Page 54 of From the Shadows
This time Diego couldn’t help the chuckle that had been determined to escape. “Please. I know if I did that, you’d be selling those pictures on the internet before you finished your first cup.”
“That’s not true!” she shouted. “Tea is very important. I could wait until afterward.”
A laugh bubbled out of him. He couldn’t help it. “You’re too much. Good bye, Charla.”
“One last thing. Your life is changing rapidly, and you need to be on your game to keep up. One false move could undo everything you’ve been trying to accomplish. Protect those close to you, and trust in them to do the same.”
And then she was gone, leaving Diego to ponder her words.
“She’s a freaking hoot. If I was into women, I’d totally do her.”
“She’s ninety years old.”
“You see age, I see seasoning. She could probably teach me a lot.”
Diego didn’t doubt it. She’d just taught him something, and he needed to keep her words in mind. Something was coming, and he had to be ready.
“Boardwalk,with a hotel. You owe me two thousand dollars,” Jeremy cackled gleefully.
Shay counted out his remaining money. After three hours of play, he had two railroads and Baltic Avenue, plus about eighty dollars. “Guess I’m out,” he said, gratefully.
They hadn’t lied. Jeremy was a cheater, but it was too damned fun watching him try to slip money from the bank and put it into his own pile. Still, he needed a lesson, and Shay would have to teach him.
“Aw, c’mon, Shay. I’ll give you a loan. I have lots of money.”
“Which you swiped from the bank. If this were real life, it would be a federal crime, and you would end up in prison.”
His eyes widened. “What?”
Ranna chuckled. “We all know you take money from the bank, kid. Shay’s the only one willing to call you on it.”
“You can’t win every game, Jeremy. Sometimes losing can be fun too.”
He scoffed. “I doubt that. No one likes a loser.”
“Who told you that?”
“There was this show I used to watch, and they said?—”
“Stop right there.” Since Shay had been at the house, Jeremy gravitated toward spending time with him instead of the television. “That’s television, Jeremy. It’s not real life. Everyone loses at some point. It’s a given. Besides, winning all the time? It would be boring. There would be no challenge in your life.”
“That doesn’t sound bad,” he grumbled.
“I know. It sounds like it’s amazing, but think about it. What if you never had to work for a goal? Let’s say you wanted to buy Diego a gift. Would you rather earn that money yourself, or would it be better if someone gave it to you?”
“Gave it to me. I don’t have a job.”
This kid had the answers for everything. “So you mow lawns. Do dishes. Come up with creative ways to earn whatever you need to buy it. Which do you think would make Diego happier? Something you got the money from someone else or a gift you worked hard to give him?”
His face scrunched up. “Do you really think he’d like it better if I earned the money?”
“I honestly do.”
Ranna patted him on the shoulder. “If you were going to give me something, I would rather you made the money yourself. Even if you couldn’t make enough to buy what you wanted, anything you give me would be awesome, because it came from your heart and hard work.”
He was quiet a few moments. “Have you ever lost, Shay?”
He thought back to the beating, the hospitalization, and the realization he could have died. “Yeah, it sucked, let me tell you. But it made me stronger. I want to say it made me a better person.”
