Page 60 of Judgments of Fire and Desire

“Okay, okay. I’m here now. What do you need me to do?”

“I need a sous chef. You can mix the cornbread batter and cut up sausage for the maque choux for me while I season this meat and get it to the oven.”

I nodded and dove all the way in to make sure this would be a night Genesis would remember and appreciate. I wasn’t sure if she liked creole food, but maque choux was the truth. It was a corn dish that my mama made. She found a recipe on TikTok, and we loved it. She doesn’t cook it as often as she did when she first found the recipe, but whenever she cooked it, we rarely had leftovers.

I couldn’t help but smile as I cut up sausage. Despite the foolishness in that note from Tyson, I knew tonight would be a good night. While I knew Genesis’s family would eventually come around, and she would welcome them back into her life, I wanted to cater to her mental state as of right now. She was saying she was done with them, but I knew her heart. She was speaking from places of hurt and anger. She loved her family and was just a loving individual.

Her mother was already trying to make things right. However, she told her that would be done in her time, not theirs. I had a feeling that time would be coming soon, because she was so depressed and lost without them. Her heart wasn’t going to let her stay angry too much longer. They’d messed up, especially Grandma Jean, but I knew they loved her. She knew it too.

“Put the sausage in this pot, Kyrie. I’ve started the fire, so after you’re done mixing the cornbread, you can sauté them while I work on the cabbage.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I added her cut vegetables to the pot as well then checked the next thing off my to-do list. “Thank you for doing this, Mama. I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to help me cater to my one.”

She smiled. “I’ve been waiting for the day you would find someone to love and that would reciprocate that love. Genesis is perfect for you, so I don’t mind doing whatever to help you make her feel special.”

She pinched my cheek then went back to her cabbage. I smiled as I thought about how she used to do that to my fat cheeks when I was a kid. That was her way of showing affection. Now that I was grown, though, it made me feel like her little boy again. Those were happy times, receiving her praise and love. I had to admit, I was a mama’s boy because of that. Thankfully, I wasn’t too spoiled to where I was useless. She showed me how to be a man and to appreciate women, especially the right one.

Those lessons definitely came in handy, because I wanted to love and appreciate Genesis for the rest of her life, and we’d only been together a couple of months. Destiny had found me, and I was thankful that it forced me to recognize it through all this trauma. I couldn’t regret a thing that had happened, because it led her to me.

As I satat my desk, I watched my phone ring. The media were like vultures, and they didn’t give up, even when a person blatantly told them to get lost. I literally wanted to change my number, but I knew that, somehow, it would get leaked all over again, and it would all be for nothing. Samuel was still in the wind, and people were accusing me of knowing exactly where he was. His bullshit had me under the microscope. My chief had been up here twice this week already, “checking on things.”

As if my family blaming me wasn’t enough, the community and city officials thought I had something to do with it as well. If it got out that Samuel had indeed said something to members of the council about appointing me, I would be out of here on the first thing smoking. I would be guilty until proven innocent, simply because of his actions. He didn’t even see how his actions affected everyone else. Somehow, I was the bad guy though.

Work had been uneventful… not a fire or emergency call in sight. My week was filled with paperwork and equipment maintenance. I checked the time to see it was already five thirty. Thankfully, the time had still gone by pretty fast. The only downside to getting off was being bombarded by media. I’d gotten some sympathetic looks from my fellow firefighters, but I’d also garnered some hateful ones as well. The stress of it all was crippling, but I knew I had to keep showing up. If I didn’t, the allegations would spread like wildfire.

Just as I was gathering my things and shutting down my computer for the day, Bransford appeared in my doorway. Out of all the people against me, I knew he would be leading the way. He hadn’t said much to me, but he’d given the sympathetic looks and smiles I needed. I gave him a soft smile. “Hi, Bransford. How can I help you?”

He stepped inside and cleared his throat. “I needed to come clean about my behavior before you were promoted. I couldn’t do so before.”

I frowned slightly and gestured for him to take a seat. I was curious as well. I thought he was just a jackass, but now, since he brought it up, I was the only one he treated that way. He only treated Micah that way when she was with me. I’d witnessed their one-on-one interaction, and it was never as heated as it was when she was with me. I couldn’t believe it took all this time for me to realize that. I probably wouldn’t have realized it had it not been for his statement.

After he sat, I said, “Okay. I’m listening,”

He nodded. “I’ve known about your brother for a while. Not many people know, but Lieutenant Gamble is my cousin. He told me about all the issues he was having with Samuel. He believed Samuel was involved in something, because his write-ups would never get him anywhere, like Samuel washissuperior. He couldnever find proof of anything though. So, I took his disdain with your brother out on you. I truly apologize.”

My eyebrows had lifted, and my lips had parted. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“My cousin asked me not to. He wasn’t supposed to be sharing that information with me. He had suspicions but no proof to back any of it up. So instead of being neutral in the situation, I took it out on you because I made the assumption you were as dirty as he was. At least that was what I thought at first. After working with you for a while, I realized you were nothing like him. I realized how dedicated you were to this job and helping people. That didn’t change my behavior, though, because again, I was taking my frustrations with him out on you.”

I was in shock. Not only did Samuel’s actions threaten my job, but they affected my work relationships as well. I swallowed hard.

“Thank you for telling me that. I had no idea. When he was implicated in all this mess, it hurt me to my soul. I would have never thought he was capable of corruption at this level. However, what hurt even more is that my character is being called into question by everyone, including my own family. People I work with are accusing me of being a part of this mess, and my family is accusing me of throwing my brother under the bus for Judge Patrick. I just…”

I closed my eyes and gently rubbed my temples until I felt his hands on mine. He pulled them away from my head and held them in his. “You are an amazing human being. Just keep being who you are, Chief. All this will blow over soon. No one knows who to trust in all this. As far as your family goes, I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say. They should know you better than anyone.”

He gently caressed the tops of my hands with his thumbs then released them. “Thank you for that.” I stood from my seat, and he did so as well. “Will you be at the meeting tomorrow night?”

He frowned. “What meeting?”

“A mandatory meeting was called with city workers and officials.”

“I didn’t hear anything about it. Was it emailed?”

“Yes, about an hour or so ago.”

“Oh. I haven’t checked my email yet. I guess I’ll be there then,” he said, then chuckled.

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