“And did he? Work in the store?”
Violet’s hands tightened around her mug. “He would sit on a stool and grumble to the customers. I usually just let him work there over the winter when I had to run errands or to pick up merchandise.” She sighed. “I think he was stealing from me too. I know he stole my lunches. I had to hide my sandwiches most days.”
Tyla’s blood was boiling at how horrible this kind woman’s stepfather was. How disgusting he was inside, and how he’d hurt her in so many ways. “Any idea how he…” Tyla wasn’t sure how to finish that question.
Violet knew what the woman was asking. “How he sold me?” she offered, then shook her head. “No idea. I suspect that Creek probably came by to talk to me and George just figured out what was going on.” She looked up at the ceiling, startled by so many questions. “I can’t understand the amount though! That’s a lot of money.”
Tyla’s lips compressed. “Violet, how much do you know about Creek?” she asked gently.
“I know he’s an only child, just like me. And he’s tough and strong. He works at The Rotten Apple and,” she paused, thinking back to all the nights she’d shared with the man she’d thought she’d been in love with. But she couldn’t be in love with Creek! She couldn’t have fallen so hard for a man who could think that she…that…
She shook her head and pushed the memories away. “We had a lot of fun, just talking and laughing about politics and life and just whatever popped into our minds.” She sniffed. “I know that he most likely can’t afford five thousand dollars a night for a prostitute. At least not for more than five nights.” She dropped her head into her hand. “What was he thinking? The man tends bar! That must have been his life savings!” She shook her head. “I’m not worth that much, and he never should have thought I would be for sale anyway! Nothing in our conversations indicated I would be for sale! Why would he think that?”
Tyla leaned forward. “Well, first of all, you need to know something about Creek. He’s not a bartender. He and three other guys own The Rotten Apple.”
Violet’s mouth fell open after hearing that. Owner? Or a part owner? Shaking her head, she sighed. Even if that were true, having a partial stake in a bar here in Alaska, where the populations weren’t very dense, didn’t seem to be a big money maker. “Still, that’s not a huge profit center.”
Tyla suppressed her amusement. “It’s their hobby. The Rotten Apple is only a place for them to hang out when they want to be around humanity. They all have houses up on the mountains.” She let those words sink in, watching Violet’s features carefully. “Their own mountains,” she explained further. “And their houses, well, I haven’t been inside any of them, but they’re not small. They are huge actually. And the technology that is rumored to be inside of those houses is crazy. They don’t need electricity to their houses because each of the homes generates their own power. And Creek isn’t poor. The last estimate on his net worth was around the forty billion dollar range. That’s billion with a B.”
Violet’s mouth fell open for a long moment as that news sunk in. She wasn’t really sure that she believed it, but…actually, Creek being wealthy would explain a lot of things about his personality. “Well, I guess he could afford five thousand dollars a night,” she whispered. And her face crumpled into tears. All the anger and pain that she’d been trying to hold back just tumbled out of her now.
Tyla moved to the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of vodka she’d seen in one of the cabinets, then came back and poured some into Violet’s tea. Sitting down beside the woman, she put her arms around her and hugged her tightly. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I just thought you should know the whole truth about the man you thought you knew.”
Violet nodded against the woman’s arms. “Yes. Thank you for telling me. I just…” she paused as the information muddled her mind. “I feel like such a fool!”
Tyla shook her head. “No. You’re not a fool. You just fell in love with a guy.” She sighed, thinking about her own heartache problems. “It happens to the best of us.”
They sat there for a long time, Violet’s tears flowing freely now as the full reality of her foolishness hit her. For a long time, she simply let the tears flow, accepting the comfort of this stranger because…well, the pain slashing at her heart wouldn’t allow anything else. She just let the tears fall but nothing seemed to diminish the pain and humiliation she was feeling.