by Mia Caldwell
“I didn’t convince Freya of anything,” Sasha interrupted. “Whatever we did, we did together.”
“Thanks for clarifying that.” A sense of satisfaction swelled inside Jada. “So you both worked out a plan to solve your problem. You were going to drive all the way to Iowa and get married. Afterward, you planned to leak a copy of the marriage license to the press so they’d out you to the world. That was what you decided to do, right?”
Sasha was up against it, and everyone but Trey knew it.
Jada could almost see the gears grinding in Sasha’s head. She picked crumbs off her shirt as a ploy to buy time.
“That was the plan, right?” Jada prompted.
Sasha shrugged. “I don’t remember. Something like that. We were drunk. You say and do all sorts of stupid crap when you’re drunk.”
“And yet,” Jada continued, “you went on the road trip anyway. You didn’t make it far, though. Freya said you stopped the first night at a charming little bed and breakfast in a small town right outside the city. What small town was that, Sasha?”
She shrugged again. “No idea. You know how we lesbians are about bed and breakfasts. Can’t resist ’em.”
“Freya remembered the name of the town, Sasha. It was Springers Glen. Ring a bell?”
She didn’t look up, simply kept running her fingertip along the hem of her shorts. No answer.
“It’s been all over the news lately,” Jada continued. “Springers Glen is my hometown. Remember? No? That’s okay. Freya says you spent a couple of nights there, that every time you headed out in your car, you passed another cute bed and breakfast and had to try that one out. You must not be kidding about the allure of B&Bs.”
Sasha’s posture went from boneless wilt to bone stiff. “That’s probably right. Can’t be sure. The days run together when you’re having a good time, you know?”
“I do,” Jada said. “Eventually, good time or not, you two decided it was a long drive to Iowa, and at the rate you were traveling, it’d take you a year to get there. Freya said you created a second plan to out yourself, one where you didn’t actually have to get married. You decided that a fake marriage would work as well as a real one. You went so far as to use the B&B’s computer to print a fake marriage license off the internet. You even filled it out.”
“We were drunk,” was all Sasha would say, her go-to excuse. “You remember how it goes when you’re drinking, don’t you Jada? The first night I met you, you called yourself a man-sealing harlot. Ha!” Her laugh was hollow and forced.
Trey leaned forward, concerned. Jada wondered how much longer it would take before he realized the truth.
Jada ignored Sasha’s jab. “Freya talked a lot about how drunk you both were. She also said that when she finally sobered up in the wee hours of the morning, last Wednesday, she realized your scheme was probably illegal, and she didn’t want any part of it. So she wrote you a Dear Jane letter, packed up and skipped town ... in your car.”
“It never works out,” Sasha said. “None of my relationships. And Freya didn’t even care enough to wake me up and tell me to my face.”
There it was. Some honest emotion, finally. “For what it’s worth,” Jada said, “Freya told Marina that she feels badly about how she handled it. She wants to apologize but you won’t return her calls or texts.”
“Screw her,” Sasha said. “I don’t need it. I don’t need anybody.”
“Even me?” Trey asked.
Sasha didn’t answer, her beautiful face frozen in defiance. She stared at the door. Jada wondered if she was contemplating escape. Probably not. Everyone in the room knew there was no escaping now.
“I’m sorry she hurt you,” Ian said. “But it doesn’t excuse what you did.”
Her response was clipped. “I know.”
“What did you do, Sasha?” Trey asked. “This is sounding like ... talk to me. Tell me what you’ve done.”
Sasha’s mouth tightened and she crossed her arms over her chest.
“You might as well tell him,” Ian said. “Better it come from you than us.”
“Confession is good for the soul,” Jada said. “That’s what my grandmother used to say.”
Sasha whirled on Jada, her blonde curls swinging wide. “What do you know about it? When have you ever had to live a life that was less than normal, less than perfect? You and your best-friend sister, your perfect parents and storybook home town. What do you know about being on the fringe? Has anyone ever disapproved of you just for being who you were? I think no. Don’t talk to me about confession, not when the worst thing you’ve ever had to confess was skipping Sunday School so you could go to a Save the Puppies rally instead.”
