Jayla
could
believe
that.
A
couple
of
years
ago,
she
and
Lisa
had
taken
a
trip
to
Vegas
and
had
seen
first
hand
just
how
hungry
to
win
some
people
were.
When
there
was
another
lull
in
the
conversation,
she
turned
away
from
him
to
look
out
over
the
river
once
more.
It
was
peaceful,
nothing
like
the
tempest
that
was
raging
through
her
at
the
moment.
Storm
had
kept
his
word.
She’d
had
more
fun
today
with
him
than
she’d
had
in
a
long
time.
He
possessed
a
fun-loving
attitude
that
had
spilled
over
to
her.
There
were
times
when
he
had
shared
a
joke
with
her
that
had
her
laughing
so
hard
she
actually
thought
something
inside
her
body
would
break.
It
had
felt
good
to
laugh,
and
she
was
glad
she’d
been
able
to
laugh
with
him.
She
tried
to
think
of
the
last
time
she
had
laughed
with
a
man
and
recalled
that
it
had
been
with
her
father.
Even
during
his
final
days,
when
she’d
known
that
pain
had
racked
his
body,
he’d
been
able
to
tell
a
good
joke
every
now
and
then.
She
heaved
a
small
sigh.
She
missed
her
father
so
much.
Because
he
had
kept
such
a
tight
rein
on
her,
she
had
been
a
rebellious
teen
while
growing
up.
It
was
only
when
she’d
returned
from
college
that
she
had
allowed
herself
to
form
that
special
father-daughter
relationship
with
him.
After
his
death,
at
the
encouragement
of
the
officials
at
the
hospice
facility,
she
had
gone
through
grief
counseling
and
was
glad
she
had.
It
had
helped
to
let
go
and
move
on.
One
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