Chapter 22
WINNIE
The next morning, I wake up bright and early as usual. I head into the kitchen, determined to make enough coffee for both me and Jonah to have some this time.
As I’m grinding the beans in the fancy-pants grinder Jonah has, I notice a book on the island counter. It’s a biography of Judy Garland, with a picture of her as Dorothy on the cover. That’s weird. How did Jonah know I liked Judy? And how did he just have this book?
I set the coffee machine to brew, and then flip through it. It looks pretty interesting and despite my love of her music and films, I’ve never read a book about her. I glance at the title again. Rainbow: The Stormy Life of Judy Garland by Christopher Finch.
Oh. Damn it. He definitely heard me singing in the shower last night—that’s why this book is here.
I got into the habit of singing in the shower long ago.
Our house in Birmingham was large (because my money paid for it), and I had an en suite far enough away from my parents’ bedroom and the living room that I could sing in the shower without them hearing.
If I sang anywhere my dad could hear he’d get annoyed and say it was interfering with whatever he was watching on television. And my mom would offer endless critique—despite the fact that she’s tone deaf. So I sang in the shower, because that was my only chance to sing just for myself.
Last night, I wanted to see if it still hurt too much to sing. And it did. I couldn’t get through all of “Over the Rainbow.” I assumed Jonah wouldn’t hear me over the sound of the water, but this book tells me I was wrong.
“That’s a good book.”
I turn and find Jonah watching me from the living room. He’s still rumpled from sleep. He’s also not wearing a shirt, and I get my first full look at the ink across his arms and torso.
“You’ve read this?” I ask.
“I read a lot of biographies of musicians.” He walks into the kitchen and pulls the coffee pot out of the machine.
“Hey! That’s not done yet.”
The smell of burning coffee fills the room as drops hit the hot plate. But Jonah doesn’t seem to care, he just fills his cup up and then sticks the pot back in.
“If I’m to be civil in the morning, I need coffee. Otherwise I’ll bite your head off.”
“I noticed that the other day.” I move past him to get my own mug, the ties of my silk robe brushing against him as I do. He inhales sharply, and I take a step backwards. Maybe he also likes his space in the morning.
“Why are you so cheerful in the morning? And why do you even wake up this early? If I wasn’t a farrier, I’d get a job that let me sleep until noon.”
“Like a musician?” I quip. “But honestly, it’s because the world is quieter in the morning. It’s the only time I got to be alone when I was living in Birmingham. Besides, I do need to get into town today to see the lawyer you recommended, and to the barn as well.”
“I’ll get you into town if you tell me—honestly this time—what your pageant talent is.”
Okay, so Jonah is grumpy and combative in the morning.
“I think we both know what it is,” I say after a beat. I reach over and tap the cover of the book.
“But why lie? Your voice sounded good, at least what I could hear of it over the shower.”
I blush and wrap my arms around myself, pulling my robe in close. “I was just joking about the baton twirling. I thought it was funny and I wanted to cheer you up. You seemed a bit down after dinner at your parents.”
“I wasn’t,” Jonah says firmly. “And you don’t have to do that with me.”
“Do what?”
“Lie and pretend everything’s okay when it clearly isn’t. You sounded a bit sad in the shower.”
“I sounded fine. End of discussion.”
“You’re doing it again.” Jonah gives me a small grin over his coffee.
“Well then so are you! Because you were definitely in a bad mood the other night and my baton twirling pulled you out of it.”
“You mean your rolling pin flailing?”
I throw my hands up and turn to march out of the room, but Jonah says, “Catch.”
I turn around just in time to snatch a pair of keys out of the air. “What are these?”
“Keys to your ride.”
An hour later, dressed in suede leggings, my pink boots, and a matching pink coat, I clamber into the old jeep Jonah gave me the keys to. It was in the garage so I didn’t even know it was here until he showed me.
“I use this on days when I’m not working. Doesn’t make sense to drive the work truck around all the time,” he explains.
“Um, sure,” I respond without looking at him. I’m too busy studying the gear shift.
“You do know how to drive a stick, right?” His voice carries a distinct note of arrogance and I toss him a glare.
“Sort of,” I say honestly. “My dad taught me when I was in high school but it’s been a while.” It’s probably one of the only good memories I have with my father. Away from my mother, he was a bit softer on me.
Jonah comes around and hops into the passenger seat of the car. “Here, I’ll show you.”
“I can figure it out, I swear. I don’t want you to be late for work.”
“It’s fine,” he grumbles. He places his hand on top of mine on the stick shift. “Turn the engine on, engage the clutch, and I’ll show you how to get it into reverse, drive, and park.”
I do as he says, and Jonah guides me, helping me back the Jeep out of the garage and then park it in the driveway. The whole time, I feel his warmth as he leans into me, and his hand is calloused yet gentle atop mine.
“I think I have it now,” I breathe.
“Yeah?” he asks, looking right at me, our faces only a few inches apart. “Because I don’t want you to stall and get stuck somewhere.”
“Promise,” I say, even though I’m one hundred percent going to stall at some point today. But if I stay in this car another minute with Jonah, I’ll do something insane, like kiss him again.
“Great,” he says, moving away from me quickly and opening the car door. “I’ll see you later tonight then.”
“Okay! Have a good day at work!” I can tell my voice sounds unnaturally cheerful, but at least I don’t sound like I really feel, which is like a puddle of lust.
I manage to drive all the way to Star Mountain without stalling, though I do struggle to shift into third gear for a while.
I park by Shelley Stern’s office and take a deep breath before hopping out of the Jeep and marching to the front door.
I called her on the way and she said she was happy to squeeze me in.
