Page 44 of Still Forever
“Boss, I need you to handle something,” One of the men from the cleanup crew said from the other end of the phone.
I didn’t blink twice. “Call Sanchez, whatever you need, he’ll take care of it. He’s on call for the next two weeks,” I said as I bit into the turkey bacon.
“Nah, Boss, he ain’t you,”
“The fuck I just said?” I snapped.
“Aight, aight.” He said before I disconnected the call.
Kennedy said she learned her lesson, but I had actually learned mine. The whole building could be burning down, and I’d be right here drinking Bob Marleys next to my wife. This time around, especially with her pregnancy, I was going to focus on KD and make sure she had as little stress as possible. I understood my oath in the mafia, but my main focus was on having a happy wife and making sure she gave birth to a healthy child. Kennedy Jennings completed me in every way. I would do all this shit over again if it meant this moment, right here.
Kennedy
3 years later
“We have a new patient; I’m going to refer her to you. Based on her answers to the intake questions, she may be dealing with a severe mental disorder, and you know that’s not really my lane.” I slid the chart over to the new doctor without taking my eyes from it.
He was silent.
When he didn’t respond, I glanced up from the paperwork and caught him staring. Not politely. Definitely not professionally. The kind that caused me to frown.
“Do we have an issue?” I asked, my tone clipped as I set the folder down.
“Dr. Jennings…” He started as he leaned over the desk and licked his lips. I sat back in my chair to reclaim some of the space between us. “I just think you are the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen. I’ve been fighting the urge to tell you that since I started.”
Before my mouth could form a response, I saw a shadow form over him. Tall, dark, and menacing. A gun pressed cold and hard to the back of his head.
The doctor’s eyes widened, and his hand flew up in shock. Like a true crime reenactment.
“Tell her husband that.” Jaxon dared low and deadly.
“I’m-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any harm, I swear,” He stammered quickly.
“You should’ve kept fighting the urge.” His voice sounded like a warning shot. “Cause the urge ain’t gone break your fucking jaw but I will. Now get the fuck out of my wife’s face.”
The doctor didn’t need a second chance. He got out of there so fast, he probably broke the office speed record.
I looked at my husband, giving him a blank stare for all of two seconds before I broke into laughter. “You’re starting to act like Trouble.”
“About my wife?” He set the brown paper takeout bag on my desk. “Hell yeah, ain’t no understanding.”
I grinned, already pulling out the Thai food that I had been craving since Sunday.
“How did the kids do this morning?”
The look on his face was priceless. “Jonah ran out behind me, and Juree dropped to the floor screaming like somebody stole her puppy.”
That made me laugh harder. It was their second day of daycare. I thought Jaxon, being the stern one, would handle drop-off better, but clearly, he couldn’t win against those two.
Jonah, named after his godfather Judah, was two and already gave me flashbacks to every time I called BJ bad. He made me put my money where my mouth was. Juree, named after her godfather Jrue, was the one who could out-scream a fire truck. Parenting them while running businesses and being married to a Mafia elite… it wasn’t easy, but it was the most rewarding thing I’d ever done.
“Please don’t tell Ma, because she’ll go get them,” I said between bites of noodles.
He smirked.
Ms. Meena’s grandchildren ran like wild animals in her jungle. She never told them no and spoiled them like she could win an award for it. Yesterday, when I dropped them off, she was on the phone during the chaos, so I thought I was safe. Two hours later, she FaceTimed me with them in her backseat. Juree was in sunglasses, and Jonah was grinning like he’d just robbed a bank.
I just stayed quiet. Ma had already told me those werehergrandchildren, not mine. If I wanted to control how people treated their grandchildren, I'd have to wait until I had my own.
