Louisiana Lucky: A Novel - Julie Pennell
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Louisiana Lucky: A Novel - Julie Pennell Book
From the critically acclaimed author of The Young Wives Club, a heartwarming story about friendship, heartache, and self-discovery (Karen White, New York Times bestselling author), comes a charming novel reminiscent of the works of Mary Alice Monroe and Kristy Woodson Harvey, about three sisters who win a huge lottery prize and learn what it truly means to be lucky.Lexi, Callie, and Hanna Breaux grew up in small-town Louisiana, and have always struggled to make ends meet. For years, theyve been playing the lottery, fantasizing about how much better life would be if they had the money. For Lexi, it means the perfect wedding; for Callie, it means having the courage to go after her career dreams; and for Hanna, it means buying a house that isnt falling apart and sending her bullied son to private school. When the incredible happens and the Breaux sisters hit it big$204 million dollars bigall their dreams come true. Or so they think. Because its actually not a clichmoney isnt the answer to everything, and it often comes with problems of its own. Heartfelt, engaging, and featuring characters youll root for from the first moment you meet them, Louisiana Lucky is a satisfying page-turner from a rising star in womens fiction.
P> Review Engaging the author credibly catalogues the way money changes everything, for better and worse [a] tasty treat. Publishers Weekly"Pennell inspires relatable wishful thinking about what to do with lottery winnings, and its hard not to root for the sisters to find their way. Those looking for a fun summer escape novel will enjoy." Booklist"A novel that transports, inspires and surprises." MyNewOrleans.com"The plot propels itself along adeptly with chapters alternating among the sisters perspectives. The characters are . . . endearing, even when you sense their paths are leading to misadventure." Ruston Daily Leader About the Author: Julie Pennell was born and raised in Louisiana. After graduating from college, she headed to New York to work at Seventeen magazine. She currently lives in St. Louis with her husband and two young sons, and is a contributor to St. Louis Magazine. Her writing has also appeared in Today, InStyle, and Refinery29. She is the author of The Young Wives Club and Louisiana Lucky. Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter 1: Lexi CHAPTER 1 Lexi Lexi squinted and rolled over to see her alarm clock blinking a bright and cheery twelve oclock. Her eyes shot open as the morning sun seeped in through their small bedroom window. Babe, what time is it?! she shrieked, poking her fianc Seths shoulder as he lay on top of their sheets in nothing but camo boxers. She sat up quickly and immediately felt the pounding headache and roiling stomach from one too many margaritas the night before. It had been her twenty-fourth birthday, and her sisters and friends had insisted that an extra round of tequila on a Thursday night was a brilliant idea. Lifes only going to get worse from here, Hanna had joked, raising her glass in the middle of The Ranch Bar & Grill, a dim wood-paneled restaurant with sticky floors and the best guacamole in all ten square miles of Brady, Louisiana. The group had clinked their salt-rimmed glasses together before downing the cheap alcohol. But it wasnt until this morning when she realized Hanna had unknowingly jinxed her. Babe, the power mustve gone out, and our alarm didnt go off, she said louder, shaking her fianc to wake up. Seth grunted and rolled over, slowly forming words. You didnt hear the thunderstorm last night? You were really out. She shuffled out of bed and looked at her phone. Shit. The salon had opened fifteen minutes ago. A rush of adrenaline coursed through her body as she threw on her gray cotton pocket dress, slid into her worn-out brown strappy sandals, and tied her long blond hair into a ponytail. Her stomach curdled again. Have mercy. As she gave herself a once-over in the full-length mirror by the window in their bedroom, Seth appeared with a cup of hot coffee. Made from the Keurig with love, he said, handing it to her and flashing a sleepy smile. God bless you, she said, her head pounding even harder now. I guess Ill keep you. She kissed his cheek as Archie, their two-year-old hound dog, came bounding in to get in on the love. Lexi scratched Archies head, as Seth wrapped her in a hug. Even if the rest of the day sucked, it was moments like these that kept her going. The two had met four years ago when Seth was interning at the veterinary clinic. Lexi had brought her ailing rescue pup Nola in for a checkup, and the sixteen-year-old Chihuahua peed right on the waiting room floor while they anxiously waited for the doctor. A cute guy in scrubs had run over to