Page 46 of A Cowboy's Bride
“I’ll talk to her mom.” Julia paused. “Did you guys figure out the story you’re going to tell people in town? About who you are and the rest of it?”
“Some of it,” Jinx told her. “Declan said we’d do the rest of it this afternoon, so we can tell you soon.”
“That works. I’ll wait to hear from you, but chances are high you’ll get to meet Sasha tomorrow. Then, if you’re comfortable, we can go shopping as soon as school is done.” Julia pointed toward the bathroom. “Go wash all that stuff out. Shampoo, then use the conditioner and leave it in for at least five minutes. I put everything you can use on the counter. It’s all brand-new and yours. The clothes are loaners, but you keep them until you have your own stuff.”
Jinx covered her head with the towel and stood awkwardly, glancing between them. “I know I keep saying it, but thanks for helping. And thanks for trying to make it easier. I mean it. Maybe I’m a little scared, but today is so much better than two days ago.”
She vanished, leaving Petra and Julia staring after her.
“Give me thirty minutes with the bastards she was living with before.” Julia said it calmly and coolly as if discussing the weather. “Fifteen, even. I’m feeling motivated.”
“It’s a familiar sentiment, and you’d have to join a line right now,” Petra told her. She stepped closer and wrapped her sister-in-law in a hug, squeezing tightly. Letting go of some of the sadness and focusing on the good parts that had happened that morning. “I’m glad I’ve got you.”
“Ditto. Plus I’m glad that girl’s got you,” Julia returned. She stepped back and looked Petra in the eyes. “I thought maybe you were getting in over your head with the fake engagement thing and the rest of it. But I see why you did it. I’mgladyou did it, and you know we’ll go to bat for you, and for Jinx, no matter what.”
“Thanks.”
One more change. One more step, with a whole hell of a lot more to go. But Petra realized her sister-in-law was right. Being at High Water was both necessary and vital. For Jinx and herself.
12
Petra had texted him a heads-up she and Jinx were finally on the way home, which meant Aiden and his brothers were already in the house when her truck pulled into the parking spot outside the main door.
Declan checked the temperature on the oven then went back to tossing salad in an enormous bowl. “Did Petra say it went well?”
“Well enough. Said to remind us to keep the comments about Jinx’s improved appearance as brotherly as possible.”
The sound of the ladies as they chatted on the porch and dealt with their footwear brought Aiden forward to the door.
First through was Petra. “Hey, guys. We’re all relaxed from our spa day, but we’re starving. It smells good in here.”
“Lasagna,” Declan informed her. “Lazy Lasagna, because I suck at the layering thing.”
“Yum. You like pasta, Jinx?”
The girl stepped forward, eyes on the floor for a second before she straightened. “Pasta’s good.”
Without the tangled mess hanging across her face, Jinx’s pretty features were the first thing Aiden noticed. The dark circles under her eyes made her look even more delicate and breakable than before, but the sweep of long, straight, brown hair looked far more comfortable than the rat’s nest she’d worn when she left the house that morning.
Time for a bit of careful complimenting. “Hey, Jinx. Looks as if Petra and Julia helped you out.”
Declan hummed in approval. “Does it feel better?”
“So much better.” Ignoring Aiden, Jinx focused on Declan. “It took a lot of work, but Julia’s nice. She loaned me a bunch of clothes, and she said once you and I figure out my story for good to let her know, because she’s going to call her older sister and then I’m supposed to meet her niece Sasha so we can go shopping.”
Aiden blinked in surprise at the outpouring of words.
Thankfully, Declan kept his cool and just nodded slowly, still mixing the lettuce. “Then we’ll talk that through after supper so you can give Julia a call. I wrote down a few ideas. I think we’re nearly there.”
Jinx stood a little straighter then unconsciously ran her fingers through her hair as if she couldn’t believe the difference. “Okay.” She smiled, a shocking surprise. “Julia said she’d heard about you.”
“Hopefully good things.” The buzzer on the stove went off, and Declan moved to shut it off. “Wash up everyone. Supper’s ready.”
Aiden waylaid Petra at the sink in their bedroom. “Jinx looks a million times better, but not just on the surface. She’s still on edge but doesn’t have that kicked puppy look in her eyes. I take it your trip went better than we could have hoped for.”
Petra eased her hip against the counter and considered. “Julia’s a rock star, so give her most of the credit. Between bonding over hair trauma—Julia’s got one hell of a story that I’ll have to tell you sometime—and her solid know-how as a trauma care worker, my sister-in-law worked magic. She had Jinx laughing by the end of the visit.”
Hell, yeah.“Thank God for that. Let’s hope it continues.”
