Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 15007 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 75(@200wpm)___ 60(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15007 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 75(@200wpm)___ 60(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
He looked at me as if following my every word, his little face so like mine I was still finding it hard to believe in the miracle that he was. I hoped and prayed in that moment that he wouldn’t have the same legacy as I.
That he wouldn’t find himself one day hunting down the man who’d killed his old man. I wanted so much more for him. I used to think people were full of shit when they went on and on about their kids and the changes they made in their lives, but his little ass was less than a day old and already everything was about him.
His mother was the first one to make me love outside of my blood. Not the kind of love I feel for my friends; that was a different kind of love. But nothing prepared me for what he made me feel. He’s right up there with his mom, vying for space in my heart. Shit!
I don’t know how long I stood outside with him held safely in my arms looking up at the changing sky, but when I felt the first rays of the sun on my face I knew it was time to head back inside.
I was too wired to sleep so after I put him back in his crib and made sure he was comfortable I laid beside her staring into the dark trying to see into the future and making myself nuts thinking about all the pitfalls that awaited my son in this fucked up world and how I can teach him to avoid them. I didn’t fall asleep until well into the early hours of the morning.
6
Brandon
* * *
“Brandon put her down, she’s been asleep for the last half an hour.” I ignored my wife who I was sure was mocking me and kept walking around the room with my baby girl. She’s a little over three months old but the newness has yet to wear off.
I could well imagine what my boy Law is going through right now, can still remember the fear mixed with joy when my little Lily was born. I’m probably the only one who didn’t care if I got a boy or a girl in this bunch, but I have my reasons.
She’s given a whole new meaning to my life, my little princess, both she and her mother. A child is the last thing I expected in my life, especially now, so boy or girl makes no difference to me. I’m just happy she’s here.
My life in this town has never been easy, in fact had it not been for the Daniels things would’ve been a lot worst. The amount of shit I had to wade through, having to be ten times better than everyone else just to catch a break, could wear on your mind if you let it.
But because of Law and Clay and a few others, thank fuck I didn’t have to stand under that umbrella for too long. I’d made up my mind after college that I was going to be one of those old bachelor types.
It was either that, or move away somewhere and start over since it was a safe bet that none of the females in this town were going to stretch their necks out to have a real relationship with the only available black man in town.
I’ve had plenty encounters in the dark of night, sure. They didn’t have a problem trying a little strange. Just as long as no one else knew about their walk on the wild side. But anything more substantial was pretty much out of the question.
My family was long gone from here, no longer willing to put up with the bullshit, but I’d stuck it out and now with my child in my arms was glad I’d made that call.
I guess I have Law to thank for that as well. If not for his vendetta against the asshole who’d killed his family I probably would’ve picked up stakes and left by now.
I’d been growing tired of working for the corrupt sheriff and putting up with all the shit he was into, both Clay and I were. We’d been making noise to each other about getting out before the whole thing with the Daniels family went down, dragging our feet because we knew that without us a lot of good people would suffer. But that was the last straw.
I have no regrets about anything I’ve done since then, or will do in the future. The only thing is that now Law has introduced us to all these new people it seems like there’s always some shit to take care of.
Not that I mind, I’m all for cleaning up my little part of the world and keeping it safe from assholes, but these boys are the real deal and the shit they deal with makes our little issue seem like child’s play.