Page 72 of The Red-Hot Stakes

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Sunday was donuts and coffee with Avery and Derek. It took some heavy convincing on Liam’s part, but I finally agreed to stay for afternoon football. I made Liam sing Music of the Night later that night to make it up to me. Twice.

Monday and Tuesday I had school during the day, followed by nightly meetings with the other manager where we pulled together last-minute details for our trivia night. The hard work was worth it to see our plan coming together. Our special for the night was a pulled pork sandwich with a side of coleslaw and fries.

Just before we opened, Liam came into the kitchen where I double checked my list. He kissed my cheek. “Everything all set?”

I nodded. “Let’s do this.”

And we did. The trivia portion went off without a hitch, starting with a line out the door. We situated teams and established rules, thankful we’d scheduled extra staff. The patrons kept the spirit of competition to a healthy, friendly level while the bystanders had fun watching. Everything was perfect.

Until about two hours after we opened, someone started puking their guts out. Another person ducked out, and another. The vomit train barreled through our little establishment, ending with the health department itself shutting us down.

After an in-depth investigation, the common denominator seemed to be the pork. I’d verified it myself. It had looked and smelled just fine though we had gone through a new vendor. The inspector left, putting up a sign saying we’d be closed until further notice. We’d need a thorough inspection before they allowed us to reopen.

We emptied the kitchen, not wanting to risk cross-contamination. Everything would have to be deep-cleaned, and we’d have to completely restock, so we’d be closed all of Thursday.

Once everyone had left except Liam, I walked around ripping down flyers and shoving decorations into a box. Anger seared through me, all directed at myself…for letting this happen, for getting my hopes up and for thinking I could do this. I should have known better, should have known my luck would follow me.

I threw the box on the bar as Liam appeared. He took one look at me, and his shoulders sagged. “It’s not your fault, Gina.”

“Then whose is it?” I whirled away, gathering the glasses next.

We’d taken care of plates and silverware because of the food. We’d planned to leave the glasses for tomorrow, but I had so much furious energy swirling in me that needed an outlet. Stupid—that’s me.

Liam touched my arm, but I jerked away. “Stop it, Liam.” I set my armload on the counter, turning to get more.

He stepped in front of me. “No, you stop it.” I tried to move around him, but he blocked my path. “Gina, this is bigger than you. It’s not your fault.”

With every movement, my frustration built, coming to a head at his words. I clenched my fists, stepping backward. “Yes, it is,” I yelled. “It’s because it’s me. I’m cursed, remember?” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them, tears leaking down my cheeks.

“I can’t be happy. The universe won’t allow it. Whenever I get close, something like this happens. Every fucking time.” My chest heaved with each shaky breath, my whole body trembling. I stared unseeing at the floor.

“Gina.” He breathed my name.

I kept moving backward until my butt hit the side of the bar, then I slid to the floor. “I had three different families try to adopt me.” The quiet words stabbed me as they left my mouth, and I pulled my knees to my chest.

The words tumbled out, as if today’s pain had unlocked the door to that vault, and the memories refused to be kept prisoner any longer. “Three. The first set, the husband was in a car accident, becoming paralyzed from the waist down. The next couple went bankrupt right after they started the process. And the third.” I blinked through the haze of tears in my vision. “The third died in a house fire. I was almost thirteen at the time, and I’d stayed over at a friend’s house that night.” My next words were barely audible. “Or I would have died, too.”

Liam sank to his knees and tugged me to his chest. I didn’t uncurl myself, just flopped against him as the sobs racked my body. He held me as I cried, rubbing my back and murmuring soothing sounds. His scent wrapped around me like an extra hug.

When my tears subsided, I sniffed. “That’s when I stopped trying to find a family. That’s when I started jumping from home to home. As soon as I was sixteen, I left.” No one else needed their lives ruined because of me.

His deep voice rumbled in my ear. “Is that why Aunt Thea is just your aunt?”

I nodded against his chest. “They offered to make it official, but I couldn’t let them. I love them too much.”

“Gina…” He squeezed me tighter. “Avery loves you, and she’s fine.”

My voice broke. “But she’s been through hell with her mom. And do you know when that all started? Right before she met me. It only got worse after that.”

“It’s better now though, remember? And you’re still in her life.” He rubbed his hand in a slow circle over my back. “What about me? I love you, and I’m fine.”

I sat up, derision lacing my voice as I scoffed. “Since you said you loved me, your brother-in-law got beat up, your car was smashed to pieces and the shed broken into. The first night you let me do anything here, we have a huge food poisoning outbreak.” I glared. “Yep, you’re doing just fine.”

He just laughed. “How in the world can you blame yourself for any of that?” His fingers touched my damp chin. “Did you force my brother-in-law to make those choices? Did you smash my Porsche? Did you hire someone to break into the shed? Did you know the vendor sold us contaminated pork?” He shook his head in answer. “No, you didn’t. Bad things happen to good people, too. It’s just the way life is.”

I wanted so desperately to believe him, but I knew better. “You should probably fire me now, before things get any worse.”

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