Page 22 of Widow Mayker

Son! I inwardly croaked. This was worse than I thought. He and Von were nearly twins. As they hugged, I couldn’t help but appreciate their affection toward each other. However, the elder Detective Gunner’s eyes were on me.

“Pops, this Maja. Maja, meet my pops, Wesley,” Von introduced us.

With a wry grin, the elder Gunner took my hand. “Now I’m understanding why my son wanted to do something strange to find you, Maja.”

Von burst out laughing, and sadly, I chuckled. “It’s nice to…see you, Mr. Gunner.”

“Von!” A woman’s screeching shout alerted us to a woman waving. She was a few feet away from us and beaming brightly.

“Go talk to ya mama before she wakes up the bears,” the elder Gunner told his son.

Laughing, Von went to meet his mother’s hasty footsteps toward us.

Detective Gunner took that time to sigh and softly smile. “It’s good to see you, too, Maja.”

I ducked my head to fight back the tears in my eyes. Von had unwittingly pushed me back into a time I wanted to continue to bury.

“Your past is safe with me,” Detective Gunner muttered.

“Thank you, Detective Gunner,” I replied.

“Chief of Police now,” he corrected me. “Not for long, though. I’m retiring in a few weeks.”

“Oh. Well, I appreciate…everything.”

“Of course.” He patted my shoulder, then turned to walk away.

I stopped him. “I have a question.”

“Sure,” he acquiesced.

“Did my mother do everything she could to survive?”

He inhaled a deep breath, then blew it out. We were both put on the spot and were trying to navigate this moment while respecting the other’s feelings.

“Ya mama did everything to survive outside of putting a bullet in ya father,” he divulged.

Searching his statement, something dawned on me. “You asked her for permission to kill him?”

“I didn’t…” His gaze glanced over his shoulder to see if Von was still occupied.

“Someone did,” I pried.

He stared at me.

“Look, I understand dredging up the past isn’t always what’s best. I guess a part of me just wants to know she tried everything,” I explained.

Understanding, he nodded. “She did. I can assure you of that.”

Seeing that he wasn’t going to fold to my prying, I decided to drop it. I was here on a date. Instead, my mind turned into the investigator inside me. Somehow, I had to turn her ass off.

VONSHAE

“This is surprising,” my mama stated as she eyed Maja, who was still talking to my pops. Tilting my head to the side, I wondered what they could be discussing. Then again, Pops had known the Bell family longer than me. Therefore, I wasn’t surprised that he knew exactly who Maja was.

Taking her into a hug, I replied, “I told you I was gon’ surprise you one day.”

She rubbed my back. “After you decided that being a ho still requires a level of emotional investment that you’re not willing to give.”