Page 23 of Bought

Now her laughter is the one to dry up.

In their first year of marriage, drinking brought good times for the newlyweds.

Later, it brought bruises.Then, well, you know—the damage to her spine.

The wheelchair.

“Okay." I stand up and smooth my dress.

I need to leave now or I’ll lose my nerve.

“This has been lovely,” I say, “but if I don’t go now, we’re going to keep talking about Caleb, end up crying, and then where would we be?”

She twists the stem of her wine glass and finally asks the question that’s been silently hanging between us all day.

“I don’t understand.” She shakes her head. “You already have the money. Why are you going again?”

She doesn’t know about the deal I made, and she doesn’t need to. She has enough on her plate trying to heal and care for a toddler.

I smile and I lie. “He wanted me to.”

“More money?” she asks.

“Yeah,” I lie again. “Loads.”

She peers at me. “Are you sure about this?—”

“Just like last night, yes. And just like last night, please,do notcall me, and I mean it. I’m going to be fine. Okay?”

“Okay.” She rolls her eyes.

I tilt the rest of my wine from my glass to hers. “Try to relax. I’ll be having fun. You’ll be playing Chutes and Ladders and going to bed by eight-thirty.”

“Nine, actually. I promised Ryan a super bath. You know how sticky he gets after ice cream.”

“Super bath? The one with all the army men and bubbles?” I ask. “Last time you left a toy soldier in the bath. I stepped on it when I showered. It hurt like hell.”

“Is that why I heard you shouting in the bathroom the other morning? You woke us up.”

“You’ll have to get up early when preschool starts.”

“Preschool! Yes. I’ll get up early for preschool. Super dance!” Cass performs some moves in her chair.

I throw my arms in the air and shake my ass. “Preschool, yeah, yeah, yeah!"

She pumps her arms in the air. “Four solid hours of peace for us, knowing he’s having fun and safe.”

“Safe. Right.” I stop dancing.

It’s almost time to leave when my phone dings from the table. I reach for it.

Your car has arrived.

I swallow the tightness in my throat. “Gotta go, sis.” I lean down to give her a quick hug.

She holds me tightly for a beat too long. Her whisper is in my ear. “Thank you, Rin.”

Okay, here come the tears threatening to spill over behind my eyes. “Welcome.”