Leap of Faith (La Flor #1) (14 page)

“Yes, I’m Rylee’s mother and no, I wasn’t fourteen when I had her. I was eighteen when I
adopted
her and
their
father passed away years ago,” I inform her politely.

I hear a soft intake of breaths at the straightforwardness of my answer.

Lisa—that’s her name—gives me the stink-eye again. “That must’ve been hard,” she simpers. “I guess now that you found Zane, you expect him to take care of you. That’s not very fair to him.”

“Lisa, shut the hell up,” Zane growls. He’s pissed and ready to explode, but I’m going to handle this. Not him.

“No, Lisa, I don’t expect Zane to take care of us. I can provide very well for my family. I may be young, but I do have a steady job and money. That car we came in”—I point to the Jeep—“is mine. That baby there is a Jeep SRT, custom ordered and terribly expensive.
I
paid for that. My clothes are designer and so are Rylee’s.
I
paid for those. With my own money that
I
earn workin.’ And, before his death, my husband made sure we were taken care of. He made sure that we would never suffer for money.” I jerk my thumb at myself. “I help run the company he started with his friend, The Phoenix Corporation . . . you might’ve heard of it. If not, please look it up. But, most importantly,
I
raised my daughters to know right from wrong, to be respectful, and to love and accept themselves. I’ve tried to be the best mother and we made it through a situation that could’ve torn my family apart. I’m gonna tell you this only once—you can say whatever you want about me but
never
bring my daughters into a conversation where you’re being hurtful and rude because you will
not
like the way I react. So, you see, I can take care of my girls and myself. Now, please tell me what you do. I’m very interested to hear about
your
job.”

I smile sweetly, but I really want to drag her across the backyard by her hair extensions after slapping her silly.

She’s shocked at my reply and opens her mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. She looks like a gulping fish. Serves her right. I don’t want to sink to her level, since my momma taught me to be a lady, but if she continues to be rude to my daughters, she’ll see the mama bear I can turn into. For my girls, I’ll do anything to protect them—I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty.

“I’m really sorry,” I say quietly, turning to Angélica and Julian. “I do hate to be rude but I don’t want y’all to think that I need Zane to take care of us financially. I’m pretty well off and I’m not lookin’ for a hand-out. In reality, I didn’t want to start seeing Zane. I’m not a typical woman of my age; I am a mother first and foremost. I was pretty clear with him that I came with my girls; that we were a package deal. If y’all have a problem, please let us know and we’ll leave.”

“If anyone has a problem with my woman, speak up NOW!” Zane announces in a commanding voice. “This is the last time she will be disrespected. Next time, I won’t let her handle it—I will. No one messes with my woman or my girls. If anyone needs to leave, it’s Lisa.”

“How dare you . . .” Lisa’s mother gasps. “How dare you treat her like that?!”

She turns to Angélica for support, but Angélica is looking at Zane with big shining eyes. I imagine she’s planning our wedding right this second in her mind, and picking out baby names for her future grandchildren.

“No, Mrs. Angelo, y’all listen here,” snaps Zane, pointing at both her and Lisa. “Faith is my woman. She’s the woman I spend all my time with and the woman that I’m not lettin’ go. I’ve found the one that I want to spend the rest of my life with. And that person sure as hell isn’t Lisa. So get it out of your head that you and my mother are gonna be related by marriage. I. Will. Not. Marry. Lisa. I’ve been cordial to y’all because you’re my mother’s friend, but that’s gonna stop if y’all continue to be rude to Faith. If this family has to choose between y’all or Faith, I can tell you hands down that Faith is gonna win. She’s my woman and will be respected as such.” He looks around at the rest of the family. “Anyone else have a problem?”

No one says anything and I don’t blame them. Zane has gone into protective mode and you don’t want to mess with him. Having Zane stand up for me—us—like that is freaking awesome. If we weren’t surrounded by his family, I would drag him into a secluded corner and show him my appreciation.

“Well, that’s settled,” Julian announces. “Congratulations, son.”

Angélica is looking at us with tears in her eyes and smiling from ear to ear.

