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)
She’d been thinking about what the judge had said. All the smart, ambitious kids left, and Papillon stayed the same.
Although sometimes the smart, ambitious kids took a wrong turn and wound up right back where they started.
“Do you want to sit around the dinner table and talk about how to kill Todd Shale? I’ve watched a lot of Dateline, and I think I know how to avoid the pitfalls. We need to lure him out here and then we’ll feed his ass to Otis and no one will ever know,” Sienna offered.
Her sister knew the whole story around her divorce. It wasn’t a pretty one. It had started with a flare of conscience that led to Jayna losing damn near everything but her dog and a wardrobe that didn’t fit into her new life. “No. I knew who he was when I married him. I didn’t love Todd. I thought we would make good partners. And we did, right up until I became slightly inconvenient.”
“Well, hell. I loved both of my exes and it all ended the same way, so maybe Granny was right and we’re cursed,” Sienna said with a sigh. “I don’t have real good taste in men. I think the new deputy is cute, so I’m staying far away from the man because if I like him, he’s got to be bad news. I switch tables with whoever is working with me when he sits at mine. No way. No how. I am not going there again.”
That was news. “You like the deputy?”
Sienna shrugged. “I just think he’s cute. Like I said, I’m not going to get to know the man. I’m done with all that. It’s me and my girls now.”
Sienna was living their mother’s life. Her whole world would be her family and that job at the café where she was on her feet eight to ten hours a day and beholden to tourists for tips. Her girls would grow up and there would be no money for college if they couldn’t get scholarships or take on a godawful amount of student loan debt. Instead, they would find jobs and promise themselves they would save money and go to school next year and oops, they were pregnant and the cycle started all over again.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to work in New Orleans after everything that happened.” She had to be practical.
“But you were doing the right thing. I don’t understand,” Sienna replied.
“I know. The legal world is not black and white. What I did when I turned my client in was technically legal.” She didn’t like to think about the case that had ended her marriage and career. “But no one wants to touch me. I’m still embroiled in various ethics complaints, and until I clear those up, I don’t think I’m going to find a firm willing to take me on.”
“How long do you think that’s going to take?”
It could be years, but she wasn’t willing to admit that to herself yet. “A couple of months, hopefully. Six, tops. I was thinking I could help out around here in the meantime.”
“Help like you did with Geraldine?”
“Yeah, I know it’s a small town, but the area around it is pretty big. I would bet the public defender comes from at least an hour away.” She’d been thinking about this for a while now. She couldn’t sit in her momma’s trailer until she found a new job. She had to make a job for herself. “I would need to find clients and rent some office space. I’m not sure I can afford that, though.”
Sienna’s eyes lit up. “No. You don’t need an office. You need to be in the place where everyone can find you, where all the gossip flows. Where a person who hears every sad-sack story in town can direct potential clients to you. Though you should know I’m going to expect at least ten percent of that gumbo.”
“I thought you said it was awful.”
“Ten percent of awful is still ten percent,” Sienna pointed out. “If we can get money, we’ll take it, but I know how to work this system way better than you. You be the brains, sister, and I’ll handle negotiating payment.”
“I don’t know.”
Sienna turned her way and there was a hint of desperation in her sister’s expression. “I want you to give me a chance, Jayna. I know everyone thinks I’m just working until I find a new husband. They throw men at me all the time, but I really am done. The trouble is I can’t find anything beyond waitressing and taking odd jobs. I need a chance at doing something that might give me some experience I can put on a résumé to get a better job.”
Jayna’s chest suddenly felt too tight. Somehow she’d thought Sienna was okay with her lot in life. Sienna never complained, never faced the day without a bright smile on her face.