Free Finders Keepers by Fern Michaels

father whispered in her ear. “You aren’t coming back, are you?”
    Jessie looked in her father’s eyes. She couldn’t lie to this man who had intervened so many times on her behalf over the years. “No, Daddy.”
    â€œI’ll miss you.”
    â€œBye,” Jessie called from the driver’s seat as she backed up her car.
    Today was the first day of a whole new life.
    She didn’t look back.

4
    Jessie sighed with relief when she finally parked the BMW under the Ashwoods’ portico behind Sophie’s sporty Mercedes coupe. She looked at her watch. Five hours exactly from the moment she left the bank parking lot.
    â€œGod, I was starting to worry, Jessie,” Sophie said, throwing her arms around her friend. “Did you have any trouble? What you need is a drink. You look ghastly. I do like your ‘don’t give me any shit’ outfit. Your mother must have had a fit. Did you hit the bank? Did you bring all your worldly possessions? How long are you going to stand there?” It was all said in one breathless rush.
    Jessie laughed. “Smooth as silk. Everything worked out, so far, just the way you said it would. Daddy knows, thought. He asked me point-blank, and I didn’t deny it. He won’t do anything. For whatever it’s worth, he understands. I think he even sympathizes with me. I made it to the bank as soon as it opened and took a generous hit on my money. I brought everything that means anything to me. Oh, I bought two red sweaters, and my mother freaked out. Lord, it must be a hundred degrees.”
    Sophie laughed. “Put your suit on and take a dip with me. Everything is ready for the party. We don’t have to do a thing except sell your car and get you a new one. It will only takes us thirty minutes to do it. I called ahead, and all the paperwork is done. I ordered you a Jeep. A real Jeep. Bright red.”
    â€œYou didn’t!”
    â€œI honest to God did!”
    â€œI love you, Sophie Ashwood.”
    â€œAnd I love you, Jessie Roland. I think we’re going to be best friends all our lives.”
    Jessie stared at her friend without a trace of envy. To say Sophie was beautiful would be the understatement of the year. She had a golden wealth of hair she wore piled high on her head for height, so curly it was unmanageable. She had inherited her dimples and chocolate-colored eyes from her father. Her patrician nose and high cheekbones were her mother’s. Her perfectly proportioned body was pure Sophie. She exercised, swam, played tennis, and basically was a vegetarian. With her infectious personality she had the rare ability, on meeting someone for the first time, to put them so at ease they became instant friends. From kindergarten on she had always been in the top three percent of her class. If Sophie had any faults, it was that she loved to curse for shock value and had a hair-trigger temper.
    â€œMy mother would skin you alive if she saw you in that bikini,” Jessie said.
    â€œYour mother isn’t here. I got you one just like it but in green to match your eyes. I laid it out on the bed. Go ahead, do your thing. I’ll be out by the pool waiting for you.”
    â€œDid you get a wrap for the suit?” Jessie asked.
    â€œNope. You will have to parade through the house showing all that skin. Wait till you see the dress I picked out for tonight. Slits, bare shoulders, no back. Did I say tight? You can’t wear underwear.”
    Jessie gasped. She could hear Sophie laugh all the way to the pool.
    She was doing the right thing. She really was.
    Jessie eyed the skimpy bikini and the sheer wraparound skirt wadded into a ball that wasn’t supposed to be there.
    She’d been here before, in this very room that was next to Sophie’s with a connecting door. The first time she’d come here for an overnight stay, along with her parents, was when she was eleven or so, and Sophie had complained to her