The Billionaire's Touch

CHAPTER 2

Dear M.,

I can't pretend that I understand your sense

of loss regarding your foster mother, but I do

understand your mixed emotions. I think it's

probably quite normal to want to see an end

to her suffering, yet mourn your loss of her at

At the same time.

It's moments like these that make me wish

we had never promised to remain strangers.

I'd like to help, but I'm not certain I know

exactly how. I can do is send you virtual

support and let you know that my thoughts

are with you right now. You're not alone.

Sincerely,

S.

Randi sighed as she read the entry from her pen pal, feeling

just a little bit better after reading his words. The email was

short but somehow comforting. Whatever S. said in his

messages, she always sensed that he was sincere.

Her foster mother, Joan Tyler, had passed away not long

after the beginning of the new year from heart failure, and

Randi knew she'd be mourning the loss of the last person 

 on earth who would love her unconditionally for a very

 long time. Her foster father, Dennis, had died a few years 

 ago, and Joan had never been the same after his death.

 Her heart problems had escalated, and she'd been decli-

ning since Dennis's death. Sometimes Randi wonders if 

 she'd actually finally died of grief rather than advanced

 age.Joan and Dennis had been in their early seventies when

they'd brought Randi to Amesport, and both foster parents

had lived a long, happy life—well into their eighties. Know-

ing that still didn't lesson the pain of losing them for Randi,

or make her wish any less that she'd had more time to

spend with them.

Nothing had prepared Randi for the deep emptiness

she'd experienced since her loss. Dennis's death had been

heartbreaking; Joan's had been unbearable. She wasn't

 sure if the uncontrollable ache she let every time she thou-

ght about her would ever go away.

Looking at the note, she smiled sadly. Her correspon-

dance with S. was more like a continual conversation.