“So, Lisa, you leavin’?” Jackie asks gleefully. Yup, my friend is more than happy to finally have that girl put in her place.

“Hurumpf.” Lisa settles down with a pout.

After that, we all resume eating and making small talk. People stop to chat with us and congratulate us on our relationship. Everyone is happy that Zane is ready to settle down. His male cousins say it’s because they’ll get to sweep up all the broken-hearted women that will finally realize they have no chance with him now. Before, Zane was the unattainable, the one every woman wanted to change, but no more. He’s with me now. He’s mine and he’s happy. I look at my girls and see Rylee laughing at something Colton is saying. Skylar’s too busy munching down on her food to make conversation.

Life is good.

We’ve been accepted into Zane’s family and I can breathe easier. I was afraid they would disapprove of me and my girls, and I’m glad to see that those fears were for nothing. They accept us because we make Zane happy and that’s all they want.

The rest of the day is spent mingling and getting know the rest of the family. There are so many of them that I know I won’t be able to remember everyone’s name. We cut Josilyn’s beautiful cake, a five-tier chocolate fondant cake splashed with a variety of colors (turquoise, purple, pink, yellow, and orange). Each tier is wrapped in a different color edible ribbon, and each layer is a different flavor. Amazing, beautiful, and so delicious.

Of course, after the cake cutting, we all gather around to cheer the young’uns on while they break the soccer ball piñata. Yes, a piñata. Josilyn says she’s still a kid at heart and she’ll have a piñata until the day she is no more. The piñata is a big hit, especially since Zane’s in charge of handling the rope that takes the piñata up and down, and he’s having a blast messing with the kids that are trying to hit it.

Everyone is having a good time and Lisa’s rudeness from earlier is forgotten. Rylee is hanging out and getting to know Josilyn’s cousins, and Skylar is having the time of her life playing with the other kids her age. I . . . well, I find myself in Zane’s arms. He keeps me close and tells me how much he loves having us here with his family.

“If I didn’t know that it would freak you out, I’d ask you to marry me right this instant,” he tells me, catching me by surprise. He chuckles at my expression. “Relax, I won’t ask because I know you’re not ready, and I don’t have a ring yet.” He laughs at my gasp. “You were worried my family wasn’t going to like you, but they love you and the girls. They just want me to be happy and they realize that y’all are my happiness. I knew the first time I saw you that you were gonna change my life. I’m glad that you’re changin’ it by bringing laughter to me and showing me that there are some women, besides the ones in my family that take care of their men and are there to take their back when needed. Thank you, baby.”

“No, Zane, thank you. You barged into my life and made me take a risk. Thank you for showin’ me that there’s more to life than what I was livin.’ When I lost Jake, I lost a part of myself, and my dreams and future changed. I don’t regret my decisions, but I lost the sexy and fun part when I took over being mother and father to my daughters. Thank you for showing me that I’m still sexy and young. Your alpha-male, chest-beating, you’re-mine attitude may piss me off, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

I can tell that he’s happy with my reply because he grabs me and kisses me. I think he’s going to plant a hot and sexy, drop-your-panties kisses, but I’m wrong. His kiss is so tender and full of emotion, I want to cry from the strong feelings it evokes. I forget we’re surrounded by his family, and I and lose myself in our kiss. That kiss relays an emotion I’m not ready to verbally admit to, but I can show him. I’m afraid to lose what we’ve found. I pray that life decides to let me keep Zane. He’s come to mean so much to me and the girls. He wants to show us that he’ll be here for us, and is constantly showing his affection and dedication for us. The “I’m never going to settle down” man is reformed and not afraid to shout it to the world. I send a prayer up above: Please,
please
let us keep him.

We finally separate when the whole family starts cheering. He keeps his arm around me and we head back to sit with his parents. Instead of letting me have my own seat, he settles me on his lap. I try to get up, but his hold on me tightens.

“It’s okay, Faith. Here’s where you belong. You belong with me, so start getting used to having my arms around you and being in my lap whenever possible, even in public. I wasn’t one for PDA until I met you,” he tells me and gives me quick peck on the lips.

