Hustle Me (Bank Shot Romance #1)(60)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“Who was it?”

I knew why he wanted to know. Yet another reason that he was too smart for his own good. “I don’t even know. Someone that thought they were talking to someone who cared. It was some drunk guy.”

He looked down at the blanket and started playing with the corner of the fabric. “I wish Jammer would call. He said he’d teach me pool and then he just left.”

I hated that my brother was just as sad about Jammer leaving. I felt like punching him in the face if I ever saw him again.

Since Jammer had been gone, the new bartender was learning all the ins and outs of the tavern. His name was Christopher and he was very handsome. I think he must have been born from Zeus because his body was chiseled so much that he walked funny from the bulkiness of his muscles. Chris had bartended for a few local places and just wanted a change. My slow business wasn’t exactly a fun place to work. Aside from Shaun working days. It got pretty boring. Sure, we had karaoke night and the weekends had picked up significantly, but it wasn’t like it was the happening place to be.

Even with his large muscles and baby face, he was kind of a klutz and seemed like whatever steroids he was on had all gone to his head. I don’t remember ever having to replace so many glasses and bottles that had been broken while he was working.

Elle and Zach were still hot and heavy and came down almost every weekend to stay with me and Ryan. I think my place became their little weekend getaway. I didn’t mind the company and Ryan really enjoyed Zach’s company.

On weekends, Chris didn’t come in until night shift, so I managed the bar from open until dinner shift. On this particular day, Elle and Zach arrived around ten in the morning and had taken Ryan to some circus that was in town. I was allergic to something at the circus and couldn’t go without having a sneezing fit, so they volunteered. It was funny seeing them so serious about each other, being that neither of them had ever been that way before. Zach was lucky that his life had turned out so nice. I was happy for him, even as I continued to struggle day to day. At least my brother and I had a roof over our head and an income coming in. I wasn’t the best at running a business, but I was getting the hang of it.

The bar was so quiet after the lunch rush that I found myself cleaning out shelves and cabinets under the register to pass the time. I hadn’t cleaned them since I took over the place and knew they were full of junk. I usually didn’t watch television while I worked, but I turned on the television across from the bar for background noise.

Much to my surprise, Jammer had set the darn thing to record every single billiards competition that was televised. I tried to change the channel but got some warning message that frustrated me enough to toss the remote down and leave it on. I wasn’t planning on watching television anyway.

The first cabinet I cleaned out was literally full of old shit. There were coasters in there that were older than me. A bunch of paid receipts and even some vendor work orders for repairs. I put them all in a box to carry to the attic. The next cabinet at first seemed a lot like the one before it. A bunch of paperwork was shoved inside, but behind it was a jar. The jar was full of folded up pieces of paper and chips. I opened the large pickle jar and pulled one of the chips out. They said they were sobriety chips. Realizing they were my fathers, I reached in and grabbed one of the folded up pieces of paper.

Dear Charlie:

Today I earned my one year sobriety chip. You are the reason that keeps me going strong. One day I will find you and be able to tell you in person how much you mean to me. I think about you every single day and regret the decisions that took you away from me. I know you will never read this note, but it’s part of my recovery.

Daddy loves you.

I stared at the little piece of paper and traced his words, before pulling out another one to read.

Dear Charlie:

This is the first part of my sobriety program. They say it’s good to express my feelings. I lost you because of my drinking. I hope you are safe and being taken care of. I miss you every second of the day. I miss your pretty curly hair and the sweet smile that would be looking at me when I woke every morning. You will always be my sunshine.

Love Daddy

Tears were rolling down my face as I felt my first real connection to my biological father. His love was flowing through his words and overwhelming me. I grabbed a third note and then a fourth. Each one was address to me and all of them explained how much he loved me. I held all of the notes in my hands and brought them to my chest, while continuing to cry.

Since I knew that a customer could come in at any second, I gathered the letters and put them back in the jar and closed it up. I was still sniffling when I got to the third cabinet. A shoebox that was closed was sitting right in front. I opened it up and saw a bunch of pictures that included some of Jammer. I held the pictures in my hands and looked at the father that I never knew and the man that I gave my heart to that had broken me.

Without much thought, I grabbed all of the items and threw them in the large box. I locked the front door and put a ‘be back in ten’ note on the door, before heading up to put the items in the attic.

I had only ever looked inside of the attic once. It was full of old boxes, but when I got up there this time, I felt it was necessary to look around. Most of the boxes were filled with albums. I didn’t recognize any of the people, but knew they were billiards players from the backgrounds.

When I got through a couple boxes, I saw one with Jammer’s name hidden in the corner. I almost ran toward it when I saw it. I sat Indian style and started pulling things out. There were albums with my father and both of Jammer’s parents. I flipped through more pages and saw some like the one he had showed me. I pulled the picture of me as a little girl and Jammer as a little boy out of the plastic. He was holding my hand and it had been snowing. On the back of the picture it read, “John and Lena.”

The following pages were much of the same. Jammer and I must have spent a lot of time together when I was too little to remember. He had told me all about our parents knowing each other, but to see it for myself was something indescribable. I felt so used.

Still, I couldn’t help but go through Jammer’s box some more. At the very bottom was an envelope addressed to him. It was unopened and part of me knew it had never been read, but since it was in my attic, it was my right to find out what it said.

Jammer:

I found your room empty this morning and can already guess that you have moved on. Words can’t express how saddened I am that this had happened. A few months ago I found out that I have cancer. There is a fifty-fifty chance it can be treated, but my health isn’t the greatest. I think it is important for you to know something before you find out from someone else.