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I stand very still while Callie and Wynonna frown at each other.
“They’re just playing around,” Landry says, joining me. “Wynonna is always poking people. You should just ignore her.”
“Hey,” Wynonna whines. “I poke because I care.”
Landry grins. “We know, but she doesn’t.”
“Irina’s shy,” Yazmin insists while helping her sister to her feet. “She needs to sit back and get to know us while Wynonna does all the talking.”
“Monopolizing the conversation, you say?” Wynonna asks and grins at Callie. “That’s where I shine.”
We soon take spots in the salon. Wynonna and Landry flank me. I look over the other women while the nail technician inspects my neglected feet.
Nearby, Yazmin gets Selene settled into a spot before taking the one next to her.
Next to Landry sits Rosemary, who is probably in her forties, has extremely long brown hair tied into a braid, and possesses a bohemian vibe. I knew women like her in Essex Point. They took pottery classes and owned chickens.
On Rosemary’s other side is Callie, who despite being Ruin’s age, is married to his dad. She’s blonde and sexy. My immediate assumption is she’s a gold digger, using her good looks to land a financially sound man. However, I quickly learn she’s a successful real estate agent.
“I’m number one in the county and in the top twenty of realtors for the state,” Callie explains after Wynonna points out her stepmother’s credentials. “I’m so good I just drove Millie Miller’s granddaughter out of the business.”
“She’s a shitty realtor,” Wynonna mutters as the technician paints her nails fire-engine red. “I heard she bullied her older customers into lowering their prices, so she could sell their houses to her other clients. Shady behavior from a knobby-kneed woman who really shouldn’t wear skirts.”
Callie rolls her blue eyes. “You’re a bully.”
“You’re the one who drove Millie Miller’s granddaughter out of her dream job,” Wynonna sneers. “Is there no low you won’t stoop to, Callie Macready?”
While the two women playfully—I think—attack each other, I notice Landry watching me.
Nomad’s new wife is the youngest of the group. That’s how Wynonna introduced her at Thanksgiving dinner.
“This baby machine is the baby of our girl gang,” were Wynonna’s exact words.
I wish Landry weren’t next to me right now. Though she seems nice, I can’t look at her without thinking of her children. I feel my son’s presence strengthen each day as if he’s been napping for a dozen years and now wants to play.
I try to distract myself by taking pictures for Fiona. Unfortunately, hiding in my head doesn’t work when Wynonna is around.
“Have you met Eagle’s sisters?” When I shake my head, she adds, “Prepare for them to rub you in the wrong way. They do that with everyone. Even me.”
“Why even you?” Rosemary asks.
“I grew up with those twats. They ought to know I’ll throw down, but they still make snide comments.”
“Should we slash their tires?” Yazmin asks and grins at Selene.
Wynonna smirks. “No, the younger two would just go whining to Eagle, who’ll pay for new ones. They’re leeches.”
Finding my voice, I mention, “Eagle said they were awful, but I figure they can’t be worse than Fiona’s mom.”
“I remember that psycho,” Wynonna replies immediately and wags her finger at me. “After she tried to scalp a chick at the grocery store, the bitch moved away. I hoped she was dead. I never really considered what happened to her kid.”
Anger rising in me, I imagine little Fiona leaving the semi-safety of her father’s estate to live with a violently unwell woman.What would her life have been like if she remained in McMurdo Valley?Would Fiona have become the monster she claims every member of the Rogers family is destined to be?
“What’s got you bothered?” Wynonna asks. “Is it Eagle’s sisters or Fiona’s mom?”
“Both.”
“Well, the second one is dead, right?”
