Page 31 of Always

She cocks her head. I can almost see the cogs working in her brain. She knows I’m right. It’s not like her, and she’s asking herself why she stopped.

A moment later, “Your turn.”

I chuckle. “I kept you going for longer than I thought I would.”

“Your turn,” she says again.

“All right. My father set our house on fire when he was drunk once. My mother…”

Fuck. That all just came out. I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about this.

“What? What about your mother?”

I can’t stop now. “She was badly burned.”

Skye gasps. “Oh my God. Did she…”

“No, she didn’t die. Not at that time, anyway.”

“Your father… He didn’t…do it on purpose, did he?”

Why would she think that? I have my own issues with my father, but I never believed the fire was anything other than an unfortunate mistake.

I shake my head. “It was an accident. A drunken accident. But insurance wouldn’t pay because they called it arson, and my father couldn’t prove he hadn’t set the fire on purpose, so he lost the house. Then my mother’s medical bills were so outrageous…”

“And that’s how you ended up going to the food pantry.”

I nod. “My mother always wore a scarf over her face to hide the scarring.”

She stops at a red light. “How did you ever forgive your father?”

I turn toward her. “What makes you think I have?”

Chapter Twelve

“He works for you,” she says. “I just assumed—”

“He got sober. He’s smart. He works hard. He’s my father. I wouldn’t exist if not for him. So I let him ride on my coattails, and he’s good at his job. Doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven him.”

“And Ben?”

I chuckle. “Your turn.”

“Braden…”

“Nope. Your turn.” I won’t let her get away with not following the rules. She opens up, and then I open up. Quid pro quo.

She turns onto the main road, and the small town comes into view. “Welcome to Liberty. Don’t blink or you’ll miss it.”

Nice pivot, but I keep that to myself.

“It’s charming,” I say.

“It has a bit of charm,” she agrees, “but the charm goes to shit when you’re looking for a good cup of coffee and all that’s available is Mrs. Temper’s black water at the Sunrise Café.”

I chuckle.

And it occurs to me how much I’ve laughed since I got to this bumfuck town and met her parents. Part of me likes it here. Feels something here.

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