He grabs the old man and slams his face into the hood of his truck before anyone has so much as clocked what he was doing. “What the fuck did you say?! That boy is an innocent child, you motherfucker! You wanna fuck with my brother, huh? With his girl, their son?!”
“She belongs to me!” He lets out a huge scream as Jett twists his arm so far up his back, I swear I heard it crack.
“Apologize to my brother for what you called him! Apologize for what you called his son, for what you did to his girl, or I promise you, I'll let him kill you old ass right here, right now.”
“I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry!” He yells like that makes up for all that he's done. I don't give a shit what he calls me, but my boy? Hell, no!
I bend down with my mouth next to his ear. “You walk away today. You won't be so lucky tomorrow.” With that, I walk away from him. My brothers can get rid of him. I need some time alone with Brooke and my boy away from here, just for a couple of days. Brooke needs a place she can rest and recover from the birth. A place I can take care of her and Gabriel. Just the three of us. A place that old cunt can't find her.
Chapter Six
Brooke
Hawk was not in a good mood when he returned from wherever he'd been with some of the others. He snatched Gabriel from my arms and walked away from me, leaving an awful feeling of dread within me. Had I done something wrong? I had no idea. I still have no idea.
I make my excuses to leave the party to find Dante. I need to find out what's wrong. I can talk to Hawk, but I need to speak with Dante also. Hawk and Dante might be the same man physically, but I sometimes wonder if Dante is just a personality belonging to Hawk, and I don't know which one is more dangerous.
He's in our room; the door is ajar, I can see him gently stroking Gabriel's head as he rocks him gently in the rocking chair Jack bought for me to nurse the baby in.
“There are some thing’s in this life that you should never be subjected to, Gabriel. Things that you will be subjected to, things I can't protect you from.” I listen intently. Something is wrong; he sounds so sad when he speaks. “There are people in this world that see nothin' but their own skin color. People who will hurt you with words. Then there are people like your mother, people who see only people.”
I don't understand what's wrong. Has someone said something to Hawk about the color of his skin? No one here would ever be racist towards him. Everyone loves him.
“Racist bigots never bothered me in the past. It didn't even bother me when the racist old bastard that fathered your mother said those things to me all those months ago. However, today, I finally understood how much it hurt my father whenever people said things to my mother, my brother and me. When that son of a bitch called you... I wanted to kill him, Gabriel.”
My heart is breaking. The utter sadness in his voice is killing me. Who has said whatever it was about my baby and hurt the man I love like this?
God, I shouldn’t have told him about the things Hank said, they’re obviously playing on his mind. I couldn’t lie to him, though. Hawk sees right through me.
“There is nothing I wouldn't do for you, Gabriel. Nothin'. Your mother and you...” His voice trails off.
Quietly, I walk into the room, closing the door behind me. Hawk knows I'm here. He can sense me, but he says nothing. He doesn't even look at me; he keeps his eyes on Gabriel. I crouch down in front of him, one hand on Gabriel's head, the other taking Hawk's hand. “What's wrong, sweetheart? You were so happy before you left with the others. What made you so sad?”
“He's gonna have to endure everything I did. All those names, those racist slurs.”
“Dante, look at me.” He does. “We will teach him right from wrong. We will teach him to see every single person as his equal. We will teach him that the color of someone's skin does not make them different from him. Our choices are what make us different. Our son has been born into the most wonderful family. Your family.”
His eyes are on me as I stroke his cheek with my hand. “I have loved you for a very long time. From the moment I met you, and I never stopped, even for a second. Nothing my father ever told me about you, made a difference to the way I loved you. Not even after you walked away and he got even worse. I kept our love alive in my heart.
“You are my world, Dante.” He blinks only once as though he can't take in what I'm telling him, even though I know he believes me because he feels it too. “You could be the color red, and I would still love you, and I am so proud that you are the father of my child. I love your mother, your father, your grandparents.” He chuckles. Hawk's mother's parents were so wonderful to me. I only met them a handful of times, but each time, I fell in love with them a little more. “Gabriel is going to know his Jamaican heritage. Leroy will certainly tell him.” He smiles at that. Leroy is Hawk’s grandfather, a fantastic man. I know he's going to love Gabriel so much.
“I want this little boy to know just who he is and that he has the right to be proud of where he came from, and he will be so proud to call you his father.”
“I love you. Do you know that?”
“You still love me?”
