One Less Problem Without You Read Online Free

little round in the hip and a little flakey, and very shy with men.
    She would have said especially men like Alex, but there was one who was even worse for her nerves, though he offered none of the fun that her interactions with Alex did: Leif. Somewhere deep inside she was terrified of Leif, even though one of the only things she remembered well was her mother reassuring her that Leif was more scared of her than she could ever be of him.
    Didn’t matter. Leif was powerful, and he was doing everything he could to sabotage her inheritance and, it seemed, her very life.
    That’s why she’d opened Cosmos. She needed to have a legitimate business, legitimate expenses, a storefront, all those things, so that Leif couldn’t accuse her of being incompetent. Anyway, that’s what Alex had advised her.
    He hadn’t exactly advised her to open a metaphysical shop, however. In fact, when she’d told him that was what she intended to do, she sensed some backpedaling on his part, and the fact that at least several times a week drunks stumbled in, thinking it was a bar, didn’t help her case much.
    But still … it was what she was born to do, she knew it.
    When she was around eleven years old, her favorite nanny, Marie (whom she liked to think of as Mary, as in Poppins, despite her Jamaican sun-dark skin, with a note of mahogany Prinny always puzzled over), had taken her up to the broad-beamed walk-in attic of the house and showed her something that would change her life.
    As soon as she opened the door, Marie had put a finger to her lips, shhhh, even though they were the only two home. “You do not tell anyone a word that I show you this,” she said, her accent—which Prinny could still not identify to this day, especially since she had only her childhood memory to rely on—thick and mysterious.
    Prinny had nodded eagerly, doing the sign of cross my heart and hope to die, though she always crossed her fingers during the second part of that, since, apparently, it was incredibly easy to die unexpectedly. Even her mom had done it!
    Don’t think that way, the Voice said in her mind. Life is magical, wonderful, and meant to be lived fully.
    Marie closed the door behind them and took Prinny’s hand, leading her into the thick, hot, dusty air, to a trunk that was only slightly illuminated by the high vent at the peak of the roof. It was August in D.C., which was about as hot as hell or anyplace like it could get. Prinny had trouble breathing, but she knew she had to be silent; she couldn’t let out the cough that was trying so desperately to escape.
    â€œI found this by accident,” Marie said, then added, as if she’d been questioned, “I was up here looking for a fan for your room, and I found it accidentally, but I think you should know.”
    Even at that young age, something trembled through Prinny. What had she found? What could it possibly be? Was it a body? Was it about to be—her own? She’d been reading Nancy Drew books like a fiend at that point, and it was all too easy for her to believe that people weren’t who they said they were. Ever.
    She hung back, ready to turn and run, but Marie felt the resistance and turned to face her. “Oh, child,” she said, that indeterminate accent somehow thickening and softening all at the same time, “this has to do with your mama, so you know it’s a good thing.”
    In her mind, Prinny saw colors. Lots of colors, pictures, cards, and … rocks?
    Prinny looked into Marie’s eyes, trying to scrutinize, with all the wisdom and experience an eleven-year-old could possibly muster, the truth of her intentions. Her eyes were so kind, Prinny thought she couldn’t possibly be lying.
    And Marie had never, ever been mean to Prinny, never raised her voice, much less a hand, and she’d been with her longer than any of the others, more than a year now. She’d even made sure to put