“You can’t mean . . . you?” She let out a startled laugh without thinking.
Rosalind stepped forward and slapped her. Hard.
Marisol’s eyes watered, her cheek throbbing. It wasn’t the first time Rosalind had hit her, of course. Not by a long shot. Didn’t mean that it hurt any less. Every time.
You can’t stay here, Marisol. She really needed to work on an escape plan. Because remaining here wasn’t going to be possible. She had some money stashed away she’d managed to keep hidden from her aunt. She’d have to figure out a way to make that work.
She had to leave. Soon.
“You think he couldn’t want me? I’m a thousand times the woman you are. I’m not some mousy, fat, bookworm with no life. I know how to take care of a man. Here’s what’s going to happen, Marisol, if you want to stay under my roof, where I pay for everything including your medication. You’re going to do whatever Tiger and Saber want. They’re more important than you. And soon they’re going to be family.”
Her aunt waved a huge, diamond ring in her face. “Saber asked me to marry him and I said yes. So very soon, Tiger and Saber are gonna be around here a lot more. Get used to it. Now where are the fucking tips from tonight?” Her aunt held out her hand.
Marisol reached into her pocket and drew out five twenties, handing them over.
“That’s it? Thought they would have been more generous.”
Don’t react. Don’t react.
“Typical. The rich ones are always tight with their cash. There’s a mess downstairs to clean up. Then get to bed, you look like shit. Honestly, I have no clue what Tiger sees in you.” Her aunt gave her a disgusted look. “Oh and you’re opening in the morning.”
“But I’m not on tomorrow and I thought Eileen was opening.”
“She called in sick. You need to cover her clients too.”
What? Seriously. She ground her teeth together to stop herself from going off. She was exhausted. Rosalind had told her she could take the day off tomorrow. She should have known better than to trust her word.
After her aunt left, she quickly locked the door. If only she had some way of locking the door to keep people out when she wasn’t here. With her entire body shaking, she climbed into the closet and drew out her blanket and doll. She kept them hidden in here so her aunt didn’t find it. The blanket was a mix of pastel colors, while the doll had dark hair and wore a princess tiara.
She’d had it since she was a little girl, so it was getting worn in places. She didn’t dare wash it, worried it might start falling apart.
Sitting on the floor of the closet, she lifted up one corner of her snuggly, rubbing it under her nose to soothe herself. Then she slipped her thumb into her mouth.
Shivers ran through her. She knew she should eat and go to bed. Everyone was gone. The door was locked. But she couldn’t make herself leave the safety of the closet. It felt safe in here. Like no one could hurt her.
What was she going to do? She sat back against the wall of the closet and just tried to settle her heartbeat.
First, she had to hide the rest of the tip she’d gotten tonight. It was always a risk, holding back some of her tips from her aunt. She didn’t tend to do it with her regulars, afraid her aunt would catch on. But when someone tipped a lot then she kept some of it back.
She wished she had enough that she could just leave. But she needed to be careful about this. Running was only going to work if she had some sort of plan in place.
Living here with Tiger and Saber wasn’t an option, though. Feeling ill, she drew out the hundred dollars she’d kept back and slid it into the trinket box she kept in the hole under the floorboards. It was the only thing she had left of her mother. The lining inside the box was loose. With hands that still shook, she tucked her money in there and hid the box again.
She knew exactly how much was in there. One thousand and forty-eight dollars. That was the result of years of scrimping. If she’d saved what her aunt gave her for working at the spa, she’d have more. However, after her aunt took out money for room and board, there wasn’t much left. Just enough to buy some eBooks to read and occasionally some clothes from Goodwill.
She’d protested once that she deserved more pay. Her aunt had slapped her and called her ungrateful. She’d gone into a rage that had terrified Marisol enough that she hadn’t said anything again. What choice did she really have? Stay and be treated like shit but have a job, a roof over her head and the medicine she needed. Or leave and be all alone, maybe end up on the streets.
She just needed a bit more time and a few more tips.
Disappointment flooded her. She actually liked it here. Living in a big city was hard for her. All the people and the noise. She liked the peace and quiet here.
But it was becoming more and more obvious that she had to go. Thankfully, it sounded like Saber and Tiger had their hands full for a bit longer.
Crawling out of the closet, she stood and grabbed the worn black bag that held her diabetic supplies out of her handbag. Carrying it into the bathroom, she washed her hands. All the bedrooms in this monstrous house had their own bathrooms. A prick of her finger to draw blood and the blood glucose meter told her what she’d suspected. It was low. She’d gone too long without eating.
She’d had Type One diabetes since she was thirteen. Managing her blood sugar levels would be much easier if she had a CPM monitor, but her aunt claimed her insurance wouldn’t pay for it. She grabbed a few glucose tabs from her bag and unwrapped them, popping them into her mouth.
Walking back into her bedroom, she sat on the bed, staring down at the eReader in her hand. Sadness flooded her. It felt like she’d lost an old friend. She wiped away a few tears. Today, she’d feel sorry for herself.
Tomorrow, she needed to figure out a way of saving herself.
4
Linc was cursing himself for not getting her number.
Or not giving her his. But then that had seemed too pushy. He hadn’t wanted her to think he was some weirdo. Even if he was at times.
You know where she works.
Right, I’m sure it’s every day that a cowboy strolls on in and asks for a manicure.
Idiot.
A cool wind whipped down the street. Shit. He hoped it was warmer for Clint and Charlie’s wedding tomorrow. He strode towards the diner, thinking he’d get some lunch before he attempted some shopping.
Gah. Shopping.
Up ahead he saw a small figure dressed only in a pair of black pants and a black shirt nearly collide with a lamp post. She pulled away at the last second, only to start tumbling back, tripping over her own feet. He quickly raced forward, and managed to grab hold of her before she landed on her butt, setting her on her feet.
“Whoa, there. You okay?” He turned her around, surprise filling him as he saw it was her.
He hadn’t recognized her in the shapeless, black clothing. Which he now realized was obviously a work uniform. There was an emblem on the top right-hand corner of the shirt.
“Marisol? Hey.”
Wow. That was smooth. Really smooth.
“It’s Linc,” he added when she didn’t say anything. “From last night. At Sanctuary Ranch.”
Okay, it kind of hurt that he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her and she couldn’t even remember him.