I decide to throw caution to the wind and enjoy our closeness. If anyone is bothered by it, they don’t make a peep and everything continues as normal. Both Jackie and Angélica are smiling these big, huge smiles and have faraway looks in their eyes; Angélica is probably dreaming of wedding colors and grandbabies, and Jackie is probably thinking of ways to tease her baby brother later on. Me, well I’m just happy in Zane’s arms.

Moments later, I hear a ruckus going on behind us and I turn to see what’s going on. The younger generation of Knight males, the ones around Rylee’s age, have a soccer ball and are going around rounding up other males. I’m confused about what’s going on until Jackie fills me in.

“Every family gatherin,’ we play a game of
fútbol.
Sometimes the girls play, but it’s mostly the boys and men. Regardless, we all head to the park to cheer them on,” she tells me.

“Ah,” I say with intrigue, getting my thinking face on.

I turn to Zane. “Do you play, honey?”

“Ha, do I play?” He replies. “Baby, I’m the shit.” He puffs out his chest, trying to look all macho.

I laugh at my man’s humble reply. Hmmm . . . I wonder if they’ll let me play. I could use a game of soccer to relax and have a bit of fun.

“So can anyone play, or is it only y’all men?” I ask.

He looks at me and chuckles. “You wanna play?”

“Of course. It looks fun,” I reply tongue-in-cheek. “I think Rylee and Josilyn will want to join as well.”

“These games are serious. We’re a competitive lot. I don’t want you to get hurt, but if you wanna play . . . I’ll let you be on my team since you’re my woman and all,” he tells me with a grin on his face.

“Oh! You’ll let me be on your team. Thanks,” I say with a bit of attitude.

He probably thinks I’m doing it to get brownie points, but he doesn’t know that I love to play. This is something that hasn’t come up in conversation and it might come as a surprise.

“Baby, I’m good. I’ll be humble like you and just say that I’m pretty good so you won’t have to worry about me.”

He looks at me with a big smile from ear to ear, which baffles me because I figured he’d be surprised. He just smiles and doesn’t contradict me. Smart man. “Okay, babe,” he says. “You and the girls wanna play, y’all will play.”

“Hey y’all,” he yells out to the rest of the guys. “Faith, Rylee, and Josilyn want to play.”

The guys laugh and there’s some grumbling, but it quickly dies when they see that we’re serious.

“They’re gonna to be on my team,” Zane announces and some of the males on his team don’t look happy.

“We’ll take it easy on y’all then,” one of his cousins replies.

Colton, the sweetie, says, “I’m on Uncle Zane’s team.”

Bless that boy, I think he has a crush on Rylee. He’s going to be disappointed, since she’s currently dating a boy from her school. I don’t think he’s good enough for my baby girl, but I support her and don’t make a big deal out of it. It’s not serious, since she’s only been out with him a couple of times due to all her practices and schoolwork, but apparently they’re “going out” as the school-vine says.

“Alright, everyone. Go change and then we’ll make our way over to the field,” Zane announces.

The girls come over to me, and Colton is right behind them.

“Mrs. Faith, you really going to play?” Josilyn asks in disbelief. Even though she’s Rylee’s best friend, I don’t think Rylee has told her that I used to play back in my day.

Rylee and I share a look and smile. “Yes, darlin,’ I’m gonna play today. It’s been a while since I played and I want to have some fun and a little challenge.”

Jackie, who knows my little secret, and Rylee start laughing. The guys look at them as if they’re out of their minds. I just tell the guys, “Relax, I know how play.” I turn to Zane. “Honey, trust me, we’re going to kick ass.”

At that, Rylee and I head to the Jeep to get our gear, which I keep in my vehicle in case I get a craving to play when I have some free time. I may not be playing ball professionally anymore, but I still like to keep my skills sharp. Not only was I a hell of a student, I was also a hell of a ballplayer.

We head out to change, leaving everyone else behind in disbelief. I hear Jackie say, “This is going to be
so
fun. Ma, we need the popcorn and chairs.” She chuckles all the way to the house.