My Beloved: A Thin Love Novella(5)
“You think they won’t like us?” Ransom’s face took on an expression Kona had never seen before. He’d told his boy all about the cousins, Auntie Malia and her husband Frank, a haloe—foreigner, she’d married when Kona and Luka were ten. He’d told Ransom that Malia’s daughter, Malaine, had two boys his age, that they played football for Kahuku High, on the defensive line, just like him. Just like all Hale men. Ransom had seemed anxious to get there, excited to meet his kin. But Kona hadn’t thought his son would be nervous. Not until that moment when his first response to Kona’s warning was defensive.
“Brah, they’ll love you.” A pat to his shoulder and the tension left Ransom’s face. “They’ll love you both,” he said, kissing Keira’s hand as he led them down the aisle. “I only warned you because, well, neither of you have experienced a big family.”
“And yours is big.” His Wildcat winked at him, tried to act casual, but just missed pulling it off. Kona knew why she was worried. This family, their family, knew about his mother and the shit she had tried to pull to keep them apart. Malia was his mother’s sister and he knew that worried Keira.
“Baby, not every woman in my family is like my mom.” She tried protesting, letting that worry come back, but Kona stopped her, shut her up with his mouth on hers. Ransom groaned behind them.
“Man, is this what it’ll be like all week? You two mugging each other down like kids?” He walked on ahead of them, long legs stretching to keep his distance as though he wanted to avoid any other PDA Kona might give his mother.
“You won’t see it, son. You’re staying with Malia and Frank.” Kona slapped Ransom on the back, laughing at the boy when he mocked gagging as Kona stole another kiss from Keira. But she didn’t join them in their laughter.
She stopped just before they left the gate, pulling Kona back with her fingers on his sleeve. “You didn’t tell me that.”
Kona could only blink back at Keira, trying to figure out where her worry came from. “You want Ransom to stay with us in our room?” Kona opened his eyes wide, some mild attempt at incredulity, hoping the nod he gave Keira hinted about him wanting some alone time and it seemed to register.
Keira’s face flushed, but Ransom saved his mother from being too embarrassed with his overdramatic gush of, “God, no. I’ll be fine away from any disgusting displays of parental affection.”
“That parental affection is how you got here, son.” Ransom screwed up his face, as though he didn’t want the image in his head. A quick wink at Keira and Kona enjoyed Ransom’s horror when he continued. “The shower, right? When you were sick?”
“That was it. You took advantage of me when I had the flu and I got landed with that little Kona clone.” Ransom’s grunt of annoyance barely registered as Kona whipped his gaze to Keira, shocked at how easily she bent the truth.
“Me? Please, baby. You practically begged me.”
“Really? Dad, I can’t hear this. Seriously, I don’t want to know the details. Like, ever.” Ransom jogged ahead of them as they walked toward the exit.
“I was never the one taking advantage,” Kona told Keira, wrapping his arm over her shoulder to pull her close. “I was gentlemanly and sweet.”
“Ha! And how is everyone in Middle-earth? Frodo and Sam doing well?”
“I’m not making shit up, Wildcat, I just think your memory is—”
Kona’s teasing was interrupted by the crowd that quickly surrounded them. He stopped short, pulling Keira closer to his chest when an excited photographer shoved his camera in his face. “Kona! Over here, Kona!”
“Aw, shit.” They had barely made it more than a foot into the terminal when the photographers and autograph hounds descended. The crowd wasn’t big and Kona could tell they were all local, but he still didn’t like how quickly they approached or how Keira’s fingers tightened against his shirt. “Ransom, get over here.”
Kona and Ransom hid Keira from the pushing arms, the blast of blinding flashes as they weaved through the terminal. Kona hated this part of his fame, wanted this trip to be for them alone, private, something they’d deserved after years of shit they’d put each other through.
He blamed himself. Kona knew his abrupt retirement and even faster agreement to commentate at a few NFL games would keep his name in the media. It didn’t help that whenever he was mentioned, some * had to comment on the video of Ransom throwing a kid through a glass door that Kona’s mother had leaked a few months before in her attempts at keeping Kiera and Ransom out of his life.
“Back up, man,” Kona yelled at an over eager guy as he stood in Kona’s way. The photographer barely moved, ignoring Kona to direct his lens right in front of Keira. “Hey *, you wanna get out of her face?”
“Easy, brah, I’m just trying to get a shot.”
Kona stopped, glaring at the short man, his greasy hair slicked back into a ponytail, as he stood in front of Keira. “Not of her. You hear me? Not gonna happen.”
The photographer stepped back, still shooting his camera at Kona and the linebacker looked behind him, making sure Ransom wasn’t being hassled or tussled out of the way.
“I’m good,” Ransom said when Kona caught his eye. “I’m almost as big as you. You’re not gonna lose me, Dad.”