Page 90 of Hidden Ties

Glory looked up from the laptop. “His picture isn’t on the website. I can’t find it anywhere on the Internet.”

“Hmm.” Reaching out, she closed the laptop before holding out her hands. “I guess Mr. Bryant is camera shy.”

Her sister took her hands and slowly rose to her feet.

“I want to see what he looks like. That way, when you talk about him, I can picture him in my mind.” Her grin slipped. Living through Sage vicariously was one of the true pleasures Glory still had.

When she saw her sister was stable on her feet, she dropped her hands. “Then I’ll make sure not to talk about him anymore until his picture is posted,” she teased through a tight throat.

As her sister slowly walked toward the small table, Sage followed her with the oxygen tank on wheels, maneuvering it around the girls’ toys. How she wished she could afford one that was smaller. Buying the oxygen machine, which her sister’sinsurance deemed an unnecessary luxury, was just one of the many reasons she was so desperate to gain more hours.

Once Glory was seated at the table, she wound the oxygen tube around the handle so the girls wouldn’t trip over the tubing.

“Or you could take a picture of him for me.”

Pouring her a glass of water, Sage made a face at her sister. “No, thanks. With the way my luck is going, someone will see me taking a picture of him and Livvy would find out.”

Glory raised curious eyes to her. “Why would she care?”

“She seems to consider Mr. Bryant her personal property.”

“Oh …” Glory drawled out. “Livvy is aiming high, isn’t she?”

Sage plucked up Tinsley as she toddled past her and placed her in highchair on Glory’s other side. “Come eat, Colby,” she said before returning her attention to her sister. “Seems she has a thing for men in power.”

At the mention of food, Colby deserted the stroller to climb onto a chair at the table. Taking the remaining chair, Sage started putting food on Tinsley’s suction plate then gave her a sippy cup filled with milk while Glory filled Colby’s plate.

After seeing the girls were taken care of, Sage started serving herself, only taking a couple of fish sticks for herself before she scooped out a spoonful of applesauce.

“Is that all you’re going to eat?” Glory asked, raising her eyes from the plate.

“I had a big lunch. I’m not going to be able to eat this.”

When Glory hesitated to eat the food she had given her, she gave her a serious frown. “Eat.”

Her sister gave in and reached for the sandwich.

Sage couldn’t help but smile at the blissful expression on Glory’s face. “Good, isn’t it?”

“It’s delicious. I don’t know how you managed not to eat the whole thing.”

At the enjoyment on Glory’s face, she wished she had saved it all for her.

As she stared down at her plate, a lump in her throat prevented her from being able to take a bite of her own food.

“The restaurant served a basket of bread. I ate too much.”

Glory took her at her word. Restaurant bread had always been her weakness whenever their parents had splurged.

“What made you eat out today? You haven’t eaten out before.”

“It was Nancy’s birthday. I really didn’t have a choice.”

“Ahh … now I understand. I bet you worried about money the whole time.”

Looking up from her plate, she started feeding Tinsley her applesauce. “Not when I was eating the bread,” she joked. Glancing at her sister, she forced a smile on her lips. “Don’t worry; it’s all good.”

“Will it be, though?” Glory’s eyes filled with tears.

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