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The woman placed a hand over her chest “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to upset you I—”

“You didn’t win None of us did,” her grandfather said When he turned, he headed for the exit, their desserts forgotten

Abby’s mouth opened “Uh, I’m sorry He doesn’t like to talk about it,” she said to the woman whose eyes filled with tears

Running after him, she waited until the door closed behind them, then yelled, “What was that about?”

Her grandfather turned on shaking legs He tucked his ar to hide the numbers etched into his skin, and Abby’s heart went out to him

She stepped closer, her throat tight with e to be nice She was happy It’s okay to be happy you made it”

He said nothing, his gaze focused on the ground

“Can we please go back inside? Play another game?” Abby asked

When he finally looked at her again, he nodded “No ht, unable to finish his thought

Abby nodded in response and they aht their desserts to the table They ate them in silence as they played This tihten the mood

“Check

Her gaze flickered to the counter at the front of the shop, unable to erase the prickly feeling of being watched, but the barista who served theer there By the tiotten, and it wasn’t until they were al The man on the sofa, the one that sat down before they started their second game, she had seen him before

The day she skipped school with Kaden, thethe paper, but even then, she reaze on herwatched

But it was probably a coincidence Wasn’t it? Regulars flocked to Daily Grind So about Abby But Kaden’s words floated through her head, once again, about there being no such thing as a coincidence She couldn’t shake the feeling he was right

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN