbling down her very-adult face, feeling all of five.

Lyrics that Tahli had only associated with romantic love, now painted vividly to the ghost of Cree Autumn.

Tahli cried with her mother through the entire song.

Felt like Cree was right next to her, comforting her with the tune of apology and a final embrace Tahli always craved. Then it went black.

Throughout her entire life, Tahli had taken her mother’s singular lesson to heart: to be defensive.

Never let anyone tie you down, never give up on your dreams. Never lose yourself.

She had never imagined there was sacrifice in Cree’s selfishness.

The consideration of Cree’s lesson not being all self-serving sat on her mind all day.

She made a note to dissect this with Larry.

Because if it wasn’t about abandonment, or not bending to a man’s image, then it was about something much purer.

Something Tahli was still battling with.

Finding a true source of happiness.

And doing what it takes to attain in.

One Month Later

“I missed T?”

“She’s snoring now, Vin,” Tahli snickered, tying the sash on her satin robe. She’d gotten out of the shower in time to catch Vin’s FaceTime call and found herself delighted she hadn’t missed it. He had been busier than usual.

“I gotta really get used to this LA time. I keep forgetting how late it is there.”

“It’s okay. I’ll have her call you in the morning.” Tahli trekked from the steam-filled bathroom into her bedroom, taking a seat at the vanity. She caught the double-take Vin gave at the screen.

“You just got out the shower?”

“Yeah.”

“So, the room smells like apples?”

Tahli chuckled.

“Yup,” she propped the phone up against her bottle of Cerave. “Now you get to watch my skincare routine while I fill you in on Milo’s porn addiction.”

“What the fuck?” Vin muttered, making Tahli chuckle.

“Yup. I dealt with Doll. This is all you, my guy.”

They talked through her shea butter, vitamin C cream, and snail serum ritual. Tahli was laid on the bed, holding the phone above her face when Vin had all the details.

“I mean…that’s normal though. Fourteen.”

“How often did you do it when you were fourteen?”

He smirked, like he was bashful. LA had been treating him well. His facial hair gleamed, brown skin glowed, her baby daddy looked like a more sophisticated, even-finer version of the guy at the barbecue. Vin was many things but hard to look at was not one.

“Lo is a different kid than I was. And that’s a good thing.”

“Oh, I know what that means,” Tahli cackled. “That means at fourteen you were already fucking.” He flashed a partial grin as he moved around his place.

“Tell me the truth. We’re not married anymore. How many girls were you with before you went to prison, Get ‘Em Wet Vin?”

He gave her a glance from whatever preoccupied him. That glance made her quiver. A second later, the phone collided with her face.

Tahli picked it up, cracking up laughing.

“Uh-huh. Being nosy and got smacked in your pretty face with the phone.”

She rolled onto her stomach, still giggling with a lip bite.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Fuck that phone. I’m Big Tah-Tah.”

He smiled close-lipped. “How’s it going with Larry, Big Tah-Tah?”

“Fantastic,” she answered. “He told me you guys do Zoom calls.”

“He’s breaking my doctor-patient confidentiality,” Vin joked. “But I guess he knows you’re an exception.” That made her smile.

“How’s it going with you?”

“Cool. We talked a lot about my pops yesterday,” he revealed way easier than the former version of him would have. “My fucked-up normalization of infidelity. I’m starting to really see how betraying that was to you.”

Tahli wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She heard a door open on his end; another voice, a man. Heard Vin thank someone.

“Did you order food?”

“Yeah…DJ!” He called out after, and Tahli warmed. “Come eat!”

“How’s he doing? My lover boy?” Tahli would’ve lost a million-dollar bet with the Good Lord if He had promised her that she would eventually love the child her husband created with another woman.

“He’s good.” A second later, Vin called out again. “Alright. Twenty more minutes and then turn the game off and come eat!”

“How are you doing? LA treating you good?”

She could tell he shrugged, even with the phone in close proximity. Could tell a lot from small glimpses. Like that his penthouse apartment was ridiculously extravagant and spacious.

“It’s cool. LA can only treat me but so good.”

“Why you say that?”

Vin glanced again. “Too much missing.”

Tahli exhaled. “They’ll be there soon for NJEA week.”

It took a while for him to reply with, “Right.” What did that mean? Was something else missing besides his children?

She picked up on him plating his food from the sound of bags rustling and dishes clinking. Then she heard the beeps.

“Are you heating up your food?”

“Yeah, it’s not hot enough.”

“Mmm.” It all felt so familiar. Took Tahli a while to place it. After a few seconds, Vin seemed to really look at the screen. She watched his eyes move over her features.

“You look good, Tahli.”

“So do you,” she dropped her tone lower, energy moving through her. Her babies were in bed. The house was quiet. Food put away, dishes done.

Tahli was alone...

Tahli was lonely.

Not in a depressing way.

She’d been reading more. Writing music and doing all kinds of things with the kids—concerts, museums, treasured movie visits. But that masculine affection was hard to substitute, regardless of how fulfilling single life could be.

“I’m a let you go,” Vin’s brows pinched in a frown, like he was forcing himself to say it. “It’s after 10 there. Go get some sleep for work.”

“Okay.” She hated work. “I’ll let you eat your food. Oh, wait…let me tell you about how Terran put a melted Reese’s on that little boy’s seat and made the class think he shit himself.”

Vin showed all 32 in his laugh and it made Tahli smile.

It made her sad, too. She couldn’t quite grasp why.

By the time Tahli filled him in on that story and several more and even got to speak to DJ for a while, it was after 10pm LA time.

After 1am where she was. Where it mattered.

Vin forced her to give into her tired eyes and she looked forward to their next call.

She didn’t feel so alone speaking to him.