Page 47 of Forbidden Dreams
"Who's going to hire me at this age? The only skill I have is scanning groceries."
"It's more than that. You deal with customers." I'd seen her work, and she was always chatting with the locals, catching up with them.
"You know customer service is being outsourced everywhere. There's nothing that I can do."
I hated this for her. "Do you need anything from me?"
She waved a hand at me. "You already do enough."
If I gave her cash, Dad would find out about it. So I only provided things: a new furnace, roof, groceries. "You want me to get you new carpet? Furniture?"
She shook her head. "Save your money. One day you'll find yourself a nice woman to take care of."
I scoffed at that. "Not interested in settling down. You know that."
"Everyone falls for someone at one time or another. Whether you want to or not."
I wanted to tell her that she could fall for another someone. A man who treated her right. But she was hung up on Dad, kidding herself that it was love.
I sat on the edge of one of the chairs, the one covered in stains. "I'm happy working."
Mom nodded. "You aligned yourself with the Sterlings. You were always a smart boy."
I ignored that comment. She'd brought up my association with the Sterlings a lot over the years, and I'd carefully avoided talking about them. The Sterlings were mine, and I wouldn't let Dad ruin my relationship with them. "Emery's in her element at college."
Mom pursed her lips. "She's wasting her money, putting herself in debt. And for what?"
"She's getting an education. It will help her get a higher-paying job."
"You do just fine for yourself, and you didn't go to no college," Mom said with disgust in her tone.
"Emery doesn't want to work with her hands." She enjoyed creating art and videos. She'd probably end up with a degree in graphic design. But I'd support her in whatever she wanted to do.
"You mark my words. She'll graduate with a mountain of debt."
I didn't tell Mom that I'd opened a college savings account for Emery when I started working. That it had grown fairly large by the time she'd applied to schools, and that I was helping her out with the rest. It felt good to know that I could support my sister in this way. It wasn't like I would ever need to pay for my own education or even that of my nonexistent kids. I only had myself to support, and I had more than enough money. I'd just bought a house. What else did I need?
"You were smart. You went right to work."
"I didn't have a choice though. She does. What if she can turn around our family's legacy? Be the first to graduate from college?"
"I just hope she's not making a big mistake."
I understood where she was coming from. When you never saw anything better, you assumed that kind of life wasn't for you. But Emery was exposed to different opportunities, and I hoped that she'd have a better life than Mom or Dad.
I'd make sure of it.
Chapter 13
Aspen
The Cocoa Crawl went all day, and there were still people lingering in the evening, enjoying dinner at the various restaurants and browsing the shops. The owners of the food trucks agreed to stay until the crowd dissipated, and the line for the carriage rides had only increased into the evening.
The carriage rides were so popular; I needed to ask if they'd be interested in providing them for every town event. I personally loved hearing the clip-clop of the horse's hooves on the streets. It made me feel like I'd gone back in time for a few seconds.
I felt a pang when I realized that what I had with Cooper wouldn't result in a romantic carriage ride. This wasn't going anywhere.
I enjoyed the sex, but I wanted more too. I wanted what I was seeing all around me today, happy couples and families.