Hawk tugs on my hand, pulling me onto his lap. I keep my hand on Gabriel's head while resting my forehead against Hawk's temple. “I never stopped loving you, baby.” His arm tightens around my waist, pulling me closer. “The day I met you, everything in me changed. When I lost you, I lost myself. I'm finding myself again, Brooke,” He looks me dead in the eye. “This little boy is the best gift you could've given me.” I smile at that.
He clasps the back of my neck, bringing my mouth against his, but not quite touching. “I love you, Brooke Webster. Always have, always will.”
“I hate that name,” I mumble. I hate it because it reminds me of the man who made my life hell for so long. It also makes me more aware of the fact that I don't have the same name as my son. Probably sounds pathetic, but I don't want my son to be known by a different name.
“Then we'll change it.” Hawk's voice is low, but I smile right before he kisses me, and it feels like coming home. God, I've missed kissing him.
This is my very own family right here. Gabriel might not have been planned, but both his mommy and daddy love him so much, and the Lord knows how much I love both of them.
* * *
Are you sure this is okay?”
“Stop worrying,” Hawk takes my hand and places it on his thigh as he drives us towards his grandparent's house. “They love you.” I know this, they told me the last time I saw them. I'm just worried they'll be angry about what happened. About the way, I left Hawk and the things my father said to him.
I have to admit that it's churning me up inside the things Hank said to Hawk. How could he be so cruel? How could I have just stood there and listened to it?
Many people used to bully me in school. Me, and my sister because of the way our father was. People expected us both to be as racist as our brothers and parents. Yes, our brothers, all five of them were beyond racist, vile in the things they said and did. However, Marnie and me, I don't know, we just aren't.
Okay, I'll be honest. When I was a little girl, I believed what my daddy would say about people of color, anyone who wasn't like him, was just as he said. However, Marnie is a rare breed. She never believed any of it, and she made me understand why people were different, and that everyone had the right to be who they truly are — colored, gay, different religions, non-religious, from a completely different culture. None of us are different; we just believe different things.
She made me promise when I was a little girl that I would never, ever take Hank's views into my heart. She made me promise that I would never look at another person and think I was better than them. It wouldn't matter if I had all the money in the world it wouldn't make me any better than the beggar on the street. Yes, it might buy me things, but it will never mean my soul is purer than the next persons.
I miss her so much; she taught me everything I know about loving and giving love to another
person. I wish she were here with me.
When I look at the man beside me, the beautifully tanned, quarter black man who stole my heart the moment I met him, I can't believe it could ever be wrong to love him, to have him touch me. I look at the baby we made, safe and sound in his new car seat, in the middle of the backseat, and I can't imagine my life without him, without either of them.
I will never deny the man I love again. For as long as I live, I will proudly stand by his side. I will tell anyone who listens that this is the man I love. The man who gave me the most precious gift anyone could give, the man who saved me.
His grandparents live twenty minutes outside of Bardsville. They moved a few years ago because the town of Smithville is small and peaceful. A retirement town of sorts. With both of them being in their seventies, they felt it best for them.
We pull up outside their beautiful home. It's cold out, but I can see where the flowers are planted in their garden in the summertime. The garden is gorgeous, even at the end of winter. Large and perfectly manicured. The house is on one level, small, but homely. The outside is painted a pale cream color and looks like it hasn't long been built. I'm guessing the house was a new build when they bought it. Oddly, I've never asked Hawk that.
I take a deep breath and let it out while unbuckling my seatbelt. Hawk takes my arm, stopping me reaching for the door handle. I turn to look at him and smile. “Stop worryin'. They hold nothing against you, Brooke.”
“I wouldn't blame them if they did.”
Hawk's hand comes to my cheek, his thumb stroking gently, making me smile. He's so tender with me, after everything I put him through, he's still here loving me. I really am the luckiest girl in the world.
“No one blames you for anything. They'll be happy to see you. Trust me.” I nod with a smile. If Hawk says everything will be okay, then everything will be okay.
I watch him take Gabriel's seat out of the car; our baby boy is still fast asleep inside it. He looks so peaceful and tiny. He's wrapped up warm, so I don't have to worry about him getting cold or catching one. I take Hawk's hand when he offers it to me with a wink. God, I love him.
“We're here!” He yells to the empty hallway as we walk in. The whole house smells of freshly baked cookies and an open fire. It's also warm in here. It's the kind of warmth that has you hugging yourself like a little kid at Christmas.
“Is that my favorite grandson?” His grandmothers face is alight with happiness as she embraces Hawk and kisses his cheek before taking Gabriel's car seat from his hands.
“Thought I was your favorite grandson?”
“That would be me. I am the eldest grandson.” Roman snaps playfully at the young man to his left.