Chapter 14 #2
She shook her head, so lost in her thoughts she didn’t realize she was still looking at her reflection.
What did people think when they saw her?
She’d always assumed they were jealous because she was so pretty, wore great clothes, and knew how to have a good time.
Now she suspected people saw her differently than she viewed herself. At least Ryan did. Abbie too.
Was that what Tyler thought? That she was shallow and immature?
Why should I even care? It wasn’t like he was handsome. Well, that wasn’t true. He was nice-looking in a dorky kind of way, and when he smiled, he was really nice-looking. He also had great hair. She’d noticed that right away.
Flipping off the light, she headed to bed even though it was barely sundown.
She didn’t care what Abbie, Ryan, or even Tyler thought about her.
She didn’t need to change. I’m just fine.
The only person she had to accommodate was her father, and that was only for a few months.
There was nothing wrong with liking clothes and spa treatments and parties.
She shoved the covers over her body, wincing when the fabric swished over her painful shoulders.
Humph. There were plenty of people back home who liked her.
Even if they didn’t, she could find new friends.
There was always someone in LA who was willing to hang out with a multimillionaire’s daughter.
A lump formed in her throat. She didn’t need this kind of negativity in her life. Forget them. Forget all of them.
* * *
“You had some good luck today,” Seb said to Logan, who was putting logs in the fire ring on the back patio.
Logan had called Seb after church, asking him to come to the cabin.
Seb obliged, and the two of them fished for the rest of the afternoon.
They barely spoke to each other the whole time they were sitting on the bank of the river that was a few miles away from the cabin.
But it was peaceful, and Seb wasn’t going to push Logan if he wasn’t willing to talk about what had happened between him and Jade yesterday at the hoedown.
From the kid’s silence, Seb assumed he didn’t.
The lack of communication forced Seb to entertain his own thoughts, and of course he was thinking about Jade.
More specifically, their dance. Holding her had transported him back to when they were together, when just thinking about her made him happy.
After they parted, his arms felt empty as he headed to talk to the Biscuit Boys.
Even as he conducted the interview, he had to resist seeking her out again.
By the time he went back to his office to write up his notes and meet up with his team to get the Monday issue of The Times ready for print, he was second-guessing putting her off until Tuesday.
He needed to nip the whole Harrington conversation in the bud, and he had intended to do that after church. Logan had interrupted that.
After they fried up their fish and ate them with a side of Viv’s award-winning potato salad that Seb had brought with him, Logan seemed to be in a more talkative mood.
“Thanks for coming over,” Logan said, staring at the newborn fire. “And for letting me stay a little while longer.”
“You can stay as long as you need to.”
“I have to leave soon. I only had a couple days off. I was going to leave yesterday, but I decided to try talking to Jade again. Mabel told me she was at the hoedown.” He sighed. “I guess she’s really mad at me now.”
Seb tried to find some words of encouragement. “Siblings fight. Can’t be avoided. It’s been a while since Evelyn Margot and I have gotten into it, but when we were younger, some of our arguments were epic.”
Logan nodded but didn’t look Seb’s way.
A few minutes ticked by and he thought Logan was done talking.
Which was good, because Seb’s curiosity was getting the best of him, despite his vow not to get involved.
It was hard seeing the young man so down, and Seb didn’t have any advice for him.
Jade’s MO seemed to be cutting people off.
She was doing it to Logan. She did it to me.
“Jade really needs to see her mom.”
That was the last thing he expected Logan to say. “What?”
“I take it she didn’t tell you about Lydia.”
He shook his head.
Logan filled him in on how and where he met Lydia, and that they had been in touch since they were discharged from rehab.
As Logan told his story, Seb tried to remain impassive.
But hearing about his and Jade’s relationship, their time in foster care together, the kid’s struggle with drugs and alcohol, and how Jade had bailed him out until she refused to do it anymore was shocking.
She’d never said a word about any of that when they were together.
