Then said:
“Pacing isn’t going to make the tow truck arrive faster.”
Archie stared at her.
Most people treated him differently the moment they learned his last name.
Skyla didn’t.
She didn’t care
about his tailored suit.
His car.
His family.
His firm.
Or his money.
She was raised by her widowed grandmother in a working-class railroad town.
She paid her own tuition.
Drove a rusting 2004 Civic.
Owned a laptop that sounded like it might explode every time it started.
Bought winter coats from thrift stores.And sometimes ate beans and rice for a week so she could afford textbooks.
Yet every time Archie offered to help, she refused.
Once he found overdue tuition notices scattered across her kitchen table.
“Let me
pay this.”
She looked up.
“No.”
“Skyla, it’s seven thousand dollars.”
“I know.”
“That’s nothing to me.”
“That’s exactly why I don’t want you paying it.”
