Page 7 of The Love of Priest 2

Chapter Three

Priest pushed the door open, stepping aside to let Tasha and her sons through. "How you feeling it?" he asked with a light smile as they took a full look around the furnished condo.

Tasha walked further into the condo, slowly turning around so she could take in everything.

Priest decided to temporarily move Tasha and Jamari's brothers into a condo in his building due to the events that had transpired between him and Leonard.

The fact that Tasha and her sons were just across the street when Remy and J'Ru got shot didn't sit right with him.

He felt guilty and knew that in order to clear his conscience, he had to do something about it.

Tasha was reluctant to move at first, but she couldn't deny the fact that hearing those gunshots that night reminded her so much of losing Jamari.

It had only been a month since she had officially said goodbye to her son.

Now, the once familiar gunshots she would hear on any ordinary day struck deep fear in her, enough to bring tears to her eyes.

"It's nice." She nodded her head in a satisfied manner. "Pretty big." A tight-lipped smile formed on her face.

Priest let out a sigh. He could hear the uncertainty in her voice, which led him to feel defeated once more.

For the past three days, he'd been showing Tasha option after option.

Britain had given him the idea to move Tasha into his building, and he liked it because he felt like Tasha and her boys would be a lot more secure. "You don't like it?" he asked.

Tasha let out a deep breath as she flipped her dreads over her shoulder.

"It's not that, Priest," she assured him.

"The place is lovely. I just don't want them getting used to it.

" She pointed her thumb in the direction of King and Jaden, who were already sprinting around the condo in full excitement.

"A temporary place should make them miss home, not never want to go back. "

Priest shrugged. "This is only temporary if you want it to be. If you like it enough, it's yours," he offered.

"Priest, I can't do that to you. You've done enough as is," she declined.

"I want to," he asserted. "This is my way of looking out. Just let me do as I promised."

Tasha turned around to look at King and Jaden.

They seemed happy and thrilled about the place.

The two boys currently had their faces planted against the big fish tank that decorated the condo.

The fish swam in circles in the water, entertaining them.

"Hey, you two! Back up before you break something I can't afford," she chuckled with a light shake of her head.

Priest laughed a bit as he hooked his arm around Tasha's shoulder. "At least check out the kitchen and the view," he tried his hand at persuading her. Although he didn't want to come off as biased, he actually wanted Tasha to take the condo in his building. It was just far more convenient.

Tasha side-eyed him. "You want me to move my bad kids from Harlem to a prestigious condo in TriBeCa?"

Priest grinned. "Yeah. They seem to like it." He pointed to King and Jaden, who were now toying with the light settings for the fish tank.

"They're kids, Priest. They liked the seven other places you showed us too."

"I know that," Priest chuckled. "But this one feels like home away from home, don't it? Plus, I'm like twelve floors up, so there wouldn't be any issues." He pointed up to the ceiling, insinuating that his penthouse was just a few floors above them.

"What about school, Priest?" She eyed him.

"Twenty minutes out at the most," he shrugged."That's not bad."

Tasha folded her arms across her chest. Priest had done pretty good at convincing her. "Priest, you're getting them adjusted to a lifestyle that they won't want to let go," she warned him.

Priest carelessly shrugged his shoulders. "They won't have to let it go," he asserted convincingly.

Now, Tasha was the one letting out a sigh of defeat. "Fine," she muttered as she playfully tossed Priest's arm off her shoulder.

Glad that she finally decided to move in, Priest clapped his hands. "Finally!" he groaned dramatically, causing Tasha to laugh.

"Don't get all excited. This is just temporary," she warned him.

"We get to stay here?!" King asked as he and Jaden rushed back toward Tasha and Priest.

Tasha looked down at them, a light smile on her face. "Yeah, only for a little while, though," she told them, causing them to cheer in excitement.

"I'm gonna reach for permanently," Priest winked at an overly excited Jaden and King.

In a jesting manner, Tasha side-eyed Priest as she shook her head.

After the full walk-through of the condo, Tasha couldn't help but feel as though she had made the right decision.

The condo was nicer, had more square footage, and was in a far better area than their last house.

It looked like the properties she would gawk at in the magazines during her lunch break.

