Free BOUGHT: A Standalone Romance by Glenna Sinclair Page A

always come stay with me.”
    I laugh. “And have to deal with your parade of men? No, thank you. We’ve tried living together before, remember?”
    “Oh yeah,” she says, as if just remembering, “we did. Yeah, let’s not repeat that. Where are you going?”
    “A hotel that Connor stays in sometimes. It’s near his house.”
    “Ooooh, have you been to his house yet?”
    “I haven’t.”
    “You’re in for a treat. That man has some really good taste.”
    We chat for a while longer, the normalcy of the conversation making me feel more comfortable. In the back of my mind, I can’t help but wonder how I came to have two sweet, understanding people in my life who know how to handle a crisis. I’ve never been good at that; I crack under pressure. Not Connor and Zoey, though. They seem to thrive.
    “Well,” Zoey says, breaking into my thoughts, “don’t forget to come by tomorrow. We’re going to have lunch.”
    “Sounds good. I’ll see you then and fill you in on everything.”
    As soon as I’m done talking with her, a text from Connor pops up on my phone. It’s short and sweet, in true Connor form: Hurry up. I don’t know whether to throw my phone or stomp downstairs and slap some sense inside of his head. It’s bad enough that I’m having a hard time. I don’t need more of that.
    I’m left to look around the half-empty apartment I called home. Mostly, the only memories I have of the place were of loneliness, but it was my place to be away from the world. My personal sanctuary that no one was allowed to enter, except for Zoey and Connor. Now, I’ll be going somewhere new, again. I run my hand over the couch, and almost sit down, when I hear a knock on the door.
    Did I forget to unlock the door for Connor? Apparently. I push myself back up before I stroll over to the door. Opening it up, I’m surprised to see two people standing at my door. One of them is a woman with a baseball cap pulled down low. The other is a little boy with raven black hair and big, blue eyes. He’s carrying a skateboard under his arm, a nervous expression on his face.
    “C-can I help you?”
    “Oh my goodness,” the woman says, pressing a hand to her chest. “It is you. Wow, you look so different now. Well, we did only meet one or twice, twice I believe…” The woman trails off, deep in thought. “Anyway.” She waves a hand as if to dismiss the thought. “It’s been a long time, but I’m Mary Beth. Mary Beth Taylor.”
    A lump forms in my throat. No, she can’t be here. This can’t be happening. I step back into my apartment. The woman rests her hands on the boy’s shoulders and steers him inside. I take another step back as the woman politely closes the door behind her. The boy is staring at me, hard.
    “What do you want?” I ask, the words coming out much sharper than I’d intended.
    “I know this is against everything we’ve agreed on, but I had to bring him here.” The woman pauses long enough to cough. The sound of it is horrible, like something wet rattling in her chest. She pulls out a tissue, wipes at her mouth. “Angela, I’m dying.”
    “What?” I ask dumbly.
    The woman nods. “Cancer.”
    I look at her more closely. When I knew Mary Beth, she was the picture of health and beauty. A little plump, with long, thick blonde hair, easygoing smile, and soft blue eyes. Now, her eyes are sunken, with dark marks underneath them, and she’s so skinny. I can see that the clothes she’s wearing are almost swallowing her up.
    “What are you saying?” I ask her slowly.
    “I can’t keep him anymore. I don’t have any family. There’s no one that can take him in. You’re the only option that I had. It looks like I got here just in time,” she mumbles as she gazes around.
    “What about your husband?” I ask quickly.
    Mary shakes her head. “He passed away two years back. Car accident.” She crosses herself. “I really don’t have any other option. Please. I think it’s time. Kyle’s been