“Cancer.”
Faith hated the word. She stared across the lake and thought about another time and place. About a woman who helped to raise her. A woman who’d lost the battle when Faith was fifteen. Wanda had meant the world to Faith, and it had taken a long time to come to terms with her death. Wanda had been more of a mother to Faith, than the one who’d birthed her.
Her mother.Guilt and hurt and blame clogged her throat, and Faith stared across the lake, eyes on a boat skimming the surface as it crossed in the distance.
“It’s weird, isn’t it?” she said softly. “Us, here, together. On a day that is normally meant for family and barbecues and fireworks.”
“I can’t offer up a family but we’re having a picnic on the water and in about thirty minutes you’re going to have a front row seat to the best fireworks display in the area.” Gus pointed straight ahead over the lake. “There’s a floating dock out there and a local family do it up right every year.”
“I heard about that,” she murmured, flicking at the crumbs in her lap. “The Wallers?”
He nodded. “That’s commitment.”
“Are you missing your family?” she asked.
Gus glanced her way, then shrugged and grabbed a fry. “We’re all busy but we keep in touch. What about you?” He looked at her. “Where are your people from?”
Faith could lie. She could tell him they were gone. Dead. Say that they didn’t exist. Or make up some other lie that did the job. But she decided to keep things as close to the truth as possible without giving him the goods.
“West coast.” She paused. “And you?”
A heartbeat passed. “My mother is in California.”
“Your father?”
“Not in the picture.”
“Siblings?”
“Got a couple of them.” He glanced her way. “I figure you as an only child.”
“Why would you say that?” He wasn’t wrong, but shit, how did he know?
“Just a feeling,” he replied with a grin.
“What’s your last name?” Faith asked the question before she had the time to think about it or stop it. Her cheeks burned because he wasn’t the only one who hadn’t shared that particular piece of information.
Gus looked at her, a bemused expression on his face. “Now we’re getting into it.”
“Are we?”
“Yeah.” He moved closer. “The name is David.”
“Your last name?”
“Yep.”
“Gus David.” She let the name roll off her tongue and frowned. Somehow, it didn’t suit him.
“You never talk about your family.” Gus’s eyes were intense.
Faith kept her voice light and reached for another chicken wing. “There’s not much to tell. My dad died when I was four and my mother remarried when I was eight and you’re right. I’m an only child.”
“You’re not close with your parents?”
Her heart squeezed, and it took everything Faith had to keep her focus and not give too much away. Her emotions were sharp edges that cut deep. She mourned the family she’d never really had, but the betrayal was worse. It leeched into her heart and soul and fed a slow-burning anger that was always there, lingering beneath the surface.
She was becoming a pro at hiding things.Mom would be proud, she thought bitterly.
