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)
The only thing scarier than a Momma Havery who didn’t want her around might be one who did. “What does that mean?”
“It means I need to give you a reason to stay. You think you can do good in the city, that the work there will be more important than anything you can do here,” Mrs. Havery began. “You’re wrong. You’re wrong because this place needs you far more than Dallas does. Dallas has a thousand strong lawyers, many of them women. Papillon does not. You wanted to get out because you didn’t see anyone like you here. There are other girls growing up right now who need someone to look up to, to point to and say ‘I can be her.’ I’m going to make a deal with you, Jayna Cardet. A deal that has no ties beyond you staying here. You don’t have to marry my son, but you do have to stay and work here.”
“A deal?” This whole conversation felt surreal.
“I purchased a large plot of land from the Hillyard estate this morning,” she began.
Jayna knew exactly where that land was. “You bought the library land? The one they wanted to sell to developers?”
“I did. Now the way I see it, I can sell it to a developer like the Hillyards were going to or I could remodel that old library in honor of my late husband, but I would need a good lawyer to handle the project for me,” Mrs. Havery explained. “I’ve heard the argument that everyone has books on their phones in this day and age, but that’s not true. Especially for our people. Some of our people can’t afford phones and fancy Internet hookups and they need a library. For some kids, the library is a haven. Isn’t that true?”
“It was for me.” How many times had she ridden her bike to that library and found refuge there? The library had been her lifeline, the librarian opening the gateway to whole other worlds she wouldn’t have dreamed of. If they took the library, the town would suffer, and Quaid’s mother had put it all on her. “That’s not fair.”
Mrs. Havery nodded. “Well, I don’t play fair when I want something, darling girl. I don’t play fair at all.” She pushed inside the courthouse. The usually bustling space was oddly empty this morning. “Now, I expect you to be at the first meeting. We’ll need to talk about a budget and fundraising opportunities. That library of ours is outdated. We need to modernize it but not lose the classic lines of the building.”
Jayna found herself jogging to keep up. She wished she’d worn her flip-flops, but she’d just been in Dallas around all those put-together women. It was easy to fall back into habit, but her toes were protesting. “I didn’t say I would take the job.”
“Stubborn girl.” Mrs. Havery shook her head. “You will in the end. You’ll think about what you want out of this life and you’ll come to the proper conclusion. Now, you should know there’s a big audience in there, and Quaid is out for blood.”
He always was when he was in a courtroom. Mrs. Havery pushed the doors to the actual courtroom open, and Jayna figured out where everyone was today. The courtroom was packed. She looked over the crowd and her breath caught.
Sitting in the front row next to her sister was her mom.
Tears blurred Jayna’s eyes, and the world seemed to turn upside down.
“Your mother and I had a talk,” Mrs. Havery said. “She’s a stubborn woman, too, but I explained some things I’ve learned. Jayna, you are old enough now that you have to bend around her, but she should have bent for you when you were a child. She didn’t understand you. You were too smart and it intimidated her, so she tried to keep you closer to a person she could understand. You were her child. She should have been the one to compromise, should have done anything she could no matter how uncomfortable it made her. I made some of the same mistakes with my boys. She can’t go back but she can try now. I can try now.”
Her mother raised a hand, giving her a little wave as though she was unsure of her reception.
Jayna looked to Quaid’s mother, and one of her worries fell away. If Marian Havery could try, could get her mother to try, then she could, too. “I love your son.”
Marian’s lips turned up. “I’m glad to hear it. I hope you can come to love us all because he’s not the only one who needs you. I’m not going to be around forever. I would like to know my family is in good hands. Your hands are good, Jayna. They’re strong hands. They’re safe hands. Trust in them.”