Hannah stared at him again. Wherever this was going, it wasn’t what she’d expected. ‘Okay, go on.’
‘You know how I play solitaire and other card games online sometimes?’
Hannah nodded.
‘I also play online poker.’
‘You spend money on it?’
Damien nodded. ‘A bit.’
Her husband played online poker? He squandered their savings on gambling? ‘How much have you lost? You know the long-term odds of actually winning at something like that are very slim. You’ll generally lose at least eighty-five percent of the time.’
Damien shook his head. ‘Remember I said I hadn’t told you because I was worried you’d overreact? Imagine your glass was half full. If it were, you’d have just asked me how much I’d won, not lost.’
Hannah put her cup back on the counter. ‘Okay, how much have you won?’
‘About the same as I’ve lost. Not a lot. I’m not playing it to win big, just to have some fun. It only costs a dollar to enter the cheaper games, so you don’t need to worry. Losing our life savings is not something I plan to do.’
‘No one plans to lose when they gamble, yet more than four hundred Australians commit suicide each year rather than face their gambling losses. That’s more than one a day.’
Damien sighed. ‘I knew I shouldn’t have told you – and that you’d turn it into some statistical nightmare and take all the fun out of it.’
Hannah’s mouth dropped open. ‘Is that what you think I do?’
Damien took her hand in his. ‘Not on purpose, but sometimes. My gambling isn’t a problem, I just thought I should tell you about it. I’ve been playing for a few years and it seems strange to be keeping something from you.’
Hannah extricated her hand. ‘Why tell me now?’
‘Nat probably would otherwise. Matt mentioned online poker to her last night and also let on that I play. She was pretty horrified that I hadn’t told you.’
‘Really? Nat actually cared about me?’
Damien nodded. ‘That’s why she’s coming over this morning. I promised I’d tell you and she’s checking up on me. She was right, though. We shouldn’t have secrets from each other. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, and promise I’ll let you know if I ever think it’s becoming a problem.’
We shouldn’t have secrets from each other. She swallowed down the lump that kept filling her throat. Would he ever forgive her if he found out what she’d done? She wasn’t convinced he would. She was, however, surprised by her sister’s loyalty towards her. That was unexpected. ‘How did Nat go last night? She can’t afford to lose much at the moment.’
‘She can now.’
Hannah’s eyes widened.
‘She cleaned us out, and Matt was betting big. Nat stayed with him in each hand, and nine times out of ten she won.’
‘I didn’t know she really knew how to play.’
‘Phyllie’s been teaching her.’
‘Phyllie? I thought she was kidding when she offered to teach Nat. What does she know about poker?’
Damien laughed. ‘Based on Nat’s winning streak last night, I’d say a lot.’
Hannah was standing by the front door waiting for Nat to arrive and contemplating the information Damien had imparted about his online gambling habit, when the doorbell jolted her out of her thoughts.
She whipped the door open, realising she’d been so deep in thought she hadn’t even noticed Nat’s car turn into the driveway.
Nat raised an eyebrow. ‘I wasn’t expecting you to be waiting by the door. Does that mean you’re excited to see me?’ She held out a box to Hannah. ‘Pastries. A thank you for Damien including me last night, and I figured after the other night at Dad’s anything to make you a bit sweeter was a good idea.’
Hannah stared at her sister for a moment, still trying to get her head around this sudden revelation that gambling was an issue in her family and that Nat had stood up for her with Damien. She chose to ignore Nat’s dig at her and took the box. ‘Thanks. Come in, I’ll make some fresh coffee.’
She led Nat down the carpeted hallway, past the many family photos that decorated the walls, through to the kitchen where Amy, having finished her homework, was sitting at the island bench, headphones on, staring at something on her iPad. Hannah tapped her on the shoulder and she removed her earbuds. ‘Time to turn that off.’
Amy scowled at her mother but managed to muster a smile for her aunt. Nat leaned down and hugged her while Hannah busied herself with the coffee machine. ‘How are you, princess?’
Amy rolled her eyes. ‘Too old to be called that for a start.’
Nat laughed. ‘Okay, Amelia. Is that better?’
‘Yes, Nathalia, it is.’
Hannah smiled. Her daughter gave as good as she got. She never had to worry about Amy not standing up for herself.
‘Did you hear we’re getting a dog?’ Amy asked Nat.
Hannah’s smile slipped. What?
‘Mum and Dad thought I was so good with Toby the other night, they decided to get me a dog for my birthday.’
‘That’s fantastic,’ Nat said. ‘What type are you going to get?’
Had Damien agreed to this, because she certainly hadn’t. She liked dogs, but she didn’t like all the work that went with having one.
‘A rescue dog. I’ve been looking online.’ She held up her iPad. ‘There are so many to choose from. My birthday’s still almost three weeks away, so there’s plenty of time to make a decision.’
‘Hold on a minute.’ Hannah placed a steaming hot mug in front of Nat. ‘Did Dad say you could have a dog? Because this is the first I’ve heard about it.’
Amy held the iPad in front of Hannah. A gorgeous brown face stared back at her from the RSPCA page, with a headline that read: ‘Bear is looking for a home.’
Bear can keep looking for a home. ‘Dad agreed to this?’
‘Of course.’ Amy slipped off the stool. ‘He understands that we need to do our bit to support dogs in shelters, so adopting one is the first step.’ She grinned at Nat. ‘I’ve got a few weeks to convince them that Bear will need a friend. Two dogs would be perfect.’
‘They sure would,’ Nat agreed. ‘They’d keep each other company when you’re at school. That’s exciting news.’
‘I’m just going to go and chat to Skye,’ Amy said. ‘I was telling her about Bear yesterday and I want to show her a photo.’
Hannah shook her head as her daughter left the room. She picked up her coffee and sat on the stool next to Nat.
Nat looked at her and smiled.
‘What?’
‘Haven’t you worked out that your daughter’s playing you?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘The dog. Showing us cute pictures, saying that Damien agreed to it and then adding in the bit about convincing you to get two dogs. I’m guessing Damien knows nothing at all about getting a dog, and Amy’s clever enough to make you think you’re deciding between whether to get one dog or two, whereas the real decision is whether you are getting a dog at all. She’s manipulating the situation beautifully.’