Chapter 1 #3
“You’re absolutely right, Susie. Thank you, Ruby. This smells amazing. It’s been a while since we had a meal like this.”
“What? Cooked?”
Max laughs, and I wink at him.
At least my kid thinks I’m funny.
“One where we sit down and all the food is on the table.”
“Didn’t you go to Wind Valley and see your parents over the holidays?” I immediately regret that I know a small detail like this about him.
It’s hard not to know these little things when he’s become such good friends with my brothers.
“Yeah, but my family, whom I love to death, didn’t grow up with this style of meals. We made a plate and sat at the counter, or made a plate and watched TV.”
“Every night?”
“Most. Both of my parents worked full days while I grew up, so they were tired by the time they came home and cooked dinner. Plus, my dad had to drive to and from Wind Valley each day for his job, so he was always walking in just as my mom and I finished eating.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that. Is that why you stuck to yourself during school?”
He pauses mid-bite.
“These sure are a lot of questions for dinner.”
“Do you not like questions?”
Because if he doesn’t, I have a whole list for him.
I smile. “I’m just making conversation.”
He nods slowly.
We both glance at the kids, who seem to be in their own world as they eat.
“Yeah, it was. They worked hard, and my playing any kind of sport would have been one more thing they needed to plan their days around, so I chose computers. I didn’t have to go anywhere but my room for that.”
“Hmm.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Come on, tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m not thinking about anything.”
He erupts into laughter.
“That’s unlikely.”
I open my mouth to say more, but Max beats me to it.
“Mom, can we play a game after we get done eating?”
“Oh, maybe another night.”
“So they can come have dinner with us again?”
“One game tonight is fine.”
“Yes!” Both kids shovel the rest of their food into their mouths and then grab the simplest game in the game cabinet in the living room.
Guess Who.
The kids play a couple of warm-up rounds, as they call it, while Declan and I finish eating.
“Do you want help with the dishes?” Declan asks. I shake my head.
“I’ll do them after you leave.”
“Don’t be silly. I’ll help.”
“No, thanks.”
“Do we have to keep score?” Susie shouts from the living room.
“Nope. There is only first and second place on this one. It should be easy to track,” Declan answers her as he makes his way to the coffee table. He and Susie sit on one side of the couch, while Max and I sit on the floor.
First and second place. I can tell you this, in my house, I better be the one coming in the first-place spot.
“Rock, paper, scissors to see who goes first,” Max says.
I settle in, waiting for him and Susie to battle, but neither moves.
“Dad, that’s you and Ruby.”
“Oh, we have to do it?” he asks, clearly on the same thought train as me.
“Yes.” Susie glances between us.
Declan scoots to the edge of the couch, flips his hat backward, and then rests his forearms on his thighs.
Palms flat, fists closed, Declan and I chant, “Rock, paper, scissors … shoot.”
Both rocks.
“Rock, paper, scissors … shoot.”
Both papers.
The kids laugh.
“Rock, paper, scissors … shoot.”
“Yes!” I squeal. My rock covers his scissors.
Declan chuckles, and Max gives me a high five.
It’s so dumb and no one knows it but me, but I beat Declan at something and I am elated.
“Way to start strong, Mom.”
We set up, draw our characters, and Max rubs his hands together and laughs when he sees who we have.
I have no idea where he gets his competitiveness from.
Max and Susie battle back and forth, knocking down people with glasses or hats or white hair, leaving us with just a few possible candidates.
“Okay, the last question is for the parents,” Max says, and Susie giggles.
“Dad, you’re up.”
After what feels like ages, Declan asks, “Does your person have a mustache?”
That answer is going to reveal our person. I won’t even get a chance to ask a question myself.
I glance at the card, then at the kids, then at Declan.
A smug smile appears on his lips. “You’re Max, aren’t you?”
I don’t reply, and he grabs my card.
“I knew it.” He chuckles, and Susie leaps onto him to give him a hug. “How does second place feel?”
Talk about triggers.
I open my mouth, praying that the 90 percent comes out, but Susie is faster.
“Dad, no. We do not talk like that. Poor sportsmanship is not welcome in our house.”
I’m suddenly filled with pure joy at watching his daughter scold him.
“I … this isn’t our house,” he argues, then has the audacity to look at me and wink.
“Same rules apply,” I grin and cross my arms.
“Yeah,” Max adds.
“Yeah,” Susie also adds.
We all quickly agree that, from here on out, we will not tease each other for losing. We play two more games, and Max and I lose those, too.
Soon after, Declan and Susie go home, and Max and I prepare for bed.
Once he’s fast asleep, I slip into my pajamas, wash my face, and grab my laptop before crawling into bed to work for a couple more hours.
Business has been good for me, which is saying a lot now that AI can do almost anything I can.
But that also means I need to work harder now more than ever to ensure I continue to find new clients and don’t lose my current ones.
I can’t afford to.
Not when the final piece to having full control over my life again is paying off the money I accepted from Colter's family to send me to college. I’d wanted to believe they were good people so badly that I agreed to a personal loan from Colter’s dad instead of using an actual bank.
God, I was so naive to trust them.
But guess what?
Lesson learned.
Trust from Ruby Asher doesn’t come easy.
Not anymore.
I’ll never be that girl again.