Page 45 of Fallynn West

Kehlani wrapped her little arms around my neck, and I could feel her little body relax. To know she thought of me during such a difficult time in her life almost had me in tears. For her to be so young, she was extremely aware and had a big heart. Those were qualities she’d definitely inherited from her father.

Seconds later, Keondra made his presence known. He eased around the corner and leaned against the doorframe with his hands behind his back. I wondered how long he’d been outside of the room, but the thought left as fast as it came when he produced flowers for me and Kehlani. She squealed, ran over to him, and snatched the purple bouquet from him.

“Dang. I can’t get a hug or anything first?” He feigned hurt, and Kehlani puckered her little lips up. Keondra leaned over and gave her his cheek. “That’s better.”

“Thank you, Daddy. They are so pretty. Can we go put them in water now?”

“Colony has to come get her flowers and give me a kiss too.” Keondra smirked.

Kehlani waved her hand. “Come on so we can go put them in water before they die.”

Kids could be so dramatic. Getting up, I straightened my ankle length dress out and walked over to my man. Playfully, he put the flowers behind his back and tapped his lips.

“You can’t come over here snatching stuff like KeKe,” he joked.

I stood on my tiptoes and pecked his lips ever so lightly. We never did too much in front of Kehlani, but we did show one another affection. He handed me my flowers and grabbed my hand, so I grabbed Kehlani’s, who giggled the entire walk to the kitchen. While Keondra got the vases down, I showed Kehlani how to cut the stems.

“Daddy never does that,” she stated.

“Because I didn’t know that was what I was supposed to do,” Keondra defended, chuckling.

“That’s why we have Colony. She teaches me things here and at day care. Daddy, did you know I love her?”

“Oh, really?”

She bobbed her head. “I do, and she loves me too. Right, Colony?”

“That’s right, Kehlani,” I confirmed, pinching her cheek.

Every day, I prayed nothing ever took me from her. Even if Keondra and I didn’t work out, I wanted to be in Kehlani’s life if he allowed me to. The attachment and love were real.

Somehow, even after everything we’d done, Kehlani sweet talked her daddy into taking her to the park and to get ice cream. I was tired, but I happily tagged along. There was no place I’d rather be than with them.

“Babe?”

“Hmm?” I hummed as I put my bonnet on.

Lately, I’d been staying at Keondra’s house more. He’d come stay the night with me whenever Kehlani was with her grandparents, but mostly, I was there with them. His house had easily become my second home. When he gave me a key and the spare garage opener, I felt official.

“Two things.”

I turned on the bed to face him. “I’m listening.”

“One. How do you feel about getting both our families together for a cookout? I think it’d be good for them to meet and for all of us to just have a good time together.”

“Oh, I’d love that. I think our families would vibe very well.”

“I do too. We can set something up and reach out to them to see when will be best for everyone.”

“I’m good with that. You know Kehlani is going to eat this up because all the attention will be on her.”

“Don’t remind me,” Keondra joked. He finished putting his bonnet on as well and turned to me. “I heard you and Kehlani’s conversation earlier.”

“I figured you did. You came around the corner too easily. What do you think about it?”

Keondra came around and sat on the bed next to me. He pushed his glasses up before resting his hand on my thigh. “It makes me feel good. I love that she loves you and thought it was sweet she cared about your feelings. Thank you for how you broke everything down for her. She needed that reassurance. I can see she’s liking the time she gets with Demetria, but I feel she’ll be able to fully lean into it since she talked to you.”

“I honestly can’t believe she had me in the back of her mind like that.”