Mine.
I sure am.With a smile on my face, I left the courthouse. I had a therapy session scheduled for my lunch hour and could walk to the doctor’s office, which was only a few blocks away.
On the street, I ran into Lauren. Dressed in a charcoal-gray pantsuit, pearls in her ears and around her neck, and a belted black-wool coat, she looked every inch the power prosecutor.
“I hear you won and made mincemeat of poor Edwin Velasquez.” She pushed up her sunglasses to meet my eyes. “I told him not to worry since it wasn’t his case initially.”
“Yeah.” Curious, I asked, “What’s going to happen to the ADA who did such a shitty job?”
Her lips thinned. “Oh, we’ll have a meeting. You worked in Legal Aid, Bailey. You know how many cases these people juggle—prosecutors and defense attorneys. Shit happens.”
“I know, but it still makes attorneys look bad, and God knows we don’t need another excuse for that. I wonder if the police will even do anything.”
Her expression grew fierce. “Don’t you worry. I had a talk with their lieutenant. They won’t be pulling shit like that again.”
I could see what drew Grady to Lauren. Off duty, she was fun, flirty, and sweet. But on the job, she was a lioness. And a confident woman was a sexy woman.
“Let’s hope not. I gotta get back to the office and make some money. I’ll see you soon.”
She kissed my cheek. “You know, Grady’s always been so worried about Keston. I never met Carlos, but I heard how his death sent Keston into a dark place. But now, seeing you two together settles his fear that Keston will one day disappear. He’s a changed man since he met you.”
The brothers’ separation had caused such damage. Losing those early years together was a wound that even decades later still festered and might never heal.
“I didn’t change him. I gave him space to breathe and showed him that he’s allowed to be angry, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t let people who care about him help him.”
Her phone went off, and she grimaced. “Ugh. I have to go. Hopefully we’ll see you soon. Love you, bye.”
She kissed my cheek and took off. I watched her, wondering if Belinda could have become a strong, independent woman like Lauren had she been given opportunities. My phone rang, and seeing it was Belinda, my heart started racing. I didn’t know what I’d find on the other end of the call.
“Belinda, what’s wrong?”
She laughed. “Why does something have to be wrong for me to call you?”
Maybe because that’s usually the only time you ever call me.
“Oh, well, no, of course not. I’m glad you called. I always like hearing from you. How’s everything between you and Jonas going?” I asked, hoping my question sounded casual and not accusatory.
“Fine. I told you, he’s a different guy. He comes home every night and stays, and we haven’t had one fight.”
I had to admit I was impressed. “Good. I’m glad to hear that. You know all I want is for you to be happy.” I stopped on the corner of Broadway and Chambers to wait for the light, thinking of my therapy session with Dr. Sharpe. I was truly happy that Jonas was proving me wrong.
“Yeah. Speaking of not being happy,shecame to see me the other day.”
There went my pleasant afternoon—and the obvious reason for Belinda’s call. “What happened?”
“She tried to get me to talk to you about selling the house.”
The absolute fucking gall of that woman. “And what did you tell her?”
“I said I don’t know anything about it, and that it’s got nothing to do with me.”
Not exactly the backup I’d hoped for, but at least she hadn’t taken Jennifer’s side.
“Okay, well, thanks for the heads-up.”
“I do have a question, though. How come you don’t wanna sell? Jonas said you could probably get like half a million easy for the house. Maybe more. That’s a lotta money.”
A chill ran through me. “So you think I should sell?”