help clean it, and Lexi had apologized profusely to the man wiping up her dogs urine with a roll of paper towels. She does this when she gets nervous, she explained to him, fidgeting with embarrassment. Seth had picked up Nola and cradled her in his arms. Dont worry, I do the same thing! he whispered jokingly to the dog. Seth then looked at Lexi with a twinkle in his eye, and she fell in love right then and there. When they first started dating, she felt like Cinderella being courted by a prince. His parents were from old money. His dad currently oversaw the highly successful trucking business that had been in the Harris family for three generations. And his mom was a Sumerford, the equivalent to a royal family if Louisiana had a monarchy. She was an heiress to a steady stream of oil moneyand a lady who lunched. Seth and his family went on vacations to places like Barcelona and Hawaii, and they ate things like prime rib for dinner, whereas Lexis family often ate fish her father caught from the lake and subsisted on red beans and rice in lean months. She hadnt realized how broke her family was until she started hanging out with Seths. She was always in awe of his parents wealth, but couldnt help feeling out of place with them. Deep down inside, she worried they looked down on her, wishing Seth would end up with someone from a more well-to-do family. At least she knew Seth didnt feel that way. He seemed inexplicably irritated when his parents took them out to stuffy restaurants, and he happily moved into a run-down shotgun house with Lexi on the poorer side of town, despite his parents offer to help with rent for a nicer place. Why dont you want their help? Lexi had asked him one day, as they looked over his student loan contract with an insanely high interest rate written in bold numbers. If her parents were as rich as his, she would have unabashedly accepted their charity. You dont know my parents, he said. Everything always comes with strings attached. Lexi could understand. His mom Nancy was rather pushy, always making a last-ditch effort to get Seth to drop out of veterinary school and join the family company, or trying to convince him and Lexi to move into a more proper house. According to Seth, the final straw had been when an awkward girl from another family from the country club showed up to their house in a sparkly dress on the night of his senior prom. As the story goes, his mom had a tux waiting for him, as Seth sat slack-jawed on the couch holding a plate of nachos. His plans for the evening had been to play video games with his friends, commiserating over the fact that his girlfriend had just dumped him. Instead, his mom manipulated him into taking another girl to the prom. He had to see his ex two-step across the dance floor with another guy all night. Seth would never disown his mom; he was too good of a southern boy for that. But he had strict personal boundaries when it came to accepting help from his parents and Lexi had to respect that. These days, she and Seth didnt have a lot of money, with her hair stylist salary being their main source of income while he finished his last two years of veterinary school, but they assured his parents they were doing just fine. But were they doing just fine? Lexi couldnt help but wonder sometimes. Lexi grabbed her keys from the kitchen counter, where they sat next to a pile of bills and the luxury bridal magazine she had splurged on a few weeks ago right after Seth proposed. Her sisters had told her she was crazy when she bought it considering it cost twelve dollars, but she insisted it would give her the inspiration she needed, even if she had to do it on a budget. Her parents couldnt afford anything more than the wood-paneled church reception hall, and Seth wouldnt let his parents help on principle, so they had decided they would pay for everything themselves. They had talked about doing an intimate outdoor ceremony at sunset. The setting would be naturally romantic, and she could save a lot of money on a venue, decorations, and even flowers. There are flowers in nature, right? Still, she secretly felt like she needed to do everything she could to make it feel fancy enough for her in-laws approval. She had already gotten some great ideas from the magazine, like draping the reception chairs in tulle and using vintage teapots as vases. On the cover, a model wearing white-framed sunglasses and a designer lace bridal gown was posed in front of a backdrop that was scattered in red rose petals and crystals. Lexi took a moment to stare at the photo. The girl staring back at her had every quality she wanted to exude on her own wedding day: beauty style grace. Babe! Seth yelled as he walked into the living room. She startled, accidentally spilling coffee on her magazine. Dammit, Seth! she cried, grabbing a handful of paper towels and