“Yes, you do need to be worried,” Yatta snapped, “’cause Big Ma down there in the hospital, and all she can do is worry about you.”

Kennedy could feel her heart stop. “What happened?”

“She’s stable. She had a mild heart attack last week.”

“Last week!” Kennedy yelped. “And not one person thought to call me. I saw Aunt Karen today, and I know she knows.”

“Big Ma didn’t want anyone to tell you.”

“Why?”

“You should know. The usual reason—she didn’t want her little sweet Kennedy worrying, especially while she’s going through so much,” she mimicked.

Ignoring the blatant sarcasm from her sister, Kennedy asked, “Is she okay?”

“While I was down there the doctor said she recovered good, considering her age and heart condition.”

“You went down there?” Kennedy shook her head, “Man, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

“I can’t believe you aborted your baby.”

“Fuck that abortion,” Kennedy spazzed. “I’m sick of hearing about that damn abortion. It’s over with, and I can’t take it back. If you choose to keep talking about it, y’all might as well pull over and let me out, ’cause I’m done.”

Quietly, Yatta peered at her baby sister for a few seconds. She knew Kennedy’s world was spinning out of control. “I’ma let it go for now. But,” Yatta warned, “we will talk later. Believe that.”

Other than Strick’s constant business calls, the truck was virtually silent for the remainder of the ride. When they arrived in front of Kennedy’s building, she mumbled, “Thanks for the ride,” climbed out, and exited the truck.

“Be easy, y’all,” Chaz said, getting out on the opposite side. He followed Kennedy into the building. His plan had been to ride the elevator down to the garage and get one of his cars, but he changed his mind and asked Kennedy, “Is it aight if I come up?”

“I guess, your name is still on the mortgage,” she replied, stepping onto the elevator.

It had been over four weeks since Chaz had been inside the lavish apartment. Once the door opened and he smelled the aroma of the baked apple candles that Kennedy burned daily, he realized how much he’d missed his home. That wasn’t the only thing he missed. Although he was still very bitter about the abortion, he wanted to patch things up with Kennedy.

Kennedy dropped her things on the console table in the hall. She went into the kitchen, where she grabbed a bottle of water along with her favorite prescription sleeping pills, then headed for her bedroom.

“Ken,” Chaz called out to her, “I came up ’cause I wanted to talk to you.”

Kennedy inhaled deeply before turning around and going into the living room. She sat on the arm of the couch. “What’s up?” she asked nonchalantly.