Page 62 of Bossy Ex's Brother

And it was entirely insane.

“I don’t know,” I admitted to my mother, and she smiled at me. It was a warm smile filled with motherly love.

“But I don’t know if she’s keeping the baby,” I admitted, finally getting to the real reason I was here, the thing that was close to giving me high blood pressure. “In fact, I’m almost certain she’s not keeping it. And I’m not sure how I feel about that.” I shook my head. “Actually, I don’t have a right to say anything about it. I completely understand why she can’t keep it. She already has a lot of responsibilities as it is and can’t afford a baby right now. So it would be completely selfish for me to ask her to…wouldn’t it?”

I glanced at her, hoping for something, anything that would answer that question. Mom gave me a sympathetic nod.

“When I found out I was pregnant with you, I was terrified,” she mentioned. “Your father was just incarcerated, and I didn’tspeak English very well. I didn’t know what I was going to do on my own with you. It was even worse with Lorenzo because by then, my husband was dead, and I was truly on my own.”

“I’m sorry, Ma," I said. “That must have been tough.” I’d been grown enough when Lorenzo was born to understand how hard my mother worked, but I didn’t think I ever appreciated just how much she had to do on her own until I met Jane. Jane carried the world on her shoulders for her siblings.

And my mother did the same for us.

She shook her head, her eyes getting misty at the memory. “That first time was a very dark time in my life, and I got very depressed. I was stressed out from working and couldn’t imagine having a child. What did I know about raising children? I was simply a woman who’d run away from everything she knew to seek a better life in this country. But now I had a child who depended on me, someone I had to take care of. I didn’t know how I was going to do it, and I have to admit, my mind went to some pretty dark places.”

She raised her hand and wiped tears from her eyes, giving me a watery smile. “But the minute I saw you and held you in my arms, all squalling and messy, it was like none of that mattered. You blinked those beautiful eyes at me, and I knew I would do anything for you. Absolutely anything to keep you safe. I loved you, and that was all that mattered.”

I smiled and reached across the table, taking her hand. She blinked back her tears. I found I was getting a little mushy too. My mother always knew how to wring the emotion out of my cold dead heart.

“It was the reason I took your father back in the first place because I felt that a boy needed a father in his life,” she added. “Sometimes, I regret that decision. I feel that by accepting him back, I normalized his criminal behavior. And then heintroduced you to this…lifestyle, doing all the things you do now.”

I shook my head, but I didn’t say anything. It wasn’t my dad who led me down this path. I barely remembered the dude. It was poverty. It was seeing my mother suffer every day. I couldn’t just do nothing, not even to save my own conscience.

But if I said that, it would just magnify her guilt, so I kept silent.

“Sometimes, having no father is better than having a bad one,” she said. “So if she chooses to keep it and you choose to stay in their life, make sure you do it for the right reason and do good by them. Take care of your children, and be there for them. And be the best father you can be. Make sure you don’t take them down the wrong path. That is all you can hope for.” She shook her head. “And son, for what it’s worth, I think you’ll be a great father.”

“Thanks, Ma.” I squeezed her hand in gratitude. Those were big words coming from her.

The sudden ringing of the phone interrupted our moment. I was about to click it off when I saw it was Brandon. He wouldn’t call me if it were not important.

Lorenzo.

“Have you found it?” I asked once I opened up the phone, referring to Lorenzo. I figured that would be the reason he was calling.

“No,” Brandon said. “But this might be even better. Remember how I said there seemed to be some kind of power struggle happening with the Morettis?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I was right. Moretti Junior agreed to a meeting with you.”

A flash went through my entire body, and I sat up. “Are you sure it’s not a set-up?”

“Positive. The information is good.”

“Hm.” This was good news. If the Moretti brother wanted a meeting, he might be interested in the same thing I was.

“Arrange the meeting,” I said.

“Roger.”

After I hung up, my mother didn’t give any indication that she was listening to the conversation, but I could tell by the disapproving set on her lips that she’d surmised I was talking about that side of my business. And just like that, the moment was broken.

It was time to leave anyway, so I rose from my seat.

“I’ll make you proud, Ma,” I said, walking over to her to kiss her head. “I promise I will. You just gotta give me more time.”

“I'm already proud of you,” she shot back, her eyes filled with tears. “The pride is not the problem. But I’m scared,bimbo. I’m scared for you.”

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