Bittersweet Hope by Jansen Ryann

Author:Jansen, Ryann [Jansen, Ryann]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2014-01-14T00:00:00+00:00

...

“You are such a cheater!” I jutted my finger across the Monopoly board at Caleb. He stared at me, an innocent look on his face.

“Who me? I don’t cheat.”

“You most certainly did. I counted my money before I went to the bathroom, and now I’m missing hundreds.” My attention turned to Anna. “Did you leave the board?”

She bit her lip, looking from her wide eyed son to me. “Uh, maybe for a second? I only went to get some more water out of the cooler.”

“See! I knew you stole my money!” No matter how determined I was to be angry, as I pointed at Caleb laughter bubbled up in my throat and jumped out. He opened his mouth again, probably to protest, but he couldn’t contain his laughter any longer, and he fell over, clutching his stomach. Pretty soon all three of us were cracking up.

He pulled four fake yellow one hundred dollar bills from under the game board, directly in front of my seat. “Oh look. You must have pushed them under the board when you got up. Oops.”

My eyes narrowed at him but I still giggled. “Yeah. Uh-huh.” I snatched my money up and put it with the rest of my pile. “Just because you’re losing doesn’t mean you have to ruin my game.” I stuck my tongue out at him, and he winked at me. Shivers ran up and down my spine. His eyes crinkled at the side as he grinned, just like Anna’s. But on Caleb it didn’t look just cute. It was swoon-worthy.

I shook my head. Stop, stop, stop! I knew I might be blushing, imagining him kissing me, holding me, but I couldn’t get the images to leave my head. I willed my eyes to focus on the play money.

“You two are too much.” Anna said, pushing up from her place on the floor. She wore a wide smile. I knew she was happy that Caleb and I had been hanging out with her all day. First there was the game of charades in the afternoon, then we’d roasted hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire Caleb built in the chimney. Now a rousing game of good old Monopoly. It was one of the best days I’d ever had. It felt like…something a family would do, warm and cozy and loving. My insides were practically bursting with happiness. Guilt threatened to take it all away, as the thought of family brought Mama’s picture into my head, as well as Sadie’s and Sierra’s. I pushed them aside. I deserved to smile, needed it even. There was nothing I could do about any of that right now, so there was no sense in wallowing in misery. I could think about it later.

“Where are you going, Mom?” Caleb stretched on the floor in front of the fireplace. The flames behind him made shadows on his bare calves, mesmerizing me.

Anna glanced down at her watch. “It’s nearly midnight.” She gestured toward the windows, rain still running down in a tiny flood.

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