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“Are you?”
“I’m not sleeping with Kyenna. I haven’t crossed any lines with her. She lost her husband two months ago, Shameek. A man who happened to be one of my closest friends. I’m not that kind of man.”
“Thank you for makin’ that clear.”
“Kyenna is an attractive woman. She’s intelligent, and she’s funny when she’s not dealing with her grief or anyone else’s problems. Do I enjoy talking to her? Yes, I do. If you’re asking me whether I’m blind, the answer is no. If you’re asking me whether I’m trying to get in bed with her while she’s grieving Rah, the answer is also no.”
“That’s fair. Still don’t like the shit.”
“Why does it matter?”
“Because she’s my brother’s wife.”
“Widow,” Lloyd corrected.
“I kno’ what the fuck she is. She’s my family and any nigga sniffing around her more than usual, I’m gonna see what the fuck he on. Don’t matter if it’s you nigga, the mailman, or the nigga cuttin’ the fuckin’ grass outside.”
“Fair.” Lloyd laughed.
“We good then.” I got up to leave.
“Have a good day, Shameek.”
“Fuck you.”
CHAPTER 12
RAYA
The check had finally cleared and I was putting the last box in my car as the movers were closing the back of their truck. I was finally able to get the deposit for the new place. I took one last look at the condo building that held a lot of the arguments that Rah and I had. As much as we got into it, he never put his hands on me. He threatened, but I guess he knew not to take it there with me or his ass would be locked up.
“You ready to go to our new spot, Ryleigh?”
She didn’t give a damn because she didn’t know what was going on. As we made the drive over, I just smiled, because I would have another deposit hitting some time today, and that would get my new furniture. I gave Kam all my old shit. Hell, we even went on a small shopping spree. I owed my friend a little something since she kept it real with me. In order to get to my new house, I had to pass by Averie’s house. To think Rah was paying this hoe’s mortgage and had me in a damn condo. I guess he really did show me that he didn’t fuck with me like that.
Once the movers got Ryleigh’s bed put together, I tipped them and closed the door behind them. Ryleigh was sitting on the floor watching videos on her iPad. I grabbed my phone to order us some food and check my account for the other deposit. When it wasn’t there, I decided to call Lloyd’s bitch ass and see what the issue was.
“Lloyd, where is the rest of the money that is supposed to be deposited into my account?” I asked before he could say hello.
“Are you talking about the trust? If so, that belongs to Ryleigh only, and you cannot touch it. Hell, she can’t touch it until a certain age. Did you not pay attention at the reading of the will?”
The fuck did he mean the trust belonged to Ryleigh? She was three fucking years old. The hell was she going to do with it?
“The monthly amount that was deposited a few days ago is for the care of Ryleigh. The other deposit is the trust. It’s restricted.”
“So, he’s still controlling the fucking money. What was the purpose of the damn DNA test?”
“To establish your daughter’s legal right to her trust. Not yours.”
I hung up in his face. The whole point of moving into this house was because I could afford it. I was depending on the extra money. My dumb ass sat in that damn meeting and didn’t really pay attention to what was being said. Now I was back in a fucked up situation because the amount of money for Ryleigh’s care was good, but the house would eat up most of it. I still had a car payment and other bills, too. Not to mention I finally got Ryleigh accepted into a school. The tuition for that was not cheap either. Then I looked around and noticed I didn’t have a lick of fucking furniture. All I did was keep Ryleigh’s bedroom furniture because I had no one to give it to. I picked up my phone and dialed Kam’s number.
“Hey girl. You settled in?”
“Kam, don’t judge me, bitch.”
“Girl, what now?”
“I need my furniture back.”
