Battling Troy: Devil's Knights Series by Winter Travers Page B

money. His family owns a talent agency and were well known around town. His money never really crossed my mind, because it was his and not mine. His parents hated me the second they met me. They had an air about them that they thought they were better than everyone. We only went over there a couple of times, before his mother called him into the kitchen, and I could hear them arguing about me. I tried to break up with him that night, but he insisted that those were his mother’s problems, not his. She had heard about my mom through town gossip. She also knew about Gravel, but I could never figure out how she found out about him. I never talked to anyone about him. I eventually told Mark about Gravel, but he didn’t seem to care. Mark was so different from his parents. He didn’t really care about money either. Although, that could be attributed to the fact that he was so loaded, it was something he was used to.” I took a breath and glanced at Troy. His eyes were trained on me, unwavering.
    “Keep going, Sunshine,” he mumbled when I didn’t continue.
    I turned away, focusing on the TV in front of me that was paused on three zombies chasing after a woman. Apparently, Troy was also a fan of The Walking Dead. It was also one of my favorite shows, too. “He always wanted to buy me things, but I never wanted them. Half of the jewelry I never wore and put in my dresser. I think one of the things he really liked about me, was that I didn’t care about the money. He knew that if the money were gone, I would have still been there. I saw him for who he is, not for what he could buy or give me.”
    “There’s not a lot of women out there like that, Sunshine. I’m glad he saw that you were something special.” I was surprised that Troy was being so understanding. Gravel had said if Mark wasn’t dead, he would kill him for putting me through this.
    “We rarely went to his parents’ house, spending most of our time either at my home or just driving around. We were basically inseparable in high school. After we had graduated, he went off to Stanford and I stayed local, going to community college and recieving my beautician's license.”
    “You stayed together all the while he was gone?” I knew it was a long time for a couple so young to stay together. Most marriages barely last that long anymore.
    “Yeah. He came home to visit once a month. We grew apart somewhat with barely seeing each other, but he was determined to stay with me.”
    “I bet his folks weren’t too happy about that.”
    “That’s the understatement of the year. I very rarely went to his house anymore. After he had graduated college, he came home and started running the family business. We eventually got our own place together and then he asked me to marry him three years later. I was right in the middle of paying and putting deposits down on rentals and things when he died.” Tears were streaming down my face, but I didn’t stop talking.
    “I got the phone call at seven o’clock at night. He had called before he left the office and told me that he was going to stop at the store to pick up milk and then he would be home. He got hit by a dump truck before he even made it to the shop.” I wrapped my arms around my middle and leaned into Bandit. He lifted his head and snuggled into me.
    “How long has it been since he passed away?”
    “Eight months,” I hiccupped. It had been awhile, but not by much.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “I’m normally OK with it, it’s just when I have to talk about it, and I seem to lose it.” I wiped my nose with the back of my hand and closed my eyes, willing the tears to stop crying.
    He kicked the footrest down on his chair and walked into the kitchen and grabbed the box of Kleenex he had on the counter. “Dry your tears, Sunshine.”
    I grabbed two Kleenex and blew my nose. “His family didn’t talk to me until six months after his death when they couldn’t get access to his inheritance. I figure they thought