Page 38 of Silver Edge
Two ladies walked up. “Hello. Are you the young lady I heard was visiting Linda?”
Busted. I knew Drake and his grandmother heard them. I quickly stood, the plastic cups shaking in my hands. I didn’t want to leave that moment. I wanted to think about what they had said. No one had taken the time to get to know me since my mother. Collecting myself as quickly as I could manage I smiled at the ladies. “Yes, I was just walking back with some coffee.”
“Looked more like eavesdropping to me,” the silver-haired lady said as loud as she could.
Heat radiated over my skin. What was it with the women in this place? Without another word, I walked up to the door. “Hey, can you open the screen, my hands are full.”
Drake shot up and crossed the room. “Get lost out there?” He winked.
I sipped my coffee and sat quietly as Linda and Drake caught up on his business and how things had been going lately. There were stories shared about his childhood and I felt like I got to know his brother and parents a little. The sad draw of his mouth each time they were mentioned did something inside me. A twinge of something not good, but I’d never felt it before.
Drake set his empty coffee cup on the small wooden table. “Do you remember when you caught Devon with Mom’s Victoria’s Secret catalog in the garage?”
Linda roared with laughter. “Yes, I thought the kid was gonna wet himself.”
Drake rubbed his forehead. “I was hiding behind Dad’s workbench when you came in. I was the one who handed him the magazine and then hid. He sat there, looking like taxidermy mounted on a wall. I still don’t know why he took the fall for me.”
“Because he was your little brother and he adored you,” Linda said softly. “What are you thinking about over there, Scarlet?”
Linda’s words drew me from my self-reflecting haze. “I was just thinking about family.”
Linda leaned forward on her cane. Her perfectly manicured nails dangled over the handle. “Do you know where your family is, hon?”
I traced the rim of the lid on my coffee cup. “Don’t know. I mean, when my mother died the social workers called some distant relatives. They were supposed to collect me from some courthouse, but they didn’t show. The social workers tried to call again but could never reach them.”
“You were just left?”
I nodded.
“Where did they take you?”
“An orphanage for the first few nights, but with the noises and such I ended up running away. I slept better on the streets.”
“You were only nine? How long did you live on the streets?”
“A few days, then to foster care for two years until I ran away again. Made it about eight months that time. I would have managed to stay out of the system, too, but I passed out from pneumonia and they placed me in a foster home outside the city.”
Drake looked at his grandmother then back at me. “How long did you live there?”
“Too long.” I chuckled. “The police didn’t show up for about a year. At that point I was transferred to another orphanage for a while.”
This time Linda asked the question. “Why did the police show up?”
My hands trembled and I set my cup on the table. “They said it was because the foster parents weren’t allowed to beat us, or burn us with cigarettes, or lock us in closets.”
Chapter Sixteen
The return trip down the winding road through the mountains was quiet. It was as if we both had a lot to think about. Something told me his grandmother had that effect on people.
Unable to bear it any longer, I finally broke the silence. “I liked your grandmother. She doesn’t hold any punches and says what’s on her mind.”
Drake merged onto the highway. “She liked you, too. Actually, I think you even helped us get a little closer.”
“Me? How did I do that?”
“She’s always thought of me as a rich asshole who doesn’t care about anyone but myself. My brother was the one she admired. Not that she didn’t love us both, but they connected in a different way, both being creative types. Grandmother was on the stage for years. She was a talented singer and dancer. My father was the man of the house and I was more like him. I think he took on the role of protector and provider because my grandmother was a free spirit, but she loved him. After my parents and brother died, I started visiting her. I’d been so busy with my job, I’d never made it up here before that.”
I watched his smooth movements as he switched lanes and adjusted his broad shoulders in the seat, but I didn’t speak.