Now Priest was making it happen for her, and she couldn't help but to be grateful.

"Thank you," she said as she turned to Priest.

Priest waved her off before pulling her into an embrace. "It's nothing, Tasha. You looked out for me when I was down to my last two dollars in my pocket. It's my turn to return the favor now."

Priest had really come from nothing, and Tasha had given him as much as she could when possible.

She could recall the times when she would invite him to dinner, making her own plate scarce so she could feed him.

She had a heart of gold, which she transferred to Jamari.

She taught her kids the importance of generosity and acceptance, and for that, Priest felt obligated to keep his promise to her and her sons.

"You've made everyone proud," she praised him in a light voice. "Just be careful out there."

Priest nodded, letting her words resonate with him. She was still hurting. Priest's support made things a bit better, but the grieving pain of losing Jamari still ate at her. "No doubt, Tash. I got you for life," he assured her.

Eventually, Priest ended up taking Tasha and the boys back to their home in Harlem so she could begin the process of packing up their things.

After dropping them off, Priest decided to stop by Remy's house across the street.

His dark orbs surveyed the home, and Priest noticed a silver Jaguar parked in front of Remy's place.

Making it that far, Priest opted against turning back and leaving Remy with his company. Britain planned to check up on him anyway, so Priest thought it would be nice to save her the trip.

Bypassing Remy's gate, Priest proceeded toward the porch, his thick, bushy brows furrowed together as the door opened, only for Britain's mother, Seven, to be making her way out of the house.

She had her purse in hand and was fully dressed in her powder blue scrubs along with her Nike running shoes.

Priest abruptly halted, standing before Seven with a smirk on his face as his arms folded across his chest. "Damnit!

" Seven called out as she clenched her chest out of fear.

She didn't expect Priest to be standing before her; however, she was grateful that it wasn't Britain.

"I scared you?" Priest asked.

Seven scoffed as she perched her hand on her hip. "Of course, you scared me, Priest," she stressed. "What are you even doing here?" Priest knew Seven wasn't necessarily giving him attitude. She was just panicked by the fact that he popped up out of thin air.

"I would think I'm the one who should be asking you that, but you're a grown woman and you do as you please," Priest replied nonchalantly as he shrugged his shoulders. "Have a nice day, Mrs. Jewel." He smiled to her lightly as he brushed past her to head up to the door.

Seven sighed deeply as she turned around to catch Priest's attention. "We were just having coffee. He's lonely in there." She pointed to the house where Remy spent most of his days. He didn't get out much, and it wasn't really an issue since he was fine with that.

Priest screwed up his face. "He's not lonely. That's just Remy. He's a loner."

"And you believe him when he says that?" Seven tilted her head to the side questioningly. "The man sits at home all day in his thoughts. Plus, he just had surgery on multiple gunshot wounds, which could possibly lead to depression."

Priest never thought about it that way. Everyone knew Remy needed to get out more, but he never stressed it, so no one else did. It never dawned on Priest that maybe something wasn't right. "I never thought about it like that," he admitted.

"See," she stressed. "That's why I have coffee with him on occasion."

Priest nodded with a light chuckle. "I see."

"Just don't tell Britain," she requested.

"Not my place."

Seven eyed Priest up and down. She was thoroughly sufficed by Priest's response. "She did good picking you, y'know that?" Seven complimented.

Priest laughed, agreeing with Seven. "I appreciate that."

"Just stop by a bit more so I won't have to."

"Got it," Priest confirmed.

Seven said her goodbyes before hustling toward her car.

Priest couldn't help but to be amused by Seven.

In a way, she acted exactly like Britain.

Once she pulled off, Priest knocked on Remy's door and patiently waited until Remy made his way to the door and opened it. He was met by a cloud of smoke coming from a lit joint in Remy’s hand.

"What you doing here?" Remy asked Priest as he passed him the blunt before stepping aside to let him in.

Priest took a few pulls of the pearled joint before handing it back over to Remy. "I just got done showing Tasha the spot in my building."

"She like it?"

Priest nodded his head. "Moving in by the end of this week."

"That's good," Remy said as he claimed his seat on his La-Z-Boy recliner.

Priest took a seat adjacent to him on the couch. "How've you been feeling?" he asked Remy.