Trouble In Spades Read Online Free PDF Page A

Still, I felt bad for Mr. Cabrera. He'd really fallen hard for the old battle-axe.
    Mr. Cabrera thumped the window frame. "I said, I really miss her."
    Cringing as the words slipped out of my mouth, I asked, "Do you want me to call her?"
    "Late," Riley singsonged.
    "Would you?" Mr. Cabrera's bright blue eyes widened. His whole face lit.
    I let out a sigh. "I'm not promising anything, but I'll call."
    The seat belt strained as Riley leaned over, held his hand out, palm up. Mr. Cabrera dropped a five dollar bill into it. My head jerked between the two of them. "What's going on?"
    Riley pocketed the money. "I told him you'd do it. He didn't think you would. So we bet on it."
    "Mr. Cabrera! How could you?"
    His eyebrows danced. "Best money I ever spent."
    I looked to Riley. He was smirking. "It was easy money," he said. "You're gullible."
    Hmmph.
    I shoved the truck into reverse and shot out of the driveway. We drove in silence for a little bit before I glanced at Riley. "Am I really that gullible?"
    "Yes."
    There went the kick-ass Rambette image I had of myself. "When are you going to get a new car?" he asked.
    My old Toyota had recently gone to the big junkyard in the sky after a mishap with an oncoming train. Luckily, I'd escaped with just a few scars and a broken pinkie. "My insurance check is due any day now. Why?" "I can get my permit soon."
    Oh, God. Riley on the roads. Maybe I'd hold on to that insurance check for a while.
    "How's the job?" I asked, quickly changing the subject. He'd recently gotten a job bagging groceries at a local supermarket.
    "Fine."
    If it was up to me, he wouldn't be working at all. I'd keep him home, where I could keep an eye on him, keep him safe, which was a laugh since it seemed I had trouble keeping myself safe lately. But his therapist recommended he get a job to occupy his time, to keep his mind off the fact that a couple of weeks ago he'd been willing to shoot someone to protect me. A someone who was certifiable and trying to kill me at the time. It didn't matter that he hadn't actually harmed anyone—it was still weighing on his mind.
    The doctor also told Kevin and me that Riley needed to work through his problems his own way. But it was hard not to interfere when I could see how much he was hurting. I met Riley when he was eight. He'd been angry with the world for taking his mom, who had died when he was a toddler in a mysterious boating accident that no one liked to talk about. We've had our ups and downs, but I felt that I was finally getting the hang of this mothering thing. I just hoped I didn't screw it up somehow.
    The silence in the car was driving me nuts. I turned on the radio, flipped to the Oldies channel. I was an Oldies junkie. "Just shoot me," Riley mumbled.
    I was just about to launch into the talents of Del Shannon when I realized what Riley had said. J ust shoot me . And he had been kidding. He must be farther along in his therapy than I imagined if he could joke about shooting anything. I smiled.
    "The new job seems to be keeping you out late," I ventured, trying to ease into my, "Where have you been at night?" lecture.
    "Have you ever bagged people's groceries?" he asked.
    I caught how he'd expertly steered me away from my planned speech. I let it go for now because so rarely did he open up a topic of conversation. 
    "Uh, no."
    "Do you know how often I have to say 'paper or plastic?' "
    "Not really."
    "Not to mention the little old ladies who want the paper in the plastic," he said, groaning. "Besides, nothing exciting ever happens there. I think I need a new job."
    He cracked the window and the wind tousled his hair. He'd let it grow and had, thank God above, gotten rid of the dyed black with bleached stripes. Now it was platinum blond. Still bad, but tolerable. "Excitement is overrated."
    "To you maybe," he said, still looking out the window. "And what's that supposed to mean?"
    "It means you're old," he said, a hint of a smile lifting his cheek. "Old