Page 42 of Gang of Roses: Rebel

“There go my baby!” Mama Joyce yelled the second she spotted me.

I laughed as she rushed over and pulled me into a tight hug.

“Hey, Mama Joyce.”

She pulled back, and the second she got a good look at me in the dress, her eyes widened.

“Oh, my God! Look at you!”

“Please don’t start.”

“Don’t start?” She grabbed both of my hands and stretched my arms out so she could get a better look at me. “Girl, I’ve been waiting damn near your whole life for this moment.”

Crow laughed beside me. “That’s what I said.”

I cut my eyes at him. “Nobody asked you.”

Mama Joyce ignored us as she continued looking me over. “You actually wore the dress I bought you.”

“I said I would.”

“No, you said you’d think about it.”

“Same thing.”

“The hell it is.”

Crow cracked up.

I pointed at him. “You laughing too damn hard for somebody walking around with Shirley Temple curls.”

“Leave my hair out of this, Rain.”

Mama Joyce looked between us and shook her head. “Y’all been getting on each other’s nerves since you were little. Some things never change.”

“That’s because your son is irritating.”

“And yet you keep coming around,” Crow shot back.

“Because I love your mama.”

Mama Joyce smiled and wrapped an arm around me. “And I love you too, baby.”

Crow placed a hand over his chest. “Damn. What about me?”

Mama Joyce looked at him. “I gave birth to you. That’s enough.”

I busted out laughing.

“See?” Crow shook his head. “This why I got issues. My daddy left, and my mama replaced me with Rain.”

“Sounds personal,” I said.

“Fuck both of y’all.”

Mama Joyce and I laughed even harder. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, before it slowly opened. A few seconds later, Sebastian walked inside. He was Crow’s son, but that little dude had a special place in my heart. I loved him like he was my own blood. The moment he spotted me, a grin spread across his face.

“Raindrop!”