Free Suspicions by Sasha Campbell Page B

folding his arms, and released an impatient breath. “No . . . she belongs to someone else. You don’t know if that’s Scott’s child for sure, and until we do, we have to report her to family services.”
    â€œFine, I’ll call Tina,” I replied with a little attitude. Tina was a case manager at the Division of Children and Family Services. We had built a relationship after working together for almost ten years. “I don’t care what you think, but this little girl is mine and I plan on keeping her . . . at least until I have a chance to talk to her mother and find out why she left her baby.”
    Grant cut his eyes in my direction and frowned. “Listen . . . I already told you I don’t want to raise any more kids. I’m forty and ready to start enjoying my life. We’re supposed to leave for Aruba in two weeks.”
    I couldn’t believe his attitude. I put Sierra over my shoulder to burp her and followed Grant to our bedroom. “We’re not talking about just any kid. We’re talking about our grandchild. How can you turn your back on your own flesh and blood?”
    Grant pulled off his jeans and reached for an old pair of shorts. He was getting comfortable, a good sign he was in for the night. His hanging out at the bar on Saturday nights was starting to wear on my nerves.
    â€œI’m not turning my back. Grandparents are supposed to enjoy their grandchildren, then send them back home with their parents.”
    â€œYes, but Scott’s too young to raise a child. And the girl who left Sierra obviously doesn’t want to be a mother; otherwise, she wouldn’t have abandoned her child. What kind of mother does that?”
    He glared at me for a full five seconds before replying, “The kind that doesn’t want the responsibility because she’s too busy spreading her legs and hanging out in the street.”
    My jaw dropped. “That’s not fair.”
    His eyes blazed in my direction. “Oh, yes, it is. You forget I work with these kids every day and all they care about is sex. I had at least three students this year that were pregnant. They have no idea how to take care of themselves, let alone another child.”
    â€œWhich is why they need their parent’s help.” I carried Sierra over and laid her on a receiving blanket at the center of my bed. She was such a good baby. “I’d rather help my son and his baby’s mama while they get their education; otherwise, they will end up struggling the rest of their lives. This way they’ll at least have something to offer their child.”
    Sighing, Grant turned in my direction. The evil look in his eyes said he was dangerously close to losing it. “Listen . . . let’s first find out if the baby belongs to Scott before we plan the rest of our lives.”
    I tried to remain calm because I didn’t want any problems. “Fine, I’ll call Tina, but let me tell you one thing . . . this baby is going to stay with us until we figure out what’s going on.”
    My comment was met by a slam of the bathroom door.

8
    Chauncey
    â€œYo, dawg, check out the ass on that female over near the door.”
    We all swung around on our seat to see what had Cecil’s attention. I’ll admit, the dark haired chick had an ass like Kim Kardashian.
    Dirk shook his head. “Yo, she got a helluva badonkadonk.”
    â€œHell yeah, and she’s waiting for a brotha like me to ride it.”
    I watched Cecil make of a fool of himself as he imitated riding on the saddle of a horse. He bucked and sneered and I chuckled along with the fellas. Cecil was a fool, to say the least.
    Tonight was boy’s night out and we were hanging at Emperor’s, a new spot on the west side. The club was so packed a brotha was lucky to have even found an available table left in the corner. But that’s because we got here early.
    â€œDayumn, it’s some fine hos