Page 12 of Always a Chance
“Yes, but just to warn you, sisters don’t keep secrets, so you’re telling Talia too.”
“Even better.” I leaned forward, dropping my voice. “I’m glad she’s here.”
7
TALIA
He couldn’t just say things like that and expect me not to listen in. When I heard my name mentioned, I’d crept closer to Gianna’s room, ready to intervene if Johnny upset her the way I knew he was capable of.
Back when we were friends, he was a cocky troublemaker who could charm his way out of anything. Everyone indulged him. Teachers, coaches, his parents, and his siblings. Until he got to college. The rumor around town was they kicked him out, but I wasn’t sure why.
Yet, he was still Johnny. It wasn’t hard to see that. And I trusted him with Gianna in a way I’d trust few people.
My dad obviously loved him. He was happier to see the neighbor boy than his own daughter. If that wasn’t a sad telling of my life, I didn’t know what was.
“He’s good with her.” They were the first words my dad spoke to me this morning other than, “Coffee is fresh.” I’d proceeded to search for non-existent tea.
My eyes didn’t leave Johnny and Gigi as they talked and laughed. He rolled with everything she said, never making her feel like any of it was wrong. “They’re close.”
Milo stood and stretched, his back arching. He kneaded the bed before lumbering toward Johnny. I waited for him to attack and prepared to save him—whichever one needed the saving. But Milo stepped onto Johnny’s lap, did one circle, and lay down.
Absently, Johnny lifted a hand to pet the ragged beast, something I couldn’t even consider without the threat of losing said hand. Even the cat liked him.
Johnny said something that made Gianna laugh, but I didn’t catch it as I focused on the sound, the way it melted over me. How could so much joy exist in this house after everything we’d been through?
I couldn’t help smiling as I watched my sister throw her head back. My dad didn’t say anything else, but he also didn’t leave, standing at my side like it was normal and these last ten years hadn’t happened. His presence was foreign to me now.
I leaned against the doorframe to put some more space between us. After a beat, he turned and walked toward the kitchen. Johnny stayed for a few more minutes, producing a small box from his pocket. Gianna opened it and pulled out a silver chain with something dangling from it. I couldn’t see what.
He said one last thing to her, stood, and approached me. “She seems chipper today.”
“Chipper.” I rolled my eyes. “Did I leave for ten years and come back to an old man?”
His shoulder bumped mine. “Don’t make fun.”
“But it’s just so easy.”
That earned me a hint of a smile, so very different from the openness he’d had for Gianna. I walked him to the front door, stopping when we reached the ramp. “Thank you.” I didn’t want to say it, not after yesterday, not after the last decade. But if nothing else, he deserved my gratitude. I just hadn’t known it.
“For what?” He stopped with his hand on the railing and looked over his shoulder at me. Drizzling rain struck his cheek, rolling over the rosy skin and dripping off his granite-like chin.
For so much. “Gianna… you’ve been here.” This wasn’t a new occurrence. I’d seen that right away. How often had Johnny visited my sister? My dad?
The creases around Johnny’s mouth smoothed as he relaxed his grip on the rail. “Gigi is my friend, Tal.” He shrugged. “I didn’t do it for you.”
He walked toward his car without another word, leaving me watching him as the rain came down harder, drumming against the roof overhead.I didn’t do it for you.Somehow, those words made me ache for him more. I hadn’t wanted all of this to be for me. Gianna deserved better than that. She deserved people who wanted to be in her life for her.
I was still smiling when I entered the house. Dad was on the phone in his office as I passed and went straight into the kitchen. It didn’t take long to make Gianna’s favorite breakfast—blueberry banana pancakes—and load everything onto a tray. I was still in my fuzzy pajama pants and oversized Tampa Bay Lightning t-shirt and had no plans to get dressed today.
Nudging Gianna’s door open with my butt, I carried everything in. “Okay, it’s raining outside and looks like Dad has some work to do, so what do you say to some sister slug time?”
Gianna clapped her hands together. “Brilliant.”
I set the tray down and helped her from her chair back into her bed, fishing through the comforter for the remote to the TV hanging on the opposite wall.
“Can we watch a princess movie?” she asked.
I laughed. Should have known that was coming. When Gianna was eight, she told me every movie needed two things to be worth our time. A kissy scene and a princess. I’d agreed, and here we were as adults, still adhering to those same universal truths.
