Page 42 of The Tattered Gloves
“They sure do,” he agreed.
“I guess my family was also wealthy — something I just learned from my aunt,” I told him.
“I always thought there was a touch of class behind all those weird clothes Addy wears,” he responded.
It was odd to hear him speak about Addy like he knew her. But then again, I guessed he did. He’d grown up here, so I was sure their paths had crossed a time or two.
“Well, unfortunately for Addy, it didn’t last long. My grandfather had quite the gambling problem and lost most of it.”
I remembered her voice as it trembled slightly while she recalled her childhood.
“IT WAS PETTYcard games to start,” she said. “Daddy always seemed to have a lot of time on his hands when we were little. My grandfather was still alive back then, and I don’t think he trusted Dad to take over the family business. Or, at least, that’s what I overheard,” she explained, her eyes seeming to drift off, as if she were fading back into the memory itself.
“Our mom and dad fought a lot. I guess gambling was a type of escape for him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t very good at it — cards, that is. I think that was when he moved on to horses.
“I remember him taking us to a race. I thought it was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen. Mother got us dressed up — something we were used to, coming from the family we were born into, but it was exciting nonetheless. Watching those beautiful creatures fly across the racetrack, it was breathtaking. But the moment didn’t last,” she said, her voice fading.
“Soon, things from the house started disappearing. Mom would ask if anyone knew where the silver candlesticks had gone, and at first, she just chalked it up to something simply being misplaced. But, after a while, it became clear; Daddy had been pawning things to pay off his gambling debts.”
I could see her pain. Even after all these years, it was still so ever present on her face. If I were a stronger person, I would have reached out for her and held her hand as she spoke.
Instead, I just waited for her to continue.
“Evie and I knew it was bad when we had to leave our childhood home — a place that had been in the family for decades. Things got a little better when our grandfather died. We were around twelve at the time.
“Mother believed taking over the family business would finally give him the drive and devotion he needed, but it only gave him stress and more reasons to seek out relief. By the time we reached high school, the business our family had run for generations was bankrupt. My father was the laughingstock of the county.”
“So, you’re not the secret heiress to a multimillion-dollar fortune?” Sam smirked.
“Sadly, no,” I replied, glad for the levity he brought to the conversation. Remembering the sadness in my aunt’s voice was sobering.
“I guess we’ll just have to keep you around then,” he sighed, amusement painting his features.
I was glad to see a bit of the old Sam returning as we warmed back up to each other. I knew the fence between us was far from mended. I’d hurt him more times than I could count, but maybe… just maybe, he was giving me a second chance.
Or a third?
Maybe it was a fourth?
He had more patience than I did. Either way, I hoped I wouldn’t let him down this time.
“ARE YOU TELLING me that you never text?” Sam asked, disbelief spread wide across his handsome face.
“Nope,” I answered.
“Never?”
I shook my head, before amending my answer. “Well, sometimes to Allison.”
“What about social media? Instagram? Snapchat?” he pressed.
I looked at him, clueless.
“Oh, come on. You at least have to be on Facebook. Even my dad has a Facebook account.”
“Sorry,” I answered.
He laughed before taking a sip from the frozen coffee he’d bought from the café across the street as we settled in for another long afternoon of work.
