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He’d been oddly quiet since they’d started the drive. He’d sat at the clinic after their mom had been taken away, only moving when Jayna had requested he come with her. She wasn’t used to a Paul who didn’t try to be the center of attention. The silent contemplation frankly scared her.
“So your mom is inviting me to the Jaycee thing?” She decided to go the easy route first. He hadn’t gone sullen and silent until Quaid and his mother had been lifted into the night. “Do I dare ask who that is? I don’t know a Jaycee, and I doubt you’re talking about Jay-Z, though at least I know what he does.”
“It’s the Junior Chamber,” he replied, staring out at the night. “It’s a leadership organization for younger people.”
“Oh, Quaid mentioned that but he called it the Junior League.”
Paul snorted. “It’s an entirely different organization. The Junior League is specifically focused on women in leadership. Mother has always sponsored the Jaycees group here. Quaid never paid much attention to the work she does. I’m fairly certain he would say it’s all some rich people thing where they play at being charitable, but they’ve done some real good. Our mother’s charities have raised millions over the years, money that she put into this town.”
Paul had pretty much nailed how Quaid felt about the charities his mother dealt with. “Where did the money go in the town?”
There was charity, and then there was “people who liked things to be pretty” charity.
“The Jaycees hold business classes, and they sponsor many of our festivals. They also are responsible for the beautification projects around the parish,” Paul explained. “I spent a lot of my high school years carrying planters around for my mother. She designed the gardens around the courthouse.”
So “people who liked things to be pretty” charity. “Why would she want me to go to this thing? Is it some sort of trap?”
“It’s not a trap. It’s an olive branch,” Paul replied. “You’re in the right age range for the group, though they don’t get many younger people, so you’ll find they don’t enforce that whole upper-limit age thing. Mom does what she knows. She tries to bring some elegance and class to the town.”
“The town is fine.” She was surprised at the actual level of disdain she felt at the thought that Papillon wasn’t classy. It wasn’t. She knew that, but Papillon was fine. “Do you know what Papillon needs more than flowers at the courthouse? A functional, modern library that isn’t about to be torn down and sold off.”
“You should bring that up when you meet them,” was all Paul said.
She turned onto the main highway, though it was still a two-lane road, slightly wider and with less chance of her hitting a deer or getting attacked by a Cajun werewolf. She snorted at the thought because it meant she was settling back in. Or perhaps settling in for the first time. “I will.”
Silence descended again and Jayna realized she was putting off the inevitable. She had a job to do, one she’d promised Quaid she would accomplish on the drive to New Orleans. Paul wasn’t opening up to her so she had to find a way to crack him. Luckily getting people to talk when they didn’t want to was kind of what she did for a living. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he replied evenly. “It was only five stitches.”
She’d expected him to deflect. He’d been doing it all evening, skirting around the real problem. She’d spoken with Armie, who’d told her Paul had said nothing beyond he was robbed. From what she could tell he still hadn’t mentioned any trouble he had to the sheriff. “I wasn’t talking about the stitches. I was talking about the fact that you got attacked tonight and it’s probably the same guy who stole your car. You know, the guy you owe money to.”
She found it was best to get the truth out there and let her client react to it.
Paul was silent for a moment.
She was handling him the wrong way. He was a reluctant witness, and she needed to get him to talk. Quaid had been playing bad cop with his brother for far too long. It might be time for a good cop. “I think it’s admirable that you want to pay off the debt yourself, Paul. I really do, but we need to know if this thing is escalating. Your mom could have been the one who got stabbed.”
“It’s about me,” Paul insisted. “I’m the one who owes money, not her.”
He wasn’t as selfish as Quaid imagined him to be. Or perhaps he truly was the changed person he claimed he was.Addicts could make different choices when they were using, choices they wouldn’t make when they had their heads on straight, when the drugs weren’t clouding their judgment.
She was almost certain that was why her mom had made sure her dad wasn’t in her life.
“But they’ll use the people you love to force you to pay them back.” He needed to understand the reality he was facing. She knew he’d been in some dicey situations, but she thought this was one he hadn’t encountered before. He’d always had someone eager to bail him out, and he wasn’t willing to fall back on his family again.
“I need more time. You said you thought the house contract was good, right?”
“Yes. I think it’s fine, but the closing date is six weeks from now,” she pointed out. “It doesn’t feel like this guy is willing to wait for six weeks. I know you’re trying to show Quaid that you can handle things on your own, but in this case, the more mature decision is to borrow the money from him and pay him back when the transfer from your house comes through.”
Paul’s head fell forward. “Then I’m the same person I’ve been for years.”
“No, you’re the person who genuinely needs help and will swallow his pride to protect the people he loves,” she gently corrected. He wanted to be persuaded, wanted this burden off his shoulders. “You’ll pay him back when your house sells, and you and I will deal with the production contracts. You’ll stay with your mom and take care of her while she recovers. You’ll sit down with me and your brother and figure out what your next moves are. What you’re trying to prove can’t be proven with a single act. It’s the day-to-day living that will show Quaid you’ve changed.”
“I thought it would be different. I thought I could come home and quietly deal with the mess I made, but it’s allspiraling out of control again. Why did I come back at all? It would have been better if I’d stayed in LA.”
“No, it wouldn’t, because you wouldn’t have your family around you. Look, Paul, you caused this problem and you have to be the one to get yourself out of it, and your best option is to make a deal with Quaid and hold up your end of the bargain. Then when you find yourself in a place where you have to make choices you aren’t sure of, you ask for advice.”
Paul sniffled, obviously trying to stay in control. “But I was sure of this investment.”
