Page 13 of Redeeming Heart

One day, I lost it all when I had to watch her go down during one of my games.

I could never go out there on the field ever again with the memories stuck in my brain. I see that day replaying over and over in my mind whenever I hold a hockey stick between my hands.

Meredith and Jonah haven’t noticed that I drifted off into my own little world as they were talking about his day.

I just felt the car come to a stop when she pulled up in front of Aunt Maggie’s bar. “Should I come and pick you up after your shift is done?” Meredith asked, turning in her seat.

“No, I am sure Aunt Maggie would give me a ride home and if she doesn’t, I have my wheels.” I showed her my skateboard before getting out.

I didn’t know what to expect when I go in there and how many of us will react to seeing each other again after my mother’s passing.

It was hard enough for her for having to live through my mother’s pain since they were children and when there was nothing she could have done for my mom.

My mom has been ill her whole life and she was even told she wouldn’t make it to twenty but my mother broke that circle when she made it to thirty.

She was a fighter while I was weakling.

CHAPTER SEVEN

I didn’t understand my father’s intentions to have my work for Aunt Maggie. He, himself hasn’t even made the effort to come and see her check up on her if she was doing alright after mom’s passing.

Now, he has me here and forcing me to face her on my own while he hides behind his fancy computer and is surrounded by his office.

I rolled my shoulders to scrap some courage together to go inside and face her.

Frowning when I heard male voices arguing thinking that maybe there was a fight going on inside and to my utter amazement there was a fight going on and Aunt Maggie was handling the situation quite well on her own.

“You know I don’t tolerate any fights in my bar, Thomas.” Aunt Maggie re-informed one of the men who were part of the fight. “It’s time for the both of you to leave or I will force you by hand out of my pub.” She said with a warning tone that left no space for arguments.

“Oh, come on, Maggie.” One of the guys complained but she wasn’t hearing any of it.

I bit down on my lip to conceal a chuckle when both men left the bar with heads hanging low looking like two naughty children who has been sent to their rooms.

All of my laughter and humor dissolved when I caught Maggie looking like me with wide eyes that were filled with sadness and lots of regrets.

Yeah, we haven’t seen each other in three years. Both Maggie and I were guilty of avoiding each other.

“Should I come back another time?” I questioned, pointing my thumb over my shoulder and at the men she just chased out.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” She said, coming over to embrace me with one of her famous hugs.

It felt strange hugging someone after all I forgot how it felt to be comforted or be in the company of someone who cares about me. I’ve lost any interaction with the world including myself.

I forced my tears away when we pulled apart and I noticed her tears shining brightly in her blue eyes.

“Your father tells me that you have been a very defiant girl these past three years.” She shared.

I shrugged. “I have my reasons.”

She said nothing because there wasn’t anything much she could say or do to change my mind or go about it.

“I don’t know how working for me is going to straighten you out. It’s a bar after all and most people that hang out here are difficult when they get drunk.” She took the words right out of my mouth.

“Maybe my father believes that having a woman back in my life is going to do me some good,” I replied, following her in behind the bar and laughing at the sign of no under 21’s allowed to order alcoholic drinks.

“How can a nineteen-year-old be allowed to work will alcohol but I am not allowed to drink?” I asked aware that it was a rhetorical question.

Aunt Maggie just shared a knowing look with me. She went over every detail that I needed to know before placing me behind the bar with another bartender.

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