Page 19 of Make Me Forget

“Well, whenever King stop being a bitch, we might try our hand at team roping. If not, then I’ll probably follow behind Rylan and do tie-down roping.”

“Y’all gon’ keep going to school though, right?”

“If we want to live with Kenny and Keisha Henderson, we will.”

I chuckled at Kane’s comment. The Hendersons didn’t play about education. If they expected to have a vital part in the business, they needed to have extensive training or a degree. Having both didn’t hurt. While I didn’t go to school right after high school, I still went and so did Karima. We knew what was expected of us, and as we got older, we knew it would only benefit us later. I got a degree in marketing, and she got hers in business administration.

On top of that, we had to keep up with the example set for us. While our mother didn’t have a degree, our dad had enough of them for all of us. He literally had five bachelor’s degrees, three or four certifications, and two master’s degrees. He didn’t keep his mistakes and bad decisions from us, but he used them as tools to teach us with.

My mama taught us the importance of hygiene, cleaning after ourselves, and taking care of our houses. I obviously got lost in those cooking lessons. She taught us to be responsible as well. I remember she and I had a heart to heart one time, and she came clean about everything she was doing to our dad behind his back, thinking she was getting away with it. I only loved her more for telling me all that shit, because she didn’t have to. Of course, she’d waited until I was in my twenties for that conversation.

Their lessons also taught me patience. My brothers didn’t see it just yet because they were only twenty-one and twenty, but they would understand it soon enough. I was probably twenty-five or so before I really started understanding it. Our family had plenty of money, but we needed to understand how to maintain and build that wealth. They didn’t want us to be spoiled, lazy bums, who didn’t give a shit about anything.

“Well, bruh, we gon’ leave you to your thoughts. We here if you need us,” King said then slapped my hand.

I did the same with Kane, then they walked off and went back to their table. As I started eating my food, Jacob walked back in. He went to where he was sitting and snatched his baseball cap off the table. “Yo, man. Everything cool?”

He looked over and made his way to me. I could tell he was still pissed. That nigga’s temper could be uncontained at times. He was laid-back until somebody fucked with him. That ho had been fucking with him for a good ten months. She had better be glad he hadn’t snatched her ass up by now.

“If the police wouldn’t have showed up when they did, I was prepared to go to jail for slamming her fucking head on that concrete. I’m sick of her shit.”

“Did they arrest her?”

“Yeah, because I filed a restraining order on that bitch. She don’t realize how much danger she’s in. That order is to protect her ass. I don’t need protection. I swear, I’m not trying to go down for murder, especially not for killing a woman, but maaaaaan, she keep poking the bear, I’m gon’ bite her fucking head off.”

“Have you fucked her since the incident when Jess beat her ass?”

“Hell naw! That’s why I can tell you she ain’t pregnant with my baby. Her high ass probably don’t even remember who she fucking now. I think Courtney done got her ass on that shit. She gon’ fuck around and be her cellmate, or her family gon’ have her fucking picture on a shirt. I gotta go, man. Somehow, I gotta go fix this damn tractor before Uncle WJ be on my ass.”

“A’ight, man. Go talk to your mama before you leave. She was upset.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m going back there before I go. I swear it’s because of her and everything she went through with Joseph that I haven’t fucked Jameka up yet.”

He walked off, and at this point, I knew Jameka had better count her fucking days.

CHAPTER 6

CASSIE

“Ihaven’t talked to you in two days, baby. I need you to come to the rodeo so we can spend some time together.”

I glanced at Mesani as he stared at me. I was on the phone with my daddy, and I’d put him on speaker so Mesani could hear him and what he was saying. My daddy was a smart man, and he would start figuring shit out. Kendrall hadn’t been able to catch up with him, because he was on a job in Houston. I knew he didn’t have time to go meet Daddy in Houston when he had a competition to prepare for.

“Daddy, I really need?—”

“I’m not taking no for an answer, Cassie. I’ll be there to pick you up in the morning.”

He ended the call on me. I huffed and knew Kendrall and I would be talking to him together. I wasn’t afraid of my father, but I knew when he meant business, he stood on that shit. I somewhat cowered in his presence when I knew what I had to say would disappoint him. When I had a pregnancy scare my sophomore year in college, the disappointment in his voice was evident. He’d sacrificed a lot to take care of me.

When he found out that I wasn’t his biological daughter, he could have left me with my mother. He could have walked away and not looked back. Instead, he was going to try to fight for me. I was his baby… his all, regardless of blood. She signed her rights away and allowed him and Kendall to adopt me. I had no clue who my other family was and really didn’t care. Price and Kendall Daniels were my parents, and no one could tell me any differently.

“So I guess you’ll be going to see your man. Maybe I should go.”

My eyebrows lifted, and I wanted to beg him not to go, but I knew that would set him off. While Mesani had never been abusive, I didn’t want him to start. We would be in here fighting like two men, because there was no way I would go down without one. My moment of shock became a moment of anger.

“Nigga, you know what? Fuck you! Do what the fuck you have to do, because I’m already tired of kissing your ass to preserve my career and reputation. If I have to live with my parents for the rest of my life, then so be it.”

I grabbed my phone and put my phone on speaker as I called my daddy back. Before he could answer, Mesani snatched the phone out of my hand and threw it to the wall. “Who the fuck are you talking to, Cassie? I will fuck you up in here before anybody could get here to check on you.”

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