“She tried to adopt me,” Logan said. “Right after she moved to Atlanta.” He looked at Seb, his dark brown eyes full of somber appreciation. “When it didn’t happen, I was really angry at her. She’d given me hope and then let me down. I went off the rails even more after that.”
Seb was stunned. “Do you know what happened?”
He shook his head. “She’s never said, and I don’t want to ask now. I love her. We’re family no matter what. But I have to repair our relationship. I want to prove to Jade that I’m a better man now.”
Seb could see that he was, despite not knowing him well.
“I didn’t mean to dump all that on you.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not sure what to do anymore. I just know that if Jade doesn’t talk to Lydia soon, she’ll regret it, possibly for the rest of her life.” He paused. “I don’t suppose... Forget it.”
“Go on,” Seb said. “Say what you want to say.”
Logan turned to him, hope in his eyes. “Could you talk to her? Tell her how important it is that she see her mother?”
Seb exhaled. He easily read between the lines—there was something seriously wrong with Lydia. Possibly fatal. Logan didn’t seem inclined to elaborate, and Seb would respect that. The kid also seemed desperate. “What makes you think I can convince her?”
“I don’t know if you can.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t involve you in this. I just thought you might have some sway.”
It dawned on Seb that Logan still knew very little about his relationship with Jade. “Do you know why she’s in Clementine?”
“I figured she was here visiting you.”
So she hadn’t told him about the Harrington deal. And Seb didn’t think he needed to know. “She is. But we’re not close.” They never had been. Today had proven that.
“Oh. I guess I got the wrong impression. I thought you two had been...”
“Together?”
He nodded, looking a little sheepish. “My girlfriend tells me I can’t pick up signals for squat, so there’s that. Forget I said anything. I’ll figure something out.”
Seb didn’t respond and the conversation switched to benign topics—whether the Razorbacks would have a good football team this fall, how they were both looking forward to seeing Matt Damon again in the upcoming The Bourne Supremacy movie, and Logan filled him in on a couple of new restaurants that had recently opened in Little Rock.
Since moving back to Clementine, Seb rarely went to Arkansas’ capital city.
Like Buford had always said, the less hustle and bustle, the better.
Shortly before sundown, Seb had to call it a day. “Early morning at the paper,” he said.
“But it’s Memorial Day.”
“And a Monday. Our hoedown special goes out tomorrow.”
They both stood, and Logan shook his hand. “Thanks again,” he said, appearing less melancholy. “For the cabin, and for listening.”
“Glad to do both.” He started to head inside, then paused.
He’d been fighting the idea ever since Logan had brought up Jade and her mother, hoping it would go away.
It only intensified. He turned around. “I can’t promise anything,” he said, “but if the opportunity presents itself, I’ll talk to her about Lydia. ”
Logan broke into a huge grin. “You will? Whoa, man, thanks so much.” He pumped Seb’s hand again. “Seriously, thank you!”
Seb was gratified that he could give Logan a little hope, even though it would probably be fleeting. He had no influence on Jade. She hadn’t even trusted him enough back then to tell him about her family. Ten years wasn’t going to change her decision.
He made his way down the mountain road, his promise to Logan still on his mind by the time he reached Clementine.
He wouldn’t see Jade until Tuesday, so there was no reason for him to keep thinking about a possible conversation concerning Lydia.
What he needed to do was turn his place upside down and find that ledger.
He’d already searched his car. It wasn’t there, and he’d upended all the clutter in his back seat—something he had to address soon.
But the ledger came first. Flora would be back at work on Tuesday, and she would rightly read him the riot act if he didn’t find it by then.
But even as he neared his little bungalow on his quiet street, he second-guessed himself.
Maybe he should talk to Jade about Lydia sooner than later.
If her mother was in crisis, she should know, right?
Now that he understood the issues between Jade and Logan, there might be a chance she would listen to a neutral party.
It didn’t sit right with him to say nothing when he knew what was going on, even if he was one hundred percent sure Jade wouldn’t appreciate it.
He groaned and pulled into his driveway, then backed right out, turned around, and headed for the Clementine Inn. So much for not getting involved.