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He followed my gaze, a soft chuckle leaving him. “Every purchase of those candles goes to help an organization that deals with human trafficking and abuse victims. Your girl is one of the candle makers.”
My body stirred. “My girl?”
His chuckle deepened but nothing more was said on the matter.
I got three beers in before I loosened the tie around my neck and took it off. Unbuttoning the top three buttons of my black dress shirt, I let out a heavy sigh.
“I heard about your granddaddy.”
“I’m sure you all did,” I mumbled.
“He was a good man.” Ricki went back to wiping down another mug. “A hard worker and a stern fucker but still, a very good man.”
“He was.” Guilt resonated on my shoulders that I hadn’t been by to see him much over the years.
“How are your parents doing?” Ricki asked, bringing me out of my head.
“Good. Dad’s planning on retiring in the next year or so. Mom hasn’t had to work since we moved from here.” I had loathed my dad in the beginning for taking me from Marley but now that I was older, I understood. I no longer blamed him but myself instead.
Ricki nodded. “Have you seen Marley yet?”
Every inch of me came alive at the mere mention of her name. “No,” I croaked.
Ricki smirked, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes becoming more pronounced with the movement. “She’s doing well. This organization is doing well for themselves even though money isn’t the whole point of it. Just thought you’d want to know.”
I sat forward. “What organization?”
“Thistle Farms. They have several locations across the country.” Ricki pulled a candle off the shelf and handed it to me.
I took off the lid and brought the small glass container up to my nose, taking a deep inhale. It was a sweet scent. Almost like a mixture of vanilla cake and cinnamon. “That smells good.”
“They all do.”
I handed it back to him, happy that Marley was doing well for herself. Even growing up, she was always helping others. She had become a tutor as soon as she could. She would donate her clothes and anything else she didn’t want, to the less fortunate. I had teased her in the beginning by saying that she was our town’s Mother Theresa.
“She’s not married,” Ricki said, pulling me from my thoughts. He placed another beer in front of me before I had finished my last one. “In case you were wondering.”
“Why would I be wondering that?” I asked, picking up the mug and downed half of it before meeting his gaze.
He chuckled. “You kids. You never learn.”
“It’s been seven years, Ricki.” Although I was surprised she hadn’t been snatched up yet, I was thankful just the same.
“So? You’re still young. ‘Bout time you got that head of yours out of your ass and did something about it.” He grunted. “You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for that.”
“My grandpa died,” I reminded him.
“And when was the last time you saw the man?” Ricki raised an eyebrow.
“Uh…”
“Exactly.” He pointed at me. “Listen, I’ve been ‘round long enough and I know you kids. I may not have seen you in a while, but I know that what you two had was somethin’ special. Sure, you were kids. But that doesn’t mean anything. This is your second chance, Atlas. Remember that.”
While he went back to serving other customers, I stewed over his words. Could he be right? I was never close with my grandfather because my father wasn’t. They had a falling out when my dad moved us across the country and evenhehadn’t been back to see him. Hell, he wasn’t even in town yet for his funeral.
“I’ll be there on the day of,” Dad said.
Yeah. Right.