Whoa. Jada felt blown backward ten feet.
“This isn’t about Jada,” Ian said, obviously angry. “Don’t turn this into—”
“That’s okay,” Jada interrupted. “She can say what she wants. You think I deserve what happened to me, is that it, Sasha? I had it coming because I have a past that you’ve idealized? That makes it all okay? Well, good for you. You never have to feel bad about a damned thing. I’m the villain. Piper’s the villain. Freya’s the villain. And you’re the long-suffering, misunderstood hero. Good for you.”
Sasha glared at her. “Fighting back? Guess I hit a nerve. Miss Perfectly Normal has a weak spot after all.”
“Shut up, Sasha.” Trey’s voice echoed in the high-ceilinged room. “Shut the hell up.”
The model’s smooth skin blanched. She kept her chin high, though, when she looked at her brother. “I’d love to. I never wanted to talk about this in the first place.”
“You know what I mean,” Trey said. “Leave Jada alone. It’s not about her. It’s not about Ian, either. This has become all about you and me now because I’m putting this together and I can’t believe what I’m coming up with.”
Sasha took a shuddering breath, but said nothing.
“I want the whole story, everything that happened,” Trey said. “And if you value me as your brother, tell it straight. Quit acting like you’re above everything. I’ve never bought that anyway. News flash, I know you have feelings. Now tell me what you did.”
A long look passed between the two. Some of the hardness in Sasha’s eyes faded. Her pride, however, never faltered. This was fine with Jada. She wasn’t there to browbeat Sasha. She just wanted the truth.
Sasha regarded each of them in turn, stopping on her brother. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. It snowballed and got away from me.”
Trey nodded encouragement.
“It was hard,” Sasha continued, “when I found Freya’s note that morning. She ruined everything by running away. This isn’t an excuse, but I threw back a drink or three, to take the edge off. All I could think about was how close I’d been to getting what I wanted, and how now I was right back where I started. I felt hopeless, like I’d always be under Agatha’s thumb.”
Sasha shifted, folding her legs up, pulling herself into a smaller space. “I kept staring at the marriage license we’d filled out and before too long, I’d almost convinced myself to file it anyway. Then I came to my senses and realized Freya would deny everything and sic her legal watchdogs on the story before it could get hot. I decided it was over and I’d have to face life as Ian Buckley’s fiancee.”
“Sorry our engagement was so distasteful,” Ian said, his tone well-laced with irony. “I thought I was doing a friend a favor.”
“I don’t mean anything by it,” Sasha said. “It’s nothing against you. It just wasn’t me. I only did it for Agatha and Trey. Sorry, Trey, it’s the truth. Anyway, I was sitting in my room, trying to figure out what to do next. I had another drink, maybe two, I don’t remember. I was flipping through tourist pamphlets and booklets, the kind they always put in your room. I wasn’t paying much attention when this one picture caught my eye. I stopped and really looked at it.”
Foreboding crept up Jada’s spine.
“It was a story about a local clean-up d
ay at the river,” Sasha said. “And this picture in particular, it’s hard to explain, spoke to me. There were a handful of people in it, and they were all decked out in these gawd-awful clothes. What are those big rubber pants that people go fishing in?”
“Waders?” Trey suggested.
“Yeah. They were up to their knees in the river and they wore these huge, ugly waders. And there was this one woman who was lovely. She was dressed like all the rest of them, but she stood out and not only because she was fine. It was her expression.”
“She was holding out this slimy piece of trash. You know, like this.” Sasha pinched her forefinger and thumb together. “It’s the way you hold something when you don’t want to touch it. I thought it was funny. She had on these big black gloves to protect her hands and she still didn’t want to touch that trash. I read her name in the caption. Jada Howarth. I liked the sound of it.”
Jada had figured as much. She remembered the picture well, particularly since it had recently been aired during CGTV’s hatchet biography.
