Page 19 of The Journey of a Lifetime (Tiny Homes and Happy Tails #2)

M aggie let out a contented moan. “Cindy, you were not kidding. This really is the best hamburger I’ve ever had.” She set her burger down on the paper plate and took a drink of water.

Cindy’s face brightened. With each encouraging word, the shadows under her eyes and the weight she seemed to carry on her shoulders seemed to be less visible.

“Thank you. My family are really good cooks. I used to stay with my grandparents in the summers when I was a kid and she taught me how to can vegetables out of their garden.” Cindy took a bite of her hamburger and glanced away.

“That must have been nice. I never knew my grandparents. My mom’s parents were killed in a car crash and my dad’s parents live in England. He cut them off before I was born.”

Cindy glanced over at Maggie. “What did his parents do for him to cut them off?”

Maggie blinked. “Actually, I’m not sure.

He just says they never got along. They moved to England before I was born and never tried to keep in touch.

” It always bothered Maggie that her only set of living grandparents didn’t even try to reach out to her after knowing they had a grandchild.

Whenever she brought it up with her parents she was always quickly shut down and they changed the conversation.

As the years passed, she didn’t think about the subject much anymore.

“You said this was a spur of the moment road trip.” Cindy gave her an inquisitive look. ‘What made you take a trip in the first place?”

Maggie set her half-eaten burger down. Her gaze wandered over to Walker and she debated how much to tell the girl. In the end, she decided to go for the truth.

“I caught my boyfriend and best friend together. In our apartment.”

Cindy’s eyes grew wide. “Your best friend? Did you get in a fight with her?”

Maggie shook her head. “They didn’t even hear me when I walked in. So, I left our apartment and went home.”

Cindy’s eyes darkened. “I bet your parents wanted to punch him in the face, especially your dad.”

Maggie felt her shoulders slump. “I didn’t tell them when I got home.”

Cindy stared.

“It’s just that my parents really liked Mason and he’s from a good family and I didn’t want to disappoint them.”

Cindy snorted. “Sounds like Mason is the one that disappointed them, not you.” Cindy nodded. “My dad almost punched Tony in the face when he came over to my house the first time.”

Maggie’s eyes widened. “Sounds like he made quite the impression. What did he do to make your dad want to hit him?”

Cindy looked toward the thick line of trees, lost in thought. “He was eating dinner with us. He got upset when I spilled my drink in his lap. He called me a bitch.”

Maggie’s mouth dropped open. “In front of your dad?”

Cindy shrunk into herself a little. “Yeah. My dad jumped up and said nobody speaks to his daughter or any woman that way. My mom was holding him back and told Tony to leave.”

Walker walked over to Cindy, sensing her sadness, and rested his head on her knee.

“What happened then?” Maggie asked carefully.

“He left. I was crying and my parents were upset. They tried to tell me that Tony was no good and abusive. But they didn’t see him on the days he was nice and kind and loving to me.

I told them they didn’t understand. A week later I ran off with him in his truck.

I made one call to them telling them Tony and I loved each other and that I was okay.

I just knew they would understand in the end.

After that call, I heard nothing from them. ”

Maggie studied the girl. “You haven’t heard from them since?”

Cindy rubbed Walker between the ears. “Tony threw my phone away. I don’t have a way to contact them. I doubt they would want to see me anyway. Tony said they called his number and told him they never want to see me again.”

Maggie narrowed his eyes. “Tony’s lying.”

Cindy looked at her. “No, he’s not. You didn’t hear how mad they were at me for leaving.”

Maggie shook her head. “Cindy, your parents aren’t mad at you.

They are mad at Tony. He’s abusive. Anyone who would lay hands on a woman and call her names is abusive.

He lied to you so you would be cut off from your family and depend only on him.

He’s managed to isolate you from the people who love you. ”

Cindy stood up suddenly and crossed her arms. “You’re wrong. He loves me. He’s just trying to protect me.” Shoving her hands in her jeans pockets, she didn’t look at Maggie. “I’m going for a walk.”

As she walked off, Maggie wondered how Cindy was so blind not to see who Tony was.

Her mind drifted to Mason. He might not have laid hands on her, but he certainly had emotionally abused her by cheating.

Maybe she and Cindy were not as different as she thought.