her mind blank as she navigated the empty streets of her hometown, until she made it home. She pulled Big Red to a stop in the driveway and killed the engine. The living room looked dark, but there was something flickering inside. The TV, probably. Maybe Deanna or the twins were watching a movie.
She got out and headed to the front door, keys jangling as she opened the lock. There was definitely a movie playing inside—something with explosions and gunfire. Audrey frowned. She didn’t like Deanna watching those movies, as she was sensitive and prone to nightmares if something was too gory.
“Dee?” She flicked the lock on the door behind her, but there was no response. That’s when she saw a figure sitting in the beat-up recliner facing the television…a figure that was far too large to be any of her siblings. “Dad?”
“And where have you been?”
“I thought you were at poker tonight.” Uh oh. He wasn’t supposed to be home yet; he never made it in before midnight. He flicked on the lights and stood, watching her with a dark stare. Her mind raced, trying to come up with a solution.
“Holton’s missus came home early and kicked us all out,” he said with a derisive grunt. “No matter. The cards weren’t playing in my favor anyway. So where were you?”
“I was pulling an extra shift.”
Her father’s eyes flicked over her outfit. “At the café?”
Hmm, now she had a decision to make. It would be more plausible to say she was at her aunt’s shop, given how she was dressed, but what if he’d spoken to her? Harriet sometimes called the house to check in on everyone.
“Yeah, uh… We were doing inventory.”
“At ten o’clock at night?”
“We can’t do it when the café is open.”
Why did she even have to justify herself? The twins were old enough to look after the house for one night—she’d certainly done more at their age. And Deanna never made trouble. Her father expected her to not only hold the family up financially, but she had to do it all without having a life of her own?
Audrey’s blood was almost boiling, and tears pricked the backs of her eyes, but she blinked them away. No way would she break. Not now, not ever.
Her father was looking worse for wear these days, with gray whiskers growing unchecked and his skin papery and dry. He wore a black T-shirt that clung to his broad shoulders and the potbelly that he’d steadily grown with beer and fried food since her mother died. He never ate the healthy stuff she prepared.
It was hard to look at him these days. In fact, some days she didn’t—because she could still see the kind, crinkle-eyed man who’d tossed her in the air as a child and who’d read her bedtime stories, doing all the different voices. He was a good man then, a man who’d adored his family, and even though they’d always been strapped for cash, he’d done everything he could to make her childhood wonderful. They’d had picnics on the floor of the trailer, looked for fairies in the trees, and made up magical worlds together.
Why couldn’t she have that man back?
“Can you explain this?” He came forward, a piece of paper folded up in his hand.
Audrey’s breath caught in the back of her throat. What was that? She reached out, forcing her hand not to shake, and took it from him. Her stomach dropped as she caught sight of the Harrison Beech logo as she opened the paper. It was a letter, addressed to her, informing her that there had been an error with her payment. She’d been overcharged $50. It stated that there should be a check enclosed, but obviously her father had palmed that.
Letters from the college were supposed to go to her aunt’s store. She’d requested that specifically, and previous mail had gone there, but of course the college had her home address for their official records.
“What do I need to explain, exactly?” Audrey tilted her face up and met her father directly in the eye.
She was so done being worried that he would snap. So done with tiptoeing around him.
“You think money grows on trees, Audrey? How the fuck are you paying for this?”
“With money I earn.” She didn’t yell, didn’t shout. Because she wasn’t the emotional firework in this house—she was the calm, steady, level influence. “From my multiple jobs.”
She decided to leave out the fact that her aunt supported her by paying half the