A Laird to Hold by Angeline Fortin (free children's ebooks online .TXT) 📕

returned a year later, clean and sober. She worked very hard to get custody of her son again. Just after Sean turned eleven, she was granted full custody. Six months later, she was found dead from a drug overdose.

Grieving the loss of his mom, he was put back into the foster care system. This time the family he lived with was not nearly as kind and supportive.

They weren’t abusive, and they kept him fed and clothed. However, to Sean, it was obvious they were in the foster care business for the money. They followed all the rules and cared for the four children who lived with them. What they couldn’t provide was the love and comfort Sean had always hoped for.

The one thing that his foster parents had taught him was that if he wanted to get ahead in life, he needed a great education. Sean listened and was a straight-A student all through high school.

When Sean took the job with Bill Stanton, it had only been to earn money for things like cell phones and the more expensive type of clothes he wanted to wear.

Sean spent as much time as possible working for Bill’s company. His incredible work ethic wasn’t just directed at earning spending money. Sean began to feel needed and appreciated at work, which were two things he’d not seen much of in his young life.

During the summer months, Sean worked out on the construction sites and was a natural at learning the ins and outs of construction and development. Bill had even implemented some of his ideas for improving efficiency in their development process.

Bill Stanton and his wife, Eva, were not able to have children of their own. They’d come to terms with that over the years and put all their time and interest in their business. Eva worked in the office and she noticed that Sean was very bright. Just as he had learned quickly on the construction sites, he also seemed a natural at the business side of real estate development.

Without realizing it, Eva and Sean began to fulfill a need they both had. She began to think of Sean like a son, and he thought of her as the mother he should have had. The relationship with Bill was equally close for Sean. He admired and looked up to Bill immensely.

By the time he was eighteen, he was spending most of his time at the Stanton home. They’d even given him a suite of rooms that usually sat empty in their basement. When he graduated from high school, near the top of his class, he also graduated from foster care. It was a natural fit for him to move in full time with Bill and Eva.

The next three years of his life were by far the best. When he’d graduated from high school, he already had two years’ worth of college credit. He graduated with a degree in business management by the age of twenty.

Not only were the Stanton’s kind and generous with him, but they also traveled extensively with Sean. They showed him the world and taught him how to take advantage of opportunities. His understanding of business and his self-confidence grew immensely.

By the time Sean was twenty, he was a partner in the business. Bill and Eva were in their late fifties and relied more and more on him. Sean did all that he could to justify their trust and kindness. He had never been happier in his entire life.

Just after his twenty-first birthday, Bill and Eva decided they would spend a month in Italy. It was their favorite destination in Europe. With Sean running the business so well, they finally had time to enjoy other things in life. He was grateful he could give them the time and freedom they’d often lacked.

They kept in touch through video chats, and Sean could see that they were having the time of their lives. They had even learned to speak some of the language. The night before their flight home, they told Sean to be ready for all the gifts they were bringing.

It was the last time he spoke to the couple who had become the parents he’d always wished for. Their flight home encountered engine failure and went down over the ocean. It was in very deep waters and no passengers were ever recovered.

Sean grieved fiercely for the two people he’d grown to love most in this world. Just when he thought his life had turned a corner toward real happiness, fate had dealt him another cruel blow.

After the funeral services, his grief felt like a deep pit he couldn’t climb out of. Not only had he lost his surrogate mom and dad, he’d also lost his mentors in the business world. When he was notified that the Stanton’s attorney needed to meet with him, Sean assumed the worst. There was probably some relative somewhere who would take over the business, or it would be sold and the assets distributed according to their wishes.

Sean had met Stan’s brother, who was eight years older than Stan. He also knew Eva had brothers and sisters who would be looking to inherit as well. He didn’t mind someone else owing the business, as long as he could continue to work there. He hoped and even prayed that they wouldn’t sell the business he’d grown to love.

The morning he met with Stan and Eva’s lawyer; Sean was surprised to see he was the only one at the meeting. He’d expected all the heirs to be there.

“Good morning, Sean,” the mostly gray-haired woman said kindly. “My name is Beverly, and I’m so sorry we had to meet for the first time under these circumstances. However, I am happy to finally meet you.”

“A pleasure to meet you as well,” he said numbly.

“You may be wondering why Bill and Eva’s other heirs are not present.”

“It crossed my mind,” he acknowledged.

“Those were the terms of their will, Sean. As they instructed, I have met with the other six heirs individually.