I ring the doorbell and after a minute I’m buzzed in.
The office is in an old Victorian building, and as I wander down the hallway, I admire the pink patterned wallpaper and fancy molding.
I follow the signs for Shelley’s office, which take me upstairs and down another hallway, this one done up in green damask wallpaper.
It strikes me that this place is enormous—Shelley must live here, too.
I find her seated in a large office at a great wooden desk, her eyes fixed to her laptop. She’s younger than I expected and must be in her thirties. Hanging on her wall are her diplomas and I make out the words “Yale Law School” on one of them.
“Hi,” I say.
Shelley keeps on typing for a moment and then pauses, and looks up at me. “Sorry about that. Just had to finish up an email but now I’m all yours. I’m Shelley Stern. Please, sit.”
“I’m Winnie Grant.” I sit in the tufted leather chair and smile at her.
“It’s not Winnie Smith now?” She cocks her head at me.
“Oh, how did you know about that?”
“Small town,” she explains. “And I was at the courthouse the day you got married.”
“Right, well, Jonah and I are just so, uh, in love and we couldn’t stand to—”
“There’s no need to lie to me. I don’t care why you married as long as you were both sound of mind when you did and neither one of you was coerced.” She looks at me with a question in her eyes.
I nod.
“Fine. I assume you got married to access a trust of some sort?”
I nod again. “That’s how I plan to pay you.”
“Good, because I’m not cheap.”
She goes through the rates with me and my eyes slightly bug at the numbers, but I don’t really have a choice. I need a lawyer, and Shelley seems extremely competent. I hand over the lawsuit and she scans the front page.
“Your parents are suing you in Alabama, so this will be easier with an attorney resident there. And cheaper,” she says.
My heart sinks. My cousin Adam doesn’t live in Alabama anymore, and anyone I find in Birmingham might know my parents. They’re extremely well connected.
“But it’s possible with you?” I ask.
Shelley just nods.
“Okay, then I want to go with you. I’m happy to pay for you to fly out there if we have to go to court.”
“Perfect,” Shelley says. “Now, tell me about the relationship between you and your parents.”
Two hours later, I leave Shelley’s office, mentally drained, but hopeful.
After grilling me endlessly about my personal and professional relationship with my parents, Shelley doesn’t seem to think they have much of a chance of winning the case.
I reiterated to her about ten times that I never signed a contract of employment with them, and certainly not with any business they set up to manage me.
I drive the Jeep over to the barn, and only get stuck in first gear once along the way.
When I get there, I immediately head to Rosie’s stall, knowing that I’ve been neglecting my care for her over the last few days.
Her stall is empty, and when I check the paddocks, I see that her quarantine must be up.
Because there she is, right where she belongs, hanging out with the other horses. She’s in a large paddock with Maggie, Brown Sugar, Ballantine, and a few of the others. She looks a bit skittish and unsure of herself, but it still warms my heart to see her be part of the herd.
“Hey,” Candice calls to me, hopping over a nearby fence. “I was just out checking on one of the water heaters. It’s good to see you.”
“Yeah, it’s only been a few days since I was here, but a lot has happened.”
“Like Jonah and you canoodling in the house you live in together?” Candice raises her brows at me.
“Like the fact that I got married, and I had to get a lawyer today. To deal with my parents.”
Candice’s face falls. “I’m sorry, babe. But at least you can afford it now.”
“Exactly,” I say. “And honestly? It’s sort of freeing in a way. Every time I wonder if they’re really as bad as I think they are, I can look at that lawsuit and know that I’m not crazy. They are that bad. Worse, actually.”
We chat for a few more minutes about the lawsuit and I fill her in on my meeting with Shelley. We’re looking out across the paddocks and at Jenny’s trailer, when I notice that there’s a second one beside it.
“Is someone else moving in?” I ask, pointing at it.
“Nope.” Candice has a giddy smile on her face. “I’m moving out of the main house and into that trailer with Nathan. It’s temporary until we get our house built but I’m so excited. Living with Beau is fine but…”
“He’s your brother. I get it. You and Nathan want to have sex without anyone hearing.”
Candice frowns a bit. “Maybe I should have had them place the trailer further away from Jenny’s. The walls are thin.”
“Exactly how loud are you?”
“Loud enough that even though we’ve been trying to be quiet, Beau told me the other day that he bought ear plugs.”
I giggle and then the two of us break down into full on laughter. Rosie, who is standing nearby, trots over to see what all the fuss is about. I give her a scratch on her face and she nickers, and then starts to munch some hay that’s on the ground.
“I mean, doesn’t Beau date?” I ask. “How have the two of you survived in that tiny house all these years?”
Candice shakes her head. “He’s too hung up on Jenny, I think. If it’s not her, I don’t think he wants it. That or he’s just too shy to ask anyone.”
“Does Jenny want him back?” It’s easy to imagine hilarious Jenny and serious, reserved Beau together. They’d bring out the best in each other.
“That’s a question you’ll have to ask her. Though you shouldn’t expect a straight answer.”
“Fair enough. I don’t know what I’m doing with men or dating either.” I stand on the fence and lean over to give Rosie another pat. It may have only been a few days, but I found myself missing her.
“Well, good thing you’re married so it’s all sorted out for you.”
Candice flicks her blonde hair over her shoulders and stretches her arms above her head. She lets out a yawn, clearly tired after the long day. In front of us, the sun is just starting to go down, the sky tinged with pink and blue, lighting up the snow white mountains and valleys with color.
I pull my coat around me tighter, and snuggle into my scarf. All I can think about as I watch the sun go down is Jonah’s hand on mine this morning in the Jeep. And how good it felt—almost like it belonged there.