“Dog,” I said, as I wiped the stream of sweat that fell down my forehead. “I thought you were setting up a booth to pass out information about your shop. I didn’t know you were giving haircuts at this bitch.”
He grinned. “Yeah. My bad. I?—”
His thought was interrupted by the woman I recognized as Teeyah. Bright and I had run into her at the Humanity for Community project. I had fucked her a few times when I first moved to Jackson Falls.
“Hey, Big Poppa,” she sang, a slick grin on her lips. “You out here shooting up the club with a double-barrel shotgun. Congratulations on thebabies.” She put stress on the ending of the word to make sure I caught that she was sayingbabies, plural.
“What’re you talking about?” I just knew that rumors hadn’t started flying about the paternity of Kylena and Jenna’s babies already. The fucking spring festival had just opened.
“Word around town is that those girls you were messin’ around with out at the barn are here. And they’re obviously pregnant, Jones.”
“Word around town?” Lex repeated while I tried my damnedest to process the whole shit.
She shrugged her shoulders.
“Those aren’t his babies,” Lex told her.
She shrugged again. “Well, that’s what people are saying.” She walked away.
I looked down at my sneakers for a minute. This was some shit I didn’t need.
Lex came and stood beside me. “Bro, don’t let this get you off your forward motion. You’ve been turning your shit around, standing on business. You’ve been staying out the headlines, laying low. You’ve been about ya girl, finding your piece of land, and reaching your career goals. This town gon’ talk. Let ’em. Fuck ’em.”
“Yeah, but it ain’t just about me. Church is connected to my reputation now.” I huffed out a sigh. “Let me get at her before somebody approaches her on that bullshit.” Before I could walk away from Lex’s set up, a text came through on my phone.
Big Strong:Nephew. I want to holler at you right quick. Come by the booth.
So, my uncle Bradford needed to holler at me. I really needed to get to Church to see where her head was at. I decided to get at him after I got at her, except another text came through.
Big Strong:ASAP
I blew out a sigh.Let me see what this dude wants, I thought to myself as I decided to get him out of the way first. The lodge’s booth was in the opposite direction of Church and Mari’s, not too far from Lex’s. It was right next to Brewer’s food booth. I approached the booth, making a beeline for my uncle.
“What’s up, Auntie?” I asked, giving her a hug.
“Apparently, the number of great-nieces and nephews I’m about to have.” She side-eyed me once I released her from the hug.
Damn! The rumor had already made its way to my family. “What you talkin’ ’bout, Auntie?”
She mushed my head firmly. “Don’t play with me, boy.”
“Jones.”
I looked up at the sound of my name and found myself staring into my uncle’s eyes. “What’s up?”
“Walk with me to my truck. I need to get a box.” He beckoned to me.
I fell into step beside him. “Those ain’t my babies,” I told him. “Kylena and Jenna know exactly who the father is. They just can’t mention his name until the results of the paternity tests come back. It ain’t me.”
“Um.” He made some indecipherable noise with his mouth.
“I’m tellin’ the truth.”
“And I believe you.”
“You’re probably the only one. Even Aunt Beverly was giving me the side-eye.”
“She was giving you the side-eye because you ruined your reputation months ago.”