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“He’s offered mea job.”
“Tanner offered you a job? But there’s no business yet.” My sister, Leah, and I, sat watching the sun set over the water in the two matching Adirondack chairs on the dock that stretched out over the bayou where Leah was about to build a house with her new husband, Jake. They’d only been married a few months, but Jake and Tanner’s mom’s family had owned this land for decades. The dock was all that was left from his grandaddy’s house, the original homeplace that had burned down several years back. Well, that and Tanner’s Airstream camper, where he lived temporarily amidst the trees and along the water’s edge. It was a running joke within the family—his camping life.
We were sharing a beer and discussing recent events. It was the most relaxing, private place in town for us to catch up. Cypress Bayou had eyes and ears. No matter where we went, somebody seemed interested in what was happening in our lives.
“Yes. And no, Tanner doesn’t have his new business set up yet, but he’s tiptoeing into something. I’m sure you’ve heard.”
Leah nodded. “Yes, we’ve heard about it. And we’re very concerned about what will happen when Carson finds out.”
“What can Carson do besides throw a few curveballs to delay things opening and running smoothly?” I honestly didn’t like Carson either so what was the big deal? But I could see the concern in my sister’s gaze.
“The depths of Carson’s need to control those boys is way beyond what we can understand. And the lengths he might go to, well, nobody knows how far that might be. I hate to see you get tied up with that.”
“It’s a start-up, which means lists and tasks to accomplish. We all know I’d be good at getting things organized.”
“Yes, you would be a big help to Tanner if you can avoid Carson.”
“We’ve got a controlling mother and we’ve managed to work around her.” Controlling was a nice word for it. As little girls, the two of them had learned to avoid their momma on a bad day and be careful around her on a good one. Now they were less concerned with her extreme personality, but being raised in that environment had bonded them.
“Yes, but Momma is like the Disney Mary Poppins compared to Carson on a good day. I don’t think you understand how dark some of his politics go. I guess you wouldn’t since you were so young when you left town, and your exposure to the family isn’t as close as mine has been. I’ve been hearing about Carson’s low-down dirty tricks since Jake and I started dating in middle school.”
Something shifted in my stomach. “Like what?”
“I’ve heard he keeps nearly everyone in line here in Cypress Bayou. The mayor, the judges, the city council members, you name it. It’s rumored he’s got a file that contains every possible speck of dirt he might use against them all.”
I still wasn’t buying the depths of it. “Even if that’s true, surely not everyone is dirty.”
“Maybe not, but someone within every family has something to hide. To bring shame or embarrassment. Or, to keep them from getting elected the next term.”
I thought about that for a moment. “That’s nasty. But unless someone can prove actual blackmail or extortion, it’s not a real crime.”
“I would think it’d be enough to convince you. But I have a feeling that’s the PG-rated version of his darkness. I’m not sure how bad it gets, and I don’t think that even Jake or Tanner knows.”
I rolled this around for a second or two. “Maybe that’s why Tanner wants so badly to extricate himself from Carson and his business.” This made sense. Even if getting away from a narcissistic ass of a father was plenty enough reason. A dirty political narcissist was way worse.
“Okay. I get it. He wants to have a good reputation away from Carson’s business dealings. I can’t blame him for that.”
“Just be careful if you decide to work with him. Tanner’s a great guy—the best. But his doing this could cause him some real trouble.”
“I appreciate your looking out for me. Unfortunately, my job opportunities are limited here since the town is so saturated with lawyers. Plus, if I decide to go to work for him, we’d call it a ‘for now’ job since he mostly needs someone to help get him set up in the business.”
“You’ll figure out something whether it’s with Tanner or not, I’m sure,” Leah said. “Are you okay for money? I’m assuming Nana gave you control of your trust when you turned twenty-five?” We hadn’t talked about my trust before. I knew she’d gotten hers while she’d been living in Paris.
I nodded. “She did. I’d worry a lot more if I didn’t have that.” Nana came from money on her mother’s side, which is how she continued to hold Plaisance House. Nobody discussed exactly how much money, and Nana wasn’t someone anyone would look at and think of as wealthy—besides the house. Everybody in town knew that kind of historic real estate didn’t come without a high price tag and enormous upkeep costs.
So, having the nest egg from Nana allowed me to come home to Cypress Bayou and live among my family without the immediate worry of feeding myself. Plus, living at Nana’s provided a place to lay my head—for now at least—and get settled until I found my own place, should I decide to stay in Cypress Bayou permanently. And Nana didn’t question my comings and goings like Momma would’ve, so it worked for both of us.AndI’d missed my grandmother.
“So have you heard anything from Allison lately?” Leah asked, changing the subject.
“No, but I think she’s okay. I stalked her Facebook a week or so ago and she’d posted that she’d put her momma’s house on the market in Naperville.” Allison was our newly discovered half-sister we’d found out about only a few months ago. She was still recovering from blood cancer, which washowwe’d found out about her. I was a little wary about the whole situation. I mean, I wanted to get to know her but maybe that felt a little threatening to mine and Leah’s close relationship, if I were being completely honest.
“I would think she’d stay in closer contact, wouldn’t you?” Leah had been the one who donated the bone marrow that saved Allison’s life, so Leah took it a little more personally when we didn’t hear from Allison regularly. Plus, Leah wore her heart on her sleeve more than me and she had no concerns about welcoming a stranger to our family, though a sister by blood. Still, Allisonwasa stranger.
“I’m not sure about anything where Allison is concerned. I mean, we really don’t know much about her life before she found us.” Allison had stayed here in Cypress Bayou for a couple months after she’d been released from the hospital until her doctors had given her the okay to travel back to Illinois, where she’d lived before. For someone who’d been searching for her birth family, Allison was tight-lipped about her past.
“Do you think she needs help with the house?” Leah was frowning behind her sunglasses. I could almost read her thoughts because I knew her so well. I couldn’t imagine having another sister who was as close with us as Leah and I were with one another.
“I don’t know, but aren’t you going to be up to your eyeballs with the gallery in New Orleans?” Leah was getting a new art gallery up and running soon. It would be a huge amount of work.
