Page 7 of A Violet Obsession

“I know this fucking sucks, kid. But believe me, I know what I’m talking about.” He tilts his head. “Didn’t Mel ever tell you about how we grew up?”

My hands lower to my sides. “No. Just that I didn’t have grandparents. They died.”

Scott huffs a bitter laugh. “Don’t know if they’re dead or not. Don’t care. Mel and I were in and out of foster homes for most of our lives. A family that already had a son eventually adopted her.”

My mouth falls open. “What? She never told me that.” Something flips in my chest. “Wait. That means I have grandparents out there. And another uncle.”

His expression hardens. “They threw her away. She went to them at twelve, and the second she turned eighteen she was on her own, because their boy didn’t like her. Didn’t like sharing his parents—something he reminded her of every day of her life. How she had ruined his life.” His lips press into a firm line. “You know how kind her heart was. It just about broke her.”

He lifts his eyes to meet my gaze. “I bet she was a hell of a mom. She had so much love in her to give, and it hurt her not to have someone to give it to.”

I bite the inside of my cheek until the pain drowns everything else. I will not cry in front of this man ever again.

“Yeah, she was,” he murmurs, watching me. “I can see it in your eyes. And I can see how much you hate me. That’s fine. But your mom wouldn’t want you in foster care, and there’s some other shit that I’m not getting into.” He glances around my room and at the empty suitcase on the floor. “You need to pack because we’re leaving in the morning. Even if I have to stuff you in the trunk.”

“I fucking hate you.”

His face blanks. “Cool.”

“It won’t be so bad, kid.”

Scott’s voice over the god-awful sports radio pulls me back into my current nightmare. I press my forehead harder against the glass, letting my hair fall like a curtain, hiding myself from him.

“You’re old enough not to need, like… you know, a parent parent. The way I see it, we’ll be kind of like roommates.”

Roommates.

I squeeze my eyes tighter as if it can shut out his words.

“I’m fourteen,” I mutter.

“I mean, shit. At fourteen, I was in juvie for boosting cars. You seem like a smart girl. That social worker was bragging about your grades and awards and shit from school.”

He doesn’t need to remind me. It was humiliating to sit at the Markham’s dining room table with two strangers while one paraded my life in front of the other like she was selling me. The not-so-subtle subtext being: Not only does she have good teeth, but she’s a good girl. Won’t be any trouble for you.

The woman hadn’t needed to try so hard. Even I could tell Scott was only partially paying attention, nodding where appropriate. I also didn’t miss the fact that he only ever referred to me as kid or Melinda’s daughter. Like I didn’t have a name. Like I wasn’t a person—just an extension of a dead woman he loved.

He was only taking me because he loved her… and the money he would get from my parents’ estate.

5

LILY

Present Day

“That’s the last of them.” Dawn smiles, setting down a stack of papers on the table where I’m preparing the items sold at today’s auction for delivery to their new owners.

“Great.” I carefully lower the nineteenth-century ormolu clock into the foam-encased box, then run my hands down the sides to make sure it fits snug.

“It was exciting there for a bit,” Dawn says, rummaging in her purse. “Aha! I knew I hadn’t forgotten them.” She moves to the wall underneath the security camera and dangles a Ziploc bag full of cookies in the air.

I shake my head, grinning. “You know I’m not supposed to eat in here.”

“Pfft. I’m your boss, and I say you’re allowed.” She points upward at the camera. “Just do it over here.”

Laughing, I join her and take the cookie in her hand.

“Don’t get too excited,” she warns. “I was short on chocolate chips, so these are more coconutty than usual.”