Page 21 of Falling for Lucifer
“You should have asked me first?—”
“I don’t have to ask you for permission to hold her. You came from me, little girl, which means this child came from me too. You’ll do good to remember that.”
Yeah, Lucifer didn’t like the sound of that. It came off too much like a threat.
“Ms. Glover, I’m only going to say this once. Give me my daughter.” The tone of his voice dropped all niceties, and the tension in the room immediately thickened.
Kamilah glared up at him in shock. He could see her trying to figure out if she was going to try to bully him or give in. She finally made the right choice by standing and placing Etta in his arms. His eyes swept over her small body quickly before he focused back on Kamilah, who ignored him completely and focused on her daughter.
“You’ll do good to remember you’re in my house, Ellodie.”
“With all due respect, Ms. Glover, you’ll do good to remember that she is my woman, and this is my daughter. Two things I don’t play about.”
Flustered, Kamilah looked between Ellodie and Lucifer before she narrowed her eyes at them both and said, “I planned a christening for Antoinetta for next Sunday. I sure do hope that by then, your attitudes are in better shape.”
With that, she left the room. Lucifer exhaled a breath and looked down at Etta, who was awake and looking up at him. “The shit I have to put up with for yo’ mama.”
“I’m sorry about that, Lu. We can call an Uber or something and go home. We don’t have to stay under the same roof as her.”
Lucifer thought about taking her up on that idea. Moments ago, staying the night here didn’t seem all that bad, but Kamilah had to mess those good feelings up with her nasty attitude. Then, his mind wandered to Daniel, who looked so happy to have Ellodie under the same roof as him that night. One glance at Ellodie let him know that her mother dashed all her good feelings about staying the night, too, but he didn’t want that to be a reason to disappoint her father. That would only make Kamilah win in the end.
“Come here,” he finally said. She did, and when she was within arm’s reach, he pulled her into him by the waist. “You know ya pops wants you here, right? You saw how happy he was a few minutes ago?”
She bit her bottom lip and thought about it before saying, “Yeah.”
“Then we’re staying.”
“But—”
“Do you do that often?” He interrupted her.
She cocked her head to the side. “Do what?”
“Let ya mama run you away from ya pops?” She looked up at the ceiling and opened her mouth before clamping it shut again. He had the urge to kiss her pouty lips, but he refrained. “That’s what I thought. Don’t let her keep doing that. You and your pops don’t have the best relationship, do you?”
Her eyes dropped to Etta resting in his arms before she muttered, “No.”
He used his free hand to lift her chin so she looked at him again. “I think you both want that, but ya mama is in the way. Y’all shouldn’t allow her to be. Having a good father is a gift. You need to lean into that, for real.”
Ellodie peered up at him for a moment, and he could tell she figured something out about him. It was his turn to avoid her gaze. He looked down at Etta, who seemed to concentrate really hard on his beard.
“You don’t have a good relationship with your father?” she asked.
He shook his head. Talking about his father wasn’t something he did with people outside of his family, but for some reason, he didn’t mind being honest with her. “Nah. He’s the reason my mother committed suicide.”
She gasped. “I’m so sorry, Lu. I didn’t know. How old were you?”
“Fifteen,” he replied. “It was a long time ago. My brother basically raised me and my sister after that. I ain’t really seen my pops since. Last time I saw him a few years back I . . . let’s just say it didn’t turn out very well for him.”
He felt her gaze on him, but he kept his eyes on Etta. Finally, she brushed her fingertips across his arm and whispered, “We can stay.” At that moment, Etta let out a tiny grunt before he felt her diaper shift. His eyes widened, and he looked at Ellodie in alarm. She giggled. “We can stay, but you’re on diaper duty.”
“Yo, man. Did this lil girl just shit in my arms?”
“She did.” Ellodie cooed as she rubbed Etta’s stomach. “And I bet it was the cutest poop ever.”
Lucifer shook his head and tried to hand Etta back over to her. Ellodie shook her head. “I think it’s time you learn to change diapers, baby daddy.”
That was one thing Lucifer never did. His nephew was cool and all, but he wasn’t down for changing anyone’s ass. He could tell that was about to change, because as he looked into Ellodie’s eyes, he knew he wouldn’t tell her no.
