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The wind picked up, and pieces of my hair escaped my bandana and whipped me in the face, signaling that we were closer to the beach. I untied the cloth and started fussing with my ponytail as I continued. “Understandably, Dad didn’t handle it well. Grandmother lived next door to us, and I started spending more time over there during the next couple of years while he mourned and tried to cope. It seemed better for him if he didn’t have to try to deal with all of that and me.”
I retied my bandana as we stepped onto the beach, our pace slowing as our feet fought new resistance. “He and mom had one of those whirlwind romances—a chance meeting, a fast courtship, and a small beach wedding only weeks later. Near where we are now, actually.”
I dug the toe of my shoe into the sand and did my best to only tell the facts of the story and not live in them. “Grandmother hated him, and if there’s one thing that no one would ever suspect about her, it’s this: she hates men. I don’t know if it started when my dad showed up and whisked my mom away from her or if it’s because of something from even longer ago.”
I glanced up at Vinh, the only sign of shock from my statement a slight frown.
“And if she doesn’t outright hate them, she deeply distrusts them. I have a feeling that she will always just be a knot I will never be able to untie.” I shrugged lightly. “I do have a theory, though…,” I trailed off, then continued as Vinh nodded his encouragement. “I think her feelings toward men are one of the reasons she was so quick to move us here. She can ‘work’”—I air quoted—“and be near so many men at the casino because it’s so heavily monitored and probably safer than anywhere else. There’s a veil of control and order over Fortuna.”
A grunt of disagreement escaped Vinh’s throat. “Sorry.” He coughed—unconvincingly. “You were saying?”
I gave him a look and gestured for us to keep walking. “I swear no matter what I talk about, it always loops back to her. My baggage about her could fill up her imaginary barge.” I flicked a hand toward the Gulf where said barge was rumored to exist. “Ugh, that was mean. I don’t know that it’s imaginary, I’ve just never seen it.”
His laugh at my backpedaling made me feel better, so I carried on as we walked along the water. “What I mean is, at the casino, she knows exactly what to expect from everyone around her. There’s safety in that. Which is ironic, right?” I peeked at him to find his gaze was on the water.
One side of his mouth lifted. “Is it?”
“Well, she spends every day gambling her fortune away. Or maybe not away. I’m really not sure about any of that and don’t want to know, if I’m being honest. And it all seems doubly ironic because, according to her, my dad stole my mom from her. Right off a stage.”
He gave me a bemused smile, and I gave one back.
“My mom was a dancer. A good one, I’m told. She was touring with her troupe along the Coast, and my dad happened to be at Fortuna for a friend’s bachelor party. They had tickets to her show. He ditched his friends, found her afterward, and then followed her tour down the Coast all the way to New Orleans. He wasn’t well-off, but he somehow managed to get tickets to every one of her shows.”
“He knew what he wanted,” Vinh stated almost pensively.
I could practically feel the hearts dancing across my eyes. “He did.”
We shared a smile, and I was surprised at how light I felt after telling the story.
Vinh, apparently ready to hear more, asked questions for the first time. “Your mom performed as Lady Luck in that show? Is that what you meant by calling it your legacy?”
“No, though I guess I can see why you’d think that. I told you—I’m explaining it really badly. Don’t ever ask me for directions,” I joked.
We came to a stop just out of reach of the water. “My grandmother—” I stopped and then groaned. “See? I can’t help it. Here she is again. I can’t even imagine how horrified she would be if she knew I was talking about her. We should probably burn some sage or something.”
I noticed my arms had been swinging back and forth, so I balled my fists and halted the motion, feeling slightly mortified. Vinh’s warm, large hand grabbed my fist, and he applied gentle strokes from wrist to knuckle until my hand unclenched. The other naturally relaxed in sympathy.
Wizard.
My gaze was glued to his mouth, which was how I caught the slight upturn of one side of his lips transform into a full smile when I interlaced our fingers.
Feeling a little out of my depth, and not brave enough to stand still, I pulled us further down the beach. “So, my mom and Grandmother used to live not very far from here. When I said that we moved here after Grandmother became my guardian, I meant moved back. Mom and Dad had moved to Birmingham after they married for a job opportunity for him, and to their horror, my grandmother followed.” I widened my eyes at him and grimaced. “She even bought the house next door.”
He snorted and squeezed my hand.
“Yeah, I’m off track again. Let’s back up.”
Suddenly, my shoulder pulled backward, and I whipped my head back to see that Vinh wasn’t beside me anymore but was taking small steps backwards, using just enough pressure on our joined hands to make me step back too.
It took me two seconds longer than it should’ve to understand the joke.
I raised an eyebrow at him, knowing it wasn’t nearly as effective as his. “You... are a nerd,” I breathed.
That relieved some of the pressure of his presence.
He shrugged and continued backing up. “I am. But you should also consider that maybe I’m just good at following your directions.” His thumb stroked the top of my hand, the implication hanging heavy in the air.
Whelp, so much for that.
