Southern Lights

She unpacked her bag when they got home, and the new things her mother had bought her. Daisy bounced into the room and chatted with her. Julia

Daisy had commented to Sava

“I think my mom is jealous of your mom,” Daisy said with the wisdom of young children.

“Maybe,” Sava

Chapter 12

On her first day back after her weekend in Charleston, Alexa was busy with endless cops and investigators. Everything was coming together in the case, and she had dumped enough discovery on Judy Du

“So how was it?” her mother asked her. They were each eating a salad from the deli across the street.

“It was better than I feared,” Alexa said to her. “Sava

“I told you. This is interesting for her, and it’s good for her to discover the other side of her family. She’s a smart girl. She’ll pick and choose. No one’s going to pull the wool over her eyes. It sounds like Tom bought himself a one-way ticket to hell with Luisa. Why does he stay with her?”

“Probably for the same reason he went back to her,” Alexa said curtly. “No guts. When he left me, he did what his mother and Luisa told him to do, and now she has him by the throat.” Or worse.

“How does he look?” Muriel asked with interest, and her daughter laughed. She was in good spirits. It had done her a world of good to see Sava

“Handsome and weak. I guess I never noticed. He’s still the best-looking man on the planet, but I know what he’s about now, and who he is. I guess I’ll always think he’s gorgeous, but thank God I’m not in love with him anymore. That’s something at least.” She sounded freer and less angry than Muriel had heard her sound in years. She wasn’t as tense, despite the pressures of the Quentin case. She’d been working closely with the FBI, and now that they weren’t threatening to take her case away every five minutes, she was enjoying working with them. There were no female agents on the case, and she didn’t mind being the only woman in a world of men. She liked it. And the FBI agents were interesting to work with.

While her mother was back at work, Sava

She went to all the volleyball and soccer games, and rooted for their teams. They let her join the swimming team because someone had dropped out with a serious problem with her ears.

And the weekend after her mother had been there, the captain of the soccer team asked Sava

“Are you going to go out with him?” Julia

“I might. I have nothing else to do.” She sounded very cool.

He took her to a movie on Friday night, and they stopped at a coffee shop afterward. His name was Turner Ashby, a descendant of the general of the same name, he informed her over burgers and shakes.

“It seems like everyone in town is related to a general,” Sava

“That’s a big deal around here,” he explained.

“I know. My grandmother is the president general of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. She’s the president general because she’s related to a general too.” Sava

“Georgia Tech, or maybe SMU in Texas. I applied to Duke and UVA, but I don’t think my scores are good enough to get in. What about you?”

“I’d really like to go to Princeton. It’s close to home, which would be nice, and I liked the school. I liked Brown too. I think Harvard would be too serious, and I probably won’t get in either. I liked Stanford, but my mom doesn’t want me that far away.” She went down her list.

“That’s some list of fancy Ivy League schools you applied to,” he said, looking impressed. She was smart but not stuck up, and the prettiest girl he’d ever seen.

He had her back at her house very respectfully at ten-thirty, and she had enjoyed him and the movie, and said she’d see him around school.

Julia

“It was fun,” Sava

“That’s it? You went out with the hottest guy in school and ‘it was fun’? Did he kiss you?” Julia

“Of course not. We don’t even know each other. Besides, it would be dumb to get involved with anyone now. We’re all leaving for college, and I’m only here for a few months.” She was practical about it. She wasn’t looking for romance, just friends, which made her even more appealing. She didn’t have the desperation of some of the girls in school who were always looking for boyfriends.

“There’s nothing dumb about going out with Turner Ashby. Did you know his father has oil rigs all over Biloxi? My mama says he’s one of the richest men in the state. And,” she said for emphasis, “he’s cute. And the captain of the soccer team. What else do you need?” Sava

“No. Don’t be silly. I just went out with him last night.” She was totally relaxed about it.

“He will. Guys always like girls like you who don’t give a damn about them.”

“I didn’t say that. I liked him. I’m just not going nuts about it, like you,” she teased.

“I bet he asks you out next weekend,” Julia

“I hope not. I think my mom’s coming. She said she’d try, but she may not make it till the following weekend.”

Julia

Sava