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“How long has she been holding office hours here?” He asked the question in a whisper, a hint of a smile on his face.
“Oh, she’s been here for three days. Every day from at least eight to two,” Dixie replied. “I would kick her out, but Sienna asked politely, and it’s not tourist season, so we’ve got the space. In a couple of weeks, though, she’s going to need to find another office. You know, I practically forgot Sienna had a younger sister.”
Yeah, apparently the younger Jayna had been a bit forgettable, but this Jayna was completely fascinating to him. Dixie promised him his food would be out soon and he went back to listening in.
“Well, it is her own property, Jimmy,” Jayna was saying. “I believe that property line was used to your advantage in the last case.”
“Well, I would have thought differently if I’d known what that tree was really hiding,” Jimmy replied in a desperate tone. “She’s got that thing on her raised deck. Everyone can see her. All of my customers are complaining. Well, almost all. I’m real worried about the ones who aren’t.”
Quaid was confused. Jimmy had been his client for years. He wasn’t on retainer or anything, but Jimmy had always come to him when he had legal issues with the gas station. It was time to ask a couple of questions. He slid out of his booth and moved to theirs. “Hi there. Jimmy, is there a reason you didn’t come to me? Ms. Cardet, you should knowJimmy Abbot is my client. It’s not proper for you to talk to him without his attorney present.”
Jayna looked up at him, and she was every bit as gorgeous as he remembered. He’d nearly convinced himself that he’d been wrong about how good-looking she was. It had been a while since he’d had a girlfriend, and he’d decided it was his lonely state that made it seem like she was glowing.
Nope. Those lips turned up in a challenging smirk, and he was right back to nearly drooling.
“Mr. Havery, I think you’ll find you’ve been fired. Mr. Abbot put me on retainer two days ago,” she replied. “And I’m having a private meeting with my client. You should understand attorney-client privilege. If you don’t, I can send you some materials to help educate you.”
“I’m sorry, Quaid. She’s way cheaper than you are. She’s willing to do all the legal stuff in exchange for three free fill-ups a month,” Jimmy said, an apologetic look on his face. “And from what I can tell, that car of hers won’t last long, so I think I’m coming out on the good end of that bargain.”
“And Cheetos.” Sienna refilled her sister’s mug. “Don’t you forget, she gets free Cheetos and two slushies a week, and those slushies will be brought to her by my kids. But they’re for her.”
It was good to know Sienna’s girls were getting something out of this deal. He turned to Jayna. “You dumped Geraldine?”
“Geraldine never paid up,” Jayna replied. “No money. No gumbo. She has conveniently forgotten our agreement in the same fashion that she forgets her swimsuit during her new daily hot tub time.”
Quaid snorted, the humor of the situation hitting him. He should have known that stubborn old lady would have herrevenge. “Are you telling me Geraldine Oliver is skinny-dipping in broad daylight?”
“It’s not right.” Jimmy’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “No one’s supposed to see that. I’m not sure which parts are which. They all hang so low.”
Jayna’s lips pursed. “I think you will find that my client has been traumatized by Ms. Oliver’s flagrant violation of public decency laws.”
“Well, I say good for Geraldine,” Dixie said, putting a plate of food on Quaid’s table. “That will teach you not to take down trees. The city code only allows eight-foot fences, and Geraldine’s backyard was raised years ago because of flooding. You have to be a good neighbor, Jimmy Abbot. You didn’t care when the lights from your station flooded into her backyard. Now the lights from Geraldine’s boobs will flood yours.”
It was good to know Dixie had an opinion.
“Oh, I have to get in on this. Consider me Geraldine’s counsel. I could use some gumbo.” What he could use was some more time across the aisle from Jayna. It would also be fun to argue this particular case in front of the judge.
“Did you hear the part where I didn’t get the gumbo?” Jayna shot back.
“I’ll take my chances.” He grabbed his plate and stared at Jimmy. “I think you should let the lawyers handle it from here.”
Jimmy practically ran out of the café.
“I had more to talk about with him.” Jayna sighed and sat back, her hand on her mug.
“Now you can talk about it with me.” He sat down across from Jayna with his food. When he glanced up from his plate, he saw Sienna was still standing there. “Has she eaten yet or is she surviving on coffee and her rage at the world?”
“I’m not hungry,” Jayna insisted.
“Her stomach is growling loud enough to shake the booth, but she doesn’t have a deal with the diner for free food.” Sienna seemed far chattier now that Quaid was aware of the new business arrangements.
“I’ll pick up the tab. It’s the least I can do for all the help with high school French,” he offered. “And I’m feeling like something sweet. Are there any cinnamon rolls left?”
“I’ll take one, too,” Jayna said. “And some pancakes and bacon. And grits, but only if she still puts cheese in them.”
Oh, she wasn’t going to be a cheap date, but he liked that. Not that he would do anything at all to imply that this might kind of, sort of, be a date, because she would almost assuredly turn him down. After she’d eaten the free breakfast.
“I’ll get that going for you,” Sienna promised.
