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She was not going to correct her mother’s grammar because that was rude, but she was going to correct a few things. Just not where the girls could hear her. “Mom, I’d like to talk to you over at your place.”
Her mother’s lips pursed in that stubborn way of hers. “Yes, I think we should.”
“They’re going to argue, too,” Ivy said as Sienna walked her back to the bedroom she shared with her older sister.
Oh, they were absolutely going to argue.
Jayna could barely contain her anger as she made the short walk that proved exactly hownotfar her sister had come. A whole lot of that was their mother’s fault. “What the hell, Mom? What were you saying to Sienna to make her cry?”
Luna followed her up the porch steps, her tail wagging like they were going on a fun walk.
“I was pointing out a few truths to her,” her mother replied, crossing her arms over her chest. “I was making sure you don’t walk in, get everyone’s hopes up, and then walk right back out to your perfect world and leave the rest of us here picking up the pieces.”
She turned on her mom, her hand still on the door. It appeared this was going to be a porch discussion. She was sure some of the neighbors would be listening in, but her mother never minded being the subject of a bit of gossip. “Perfect? I never said it was perfect and it obviously wasn’t or I wouldn’t be right back here.”
“Exactly. Which is precisely why you shouldn’t be giving your sister advice. Why are you trying to screw up her life?”
This was what she couldn’t understand. She truly had expected her mom to be excited. She wasn’t shipping Sienna out of town, merely getting her better pay. “I’m not screwing up her life. I’m helping her. Do you know how much more money she can earn working for Quaid? He’s willing to pay for her to get her paralegal certification. She’ll be able to work anywhere she wants.”
Her mother’s head shook. “And that’s another thing. She would not work anywhere she wants—she would beworking for a Havery. They’re practically royalty in this town. It’s one thing to work for Dixie, who understands where Sienna comes from. The Haverys never worked a hard day in their lives.”
“Just because they don’t work with their hands doesn’t mean they don’t work hard.” She felt crappy about how she’d thrown Quaid’s privilege in his face so casually, like he’d never had a bad thing happen to him, like he could control who his parents had been any more than she could. From what she’d learned, the man used his privilege to help the people around him.
“Well, I assure you his mother never worked a day in her life. She came from old money, and that brother of his thinks he owns the world,” her mother argued. “Quaid Havery works for the Beaumonts and the Darois family. Do you honestly think Sienna is going to fit into that world?”
Jayna felt her hands fist at her sides. “It’s not another world, Mom. It’s literally across the street from the world she’s in now. She’s going from working in the café where she makes below minimum wage plus tips to a hundred yards away where she’ll have a salary and flexible hours so she can take the girls to the doctor without worrying about how she’ll pay for it. That’s the only world she’s going into. She still comes right back here at night.”
Her mom leaned in, voice going low. “We are doing fine. We have been doing fine all along. You think I don’t take care of those girls? Those are my grandbabies. I’m the one who was here when they were born. I’m the one who helped Sienna change their diapers because their daddies sure weren’t going to do it. I make sure they get exactly what they need.”
Her mother wasn’t thinking of the big picture. “Ivy’s going to need braces. How do you expect Sienna to pay for that? It’s thousands of dollars.”
“Her teeth are fine.”
“Like mine were?” She’d had to suffer through half of law school looking like she was thirteen because her parents hadn’t been able to afford the braces she’d desperately needed.
Her mom waved off that. “Your teeth were fine, too. You’re just vain, and you always were.”
“Mom, my mouth was too small for those teeth.” Frustration welled hard and fast. “I couldn’t floss properly. I couldn’t keep them clean. I was going to lose them at a very early age.”
Her mom’s hands went to her hips, squaring off. “Then you would have gotten dentures like the rest of us. Look, I know you think I was a failure. You made that very clear throughout your childhood, but I won’t have you coming in here and making me look bad in front of my grandbabies.”
Jayna’s gut got tight. “I didn’t think you were a failure. I think you never once tried.”
“Never tried? I worked sixty hours a week to keep a roof over your head, to give you a good life, but you always had to have something better. Well, you got it, and like I always knew it would, it ruined your life. Now you’re trying to ruin Sienna’s.”
“My life is ruined?” Had her mom been spreading this all over town? “I got divorced. I had some trouble at work. I hit a speed bump. I’ll rebuild my life.”
Her mom pointed her way. “No. You’ll try for something far out of your league, and it will fall apart again. You’re thirty-three years old, Jayna, and what do you have to show for it? A whole lot of debt and a failed marriage. You don’t have a life. I had two teenagers when I was your age.”
A completely unamused laugh huffed from Jayna’s chest. “Because you got knocked up at eighteen. It’s not a thing to be proud of.”
“And it’s not a thing to be ashamed of, either,” her momcountered. “I had a family. I had babies to love, and I had a roof over my head. I had friends who had my back. I knew what my life would be, and I accepted it. I was grateful to my momma and daddy for everything they gave me. You know I had a brother who was just like you.”
Hadn’t she heard this story before? Her uncle had been a sore point for her mom all her life. Uncle Ron had been the only member of the family to get the hell out of Papillon. “Yes, he was a lawyer and he moved to the big city and drank himself to death. I’m not an alcoholic, Mom.”
“Not yet you’re not, but when you realize you can’t find what you need out there, that everything that would have made your life good was right here and you were too ambitious to see it, that’s when you’ll turn to the bottle. You’ll end up exactly like my brother, who walked away from his family and never offered us anything. He only invited us to visit so he could show off how much he had. He wanted to show us his fancy wife and his fancy kids and a house that had a bathroom bigger than our whole trailer. He made our parents feel ashamed of what they had. I won’t let you do that to Sienna. She’s always been a good girl.”
Her mother was being a complete hypocrite. “If my divorce ruined my life, how is Sienna better than me? Twice, Mom. Two times she got married and two times they failed. She’s renting a single-wide across the yard from where she grew up, working two jobs to try to barely make ends meet, but she’s the success story? She’s the smart one?”