trying to clean off the cover before it stained. Jeez, calm down, he said, walking over. Its just a magazine. He grabbed the paper towel out of her hand and patted the magazine dry. A really expensive magazine, she reminded him. This is like something you put on your coffee table. He pressed a kiss onto her forehead. Itll be okay, babe. Ill put it in the sun to dry. Thanks, she said, silently praying this wasnt an omen for the rest of the day. But when she got to her beat-up used sedan, she saw that her gas tank was almost on empty. Luckily, the salon was only a few miles away, and it was payday. She just hoped shed make it to the gas station after work before the car gave out on her. As she pulled into the dusty gravel parking lot of The Mane Spot, Lexi took a deep breath and wondered if her boss Rae would have sympathy for her power outage story. She hadnt had much in the past for Lexis other unbelievable yet completely true excuses, including: forgetting to set her clock forward for daylight savings, getting spit up on by her newborn niece, and having to wait in the car while that ten-foot alligator sat in the middle of the one-lane road outside her housing complex for twenty minutes. As she opened the creaky wooden door covered in one too many coats of paint, everyone in the salon looked at her simultaneously. So sorry Im late, she said breathlessly. Rae looked over and squinted, making the leathered wrinkles on her face even more prominent. Did last nights birthday party just end? she asked with a throaty laugh. Lexi ran to her station, passing her coworker Brianna who looked a little greenshe had been at last nights festivities, too. The two shot each other a sympathetic look as Lexi threw her bag on the floor. Nah, Im too old to stay out past midnight, she bantered, surprised Rae wasnt pissed. The storm caused a power outagemy alarm didnt go off. Sorry! No worries, Rae said. Your client is here, though. She pointed to Mrs. Dorothyan eighty-year-old woman who had come in for her weekly washsitting on the green pleather couch reading an old issue of Southern Living magazine featuring a pot of mac n cheese on the cover. Lexis stomach growled, reminding her the last thing shed eaten was those black bean tacos the night before. Lets get you shampooed, she said with a forgive-me smile, gesturing Dorothy to the sink in the back of the salon. The Mane Spot ran the gamut in terms of clientele. Three coworkers chairs were occupied by a middle-aged woman whose hair was covered in pieces of foil; a quiet man wearing coveralls and work boots; and a tattooed woman in her sixties who apparently just had all her hair chopped off, as evidenced by the puddle of brown fluff accumulating on the floor around her. At the sink, Mrs. Dorothy chatted about her cats health and the pecan pie she had made for her grandsons birthday while Lexi massaged her scalp with a sudsy citrus shampoo. As she half listened to her client, she stared blankly at the crack in the wall that had been there since she started working at the salon over three years ago. Lexi took a deep breath, inhaling the clean scent of the hair product mixed with the familiar smells of the musty, old building. She wondered if shed still be staring at that crack when she was Raes age. If every day would be exactly the same for the rest of her life. Then she shook off the thought and got back to work. Seven hours later, after a string of boring customers and bad hair that needed fixing, the door opened, and Lexis day took a sudden turn for the worse. Sur-prise! Seths mom Nancy towered over her in three-inch heels. She was wearing a crisp white linen button-down with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of jeans that were designed to look old and worn but probably cost more than Lexis entire wardrobe. Lexi suddenly felt ashamed of her gray hangover dress and fraying sandals. She wouldve dressed nicer if shed known Nancy was visiting. Oh hi. As Lexi leaned in for a stiff hug, she got a whiff of Nancys magnolia-scented perfume. What are you doing here? I thought you went to La Bellas. It was The Mane Spots rival salon in the nicer part of town. I wanted to see you. Nancy ran her fingers through her honey-hued hair. Thought we could catch up while I get a blowout. Pat and I are going to the Gator Ball tonight. It was the big annual fund-raiser in town where the rich folks paid five hundred dollars a platesupposedly to save the alligators, but really it was an excuse to put on a fancy dress and get drunk off mint juleps. Oh, thats fun, Lexi said, flustered. She always felt so awkward and nervous around Nancy, like the woman was secretly judging everything about her. Come with me. Nancy sat in the chair and tilted her head back in the sink. So, did you hear the news about Mackenzie Rogers? she asked in a gossipy tone. Lexi knew