Page 18 of Fallynn West

Me:

Yes. What time?

Keondra:

Six o’clock sound good?

Me:

See you then.

Keondra:

See you then.

I exited out of our thread and locked my phone. There was no doubt I’d be anxious until Wednesday came. I’d be counting down the days and minutes until I was in Keondra’s presence again.

My baby girl was sick,and I hated seeing her so down. All she wanted to do was sleep and lie up under me. Earlier, I had taken her to the doctor to find out she had a virus. They said it would take about three days to run its course, so I’d been doing everything I could to keep Kehlani hydrated and well.

Tonight was supposed to be the night we had dinner with Colony. I had to reschedule to take care of Kehlani, taking it as a sign that maybe it wasn’t what needed to happen.

Maybe our worlds weren’t meant to collide in the way I’d been imagining.

Maybe she wasn’t good for me or Kehlani.

Whatever it was, I would take heed to it.

Kehlani jumped in her sleep, so I touched her little body. She was warmer than before, which meant her fever had probably spiked again. Checking my timer, I saw it was time to give her some more medicine. Carefully, I scooted away from her and got up to go grab her medicine and orange juice. Just as I made it to the kitchen, there was a knock at my front door.

Assuming it was one of my family members coming to check on Kehlani, I detoured to the front and opened the door. I had to push my glasses up to make sure I wasn’t tripping. Colony stood there with a soft smile and held up two bags.

“I’m sorry if this is overstepping, but I wanted to come by to bring you and Kehlani some dinner. I know it can be a lot taking care of a sick child, and sometimes, parents neglect themselves and forget their basic needs to make sure their child is taken care of. I wanted to make sure you were good too,” she explained, and that shit did something to me. The gesture was bigger than she probably thought it was.

“That’s extremely thoughtful, Colony. Thank you.”

“No worries. I’ve seen it plenty of times in my line of work. How is she?”

I glanced over my shoulder, then back at Colony. “You want to come in and see her?”

“I would love to.”

I opened the door wider and stepped to the side as Colony walked in. Taking the bags from her, my gaze swept over her frame. It was the second time I’d seen her dressed casually, and I liked it more than her business attire. She wore an oversized, cropped shirt that showed a little of her stomach and paired it with leggings. Two big braids rested against her back, making it harder for me not to stare at her pretty, bare face. Her features had been embedded into my mental from the first time I laid eyes on her. Anytime I closed my eyes and thought of her, I could vividly see how gorgeously breathtaking she was. Her lips weredeemed my favorite feature. There was something about how plump they were that did something to me.

“Oh, your place is lovely, Keondra. I love the open floor plan,” Colony complimented as her head swiveled around.

“Thank you. You caught me on a good day because my mother came over and cleaned the other day. If it were any other time, Kehlani’s toys would be everywhere.”

“That’s a good sign. A messy home is mostly filled with love.”

I chuckled. “That’s the same thing my mother used to say. She never fussed whenever my brother and I destroyed the house. She’d let us do our thing, saying she’d prefer us to be comfortable than scared to do so. It was cool until she made us clean it all up.”

“Oh, I wish my mother was like that. She would fuss at Serenity and me about it all the time, but our father saved us. Is your brother your only sibling?”

“Yes.”

“Let me guess.” Colony turned to face me and tapped her finger against her chin. “You’re the youngest, aren’t you?”

“And what makes you think that?”