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)
“Oh, that is such BS.” She turned Quaid’s way. “Geraldine is not trying to lift up women. She’s trying to milk my client into paying for a new fence, a fence that isn’t even legal.”
“Well, your client sends invasive light into Geraldine’s backyard all night long.” Quaid didn’t miss a beat.
“Which is why my client paid top dollar for blackout drapes and then went the extra mile and installed them himself at no charge to your client.” She was stretching the term top dollar, but they had been the most expensive ones at Walmart.
“So is my client not allowed to enjoy an evening outside?” Quaid asked with an innocent expression on his face that she didn’t trust for a single second. “Judge, do you spend every evening in your home? Hidden behind drapes and not enjoying the evening air?”
“Of course not,” the judge replied. “There’s nothing better than sitting out in my backyard listening to the sounds of the night. We live in a beautiful place. We should enjoy it while we can.”
Quaid gestured Jayna’s way. “I guess Ms. Cardet doesn’t have the same belief. Maybe that’s because she lived in New Orleans for all those years, or perhaps she believes the gifts of nature we’ve been given aren’t important to the elderly.”
Asshole. “I never said that.”
Jimmy held up a hand. “Neither did I. My momma’s Geraldine’s age. She loves the fire pit I built for her.”
Yeah, courtroom protocol wasn’t much of a thing here in Papillon.
“No one is saying Geraldine shouldn’t enjoy her backyard. I literally did not say that.” She felt the need to put that on the record or she might find herself with protestors of her own. And she probably had enough of those already since she’d heard from her sister that Quaid’s mom wasn’t happy with his current choice of roommate.
He ignored her. “And she now has to look at the back of his gas station, which is not pretty. She has the trash dumpster to look at, and that same light floods into the backyard all night long. Imagine not being able to enjoy a spring or summer night because you’re blinded by the harsh lights of the business that took down your precious trees.”
He was so dramatic. “It was one tree. And if she didn’t want to look at the gas station, maybe she shouldn’t have moved into a house that was behind a gas station.” She could counter his every argument. “There has been a gas station or convenience store in that exact location since 1952. Geraldine didn’t purchase that home until 1974.”
“And I have pictures of what the backyard looked like the day she moved in. You can’t see that gas station because of the trees planted behind her fence. Those trees cut out noise and light,” Quaid explained in an annoyingly patient tone. “She was completely unaware that the gas station was actually right behind her house.”
“I was very surprised to find that out,” Geraldine said, her lips pursed.
“But my daddy used to hand your order over the fence when you needed milk but didn’t want to make the walk around the block,” Jimmy countered. “Where did you think he was coming from?”
“I think you’ll find that Geraldine was unaware of what she was buying because the owners of the gas station cleverly hid their location,” Quaid announced.
She put her hands on her hips, outrage plain in her tone. “Hid? Behind a tree that had been there forever? Also, you know these are the exact arguments I made when I was representing Geraldine.”
“They’re very good arguments,” Quaid replied smoothly.
The judge threw up his hands. “And this is why I’m so confused. I’m hungry and it’s time for lunch. We’re in recess until two p.m.”
But they’d just gotten started. She bit back frustration as the judge gaveled out and then he was talking to his granddaughter about how long to microwave the leftover meatloaf he’d brought with him.
“Those two are going to kill me,” the judge said as Britney led him out of the courtroom.
“I do think he’s talking about us,” Quaid said, a glimmer of humor in his eyes. “So I was thinking we could go home and spend our lunch hour together.”
“Seriously?” She stared at him, aware that the courtroom was emptying and Geraldine and Jimmy were walking out together.
“I was thinking about asking your mom to come to one of my parties, Jimmy,” Geraldine was saying. “It’s been an age since I saw her.”
“You can’t do that, Geraldine. She’s my momma. I never thought you would play so dirty,” she heard Jimmy say as the door closed.
“I don’t think they should be talking without us.” She started for the door.
Quaid reached for her hand, tugging her back. “Hey, are you annoyed with me?” He didn’t look worried at the prospect. “They were good arguments. That’s why I used them.”