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“Idiot isn’t the word I’m thinking of,” Trey answered. “But let’s not go there for now. What happened next?”
“It was easy. I went downstairs to the lobby and got on the internet, found the same license, filled in the blanks, printed it out and signed it. Done deal.”
“Why did you put Trey and me as witnesses?” Ian asked.
“Because you guys always back me up. I knew you’d stand behind me no matter what. Duh. Who else would I put there?”
Jada thought she heard Ian mutter, “Unbelievable.”
“What did you do next?” Trey asked, a snap in his question.
“The owner of the B&B was leaving to run some errands so she dropped me off at the courthouse,” Sasha explained. “I went to file the license and I was surprised when the clerk wouldn’t accept it. Right away, she said it was fake.”
“It was fake,” Ian said.
“Yeah, but I thought it looked legit.” She made a go-figure motion. “The clerk was stubborn and no matter what I said she refused to take the license ... until I mentioned money. She was up for money. Everyone is. She also agreed to call in a tip to CGTV, which was part of the original plan with Freya, except Freya was going to do that part. I was pretty happy to get the records clerk to do it. I knew the story would drive Piper crazy, and she’d give it all the on-air attention it deserved.”
“Going back to the money, you didn’t stop to think that you were bribing a public employee and that’s illegal?” Ian asked.
“No. It wasn’t a bribe. It was more like giving her a reason to do something she should have done in the first place.”
Ian and Trey were astonished, then they sighed and shook their heads. That Sasha, she’s not much of a thinker, their actions suggested.
Jada couldn’t let it pass. “I don’t buy it. Quit acting dumb for the guys.”
Sasha gave her a dirty look. “You don’t know what I thought.”
“I know you’re not a fool, so quit pretending you are one because you know these two will buy it.”
“You’re playing me,” Trey said. “Seriously, Sasha? Right now?”
“It’s no big thing.” Sasha passed it off. “Anyway, I thought you wanted the whole story. So, I didn’t have much money on me. I convinced the clerk to meet me after I’d gone to the bank for the cash. I left, got the money, met up with the clerk, paid her off, and that was that. I rented a car, went home and waited for the story to break. It took longer to break than I thought it would. For a while, I thought the clerk had stiffed me. And when Piper got the story wrong on Saturday I couldn’t believe it. I was so pissed. But then today, the right story came out and I finally got what I was wanting. I think.”
Sasha’s blasé attitude was stronger than ever. If she cared any less, she would have passed out from losing interest in breathing. “There. I’ve told you everything. The end. Now return the favor and tell me how Piper ever got the stupid idea that Ian and Jada were married? I can’t figure it out. It makes no sense.”
The room was silent and Jada could almost hear the sound of her blood swooshing through her veins. Her pulse was rapid and her heart raced. An outpouring of adrenaline made her muscles twitch.
In short, she wanted to launch herself at Sasha.
Seriously? Did she actually say, “Now return the favor and tell me ...”?
It was unbelievable. The whole story. And yet it was true. Jada knew it was true, but ... it didn’t seem possible. The end, Sasha had said. And that was that.
Ian and Trey burst out of their astonished stupors, practically shouting at Sasha about daring to be so flippant, about how much damage she’d done and what made her think she had the right, and on and on.
Jada didn’t care about it. She could only stare at Sasha’s fairy-princess facade and brood about how much she wanted to punch the self-centered obliviousness right out of it.
But Jada would never hit anyone. It wasn’t who she was, no matter how much she wished it.
While Ian and Trey shifted into high gear with their verbal assaults, Jada quietly slipped from the room. Unnoticed.
Chapter Seven
TRYING TO MAKE SASHA LISTEN to reason was an exercise in futility. Ian couldn’t recall ever being more frustrated.
But Sasha, how could you ...
But Sasha, you knew ...
But Sasha, it’s wrong to ...
Nothing fazed her. She’d shut down good and proper. She’d simply shrug and say, “It is what it is,” over and over until Ian considered buying a few congressmen just to get a bill passed outlawing the maddening phrase. Ha. As if that would stop Sasha.
It must be even worse for Jada, he thought, seeing how Sasha refused to take responsibility for her actions. He realized Jada hadn’t said anything in a long time and surveyed the study. Where was she? She wasn’t in the room. How long had she been gone?
He cut off Trey mid-harangue and told Sasha, “I’ve got to go, but don’t think this is over. It’s only a break.”
Shrug.
Ian exited before he said something he’d regret.
After a short search, he found Jada outside, sitting on the wide porch steps. Her elbows were propped on her knees and her chin rested on her clasped hands. She looked toward the lake with a desolate expression on her beautiful face.
Ian sat down beside her. “Are you okay?”
She turned her head far enough to acknowledge him. “I’ll survive.” She returned her gaze to the lake.
He pulled in a lungful of fresh air, letting it clear his mind. Insects buzzed and birds chirped. Early evening sunbeams slanted through the trees, casting long shadows on the grounds and water. The temperature had dropped since they’d returned ... how long ago was it? Couldn’t have been long, though it felt like hours. It was different now.
He regarded Jada out of the corner of his eye. He hoped not everything was
different. His feelings for her remained the same.
“We won’t allow her to walk away from this scot-free,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I don’t think she cares either way.”
“Is that the worst of it for you? That she’s so egotistical?
Jada took a deep breath, sat up straighter and raised her head, letting her hands dangle between her knees. “I can’t quit thinking about what might have happened if Sasha and Freya had realized they didn’t have to drive a thousand miles to Iowa to get married. Within a couple hundred miles of the city, there are two states where gay marriage is legal, and Springers Glen isn’t in the path of either one. Imagine it. I wouldn’t be sitting here if those two women had half a clue.”
“You can’t go around re-imaging events based on what Sasha doesn’t know. You’d be at it forever,” Ian said.
“She’s not as dumb as she lets on.”
“No, but she’s not as with it as she’d like you to think, either.”
“I don’t want to say I told you so, but you were the one who convinced me to drop Sasha as a suspect because you thought she was too flighty to plan something so complicated.”
“True,” Ian said, “and she was, wasn’t she? Have you ever heard of a more screwy plan? And she didn’t get close to pulling it off.”
“Good point. I can’t argue with it.” Jada sighed. “Why didn’t she come out of the closet the normal way? Get an interview with a big name journalist, tell her story, the usual.”
“Because of Agatha,” Ian answered. “And Trey. You know Agatha thinks it will damage Sasha’s career. Sasha complains a lot but she never stands up to her mother on anything important. Trey’s been against Sasha coming out because he’s afraid it could put her in danger. He’s worried that someone might attack her, physically, for going public. I think it’s unlikely, but the truth is, we have to face that there are still people who hate gays and lesbians enough to hurt them, even if there aren’t as many of them as there once were.”
“I didn’t think about that,” Jada said. “I can see why he’d worry. I don’t like admitting it, but Sasha was right when she said that I don’t know what it’s like to live on society’s fringe.”
