Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
“That’s sad, Molly.”
“It really was. I loved her. Where is your family?”
The dreaded questions again. This one she could answer truthfully. “I don’t have any family left. My father died some years ago, and my mother died of cancer just under three years ago.” It seemed longer. Much longer. So much had happened. “I don’t have any other relatives alive. My family members are destined to die young.”
“I’m so sorry about your mother. You have a faint accent. Where are you originally from?”
Sonia took a long sip of coffee, her mind working fast. She knew she could never quite get rid of that accent. She tried. She worked on it all the time. “We used to go to Spain often for my father’s work and we stayed there for months at a time. My parents spoke excellent Spanish, and I learned as well. It was a huge influence on me, and I think I retain a little bit of that accent.” It was thin, but it was the only explanation that was the least bit plausible and still safe. If she said they went to Cuba, or her parents were from Cuba, there would be more questions. Worse, having that small piece of information could put Molly in danger.
“So you’re from Spain? I can see that. Your skin is beautiful. With that skin and those eyes, you’re very lucky.”
Sonia held out her arm. She was a shade lighter than her mother, but with nearly the same olive skin and dark, dark chocolate eyes. She thought her mother beautiful. They had the same mouth, but her mother hadn’t carried extra on her hips and breasts. Sonia was curvy no matter how much running she did. “My mother gave me her skin,” she said, wanting Molly to know how much her mother had meant to her. “I thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. And courageous.” Tears burned behind her eyes. “I miss her every single day.”
Molly sent her a small, sad smile. “That’s so amazing. I wish I could say the same. My mother doesn’t like me very much.”
Sonia frowned. “Why? That makes no sense at all.”
Molly hesitated and then shrugged. “We didn’t have a lot of money. Well, we had it, inherited it, but most of my family doesn’t believe in working. They like to spend, not earn. I met a man, very wealthy, and my parents wanted me to marry him. It was their dream come true when he asked, but he wasn’t always very nice.” She touched her throat as if it hurt. “I told them, but they didn’t care, so I left, got out of town. They told him where I was. He came and got me. I woke up in a little room, a closet really, with no windows. It was so hot I thought I would suffocate. I’m just going to say, it wasn’t pleasant for a few weeks. In the end, I had to play nice to get out.”
Sonia closed her eyes. Molly’s own parents had delivered her to a monster in order to get money. “How did you get away?”
“I just acted like I didn’t know why I’d left, that he was right in all things and our engagement could proceed. I knew better than to talk to my parents and tell them my plans. They didn’t know I was the one who had bought grandma’s property when I inherited my money on my eighteenth birthday. I didn’t tell anyone, least of all them. So, I came here. I knew it was risky, but I didn’t have anywhere else to go. So far, so good. No one has tracked me here.”
“But they might figure it out,” Sonia protested.
Molly nodded. “They might, but I know Bastien, and he puts extra patrols around my neighborhood.” She laughed softly at her own joke and then sobered. “I’ve had a chance to put in a security system, and I’m careful.”
Sonia didn’t like it. “Have you told Bastien? He might be flirty, but he’s a good cop. You can see it in his eyes. He watches everything and everyone. I think that flirty, arrogant crap is a façade he wants everyone to believe.”
Molly shrugged. “Maybe. In any case, I’ve been here awhile now. I told you what I’m running from. Are you going to tell me your story?”
Sonia pushed the empty coffee mug away. “My story is I owe Jerry a lot, and he needs me to go get an estimate on a really big job. We need it, and I’m going to land it for us.” She saw the hurt in Molly’s eyes and had to do something. “But I meant it when I said I wanted you to come out and look at my yard. I could use the input.”
“Name a good time.”
“Come tonight around seven. I should be off work by then, and I’ll have dinner made. Anything you don’t like?”