weekend for a barbecue? We get together nearly every Sunday.”
Ashleigh found it hard to reject the offer. She wanted to see the rest of her bandmates , but it was the hopeful look on Vicki’s face that she couldn’t deny.
“I’m touching your grill,” Chantal called from somewhere behind the foliage, “and I’m armed with chicken covered in marinade.”
Vicki rolled her eyes and grinned. “Be right there, dear.”
“Okay, but hurry because something’s on fire that I don’t think is supposed to be.”
Ashleigh followed Vicki through the foliage to the main patio, where Drew and Erica were seated at a table still looking at the photo albums. Kaitlyn was sitting at the edge of the pool with her feet dangling in the water. Ashleigh looked at it longingly. It seemed Chantal was reading her thoughts when they joined her at the grill.
“We should’ve told you to bring your swimsuits. We’re gonna be closing it down for the winter soon, so somebody should take advantage of it.”
“It’s September, sweetie. We won’t put the cover on until the end of November. There’s plenty of time.” Vicki gave Chantal a playful nudge. “You’d close it up now if I’d let you.”
Chantal made a face. “The upkeep is a pain in the ass.”
“What are you fussing about?” Vicki asked as she laid the chicken out on the grill. “Alex is the one that keeps it up.”
“Right and it’s a pain in the ass for her.”
“She lives close by then?” Drew asked the question that was going through Ashleigh’s mind.
“She lives around the corner.” Chantal pointed to an opening in the fence situated between two large oaks. “The house that used to sit on the lot behind us burned down last year.” Chantal wrinkled her nose. “Messy divorce. If you go through the lot and make a right on the street, she’s the second driveway on the left.”
Drew filled Ashleigh in on the music store that Chantal and Vicki owned, which obviously did well for them. Their home was in one of the more expensive areas of Baton Rouge, and she knew what little money they’d made as musicians years ago wasn’t supporting any of them now. She wondered what Alex did to support herself. Did Momma McKinney still fund her every whim?
“Didn’t you say she was a lawyer the night we met?” Kaitlyn asked.
Chantal took a seat next to Kaitlyn. “Yep, she followed in her mother’s footsteps.”
Ashleigh’s head spun with that revelation. “You have got to be kidding me.”
Vicki shook her head and laughed. “I know what you’re about to say, but yes, it’s the same Alex McKinney who said she would rather slit her own throat than go to law school. Not only did she go, but she works with Momma McKinney.”
Ashleigh rubbed her brow. “Will wonders never cease?”
“Jaclyn and Lindsay bought Neiman’s,” Chantal called over her shoulder.
Ashleigh sank down into one of the patio chairs. “Okay, catch me up on the last twenty years, but do it slowly because my head is already spinning.”
Chapter Fourteen
Erica smiled at the two distinct snores coming from the backseat. Despite her best efforts, Ashleigh lost her battle and drifted off, leaving Erica alone with her thoughts. She was thankful that no one asked her what she thought of the afternoon. She wasn’t sure how she would’ve answered.
She had to congratulate herself on the stellar performance she put on. She’d spent the afternoon poring over bits and pieces of Ashleigh’s life showcased in photographs. She laughed and joked as though her heart wasn’t deeply wounded. She pretended that it didn’t make her feel like a fool to sit there with everyone else seeing those photos for the first time.
Chantal and Vicki were not what she expected. Erica had imagined them to be middle-aged pot-smoking throwbacks from the eighties, still wearing the same old clothes in hopes that they would come back in style. What she found were two very well put together women who still
Ashleigh found it hard to reject the offer. She wanted to see the rest of her bandmates , but it was the hopeful look on Vicki’s face that she couldn’t deny.
“I’m touching your grill,” Chantal called from somewhere behind the foliage, “and I’m armed with chicken covered in marinade.”
Vicki rolled her eyes and grinned. “Be right there, dear.”
“Okay, but hurry because something’s on fire that I don’t think is supposed to be.”
Ashleigh followed Vicki through the foliage to the main patio, where Drew and Erica were seated at a table still looking at the photo albums. Kaitlyn was sitting at the edge of the pool with her feet dangling in the water. Ashleigh looked at it longingly. It seemed Chantal was reading her thoughts when they joined her at the grill.
“We should’ve told you to bring your swimsuits. We’re gonna be closing it down for the winter soon, so somebody should take advantage of it.”
“It’s September, sweetie. We won’t put the cover on until the end of November. There’s plenty of time.” Vicki gave Chantal a playful nudge. “You’d close it up now if I’d let you.”
Chantal made a face. “The upkeep is a pain in the ass.”
“What are you fussing about?” Vicki asked as she laid the chicken out on the grill. “Alex is the one that keeps it up.”
“Right and it’s a pain in the ass for her.”
“She lives close by then?” Drew asked the question that was going through Ashleigh’s mind.
“She lives around the corner.” Chantal pointed to an opening in the fence situated between two large oaks. “The house that used to sit on the lot behind us burned down last year.” Chantal wrinkled her nose. “Messy divorce. If you go through the lot and make a right on the street, she’s the second driveway on the left.”
Drew filled Ashleigh in on the music store that Chantal and Vicki owned, which obviously did well for them. Their home was in one of the more expensive areas of Baton Rouge, and she knew what little money they’d made as musicians years ago wasn’t supporting any of them now. She wondered what Alex did to support herself. Did Momma McKinney still fund her every whim?
“Didn’t you say she was a lawyer the night we met?” Kaitlyn asked.
Chantal took a seat next to Kaitlyn. “Yep, she followed in her mother’s footsteps.”
Ashleigh’s head spun with that revelation. “You have got to be kidding me.”
Vicki shook her head and laughed. “I know what you’re about to say, but yes, it’s the same Alex McKinney who said she would rather slit her own throat than go to law school. Not only did she go, but she works with Momma McKinney.”
Ashleigh rubbed her brow. “Will wonders never cease?”
“Jaclyn and Lindsay bought Neiman’s,” Chantal called over her shoulder.
Ashleigh sank down into one of the patio chairs. “Okay, catch me up on the last twenty years, but do it slowly because my head is already spinning.”
Chapter Fourteen
Erica smiled at the two distinct snores coming from the backseat. Despite her best efforts, Ashleigh lost her battle and drifted off, leaving Erica alone with her thoughts. She was thankful that no one asked her what she thought of the afternoon. She wasn’t sure how she would’ve answered.
She had to congratulate herself on the stellar performance she put on. She’d spent the afternoon poring over bits and pieces of Ashleigh’s life showcased in photographs. She laughed and joked as though her heart wasn’t deeply wounded. She pretended that it didn’t make her feel like a fool to sit there with everyone else seeing those photos for the first time.
Chantal and Vicki were not what she expected. Erica had imagined them to be middle-aged pot-smoking throwbacks from the eighties, still wearing the same old clothes in hopes that they would come back in style. What she found were two very well put together women who still
Similar Books
