In the Cards(52)

“You keep treating me this way and I may stay sick forever.”

I can’t see her mouth, but her eyes glow as if she’s sporting a big grin under her mask. She’s too damn easy to please, despite her being a princess.

She pushes the food tray close to me so I can reach the smoothie, then tilts her head and watches me. It’s pretty plain she’s considering saying something she thinks might upset me. I’m not interested in being upset, so I ignore her and concentrate on the drink. Unfortunately, my peace doesn’t last long.

“Levi, I know you protect your privacy, but last night I needed to contact your family and didn’t know who to call. You’ve avoided sharing any information, but I need emergency contact names and numbers now.”

“No, you don’t.” I put down the cup and cross my arms in front of my chest. Lindsey’s eyes are still and cautious. She’s fishing for information, but I can tell she has her own ideas about me.

“Yes, I do. Your father passed away, but what about your mom? Or do you have any siblings, cousins, anyone at all?”

My gaze remains steady and calm while I consider what to share. “Why’re you so interested?”

“Beyond emergencies, you mean?” Her eye roll may have been visible from the moon. “How about fairness? We’ve spent a lot of time together, yet you remain a stranger. I’ve revealed everything from my humiliating situation with Rob to details about my parents and my home. You’ve given back nothing. It’s not really how friendship works, one-sided like this. I deserve to know something about your family, about who you are.”

Her demands and requirements of “friendship” tarnish all the heady feelings I’ve been soaking up this morning. No one knows anything about my family, such as it is. Lindsey thinks she wants to know me, but will learning the truth about Pop and Mama change the way she looks at me?

“Is that what we have, Lindsey—friendship?” I notice her flinch. “I recall telling you I don’t really do friendship.” But I might, for you.

“True, but in our case, you can’t avoid it.” Lindsey’s head droops. A dejected, distant look clouds her eyes. “Anyway, why do you prefer such distance? I understand shying away from serious romantic relationships, but no close friends? Why?”

“It’s the way I’ve always been. I didn’t grow up in a neighborhood, going to a regular school. We moved a lot.” I sigh. “When you grow up like me, it’s easier not to get attached to anyone or any place. After years of conditioning, it’s simply who I am.”

“Why’d you move around so much that you couldn’t enroll in school? Did your dad have some crazy sales job or something?” Her dubious expression suggests I can’t skirt the truth.

“Or something. My pop wasn’t a good man, at least not by most people’s standards.” Lindsey’s eyes pop open a bit, but she waits for me to say more. She’s learning to keep quiet. “Jesus, Lindsey. You want all the gory details?”

“Well, not if he killed someone or something. Don’t tell me that!”

Now I’m stunned. Murder?

“Hell no! My pop didn’t kill anyone.” I feel my eyebrows skimming my hairline. “Boy, you set a low bar.”

“No. You set my low expectation with your cryptic commentary.” A single brow arches above her pretty eyes. “So, why do you think he wasn’t a good man?”

My eyelid twitches, so I twist my neck around to relax. My past isn’t something I’m comfortable sharing, but her wild ideas are even worse than the truth.

“I owe you for all you’ve done for me, but this is the only time I’ll talk about it. I don’t want you bringing it up again. Deal?”

“Deal.” She sits back, bracing herself.

I push the smoothie aside. A minute or two passes while I consider where to begin.

“My pop conned people for a living. He’d use a false name, approach people with phony investment schemes, then take their money and run. By the time I turned twelve, I couldn’t enroll in school because we were moving from town to town every several weeks or months. That, plus Pop didn’t want any records to be traced back to him or his real name. So when I wasn’t playing cards, I hid out in local libraries reading about whatever interested me, or what I figured I needed to learn to have a different life.”

Surprisingly, Lindsey’s unresponsive to my news. It’s very unusual for her to conceal her emotions. Maybe she’s trying to be reassuring. Warily, I continue.

“My whole world revolved around Pop. I didn’t understand much about his ‘profession’ until I was a teenager. But even when I learned the truth, I didn’t turn him in, because I couldn’t send my only family to jail. So I bided my time until my eighteenth birthday and then I took off. I’ve lived on my own since then.”