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)
“I wouldn’t say that.” Sienna sat down on the top step. “He’s good to the people of this town.”
It wasn’t so surprising that Sienna would take an optimistic view. Jayna had another perspective. “He represents all the rich people, exactly like his dad did. When he negotiates with a person and that person doesn’t have legal counsel, he’s not watching out for them. He’s getting his client the best deal possible. It’s not ethical.”
“I don’t know about that. He’s a good guy. You know he went with our aunt to help cousin Pete when he got arrested for selling weed,” Sienna offered.
“For allegedly selling weed. He hasn’t been convicted yet,” Jayna pointed out. She hadn’t even known Pete had been in trouble until she’d come home.
“Well, everyone knows he was selling weed. He was growing it in the backyard.”
“Allegedly.”
“Aunt Opal tried to burn that alleged weed and she was high as a damn kite because she stood out there with a hose trying to monitor the perimeter to make sure she didn’t start a forest fire, as she called it,” Sienna explained. “We had to take her to the nurse, but Lila said we should just feed her a bunch of French fries and tacos and she would be fine in the morning. My point is, Quaid went down to the jail with her and helped her get Pete out on bail, and he didn’t charge her a dime since she didn’t have one to give him. He’s not a bad man. He’s doing what all of us are.”
“And what’s that?”
“What he can,” Sienna said with a sigh, and then there was a sparkle in her eyes. “How did he take you showing up in court looking all fine and stuff?”
Jayna took another swig of the very cheap beer her mom kept around the house for guests. Her mom wasn’t much of a drinker, but she preferred sweet strawberry wine to beer. It hadn’t seemed like a strawberry wine kind of day to Jayna. “He didn’t know who I was.”
“Oh,” her sister said, eyes widening. “Well, you do look different. No one’s seen you in years, so they remember you as you were in high school. You changed pretty much everything about yourself since then.”
That was not true. “I dyed my hair. I didn’t get into a Face/Off machine.”
“You dropped a lot of weight.”
“I exercised,” she countered. She’d dropped about thirty pounds in law school when she’d discovered how much she liked to jog and work out. It cleared her head and gave her time to think. “Again, no surgery for me. Not even Botox, even though my rat-fink ex suggested I start what he called ‘a regime.’ ”
“Todd wanted you to get plastic surgery?” Sienna asked with a gasp.
Jayna sighed. “Not exactly. He thought we should both start taking better care of ourselves, and one of his suggestions was erasing my frown lines. Apparently I have a lot of them.”
“You do not. You are perfectly gorgeous,” Sienna said. “Our roles are reversed. I know I was kind of the pretty one when we were young. At least that’s what people said. I always thought you were prettier.”
Her sister was a freaking saint, and it made her feel guilty that she ever thought bad things about her. And that she’d stayed away for so many years. It wasn’t like Sienna hadn’t come to see her, but she’d forced her sister and her mom to make the long drive to New Orleans every year because she’d never allowed Todd to see where she’d grown up.
She moved to the top step to sit beside her sister. “Everyone adores you and you’re stunning. That’s what I hear when they realize I’m your sister. Sienna is a bright light in all the darkest night and some shit.”
Sienna snorted and grabbed Jayna’s beer, taking a sip. “They do not.”
“They do, too.” She wasn’t about to let Sienna get all maudlin. That was Jayna’s job, and she wasn’t giving it up anytime soon. “The judge practically glowed when he talked about how wonderful you are. He didn’t remember me, either.”
“That’s because I sneak him an extra piece of bacon every now and then,” Sienna admitted. “It’s probably a sin. I know the man has a cholesterol problem, but he tips well. I’m sorry Quaid didn’t remember you. I know you had a little crush on him.”
A little? Quaid Havery had been the most beautiful boy in the world, and when he’d focused in on her she’d felt like the center of the universe. Of course, now she understood that it was all charm and he likely pulled that crap on everyone he met. “He thought my name was June.”
Sienna passed her the beer back. “Well, it’s been a long time.”
“You know, I didn’t think anyone was here missing me or anything, but it would have been nice if someone remembered who I was,” she admitted. “I guess the people who would have remembered me are somewhere else now.”