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)
His brother was in good hands.
“Hey, Jayna, Mom wants you to know that she’s got a tea with the Jaycees planned for two weeks from now and you’re going to need to be properly dressed for it,” Paul said.
“What does that mean?” Jayna asked.
It meant he might have just made a monster.
It also meant his mother would come around. Now he had to make sure Jayna did, too.
chapter thirteen
Jayna drove, the night black around them with only the headlights to illuminate the way. Quaid would likely land soon and then he would text them any updates. She’d gotten all of the paperwork Lila needed done and now it was time to start the second part of the assignment she’d given herself.
To figure Paul out.
He’d been oddly quiet since they’d started the drive. He’d sat at the clinic after their mom had been taken away, only moving when Jayna had requested he come with her. She wasn’t used to a Paul who didn’t try to be the center of attention. The silent contemplation frankly scared her.
“So your mom is inviting me to the Jaycee thing?” She decided to go the easy route first. He hadn’t gone sullen and silent until Quaid and his mother had been lifted into the night. “Do I dare ask who that is? I don’t know a Jaycee, and I doubt you’re talking about Jay-Z, though at least I know what he does.”
“It’s the Junior Chamber,” he replied, staring out at the night. “It’s a leadership organization for younger people.”
“Oh, Quaid mentioned that but he called it the Junior League.”
Paul snorted. “It’s an entirely different organization. The Junior League is specifically focused on women in leadership. Mother has always sponsored the Jaycees group here. Quaid never paid much attention to the work she does. I’m fairly certain he would say it’s all some rich people thing where they play at being charitable, but they’ve done some real good. Our mother’s charities have raised millions over the years, money that she put into this town.”
Paul had pretty much nailed how Quaid felt about the charities his mother dealt with. “Where did the money go in the town?”
There was charity, and then there was “people who liked things to be pretty” charity.
“The Jaycees hold business classes, and they sponsor many of our festivals. They also are responsible for the beautification projects around the parish,” Paul explained. “I spent a lot of my high school years carrying planters around for my mother. She designed the gardens around the courthouse.”
So “people who liked things to be pretty” charity. “Why would she want me to go to this thing? Is it some sort of trap?”
“It’s not a trap. It’s an olive branch,” Paul replied. “You’re in the right age range for the group, though they don’t get many younger people, so you’ll find they don’t enforce that whole upper-limit age thing. Mom does what she knows. She tries to bring some elegance and class to the town.”
“The town is fine.” She was surprised at the actual level of disdain she felt at the thought that Papillon wasn’t classy. It wasn’t. She knew that, but Papillon was fine. “Do you know what Papillon needs more than flowers at the courthouse? A functional, modern library that isn’t about to be torn down and sold off.”
“You should bring that up when you meet them,” was all Paul said.
She turned onto the main highway, though it was still a two-lane road, slightly wider and with less chance of her hitting a deer or getting attacked by a Cajun werewolf. She snorted at the thought because it meant she was settling back in. Or perhaps settling in for the first time. “I will.”
Silence descended again and Jayna realized she was putting off the inevitable. She had a job to do, one she’d promised Quaid she would accomplish on the drive to New Orleans. Paul wasn’t opening up to her so she had to find a way to crack him. Luckily getting people to talk when they didn’t want to was kind of what she did for a living. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he replied evenly. “It was only five stitches.”
She’d expected him to deflect. He’d been doing it all evening, skirting around the real problem. She’d spoken with Armie, who’d told her Paul had said nothing beyond he was robbed. From what she could tell he still hadn’t mentioned any trouble he had to the sheriff. “I wasn’t talking about the stitches. I was talking about the fact that you got attacked tonight and it’s probably the same guy who stole your car. You know, the guy you owe money to.”
She found it was best to get the truth out there and let her client react to it.
Paul was silent for a moment.
She was handling him the wrong way. He was a reluctant witness, and she needed to get him to talk. Quaid had been playing bad cop with his brother for far too long. It might be time for a good cop. “I think it’s admirable that you want to pay off the debt yourself, Paul. I really do, but we need to know if this thing is escalating. Your mom could have been the one who got stabbed.”