Hold On Tight(19)

“Momma, this is Micah. He lives next door.” I couldn’t bring myself to tell her who he was just yet. Even if she saw the resemblance, I knew she wouldn’t guess correctly unless she knew his mother’s name.

She didn’t take her eyes off Micah as she walked into the room. A range of emotions danced across her face, the last one being complete awe. Stopping in front of him, she held out her hand, and her smile was brighter than I had seen it in a long time. “Hello, Micah. I’m Tabby Falco, but you can call me Mama T, like the rest of the boys around here do.”

Micah held up his little hand and slipped it in hers. “I like the name Mama T. And where are the other boys?”

My mother seemed to be soaking up everything he said and did. “Well, those boys are all big now, just like my boy is,” she said, nodding at me. “So they are all over the place.”

Micah glanced back at me. “Oh well, that’s okay. I like Dewayne. Except when he made my momma cry. I didn’t like him then, but Momma said that it was a misunderstanding and that I shouldn’t be mad at him. So I ain’t.”

Shit! The kid just said whatever the hell . . .

“Dewayne? You made his mother cry?” Momma asked me, her eyebrows raised. She had a very concerned look on her face.

“Like he said, it was a misunderstanding,” I assured her, hoping the kid didn’t say anything else about his momma.

I glanced over at Dad, who was watching Micah with the same look of wonder that I had felt when I’d realized who he was. Momma didn’t know yet, and I decided that if Dad didn’t tell her, then maybe I should wait until later, when Micah wasn’t around.

“I have chocolate chip cookies and apple pie in my kitchen, fresh outta the oven. You want some?” she asked Micah, squeezing his hand in hers.

He nodded vigorously. “Yes, ma’am, I do. I love both those things.”

Momma didn’t even look at Dad or me. Micah had her undivided attention. “Well, it’s a good thing you moved in across the street, then. Because I need someone to eat all these sweets I bake.”

Micah walked away, still holding her hand. “I like sweets. I’ll eat ’em,” he assured her.

I waited until they were in the kitchen and I heard Micah rattling on about superheroes needing lots of cookies before looking at Dad.

He shook his head and let out a heavy sigh. “Wow. He looks just like him. Just like him,” he said, before turning his gaze toward me. I saw the hope there. The feeling that there was something of Dustin’s to hold on to. I understood because I was feeling it too.

“I wasn’t sure telling Momma in front of him was a good idea once I got over here. Changed my mind.”

Dad nodded. “Yeah. She sees Dustin in him. She just doesn’t realize exactly how much of Dustin she’s seeing. She thinks it’s just a coincidental resemblance, and she’s already in love with the kid. He’s gonna be good for her. I just”—he paused and glanced back at the house across the street—“I can’t figure out why she kept him from us. We loved that girl. She was like our own. Why would she not let us be a part of his life?”

I wasn’t sure, exactly, but I knew she thought we didn’t want him and didn’t care to know him. That was something I was going to figure out today. “I’m talking with her later. She thought I knew who Micah was and thought I’d chosen not to be a part of his life. Not sure how that works, since I didn’t know where the fuck she was all these years. No one did.”

Dad rubbed his stubbled jaw and shook his head. “Your momma is gonna want answers. So let’s wait until you got them before we tell her.”

I nodded. I was in complete agreement.





Chapter Five


SIENNA

My morning went fast. Three cut-and-styles, one highlight, and one root touch-up. All of them were last-minute walk-ins who couldn’t get an appointment with their regular stylist. Right now that was what I had to work with, and I was okay with that. Hillary was even telling people we accepted walk-ins, for my benefit.

The only employee other than Hillary who was working today was Gretchen. This was my second time working with her, and she was very loud and chatty. She laughed a lot too. And she had a ton of male clients. The tight leather pants she was so fond of seemed to be popular with the men.

“I heard you talking to your son earlier on the phone. You mentioned Dewayne,” Hillary said as she sauntered back into the room in spiked heels. How that woman wore those heels and stood on her feet all day was beyond me.

I nodded, not sure why she was bringing up the short conversation I’d had with Micah an hour ago to make sure everything was okay. He’d been outside throwing the football around with Dewayne and had been ready to get off the phone with me and go back to having fun.