She would be here any minute. He wished he had not waited until the last minute to decide to go, but it wasn’t a decision he could make lightly. She simply said she understood he needed time to think about his choice.
But he really had no choice. It was all gone. Fancy job, car, money, all gone. He let it all go to take care of a father who never took care of him. He should have known that not even death would change a man like that. He left him with nothing but horrible memories and horrible debt. The day she suggested it was the day he knew she loved him. No one would put this much on the line for someone they planned to walk away from. She was right. This was the only way.
He picked up the tiny bag and dumped out his grandfather’s hand-carved dice. Only four left. He had lost two in a risky practice attempt in Colorado. He couldn’t make that mistake again. He had only four chances to save his life from the enemies of his father. He had only four opportunities to change everything. It was also four more strikes against him if he was caught. That could never happen. The horn outside signaled the time. He finished packing, threw the dice in his pocket, took one last look around the home he would never see again, and made the first step into a decision he could never take back.
