Page 5 of Keyoni & Sage
“Your girl’s cousin…” I nodded toward the silver Camry with girly interior. “Is that her car?”
He followed my gaze. “Yeah. That’s Sage’s car.”
“Dad!” Keturah sounded off behind me.
“Baby girl!” I yelled back, turning around. She descended the concrete steps with a backpack and tote. “Put your stuff in the car. I’ll be over in a minute.”
She called Kaiser. After I gave him a nod, he ran to greet her. I unlocked the doors with the key fob and waited for them to climb inside.
“Montez Malone,” I said matter-of-factly.
“Tez?” Cauvey quizzed. “Are you fucking serious?”
“Tez,” I confirmed. “I saw him with my own eyes.”
“Where he at now?”
“I took him downtown. He’ll probably be released sometime tomorrow.”
“Thanks.” Nodding, Cauvey dropped his cigarette on the grass, using his foot to smush it out. “Good looking out.”
“Don’t thank me yet.” I wanted to know some information too. “Sage…that’s your girl’s cousin?”
The skepticism left Cauvey’s face. He smiled. “Yep. Blood cousins.” Without prompting, he asked, “Why? Want me to hook you up?”
“I didn’t say all that.” I started walking toward my car.
“You didn’t answer the question either.”
Chapter 2
Keyoni
I blinkedand the weekend was over. Monday morning, we were back to our normal routine, which for the week, included taking Keturah to school. Fortunately, the school was less than a mile from my job, so I didn’t have to make any time adjustments.
“Are you about ready?” I asked, catching Keturah coming out of the bathroom. Too much of whatever she sprayed came with her.
“No.” She looked offended. “Are you?”
“What it look like?” My gaze dropped down the length of my body until I reached a bigger size of the black and green tennis shoes Keturah wore. “You think I’m wearing this uniform for fun?” She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m ready.” I glanced at my watch. “You should be too.”
“Twenty minutes.”
“Ten,” I countered.
“Dad!”
“I can make it five.” With a huff, she ran off, mumbling something under her breath. “What you say?”
“Nothing.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” Although I couldn’t see her, I knew she could hear me. “Not if you want an iced coffee.”
I heard her scurrying about at the mention of the caffeinated drink. She couldn’t have it when she was with her mom, but when she was with me, she could have almost anything she wanted.Almost. Some things were still a hard no.
I caught Kaiser in my room, snoozing on the floor when I walked in. “Get up, boy,” I called out nonchalantly and he lifted his head. When he put it back down, I put more bass in my voice. By the time I made it to my bathroom, he was up on his feet, which was a smart move for him, since not listening earned him a spot in his kennel.
Thirty minutes later, we were in the drive-thru at Diamond Brewed. I ordered Keturah’s usual while treating myself to a simple coffee—black. At the window, the barista told my sister I was in line. Ivory came over, damn near sticking her head out the window to talk to me.
