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Yeah, she wasn’t going to mention that to him or he might rethink the whole letting-her-use-the-office thing.
Luna’s head came up, her attention focusing on the traileropposite her. The door to Sienna’s trailer came open and a slight figure slipped out.
Ivy wore pajamas and fuzzy slippers on her feet. She looked around as though seeking something and then lasered in on Jayna. Luna’s tail thumped and she moved down the steps to escort the young girl across the yard between them.
“Aunt Jay, what did you do?” Ivy whispered the question.
“A lot of things.” She wasn’t sure what her niece was talking about. She’d gotten home about an hour before and found a note from her mom saying she would be over with the girls until Sienna got home. About thirty minutes later, Sienna’s car had pulled up and she’d waved Jayna’s way, holding up the new outfit she’d bought for her first day of work. Sienna had been bubbly and full of optimism. “What’s going on?”
“Momma and Granny are fighting, and they’re saying your name a lot.” Ivy moved to sit on the second chair, her feet not brushing the floor.
“What would they fight about?” She hadn’t even talked to her mom today. Over the weeks she’d been home, they hadn’t spent a ton of time together. Her mom had begrudgingly let her stay. Sometimes she thought the only reason she’d done it was so she could sayI told you so. And Luna. Her mom seemed to love having Luna around.
“Momma told her about the new job with the lawyer guy and Granny said she’s got her head in the clouds and she’s going to ruin everything.”
“What?” Jayna stood up. She should have known her mother would have an opinion. She always did and it was always negative. “Your mom got a new job, a better job with better pay and better hours. She doesn’t even have to work weekends. How is that ruining things?”
“Mom could be home on Saturdays?” Ivy asked.
“Every single one, and Sundays, too. Her new boss is even making it so she’ll be able to pick you guys up from school. I think you’ll like him. He’s pretty nice.” And dangerous to her peace of mind. Quaid was all her high school dreams rolled into one sexy, “couldn’t she get rid of all her frustrations with him?” man trap.
She’d closed the door to the office he’d given her because it was way too nice to think about the fact that he was right across the hall, and she could go poke him any time she wanted.
She’d worked with a man she’d been involved with once and wasn’t going there again.
“I don’t think it matters if he’s nice.” Ivy shook her head. “Granny doesn’t think Mom can do it. She said she should have known you would come in and put ideas in her head.” Ivy sniffled.
“That is not right. Your granny shouldn’t have said those things because your momcando it.” She was going to have such a talk with her mother. What had she been thinking? Even if she’d put the girls to bed, she had to know they could hear everything in that tiny space. The walls were paper-thin. Jayna should know. She’d grown up being able to listen to every word her mother said about her.
Ivy’s honey blond hair shone in the moonlight. “Aunt Jayna, do you really think I can go to college and be a doctor? Because I don’t think Granny thinks I’m smart enough, either.”
Anger bubbled up but Jayna shoved it down. She’d dealt with this so many times when she was a kid. The idea of sweet, smart Ivy going through it made her heart ache. She got on one knee. “You can do anything you put your mind to, Ivy.”
Her niece’s bottom lip trembled. “Granny says it only makes it worse when you say things like that. She says it’scruel to tell us we can do things we can’t. There’s no money for college. Momma worries about money all the time. My dad... he doesn’t help at all. I barely see him since he got a new girlfriend. He’s not going to help me, and college is expensive.”
“I promise you that if you work hard and make good grades, I will make sure you go to college. It might not be your dream school, but it will be a good school. I’ll pay for what I can, and we’ll find every scholarship and loan we need. I will not let you down. There was no money for me to go to school, either, and Granny wouldn’t sign for loans. I had to do that all by myself. And I made it. I worked my way through law school.”
“Granny says you’re up to your ears in debt and it would have been better if you’d stayed in your place.” Ivy put a hand on her cheek. “Do you think my mom would be happier if she hadn’t had me and Kelly?”
Oh, her mom had so much to answer for. “Never. Your mother loves you so much, and that’s why she’s getting a better job. She wants to be able to spend more time with you. She won’t be on her feet all day, so she won’t be as tired as she is now. She’s going to get a certification that she can use anywhere she wants to go, and she’ll get insurance. This is a good thing, and she’s doing it because she loves you and wants to give you the best life she possibly can. Now, let’s get you back in bed and I’ll have a talk with your granny about being nicer.”
Ivy sniffled again, and her arms went around Jayna’s neck as she hugged her.
Emotion swept through her, and she felt that guilt again. She’d spent so much time staying away, and they’d needed her. Her nieces and her sister needed her for more than the money she’d occasionally given them. She walked Ivy back toward her sister’s trailer, Luna trailing behind. The doorwas unlocked, and she could hear her sister crying as she walked in.
“It’s okay. Everything is going to be all right. You’ve done nothing that can’t be fixed.” Her mom was sitting beside Sienna on the sofa, her hand on her knee. “You can talk to Dixie and get your job back. I’m sure she’ll understand.”
“Hey, I found this one out wandering around. Thought I’d bring her back.” Jayna had to keep a happy attitude around Ivy, but inside she was seething. How many times had her mom tried to talk her out of something she wanted because she “wasn’t being realistic”?
How many times had her mother cost her an opportunity because she didn’t want her daughter being arrogant?
Sienna gasped and stood up, wiping her eyes. “I didn’t see her slip out. Ivy, you can’t do that. It’s dangerous out at night. Hey, baby, everything’s okay. Your granny and I were only talking.”
She moved in to take her daughter’s hand.
Ivy yawned and wrapped her small hand around her mom’s. “You were arguing.”
“Naw, honey. We were discussing something that you shouldn’t worry yourself about,” Jayna’s momma said. She was still wearing the jeans and T-shirt she’d worn to work, her gray-streaked hair back in the same ponytail she’d worn for as long as Jayna could remember. Her mother was a slender woman, but there was a worn and tired expression on her face at all times, as though the years weighed heavily on her. “You get some good sleep and everything is going to be back to normal tomorrow. You don’t worry about nothing, girl.”
