Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 108531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
“Sienna.” Her mom managed to make her name an accusation.
Sienna shrugged. “Well, you basically called me dumb and now I’m feeling mean. I’m going to bed.”
“Sienna,” her mom called out.
But Sienna kept walking until she disappeared inside her trailer, the door slamming behind her.
Jayna stood there, completely floored by what she’d just learned.
“I think you should go,” her mom said, her jaw so tight that every word ground out. “It was wrong for you to come back here. When you left, you left, and no matter what, you shouldn’t have come back to a place you hate so much.”
“I never said I hated it.” How could this be happening? How could her mom have turned down tuition? It wasn’t like she would have used the money to buy new clothes.
“You might not have said it out loud, but I got that message loud and clear.”
“I can’t believe you . . .” Why was she wasting her energy arguing? If she wasn’t welcome here, then she shouldn’t be here.
“Can’t believe I wouldn’t willingly send my daughter out in a world that I knew damn well would eat her up and spit her out?” Her mom moved up to the door, shaking her head. “No, I wasn’t going to make that easy on you. I wasn’t going to have my daughter taking money for pipe dreams.”
“I got my degree.” She wasn’t sure why she was even talking at this point. Luna sat beside her, her head tilted up. “I became a lawyer.”
“And now you’re fired and don’t have two nickels to rub together and you’re putting all kinds of ideas in Sienna’s head. You’re going to ruin her life and those kids lives, too. You need to go, Jayna. I can’t do this anymore. I’m tired and I can’t . . . can’t feel like I’m failing every minute of the day. That’s how you make me feel.” Her mother walked away.
Jayna followed her inside without saying another word, grabbed her overnight bag and her dog, and prayed her car kept working because it looked like she would be living in it for the time being.
* * *
• • •
Quaid closed the door to the office as the rain started coming down. He stretched and looked around the space. Someone had cleaned up, and by someone he meant Jayna since she’d been the only one around. He’d rushed them both out of the office in his haste to make it to Rene’s in time for dinner before they played poker, so he hadn’t seen what she’d done.
She’d reshelved the books, every one of them in the proper place. She’d neatly stacked the files on Cindy’s desk, and it looked like she’d prepared the actual reception desk for her sister.
He should have thought of that, but he was deeply dependent on his support staff.
He’d turned into that guy—the one who could barely function without an assistant to do all the everyday chores. He didn’t even know how to use that crazy coffeemaker Cindy had bought.
He would bet Jayna wouldn’t bring him coffee in the morning. She’d barely talked to him all afternoon beyond telling him he was an asshole for giving her the LaMont brothers as clients. She’d spent two hours explaining to them that there was no way the parish fire marshal would sign off on a roller coaster made of used auto parts and some piping they found at the dump.
She’d been awfully cute when she’d explained her conversation with Herve. Sexy was a better word.
Damn it. He’d just had this conversation with his friends and decided that he shouldn’t pursue the woman, and here he was thinking of her again.
His cell buzzed, and he slid it out of his pocket, accepting the call before looking at the screen. “This is Havery.”
“Quaid, it’s your mom.”
His mother never understood that he recognized her voice. “Hello, Mother. What can I do for you?”
“You can stop being so stubborn and come home to be with your family,” his mother said. “This is ridiculous, Quaid.”
“I’ve got some work to do tonight. I’m going to stay here in town for a couple of days and give you and Paul a chance to catch up.” It was best not to tell his mother that until her precious baby boy left town, he would stay right where he was. He knew damn well that Paul wouldn’t show up at his office. His brother was allergic to actual work, so he would keep far away.
His mother sighed over the line. “I don’t know why you have to be so jealous of Paul, honey.”
“I’m not jealous.”
“You’ve always been jealous, and I don’t understand it. I know that I spent more time with him, but that was because you were your father’s obvious favorite,” his mother explained needlessly. He’d heard this before. “It had an effect on him. It’s why he has so much trouble with authority. Your daddy didn’t pay much attention to him because he was so different.”