Page 89 of Kissed By the Trillest Thug 2

A light breeze passed between us. After another long silence, I spoke again.

“When you’re ready, my backyard ain’t going nowhere.”

He looked back at me. For the first time since he’d gotten here, I saw a little of the weight leave his shoulders.

“Thank you, Mr. Browne.”

I nodded once.

“You ready to go back in there?”

He took a deep breath before looking toward the house.

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

I clapped him on the shoulder.

“My wife has been waiting on this fish all day.”

A small laugh escaped him.

“I’d hate to be the reason she waits any longer to get it.”

“You’re a smart man,” I said with a chuckle.

Together, we headed back toward the house. I watched Tahari the rest of dinner.

To everybody else, he blended in just fine. He laughed when MJ and Maylee started going back and forth, complimented the fish, and even smiled a few times. But I knew better. Whatever that boy had found out, it was still sitting on his shoulders. Dinner slowly came to an end as chairs scooted back from the table, and everybody carried their own plates into the kitchen. I stayed behind for a second, gathering the serving dishes while Eternity reminded Maylee not to leave her cup sitting on the table again.

“Mr. Browne?”

I looked up.

“What’s up?”

Tahari glanced toward Maliah before bringing his eyes back to me.

“Would it be alright if I talked to her outside for a minute?”

I held his gaze for a second, then I gave him a small nod.

“Go ahead.”

“Thank you, sir.”

I watched Maliah follow him toward the sliding glass door. The moment it closed behind them, I found myself watching the backyard instead of cleaning up. Eternity walked up beside me.

“You alright?”

I nodded toward the glass.

“That boy is carrying something heavy.”

She looked outside.

“You think he’ll tell her?”