Page 21 of Roxy's Independence
“All I can do is hope her ex is man enough to put Easton first. If he truly loves Kinsley he’ll love her son and make them his priority,” she exclaims.
“He’s in the service, I’m not sure his options are open,” I remind her.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” she argues.
I’m not sure she understands the way Uncle Sam operates, but if she needs to believe this for her own peace of mind, I’ll give it to her—for now.
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
Roxy
As a motherwho had to make the ultimate sacrifice and let her son go for him to have a better life, I’m having a hard time putting myself in Kinsley’s position. She has the capability and stability to have her boy in her life, and in my opinion, she’s taking that for granted. I try to keep in mind what Weston explained to me, but it’s a hard pill for me to swallow.
I’m in Dragon and Laney’s room with the other old ladies from our crew. I’ve just relayed what Weston told me, and to say they’re shocked is an understatement. We all thought they were a couple, none of us realized there was less than a true and committed relationship between them. I’ve seen them hold hands and share kisses several times, so it’s understandable we’d all made assumptions.
“Do you think she’d really leave and take Easton with her?” Laney asks as she bounces Naveah, trying to get her to close her eyes and take a nap.
She has the triplets on a schedule and anytime they veer from that, she takes it as a slight against her. I remind her often who their father is when she starts mumbling about her lack of mothering skills, through no fault of her own considering all she had was a dad who was a psycho, and the fact her kids already don’t listen. It’s cute and funny at the same time, infants and toddlers make their own schedules no matter how hard you try and put them on one that is helpful or convenient to their parents. Dragon’s headstrong, and it seems his prodigies take after him in that regard—they do what they want when they want, that’s all there is to it, it’s normal not unordinary.
“I don’t think she understands the importance and significance behind having gifted stand together,” I retort. “After speaking with Weston, I want to reach out to her and make sure she feels how important both she and Easton are to us. We need to talk to her, explain things to her so she has the knowledge of what it means to raise a special child.”
“Selah would be the best one to do that,” Harper speaks up. “She has three special girls under her roof and she got her endowment early in life as well, and she didn’t have the support she needed to be safely guided into how to use it. That fundamentalist group wanted her to use her powers for evil instead of the good they’re intended for. In my frame of thinking, if anyone can reach her, it’d be Selah.”
“She’s my next stop,” I convey. “I think this needs to be a group effort though, but at the same time, I don’t want Kinsley to feel cornered so we need to tread lightly.”
“We’re moms, I think we need to rip the band aid off and be real with her,” Joceline adds. “As far as I’m aware, my kids aren’t magically enhanced, but if they end up being so, I’d wantsomeone to step in and tell me the truth of things, not wave it off as if it’s not life-altering.”
“What power do we think Easton’s going to have?” Harper asks, chewing on her bottom lip as she looks down at her son. Stone is growing like a weed—he’s going to be stocky like his daddy. No doubt about it. He always eats with gusto as if he’s been starved for days instead of hours between feedings. He’s going to be a bruiser who eats his dad and mom out of their house. The next generation of the Imperial Knights are already turning heads with slacked jaws.
“Well, considering he called his pacifier to him when his parents didn’t get it for him fast enough, I’d say telekinesis,” I surmise. “At least that’s what Weston thinks.”
“Wish I had that forte,” Laney snorts. “It’d make my life easier when I’m holding one baby and the other is screaming.”
“I only have one and wish I could call things to me,” Harper admits. “I have to give you kudos, sister, I don’t know how you do it with three.”
“I have a village behind me,” Laney explains. “I couldn’t do it without the club. I’d have already been committed if it weren’t for all of you.”
“That’s for damn sure,” I state, having been there several times, and even with two of us joining forces, it’s still hard to keep three babies happy. “When I’ve helped you and left, I’m drained and need to take a nap.” The ladies all chuckle when I say that, but I’m sure I’m not the only one out of us who needed to recoup after a round of assisting Laney with Nix, Naveah, and Nova.
“Go talk to Selah and let’s plan to go hang out with Kinsley when she gets home after her last customer leaves. I think she said she’d be home around three,” Joceline suggests.
“We should give her time to unwind before we bombard her,” I urge them. “Let’s text her and tell her we’ve got dinner and are planning a girl’s night. That way she doesn’t have to worry about cooking after a long day on her feet. We’ll make it an invitation instead of sounding like it’s a staged intervention.” I give them all a warning look so they don’t take things too far tonight. “I have a feeling with Kinsley we need to ease into things.”
“That’s not our personality, but since this is a sensitive time for Kinsley, we will try to be sensitive,” Joceline states. “But you may want to emphasize that to Selah, because like the rest of us, she wants to get into the thick of things as quickly as possible so she can find a solution.”
“I hope I can get through to her,” I muse. “Not everything is a mathematical equation she can solve.” Even if that is the way our girl approaches life. She calculates every obstacle in her way.
“No,” Selah says, crossing her arms over her chest. “Kinsley needs a reality check. She has no clue what she’s in for if she goes traipsing off with Easton.”
“Selah,” I sigh.
“Don’t ‘Selah’ me, Roxy. You don’t know what it’s like to grow up with nobody caring or understanding you, and waving off the unexplainable making you think you’re crazy or marked by the devil. She needs that so she can make an informed decision. Ifthis ex loves her and wants her, he’ll stand by her and Easton. They’re a package deal.”
“We know this, Selah. But if we go all gung-ho on her, she’ll run, and that’s the last thing we want her to do,” I say, trying to reason with her.
“She’s not running, Roxy. Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll reroute her at every turn and financially ruin them until they have no other recourse than to come back. I was Easton once upon a time, and I refuse to sit by while the adults in his life make choices that’ll ultimately destroy him. Did I ever tell you about my childhood friend, Abel?”
