Page 1 of Four Money (Ever and Always 1)

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Aknock on the door had Holly Hendricks on her feet and lunging toward it before the sound quit ricocheting through her tissue box of a living room. The place was spotless, even more so than usual since she’d been expecting guests for the first time ever.

As Holly bounded past, her mother mustered a wan smile from the thrift store recliner she practically lived in these days. The injustice of it made Holly yank the door open harder than she’d intended. Her messy ponytail brushed her shoulder blades as it swung back in forth in response.

“Holly!” Her best friend from college, Andi, rushed her, threatening to knock them both on their asses with her overenthusiastic embrace.

They twirled around off-balance for a spin or two as they hugged out all the time and miles they’d spent apart. Their lives had diverged so drastically, it would have been easy to lose contact. Yet, somehow, they had grown even closer as a result of their near constant texting, which also included…

“Kari!” Holly shook one arm free of Andi’s clutch to include the other woman in their circle. Kari had started out as Andi’s friend, but now the three of them were a unit. They’d each been through a lot in the past few years, and having the pair of them as a sounding board was probably the only thing keeping Holly sane given the pressures she was under dealing with her mother’s medical crisis.

Andi looked up, her eyes bright. “This place is so…”

“I know.” Holly grimaced, trying not to fidget as she imagined how dismal it must be compared to the apartment Andi shared with her three lovers, each of them well on their way to establishing themselves in their chosen professions. She didn’t even allow herself to imagine the penthouse Kari occupied with her trio of hotshot lawyer boyfriends. Probably couldn’t, to be honest. She’d never been around that kind of true wealth.

“…cute!” Andi finished. Though she was eternally optimistic, only Andi would see the bright side of this dump. It wasn’t even as big as the apartment Holly had shared with some friends, above Andi, Cooper, Reed, and Simon’s apartment while they’d been in college.

And afterward, when her friends had been climbing the corporate ladder, she’d been sliding down a slippery chute toward poverty and never attaining her goals. Student loan debt for a degree she couldn’t use was a monthly reminder of how she’d wasted her time and effort just so she could wind up right where she started, except with more obstacles than before.

That wasn’t fair.

Holly glanced at her mom and smiled. She damn well knew any time they got to spend together was more precious than building a career or accumulating material possessions or meeting a guy…or three, in both Andi’s and Kari’s cases.

“Holly has done such a great job with it, hasn’t she?” Her mother beamed, her quiet pride easy to hear in the intimate space. “The colors make it seem like it’s brighter than it really is.”

“She has.” Andi broke from their circle to approach Holly’s mom, Catherine. She must be nearly unrecognizable from the woman who had helped Holly move in and out only a few short years ago. Unlike some people, Andi didn’t let Mom’s illness put her off. “How are you, Momma C?”

“A pain in the ass, as always.” Mom patted Andi’s hand. “Don’t listen to what Holly tells you. I’m not going anywhere just yet.”

“Good to know.” Andi smiled, then straightened.

“It’s so nice to meet you.” Kari was right there to take her place, leaning down to hug Mom. “Technically to meet you both, though from the group chat we’re exchanging messages in a million times a day, I feel like I’ve known Holly forever.”

If the other two women noticed the wheeze that accompanied Mom’s laugh, they politely ignored it. “I bet. I hear her phone buzzing constantly and she’s always tapping on her phone while we’re watching TV.”

“Sorry, Mom.” Holly winced.

“That’s not how I meant it.” She turned serious then. “I’m glad you have these girls to vent to. I’ve put too much stress on your shoulders for any one person, especially a daughter.”

“It’s fine. You know I don’t mind.” Holly didn’t. Really. But it was a lot to deal with.

The medical bills. The doctor appointments they couldn’t afford. The terror that one day she’d wake up and her mom would be too still in the recliner because she couldn’t pay for the treatment she needed to fully recover.

“That’s because you’re world’s best daughter. And that’s also why I want you to go have fun with your friends while they’re in town.” Her mother sat up a little straighter, as if prepared to argue. “Take a mini vacation, Holly. You deserve it. Youneedit.”

“What? Mom, you know I can’t leave you here alone—”

“You go have fun.” Her mother’s insistence might have been a little harder to dismiss if she could vigorously fan her hand between them and the door instead of limply mimicking the gesture. “You told me they invited you to the get-together they’re holding at one of the fancy hotels on the strip. It sounds great. Don’t miss it because of me.”

“Parties aren’t my thing.” Holly shook her head.

“They used to be.” Andi might look sweet, but she was more tenacious than a pit bull dismembering a squeaky toy. “And this is going to be a hell of a lot better than getting drunk off cheap liquor at the frat house next door. I mean, not that we ever did that, Momma C.”

“What I don’t know…” Her mother grinned, but it dimmed quickly. “You haven’t had time to cut loose in forever. Go, Holly. Ms. Edison next door said she’d come sit with me if you want some time to yourself. Take tonight off from me and from the misery I’ve put you through. Hell, take the whole weekend.”

“Mom…”

“Don’tmomme, Holly.” Her mother’s eyes grew steely, and Holly remembered where she’d gotten her grit and determination from. What she possessed was only a fraction of what her mother had herself. How else could she have outlasted the prognosis of every specialist they’d seen?

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