Magnetic Read Free

bought together along with the bedside tables were gone. “Shit,” Layne said as she leaned against the doorjamb and closed her eyes. She heard footsteps coming up the hall behind her and didn’t flinch when a gentle hand rested on her shoulder.
    “Are you okay?”
    “I wasn’t robbed…by a stranger anyway, but I think you know that.” Layne turned slowly and looked at one of her best friends.
    Jenny Wilkins regarded her sadly. “Olivia told Molly. I tried to get here before you did, but there was an accident on Tchoupitoulas , and I had to divert.”
    “Olivia emailed me last night.” Layne looked back into her empty bedroom. “Judging by the looks of this place, she started moving before I ever walked onto the jetway of the plane last Wednesday.” Layne turned back to Jenny. “A fucking email that said we’re done. It was less than a paragraph.”
    “I’m sorry,” Jenny said sincerely.
    “Don’t be. Anyone that knew anything about us could see this coming.” Layne ran a hand through her hair. “The finality of it all is just a shock.”
    Jenny licked her lips and looked past Layne’s shoulder at the empty room. “I know you’d rather be alone right now, but you don’t even have a bed or a sofa to sleep on. Come home with me. Molly and I will give you all the privacy you need.”
    Weary of hotel rooms and unwilling to sleep on a hardwood floor, Layne had no choice but to accept.
    *******
    “So…what do we need to do now?” Jenny asked that evening as she, Layne, and Molly sat on the front porch of their house, sipping amaretto freezes after one of Molly’s home-cooked meals. “I can take the day off tomorrow and help you shop for a sofa and bed.”
    Molly’s head popped up at the mention of shopping. “We can all go,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.
    Layne couldn’t help but smile despite her circumstances. It was so good to see Molly bright-eyed again. Cancer, chemo, and radiation had ravaged her body the previous year, and Layne had wondered if the listlessness of Molly’s eyes would be all she could remember of one of her closest friends. But Molly was springing back. Her brows were growing in thick above her brown eyes, and her hair was beginning to grow so much that she’d stopped wearing the bandanna that Layne had gotten used to seeing.
    “I’ve been thinking about that,” Layne said as she glanced at Jenny. “The apartment lease is in Olivia’s name, and I don’t want to stay there. So before I buy furniture, I think I should find a place of my own.”
    Layne watched as Jenny and Molly exchanged excited glances. “There’s a house that came up for rent three blocks from here.” Molly held up both hands. “Now I know it’s not what you’re used to, but it’s super cute. The yard is smaller than ours, and it’s mostly landscaped. You wouldn’t have to worry about mowing much. You could use our lawn service. I bet they wouldn’t charge much. And you’d be so close, we could have dinner more often.”
    “No pressure,” Jenny said with a laugh.
    Molly raised her right hand as if swearing an oath. “No, no pressure, but it does have a back deck that would be perfect for cookouts.”
    “And how is it that you know so much about this place?” Layne asked.
    Jenny shrugged. “We looked at it, but we don’t want to be bothered with trying to pack up all the shit we’ve accumulated over the past five years.”
    Layne nodded at the excuse, knowing that it was more about money than Jenny’s and Molly’s propensity to be pack rats. They’d quickly exhausted their savings trying to keep up with Molly’s health care bills. The last year had been financially devastating due to debt and the fact that Molly had a hard time mustering the strength to work as a nurse.
    Jenny had done everything she could to bolster her client load at the accounting firm she owned and had worked herself nearly to death, refusing any help from Layne and their other close friend Ronnie. But