Hustle Me (Bank Shot Romance #1)(41)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Chapter 24

Jammer

I regretted going to see my mother. Not only had my relationship with Charlie been destroyed, but I’d also learned that Joker hadn’t been honest with me, he knew whose kid I was the whole time. What kind of f**ked up person uses a kid like that? Obviously, he and my father were more friends than they realized, based on their payback abilities.

I missed Charlie from the moment I walked out of that apartment. In just one short month she’d changed me. I wish I had a better explanation, but the truth was I didn’t. I couldn’t explain why I was so connected with her. I mean, I get that I knew her when we were kids, but the fact that I was so obsessed with her even back then was unreal.

I didn’t believe in fate or stupid shit that couldn’t be explained, but knowing that I’d found Charlie and fallen in love with her, it had to be some kind of devine intervention. The past six years had given me nothing to show for, but in that short month with Charlie, we’re building a future. We worked great together and I felt like we were on the same page.

I knew I should have told her who I was, but the longer I waited, the more I felt like I would lose her. Obviously, I’d been right. She kicked me out without blinking. She was so hurt, I could see it in her eyes and my heart ached for breaking her heart.

I was all the way in my car before I realized that I’d left my stick in the bedroom under Charlie’s side of the bed. It wasn’t like I could walk back in there and get it. I couldn’t stand seeing her cry when I was the damn reason.

Before I knew it, I was driving back to my parents’ house. My father was away on business and I knew exactly where to find him. I should have been prepared for my mother’s reaction when she heard my voice on the monitor.

"Yes?"

"Mom, it’s me. I need to talk to you again."

"If you’re just going to get mad and leave, then I refuse to talk to you."

I shook my head and knew where I’d gotten my stubbornness. "Mom, please. I will tell you why I had to leave yesterday. Just let me in."

The gates started to open and by the time I made it to the front door, she was already opening it. She didn’t welcome me like she had the day before. Instead, she walked in front of me to the living room and sat down. I sat across from her and rubbed my hands on my pants while I thought about how to explain everything to her. "Mom, I need to know how you found out about Charlotte. Who told you that they all died in that fire?"

"Well your father, of course. He came right home and told me."

I ran my hands through my hair, noting how pissed she was going to get when I told her that he lied to her. "Mom, Char…Lena didn’t die in the fire. She survived."

"But that is impossible. Your father told me that they had died. You have to be mistaken. Who is giving you this information and why do you care so much about this family? John, please tell me what is going on? Why are you here asking about our past and a girl that died a long time ago?"

"She didn’t die and the reason that I know is because I’ve been living with her for the past month. Joe must have known the truth. When he died, he left her and her little brother the Tavern. Mom, it’s really her, I swear."

"Did you just say that Joe is dead?"

"He died of cancer a few months back. Charlie didn’t even know he was her real father. Her mother never told her the truth. She found out from the attorney that was handling his will."

My mother held her hand over her face and I could hear her crying. She looked up at me as she sulked. "So the child lost her parents, but what happened to her, if Joe didn’t take care of her?"

"She went into foster care. Mom, it was awful. She’s been through hell."

She cried even harder and I couldn’t help but walk over to her and hold her. "John, I would have taken her in. I would have given her a home and loved her like she was ours. Why didn’t your father just tell me the truth?"

I rubbed my mother’s back. "I was hoping you knew the answer to that."

She pushed herself away from me and stood up. "John, I’ve loved your father for a very long time, but we haven’t always been happy. When Charlotte first took Joe’s daughter away, Joe stayed with us. I don’t think you remember it. He stayed in the basement and was barely ever upstairs. Anyway, your father was so involved with the business and making it his empire that he forgot to pay attention to me. Although it was brief, Joe and I had an affair. It’s not a time that I’m proud of, but it was the only time in my life that I felt so alive. Your father caught us one night. He said he was going out of town and waited for us to be together before he walked in. Joe left and went to live at the Tavern, but your father told me if I ever saw Joe again, he would take his business from him. It killed me, but I never spoke to Joe again. I’m so sorry, son. You must hate me."

I grabbed my mother’s hand and looked into her reddening eyes. "Mom, when I left home, I met Joe. He let me stay with him for a year, but he never told me he knew you or dad. I’m just wondering now if he was keeping me safe because he still cared about you."

She smiled and squeezed my hand. "If he did then I wish I could have thanked him. God, he’s really gone?"

"Yeah, that’s how I met Charlie. I went back to the tavern to thank him and she was there. That’s actually what brought me here. There’s more that dad isn’t telling you. He put a damn lien on the tavern. Charlie has thirty days to come up with fifty grand. I need you to convince Dad to back off. This vendetta he has is going to leave two people that I care about without a home and a business."

"I can’t talk to him about that. Why would your father even care what happens to the tavern if Joe is gone?"

"Because he left a quarter of it to me. Yesterday, I thought Joe was just letting me stay with him to get back at Dad for something, but now I know that he did it for you. He left me a quarter of that bar so I could find out the truth. Somehow he knew I would figure it out eventually. Mom, I know you’re scared, but I love Charlie and right now she hates me so much. Please help me make things right."

She didn’t want to help me, in fact, I knew she didn’t want to get involved at all. Sure, I was a little taken back when I found out that my mother had an affair with another man, but in the whole big picture of things, I could see how it would happen. "I want to see her. Take me to see Charlie."

"That’s not going to be easy. I sort of lied about who I was for the whole month we’ve been together and she hates my guts."

She kept shaking her head. "I just can’t believe this. I can’t believe that you fell in love with that little girl. John, I want you to take me to her."