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But her nieces wouldn’t be in Dallas. Sienna wouldn’t be there.
They could visit, of course.
She set the card down, her mind playing out all the possibilities.
•••
The afternoon sun was warm on his skin as Quaid opened the door to the office for the first time in days.
Sienna was closing her laptop. She glanced up at him. “Hey, you’re back. How is your mother?”
It had been a long week made infinitely easier by the fact that Jayna had handled everything. He hadn’t been forced to worry about rescheduling court dates or keeping his appointments. Jayna and Sienna had handled everything. Evenhis mother. When she got stubborn about doctor’s orders, Jayna simply talked about how one of her aunts or cousins or friends had the same problem and handled it so much better and suddenly his mother’s competitive nature came out and she was following all the doctor’s orders.
Jayna had poked and prodded and figured out how to get his mother to do what he needed her to do. She’d also worked wonders with Paul.
“She’s good. She’s taking her medications and not arguing with the health care workers who are helping her,” he admitted. Luna poked her head out of Jayna’s office and then made a beeline for him, her big tail wagging. Quaid got to one knee and greeted her while he continued talking to Sienna. “We have to change her diet and she’s got a daily exercise regime, but the blockage was handled and she’s feeling much better.”
Sienna stood and reached for her bag. “I’m so glad to hear it. Jayna’s at a meeting at city hall, but I expect she’ll be back soon. Do you need anything? It’s been weird without you here.”
“Is Jayna doing okay?” He’d been told to keep an eye on his mother and let Jayna handle the office. She’d come out to dinner a couple of nights, but refused to stay over, saying she had to get back to Luna. When he’d offered to go out with her and bring Luna back to the big house, she’d come up with another excuse.
He was worried she was going to use this pause in their relationship as an excuse to run, and he wasn’t sure what he could do to stop her.
Sienna seemed to think about how to answer that question. “She’s handling everything here, if that’s what you’re asking.”
His instincts started firing. Something was wrong, andSienna wasn’t good at covering. He stood, Luna sitting back on her haunches at his side. “You know it’s not what I’m asking.”
“I don’t know. She’s gotten very quiet the last couple of days,” Sienna admitted. “She’s thinking something through, and I don’t know if I’m going to like the outcome. Todd stopped by two days ago, and she’s been quiet ever since.”
“Her ex-husband was here?” They’d talked on the phone every night, and she hadn’t once mentioned Todd showing up.
Sienna nodded. “Yes. He came by to tell her they withdrew the ethics complaint. He wanted to tell her in person.”
His stomach felt like it was going to drop to his toes. “They withdrew the complaint? She didn’t mention that.”
Sienna flushed, her cheeks going pink. “I thought she would have told you.”
“No, she didn’t.” She’d had plenty of chances. He tried to talk to her on the phone a couple of times a day. He’d seen her, but not once had she mentioned the fact that the biggest obstacle to her leaving was now gone.
She was slipping through his fingers, and he wasn’t sure how to stop it. If he tried too hard to keep her, he would surely lose.
“I’m sure she was going to,” Sienna assured him.
He didn’t feel better. “If she meant to tell me, she would have.”
Sienna gave him a sympathetic look. “I don’t think it means anything. She’s always been the one who has to think things through. The rest of us kind of flew by the seat of our pants, but Jayna was cautious.”
“And she always wanted out.” How long would it be before she had a sparkling new job in a city that could offer her the world? Not long, he would think. She was smart and hungry. She was exactly what he would look for in a partner.
She was also kind, and she challenged him and everyone around her to be better.
She was everything he wanted in a wife.
Sienna shrugged. “She did. You know most young people leave for more opportunity. There’s not a lot here. I know you’ve got a ton of work to do, but that’s mostly for the companies you work for. I worry she’s going to need something more... challenging. But I don’t think she’s ready to go yet. I know I plan to work hard to persuade her to stay. I’m a little worried that if she doesn’t, I’ll end up listening to my momma and my own self-doubts, which might cost me and the girls the life we could have had.”
“I think your momma is part of the problem. They haven’t talked in weeks, have they?” He hadn’t heard Jayna mention her mother in a long time. Even when he tried to get her to talk, she deflected.
Sienna shook her head. “No. When they dig their heels in like this, they can both hold a grudge forever. I don’t know if they’ll talk again. I’m fairly certain Mom wouldn’t be talking to me right now if it weren’t for the girls. We’ll be fine because I’ll keep going to her place and acting like she didn’t make a jackass of herself, but Jayna won’t.”
