Burn: A Novel by Linda Howard Read Free Book Online

what’s up? Is Dylan pestering you? Has the Goose died?”
    “No, the Goose is fine. I won the lottery,” Jenner said again. “The big one. Two hundred and ninety-five million, though I’ve just met with a financial consultant and she says after taxes I’ll end up with a lump sum of about one-fifty Million.”
    A long moment of silence stretched out. Finally Michelle said, in a small, faint voice, “You’re serious.”
    “As a heart attack.”
    The next sound was a piercing scream. Jenner laughed, then screamed along with Michelle. She sat in the Goose, cell phone to her ear, and laughed until tears ran down her cheeks. Her life had changed and she knew it, but at least Michelle was there for her.
    “If you’re pulling my leg, I’ll kill you,” Michelle finally choked out.
    “I know. It’s hard to believe. I just checked my ticket last night, and I’ve been scrambling since then to get things set up. You’re the first person I’ve told—well, except for the financial person.
Don’t
tell anyone else yet.”
    “My lips are zipped. Oh my God. I can’t believe it. You’re rich!”
    “Almost. Soon. Maybe next week.”
    “That’s close enough!” Michelle whooped again. “Girlfriend, we are going to celebrate big time at the Bird tonight, and drinks are on you!”

Chapter Three
    H ABIT WAS A WEIRD THING . E ITHER THAT, OR SHE STILL couldn’t quite believe what was happening to her. Whatever the reason, Jenner went in to work her regular shift at Harvest that night; celebrating with Michelle would have to wait until afterward. She didn’t make the phone call to begin the process of claiming her winnings, either, even though Al was hard at work getting things ready. She felt almost as if she were prodding a sleeping tiger, and once that tiger woke up, everything would be out of her control and in the tiger’s.
    She wasn’t ready to tell the world yet. She wasn’t ready to abandon all the normal aspects of her life. So she put on the ugly polyester shirt once again, went into work, and donned the coveralls and hair covering. She joked with Margo, she ate her usual sandwich, she did her job—and all the while she had the weird sense of being in two worlds at the same time, as well as feeling sharp, unexpected pangs of grief. She might never see these people again, and though she wasn’t close friends with any of them, they were still a huge part of her everyday life. As soon as she went public, she probably wouldn’t be able to do ordinary things, at least for a while. And really, would she want to work in a meat-packing plant once she had all that money? No, she wouldn’t, not for a singleminute. But for now, this moment, she didn’t have the money and ordinary things felt special, as if she should savor them and commit them to memory.
    After work, though, she changed clothes and she and Michelle hit Bird’s, where she bought their drinks, they danced almost nonstop, and they laughed at everything and nothing. Happiness fizzed like ginger ale in her veins. She was young, and she was
rich!
How could life get any better? So what if she was spending most of her cash, and payday was still three days away? She had gas in the Goose, food in the house, and celebrating with Michelle was more important than worrying about money. In a few days, she’d never have to worry about money again.
    Morning brought reality with it. Once again, there were calls she had to make and things she had to do.
    Jenner took a deep breath and dialed a very important number. When the call was answered, she had to take a second deep breath. “I have the winning ticket,” she said baldly. “What do I need to do?”
    “Are you the sole ticket holder?” The man who had answered sounded almost disinterested. Maybe they got a lot of calls from people claiming to be the winner. Probably she was something like the fiftieth person to call. Grimly she imagined all those other people trying to claim her winnings. She could just see