Page 62 of Lead Me On
PHONE PRESSED TO HER EAR,Jane looked around the parking lot of the bail bondsman, hoping to spy her mom’s long blond hair. Her stomach ached with regret over the argument with Chase that afternoon, and now she had to deal with this.
“Grandma Olive, are you sure? I’ve been here for five minutes. She’s not here.”
“She told me point-blank what she was doing.”
“Does Mac know?”
“Not yet. And I’m not going to be the one to tell him.”
While Olive was still sniffing her disdain, Jane saw her mom’s car pulling up. “Mom’s here—I’ve got to go.”
When her mom got out of her car, her eyes widened, but she hesitated only a second before moving past Jane.
“Mom,” Jane said. “You can’t do this.”
Her mom walked determinedly across the parking lot, mouth set in a stubborn line. An inconvenient time for her to grow a spine.
“Mac will be furious.”
“Jessie is my son, too, and I’m not going to leave him to rot in that jail just because his father is angry.”
She kept pace with her mother’s every step. “Mom, think about this. Where is Jessie going to stay?”
“Grandma Olive has agreed to let him stay with her for a little while.”
“And what if he runs? You’ll lose thirty thousand dollars!”
“It’s only ten thousand now. That’s nothing. And he won’t run. He wouldn’t do that to his family.”
“He brought stolen goods into your home!”
Her mother shook off the hand Jane placed on her arm and reached for the door.
“You can’t put up the house as collateral, regardless. Mac has to sign off on that, too.”
She whirled to face Jane. “I know that. You might think I’m too dumb for words, but I do know some things. I’m putting up my car. It’s worth just enough and the title’s in my name. Now, why are you trying to talk me into leaving Jessie in jail?”
“The motion of discovery was approved. Just give the lawyer time to look over the evidence. He could be cleared in a few days.”
“You just want him in jail where he can’t cause you any more embarrassment. You want to keep him there so he can’t interfere with your fancy life!”
Jane let her mom see the full weight of her fury. “Oh, yes, having Jessie locked up has been a great relief. All that hanging around the courthouse and sneaking into the jail for visiting hours has got to be great for my reputation. Not to mention the relief of getting rid of the savings that’ve been weighing me down. That’s been wonderful! Mom, Jessie’s twenty-one and he’s still a little kid. And now you’re rushing in to protect himagain.”
“I am his mother!” she shouted, tears dragging through her black mascara. “It’s my job to protect him!”
Jane’s throat burned with the things she wanted to say. Cruel things that had built up inside her for years.
She did the best she could,Jane told herself.She didn’t know any better.But she should have known. She should have known that you didn’t drag a little girl to prison visiting hours every month of her young life. You didn’t introduce her to a new “daddy” every other year, especially when those daddies were big, scary men with cold eyes and scarred hands. She should have seen that being trailer-park trash was hard enough without the added stigma of being a prison groupie piled on top of it. And that parents wouldn’t let their kids go to a birthday party for the stepdaughter of a convicted murderer no matter how many invitations were sent.
But there was no point in telling her mother this. Jane was a grown woman now, and she had to let these childhood resentments go. And though Jane thought bailing Jessie out of jail was a big mistake, her mother’s motivation was pure.
“All right,” she made herself say. “Do what you feel you need to do. Call me if there’s any trouble. I might have a fancy life, but I’m doing my best to help Jessie, too.”
She stalked away, a giant fist tightening in her gut as she rushed off. Her own mother thought she was a selfish bitch. Chase did, too. Because she was. She was selfish. Determined to haveeverythingshe wanted. Success. Respectability. Security.
Her mother had aimed as low as one could possibly aim. She’d prided herself on winning the affections of lonely criminals locked away in barred cells. Men who hadn’t seen a woman in a decade. That had been her idea of accomplishment. She’d demandednothingfor herself, not even a man she could touch.
They had nothing in common…so why was Jane so terrified of becoming her mom?
