Page 36 of Bound By Redemption
Ensley passed out the food, giving me a bowl as well.
“Holy shit, what happened to your face?” She cried out a bit loud as all eyes came our way. It took me a beat to know what she was talking about. Then it dawned. The punch to the face. Yeah, it had time to bruise up good, considering I didn’t put ice on it. That was a stupid move.
“He ran into Jacks’ fist,” Deke answered helpfully, walking past us to the line of food.
“Why would he…” Ensley asked and then trailed off. She knew. She knew about my past with Emery. Or, at least, she knew some of it. The image of her face on the camera was seared into my memory.
Better to nip this shit in the bud now. I didn’t want Emery, and Ensley needed to know that.
“Babe,” I called to Ensley and waited for her to make eye contact with me from across the table. It took her a few beats before she did. “Emery and I have a past that one day I’ll tell ya all about. What came out of everything was a good friendship. Nothing more.”
“Not sure Jacks thinks that way,” she grumbled low.
“He’s a man, Ens. We handle shit our own ways.”
Ensley was hesitant for a beat before asking. “You don’t want to be with Emery?”
With Remy on my left, I reached out my right hand to her. When she didn’t take it, I reached over and grabbed it myself. “We have a lot to talk about, Ens. Once we get this shit settled, we will talk. Just know, I only have three girls here.”
I felt Ensley stiffen through her hand link. She didn’t get it.
“Remy, you, and my mom. Those are my girls. Those are who are number one on my list. Know that, Ens. This situation is fucked up, but we’ll get through it and come out better on the other side.”
Ensley sat there for the longest time, then she pulled away and reached for her spoon. “It’ll get cold. I broke up Remy’s so the meat wasn’t too big.”
“You do realize I know nothing about children, and you’re gonna have to teach me as we make this journey.” I told her, watching Remy pick up her spoon and put it in the stew. She had trouble getting the carrot on the utensil, so I helped her, and she smiled up at me chomping on her carrot.
“It’s hard, Micah. Half the time, I don’t know what I’m doin’ at all. The main thing I’ve learned is to always listen to your gut. With kids you have so many different paths that they could follow down, and your job is to guide them. To do that, you follow your gut. It’s like something inside of you says, don’t let her play on the monkey bars today, and you’re thinkin’ what the hell was that. Listen to it. It could be that if she gets on those bars, she’ll break her arm.”
“No broken bones,” I ordered Remy, and Ensley burst out laughing with Remy on her heels. “I’m not kidding. My heart wouldn’t be able to take it.”
Just the thought of seeing my baby with a cast on her arm, or worse—going into surgery. Yeah. I was too new to all of this.
“We’ll do our best. As much as I’d love for there to be an instruction manual, there isn’t, and no you can’t count Parenting for Dummies.”
The bite I’d just put into my mouth came out and fell back into my bowl. I shielded Remy from any splatter as I burst out laughing. “You do know that was gonna be the first book I bought when I got to a store.”
She finished chewing and swallowed. “Let me save you some time. Use common sense. Bam.” Her hands came out, and she moved her fingers like they were bursting. “See, I should be the one making the millions instead.”
Laughter. It felt so damn good to laugh. What was even better was the natural way Ensley and I did it. It wasn’t forced. It was meant to be.
Commotion happened behind us, and I turned to see Booker facedown on the ground and Rhys standing over him. Mazie was there too, and she was dressed in something I’d never let Remy wear. She was looking down at Booker and smiling.
“And you get your ass inside that building and cover yourself,” Rhys ordered, pointing in the direction of the clubhouse. Mazie’s smile fled from her face.
“Dad!” she tried, and Rhys got right up in her face, finger pointed out.
“You do not wear this shit. Get changed, and you bring it to me,” he growled.
“What are you gonna….” Her words cut off, and as angry as the man looked, she’d be better off running to the clubhouse.
“Burn them. Go!”
Mazie scurried off, finally coming to her senses.
Rhys looked down at Booker. “She’s playin’ your ass like a fiddle.” He chuckled and walked away from Booker who lay on the ground.
Welcome home.