“I was drunk,” Sasha said. “Not sloppy drunk, but I’d had enough to make the impossible seem possible. I looked at that picture and imagined what it might be like to have Jada’s life. To work a normal day job, to stay in one place, to have friends and meet them at the river to do a good deed. And that woman, Jada, was grossed out with the job, but she didn’t really mind it, not really. I could tell.”
Sasha avoided Jada’s gaze. “I got this brilliant idea that the woman in the picture wouldn’t mind helping me out. She was so nice and friendly, I thought. And I won’t deny it, I figured she didn’t have the money to hire a bunch of lawyers the way Freya did. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea and I became convinced that it would work. I had this fantasy that Jada would like the attention, love being famous and being married to a supermodel, so she wouldn’t mind a teeny fib and wouldn’t fight it.”
Jada gritted her teeth. It was hard not to interrupt, and a glance at Ian and Trey showed her they had similar feelings.
“I know you’re going to say I was an idiot, Trey,” Sasha said.
“Idiot isn’t the word I’m thinking of,” Trey answered. “But let’s not go there for now. What happened next?”
“It was easy. I went downstairs to the lobby and got on the internet, found the same license, filled in the blanks, printed it out and signed it. Done deal.”
“Why did you put Trey and me as witnesses?” Ian asked.
“Because you guys always back me up. I knew you’d stand behind me no matter what. Duh. Who else would I put there?”
Jada thought she heard Ian mutter, “Unbelievable.”
“What did you do next?” Trey asked, a snap in his question.
“The owner of the B&B was leaving to run some errands so she dropped me off at the courthouse,” Sasha explained. “I went to file the license and I was surprised when the clerk wouldn’t accept it. Right away, she said it was fake.”
“It was fake,” Ian said.
“Yeah, but I thought it looked legit.” She made a go-figure motion. “The clerk was stubborn and no matter what I said she refused to take the license ... until I mentioned money. She was up for money. Everyone is. She also agreed to call in a tip to CGTV, which was part of the original plan with Freya, except Freya was going to do that part. I was pretty happy to get the records clerk to do it. I knew the story would drive Piper crazy, and she’d give it all the on-air attention it deserved.”
“Going back to the money, you didn’t stop to think that you were bribing a public employee and that’s illegal?” Ian asked.
“No. It wasn’t a bribe. It was more like giving her a reason to do something she should have done in the first place.”
Ian and Trey were astonished, then they sighed and shook their heads. That Sasha, she’s not much of a thinker, their actions suggested.
Jada couldn’t let it pass. “I don’t buy it. Quit acting dumb for the guys.”
Sasha gave her a dirty look. “You don’t know what I thought.”
“I know you’re not a fool, so quit pretending you are one because you know these two will buy it.”
“You’re playing me,” Trey said. “Seriously, Sasha? Right now?”
“It’s no big thing.” Sasha passed it off. “Anyway, I thought you wanted the whole story. So, I didn’t have much money on me. I convinced the clerk to meet me after I’d gone to the bank for the cash. I left, got the money, met up with the clerk, paid her off, and that was that. I rented a car, went home and waited for the story to break. It took longer to break than I thought it would. For a while, I thought the clerk had stiffed me. And when Piper got the story wrong on Saturday I couldn’t believe it. I was so pissed. But then today, the right story came out and I finally got what I was wanting. I think.”
Sasha’s blasé attitude was stronger than ever. If she cared any less, she would have passed out from losing interest in breathing. “There. I’ve told you everything. The end. Now return the favor and tell me how Piper ever got the stupid idea that Ian and Jada were married? I can’t figure it out. It makes no sense.”
The room was silent and Jada could almost hear the sound of her blood swooshing through her veins. Her pulse was rapid and her heart raced. An outpouring of adrenaline made her muscles twitch.
In short, she wanted to launch herself at Sasha.
Seriously? Did she actually say, “Now return the favor and tell me ...”?
It was unbelievable. The whole story. And yet it was true. Jada knew it was true, but ... it didn’t seem possible. The end, Sasha had said. And that was that.
