Rodney grabbed my arm and tugged on me until a loud grunt made us both look at Jeb. “Get your hands off of her!” Jeb stepped forward, and now, it was he and Rodney having a stare down.
Rodney dropped my arm and sized Jeb up. Jeb was clearly taller and in better shape, but that didn’t stop Rodney from stepping to him. “I don’t need some white boy to tell me what I can do with my wife and kids,” Rodney said.
“Ex-wife. Trust me, there’s no place on Tameka that still has your name,” Jeb said, moving forward, prepared to fight.
I held up my hand to stop him. “Jeb please…” He halted at the sound of my voice, so I turned my attention to my children. “Eva…Kevin…Go outside with Jeb for a minute,” I said.
Jeb’s jaw hung in surprise, and he stared at me, nonmoving.
“This will only take a minute. I’ll be fine,” I assured him.
His big hand reached up and caressed my jaw. His neck tilted, and before I could say anything, his lips were all over mine, kissing me senseless.
“I’ll be right outside this door, baby. If he tries anything, all you have to do is call me, and I’m by your side.” He leered at Rodney before he took our children’s hands in his and walked them outside.
“Cute,” Rodney said.
Jeb leaped to within an inch from his face and was looking him directly in his eyes. “I’ll tell you what won’t be cute. Me and you locked up in a brawl, so you’d better not make that a necessity,” he said.
“Do something, white boy!” Rodney yelled, and Jeb let go of the kid’s hands and started stalking toward Rodney.
“Jeb, please…” I said in a pleading tone. “Don’t.”
Jeb flexed his chest muscles before he peeled his eyes off of Rodney and turned around to go outside with the kids but not before glancing back at me to make sure I would be okay.
I nodded, assuring him, and then I turned to face my nemesis. A man who I once thought would be my forever. Now, the sight of his chocolate dimples and perfect white teeth made me want to puke.
“First of all, don’t you ever lay a hand on me like that in front of the kids. I have told you I’m not your punching bag, physically or mentally. Second of all, you left a ten and six-year-old home alone while you went to go frolic the town with your fiancée. Eva was scared out of her mind when you wouldn’t answer her calls. What kind of crazy are you on today, Rodney? What kind of father would do that?”
“I’m a damn good one,” he said. “I’ve given those kids whatever they wanted this past week. They aren’t complaining about anything,” he bragged, sticking his chest out.
“Material things account for nothing, Rodney, and you know it,” I said. “They need your time and attention. Not for you to just leave them and go off without a care in the world. I’m not going to stand by and let that happen again. They’re going home with me, and you will see me in court.”
“Fine, I’ll see you in court, but they’re not going with you today. This is my time.”
I could feel the pressure building in my eye sockets, and the vein in my neck pulsed loudly. “Try to stop me!” I yelled. “Once the judge hears you left them home alone, you’ll never see them again. Is that what you want? If it is, then keep pushing me Rodney, and we can go there. I swear I will make it happen.”
Rodney opened his mouth to argue but quickly snapped it shut.
“Get out of my way, and let me take the kids home,” I said in a low growl.
“Fine, take them, and I’ll come to see them when I can,” he said, throwing his hands in the air and moving aside. “I had something else to do tomorrow anyway, and Melody wanted to go out of town this weekend. But you better not call me talking about you need a babysitter next week. It was your choice to come and get them.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t call you for anything. If you were the last breathing being alive, I wouldn’t dial your number,” I said heatedly.
“If you go to court with this, I’ll—"
“You’ll do what?” I shook my head. “No, I’m not worrying about your threats anymore. You aren’t going to harm me or the kids, but you will let me walk out that door without any more issues because it’s the right thing to do.” I walked past him feeling relieved that I wouldn’t have to deal with his selfish entitlement anymore.
“You think you’re righteous now that you have a white man. You’re no better than me, Tameka. And I’m not scared of that white boy. I can take him down a peg,” Rodney said through clenched teeth.
“Are you threatening him?” I asked. “I think you’re the one that should tread lightly. It looks like you’ve been missing all the gym sessions lately.”
He chuckled menacingly. “Don’t matter. I’ll still take him down, and it’s not a threat. It’s a promise, so you better forewarn him about flexing his muscles in front of me. Plus, I know he’s got in your head and has you wanting to take my kids away.”
Rodney lived for moments to frustrate me. His inability to think of anyone but himself was the reason I was there with Jeb. I’d kept my personal life a secret because his spite was enough to hang a bad cloud over anything good in the world. Now, I had to worry about him being a jackass to Jeb.
“If you come near any of us, I’ll see to it that Melody knows of every girl you’re seeing behind her back,” I said before I turned the knob to leave out.