Rome's Chance (Reapers MC #6.6)(33)

“What?”

“Come with me,” she said, pushing to her feet with effort, then reaching down for her glass. I followed her back into her bedroom, where she opened her closet. “Grab my jewelry box—it’s up there on the top.”

I pulled it down, handing it over. She set it on the bed and started digging through it. Reminded me of all the times I’d watched her getting ready for a night out. She always started with rum and Coke—that set the mood. After her second glass, she’d let me play with her jewelry, and by the third I was allowed to put on as much of it as I liked. My favorite had been a bunch of thin silver bangles. I loved to jingle them and pretend I was a Gypsy fortune teller.

Mom pulled out a small gray box and handed it to me, swaying slightly.

“These were your grandmother’s,” she said, and I caught a hint of moisture in her eyes. “She gave them to me right before she died, but I think it’s time for you to have them. They’d look beautiful with your dress.”

Opening the box, I found an antique-looking necklace with a large green pendant surrounded by tiny diamonds. Nestled next to it was a pair of matching earrings.

“They’re real,” she said softly. “Emeralds.”

“How?” I asked, stunned. “They never had any money. There’s no way Grandpa could buy these.”

“You know they ran off together, right?” she asked. “Her family was fancy people, from Chicago, and they didn’t approve of my dad. Thought he was trash.”

“Yeah, she told me once.” It’d always made me sad, because my grandparents had adored each other, right up to the end.

“Well, these came from her grandmother,” Mom said, touching one reverently. “She sent them to her after they got married. Said they were her inheritance. She told her not to feel guilty about selling them if she needed to—the original note is still folded up in the bottom of the box if you want to see it. Anyway, no matter how hard times got, they always managed to find a way to pay the bills. She gave them to me right before she died. Told me the same thing.”

I looked around the tiny bedroom, thinking about the kids and all the things they didn’t have.

“Why haven’t you?”

She gave me a sad smile. “I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. And now they’re yours… I’ve never had much to give you, but I can give you this. Consider them insurance for when things get bad, and don’t feel guilty if you need to sell them. But if you don’t, they should go to your daughter someday, okay?”

I pulled out the pendant, turning so she could fasten it around my neck. Then I hugged her, wondering how it was possible to love someone so much, even as I smelled the booze on her breath.

“Lexi told me that you’re moving back to Hallies Falls,” she said, sighing. “I know I fucked up, baby. I tried, but can’t seem to pull it together and now I can’t do anything anymore. It’s not fair to you, but I’m glad you’re coming home.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I hugged her harder. We stood like that for long seconds, then finally I pulled away.

“I need to get going. I don’t want to be late.”

My mother smiled at me.

“Hey, if anyone gives you shit about that black eye, tell ’em to fuck off,” she said. “Then send them to me. I’ll kick their asses.”

With that, she reached for her glass, giving me a quick salute before polishing it off with one swallow.




The reunion was a blast, even if it was sort of small.

There’d only been forty-eight kids in our graduating class, total. Of those, maybe twenty-five had come back. Nowhere near enough to rent a big hotel ballroom or anything, which worked out fine because Hallies Falls didn’t have any real hotels.

We’d taken over the upper floor of the Eagles Lodge for the night, instead. It wasn’t particularly special, just a small stage, a dance floor, and some banquet tables. They’d done a good job decorating, though, and the drinks were cheap. Mark Barron, our senior class president, served as DJ. It was just like being in high school again, except all the social barriers that’d been so important back then were gone.

Everyone was friendly, and in the mood to have a good time.

Still, I’d felt self-conscious about my eye at first. Especially after I’d caught several people sneaking looks. Nobody said anything, though. That might’ve been because Peaches—who was also rolling single for the night—seemed to have decided I needed a guard dog. She’d attached herself to my side early on, as if we were long lost friends reunited.

This was funny, because we hadn’t been close at all, growing up. Maybe she felt responsible because I’d gotten hurt at her bar. Or maybe she was just a nice person. Whatever her reason, I was discovering that Peaches Taylor was a hell of a lot of fun. I wished I’d known her better during school, but we hadn’t been the same kind. While she’d been cheerleading, I’d been volunteering in the school library.

None of that mattered tonight.

Everyone was laughing and dancing and having a good time. Most of us had been in school together for the full twelve years, and it was fun to learn what happened to all these people I’d known as children, then as awkward young adults. With Peaches at my side, I found myself letting go in a way I’d never been able to back then.