Ian and Trey burst out of their astonished stupors, practically shouting at Sasha about daring to be so flippant, about how much damage she’d done and what made her think she had the right, and on and on.
Jada didn’t care about it. She could only stare at Sasha’s fairy-princess facade and brood about how much she wanted to punch the self-centered obliviousness right out of it.
But Jada would never hit anyone. It wasn’t who she was, no matter how much she wished it.
While Ian and Trey shifted into high gear with their verbal assaults, Jada quietly slipped from the room. Unnoticed.
Chapter Seven
TRYING TO MAKE SASHA LISTEN to reason was an exercise in futility. Ian couldn’t recall ever being more frustrated.
But Sasha, how could you ...
But Sasha, you knew ...
But Sasha, it’s wrong to ...
Nothing fazed her. She’d shut down good and proper. She’d simply shrug and say, “It is what it is,” over and over until Ian considered buying a few congressmen just to get a bill passed outlawing the maddening phrase. Ha. As if that would stop Sasha.
It must be even worse for Jada, he thought, seeing how Sasha refused to take responsibility for her actions. He realized Jada hadn’t said anything in a long time and surveyed the study. Where was she? She wasn’t in the room. How long had she been gone?
He cut off Trey mid-harangue and told Sasha, “I’ve got to go, but don’t think this is over. It’s only a break.”
Shrug.
Ian exited before he said something he’d regret.
After a short search, he found Jada outside, sitting on the wide porch steps. Her elbows were propped on her knees and her chin rested on her clasped hands. She looked toward the lake with a desolate expression on her beautiful face.
Ian sat down beside her. “Are you okay?”
She turned her head far enough to acknowledge him. “I’ll survive.” She returned her gaze to the lake.
He pulled in a lungful of fresh air, letting it clear his mind. Insects buzzed and birds chirped. Early evening sunbeams slanted through the trees, casting long shadows on the grounds and water. The temperature had dropped since they’d returned ... how long ago was it? Couldn’t have been long, though it felt like hours. It was different now.
He regarded Jada out of the corner of his eye. He hoped not everything was
different. His feelings for her remained the same.
“We won’t allow her to walk away from this scot-free,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I don’t think she cares either way.”
“Is that the worst of it for you? That she’s so egotistical?
Jada took a deep breath, sat up straighter and raised her head, letting her hands dangle between her knees. “I can’t quit thinking about what might have happened if Sasha and Freya had realized they didn’t have to drive a thousand miles to Iowa to get married. Within a couple hundred miles of the city, there are two states where gay marriage is legal, and Springers Glen isn’t in the path of either one. Imagine it. I wouldn’t be sitting here if those two women had half a clue.”
“You can’t go around re-imaging events based on what Sasha doesn’t know. You’d be at it forever,” Ian said.
“She’s not as dumb as she lets on.”
“No, but she’s not as with it as she’d like you to think, either.”
“I don’t want to say I told you so, but you were the one who convinced me to drop Sasha as a suspect because you thought she was too flighty to plan something so complicated.”
“True,” Ian said, “and she was, wasn’t she? Have you ever heard of a more screwy plan? And she didn’t get close to pulling it off.”
“Good point. I can’t argue with it.” Jada sighed. “Why didn’t she come out of the closet the normal way? Get an interview with a big name journalist, tell her story, the usual.”
“Because of Agatha,” Ian answered. “And Trey. You know Agatha thinks it will damage Sasha’s career. Sasha complains a lot but she never stands up to her mother on anything important. Trey’s been against Sasha coming out because he’s afraid it could put her in danger. He’s worried that someone might attack her, physically, for going public. I think it’s unlikely, but the truth is, we have to face that there are still people who hate gays and lesbians enough to hurt them, even if there aren’t as many of them as there once were.”
“I didn’t think about that,” Jada said. “I can see why he’d worry. I don’t like admitting it, but Sasha was right when she said that I don’t know what it’s like to live on society’s fringe.”