Page 24 of Happily Never After

“I see.” There was silence on the other end for a moment.

“You were there that night. And after, when things sucked. What do I say?”

Sawyer paused for a moment and seemed to consider his words carefully. “How about we make a list of questions, and then you can use that like a To Do list to write your answers?”

“Did your mom tell you to say that?” She should have known better than to call the son of her therapist for help.

“No, it’s just how I usually approach things. I’ve testified a couple of times for work stuff. So one of the things they usually want to know is your recommendation for sentencing,” he said.

“Oh, I have plenty of thoughts on that.” She took another sip of wine and refilled her glass. “I think he should be sentenced to an eternity of sitting in a damp cave in a loincloth while a bunch of crabs pinch his feet and nipples for twenty-three hours a day.”

“Damn. What happens the remaining hour of the day?”

“Mandatory calculus.”

“You are a dangerous woman.”

“You have no idea.”

They talked for another half hour until she had a list to work from. All she had to do now was write a painful, emotional statement and pour her soul out in front of the maniac who tried to murder her.

Oh, and pick up her mother from the airport. The same mother who had nearly been arrested for trying to assault Luke’s mom last time she had visited the West Haven courthouse.

And they would all be in the same car together.

Great.

CHAPTER NINE

To Do:

- Emergency preparedness for LA

- Auction items for gala

- Pretend like hearing isn’t happening

“Whatis that smell?”Luke’s mother’s voice cut like a knife.

Rain pattered against the windshield as Claire glanced in the rearview mirror. Rachel was never one to mince words. There was a 200 percent chance she was complaining about Alice’s perfume.

“Air freshener?” Luke grunted from the driver’s seat. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel. Claire laid a hand on his thigh and squeezed.

The four of them had only been in the same car for twenty minutes since picking her mother up at the airport, and already Rachel and Alice had chided each other nearly to the point of Luke threatening to turn the car around. With the exception of a mercifully uneventful Thanksgiving, the last time Racheland Alice had been in the same room was Barney’s preliminary hearing, where Alice had been literally dragged out of the courtroom by the bailiff after verbally harassing Rachel.

Alice dug in her purse. “Is this the smell you’re talking about?” She clutched a ziplock bag in one manicured hand and waved it under Rachel’s nose. The car hit one of West Haven’s infamous potholes, and Alice nearly shoved the bundle up Rachel’s nostril.

Rachel recoiled as though the bag was full to the brim with Rosie’s poo. She clutched a tissue to her face. “Yes, that’s the smell. What is it?”

“Oh, it’s just a cypress and lavender bundle.”

Oh, boy. Shit, meet fan.

“What on earth do you use that for?” Rachel sounded as scandalized as if Alice had admitted to hoarding human cremains.

“This and that. Cleansing, evoking wisdom and calm.”

Rachel scoffed. “Cleansing what?”

---