Lucky Streak (Lucky 2)

“Edward and I had much in common and I promised to help him overcome his fears,” Clara continued. “But he came into my life at a tough time. My father had just arrived in the States from Jamaica. My mother is American and raised me here, but my father arrived with a friend of his, planning to marry me off.”

“You were how old?” Amber asked.

“Forty. Too old to be told what to do. But we’re never too old to want our parents’ approval, now, are we?”

Another telling comment, Mike thought.

“I suppose not,” Amber replied. “So what happened?”

“I did as my father asked and went on a date with this man, but I had no intention of marrying him, so I kept it from Edward.” Clara glanced down.

Mike stiffened. If his father had come out of his shell, extended himself enough to reach out to her and she’d hurt him…He tensed, waiting. “What happened?” he asked, his voice harsh.

“The next morning, the gentleman brought flowers to my shop.”

“And Edward was there,” Amber guessed, shaking her head in disappointment.

Clara nodded. “My father was there, as well, making vocal assumptions about my future.”

A knot formed in Mike’s stomach as he pictured his father’s reaction. Just as he’d taken the first steps to letting go of the curse, fate had knocked him down once more.

“Damn,” Mike muttered.

Amber covered his hand with hers. “Do you remember this time in your father’s life?”

He thought back. His parents had divorced ten years ago. “Seven years ago? I was twenty years old and in college. I didn’t come home often and when I did, I rarely came to Dad’s house,” he admitted, looking away.

Amber squeezed his hand tighter. Mike tried not to blame himself for not wanting to be around his father, but when something like this happened, he felt the kick of guilt strongly. Eventually he’d grown up and accepted his father, failings and all, along with his responsibilities as an only child. He loved Edward and didn’t blame him for not being there for him as a real father.

But clearly, if this woman had broken Edward’s heart, he would have become bitter and angry and even more entrenched in his negative beliefs. And Mike hadn’t been there to help him through it.

“How did Edward handle the situation?” Amber asked, continuing the conversation.

Clara expelled a long breath. “He didn’t say a word. Just walked out and took my heart with him.”

“Did you go after him?” Amber asked.

“I cleared things up with the other gentleman and my father, but then yes, of course I went after him. But he wouldn’t listen. I called. He changed and unlisted his number. I wrote. The letters were returned unanswered.”

“That I remember.” Mike took his first sip of soda, his mouth dry. “My mother wanted to re

ach him, to tell him about her remarrying, but he’d changed his number. She was upset that she had to drive out here to tell him in person.”

“You need to know, I didn’t give up right away. I gave him some time and dropped by a few times, but he always refused to answer the door. There was no talking to the man.” Clara spread her hands in front of her, expressing her useless feelings.

Amber wasn’t surprised. “So seven years passed.”

Clara nodded. “I never met another man who affected me the same way. And then you walked into my shop and I took it as a sign. It was time.”

Amber pinched the bridge of her nose. This story had been heart wrenching, on so many levels, she thought, glancing at Mike, who was sitting beside her, learning about the reasons for his father’s mental deterioration firsthand.

“You decided it was time to what?” Amber asked Clara.

“I had to right the wrong I did Edward all those years ago. I had to know if we could possibly have a future.”

Her words echoed inside Amber, rendering her unable to stay angry. Suddenly Amber viewed herself and Clara as kindred spirits, two women who wanted the same basic thing from life.

Amber sighed. “I wish you’d told me the truth so I could have prepared him.” Or at least prepared herself. She bit the inside of her cheek before speaking what was on her mind, too aware of the hurt man sitting beside her. “But since I’ve kept a few secrets of my own lately, I can’t hold it against you,” she told Clara.