Mackenzie from high school. The girl was known for her straight As, football-star boyfriend, and prom-queen popularityshe had everything Lexi wanted in high school. After Mackenzie went away to Tulane for college, Lexi thought shed never see her again, but it turned out she was Nancys best friends daughter. The way her future mother-in-law talked about her made Lexi think Mackenzie was the daughter Nancy had always wanted. Instead, she was stuck with Lexi. Shes engaged! Nancy said gleefully, snapping Lexi back to reality. So exciting, right? Youll both be planning your weddings at the same time! She paused for a reaction. Lexi forced a smile. Thats great! As Nancy cooed over detailsthe country club! the band!Lexi couldnt help but feel the familiar sharp edge of envy for Mackenzies black-tie affair. Lexi had made her peace with her quiet and homespun wedding. But as Nancy rattled onshes going to Paris in February to shop for a dress with her momLexi suddenly had a pit in her stomach. She realized she was embarrassed for Nancy to come to her and Seths wedding. She almost wished she could uninvite her. She pictured Nancy sipping punch at the budget reception with judgment oozing from every pore. Nancy locked eyes with her, as if she was privy to her innermost thoughts. Please let me help you with the wedding, she begged. I know Seth is adamant about not letting us pay for anything, but maybe you could convince him. She blinked her long eyelashes twice and smiled. I just want it to be special. It took all her restraint for Lexi not to squeeze Nancys head with her fingers, which were currently lathering up the womans hair. Its going to be special, Lexi affirmed. Anyway, Seth and I really want to pay for this ourselves, she said. But thank you for the offer. Nancy let out a deep sigh. I dont know why my boy is so stubborn about money, she said, shaking her head while Lexi wrapped it in a towel. You should have seen his brothers weddings. Lexi hadnt been dating Seth when his older two brothers got married, but she had heard stories and seen pictures. One was at the Ritz-Carlton in New Orleans and the other was at the Old Governors Mansion in Baton Rouge. Im sorry, Lexi said to Nancy as they walked over to the chair. She gulped, not sure who she felt sorrier for. As she thought about mansions and country clubs, Lexi burned with jealousy. She deftly twirled the round brush and methodically dried Nancys warm blond locks while they continued to make small talk. Lexi noticed the physical pain from the tequila was finally gone, but there was a gnawing in her stomach now. After Lexi applied the smoothing serum to finish off the look, Nancy shook her perfectly blown-out hair and grinned as she looked at herself in the mirror. You did a nice job, she said, reaching into her snakeskin bag and handing Lexi a ten-dollar bill. Tell my son hello for me. She kissed her on the cheek and clicked her heels through the tiny salon, stopping at the reception desk to pay on her way out. As she watched Nancy leave, Lexi couldnt help but cringe at the ten-dollar bill in her hand. It was given as a compliment, but something about it still felt insulting, like she was her mother-in-laws paid help. Well, at least shes gone, Lexi thought as her body relaxed a little. She hadnt realized how tense she was. Lexi checked her phone, the lock screen lighting up with a stack of messages from the group text with her sisters. They were making plans for their monthly girls night the following evening. The tradition, which consisted of getting tipsy off boxed wine, eating too much take-out food, and playing the lotto, began three years ago after a big jackpot had everyone in town trying their luck. The most recent text from Hanna read, Lex, dont forget the lotto tix. Your turn to grab! Thank god for payday, Lexi thought as she tossed her cracked phone into her old frayed bag and headed out the door, stopping by Raes station to pick up her check. Shed get the lottery tickets at the gas station, along with a full tank of gas. Her boss was sweeping snippets of brown hair off the floor, looking deep in thought when Lexi approached her. Hi, Rae, just wanna grab my check. Rae leaned the broom against the wall and frowned. Oh, hon. Im so sorry. She lowered her voice. Its not ready yet. Think you could wait a week or two? I had to move some things around in the account because of that air conditioner repair last Tuesday. Shit. Lexi felt as though she might cry, but she supposed there wasnt much she could do about it. This had happened before. Rae was good for the money; but still, it wasnt a convenient time. Okay, she agreed and walked out into the humid May air. After she got into her car, Lexi shuffled through her wallet and began counting all the dollar bills she had earned through tips that day. Twenty-four. That would fill up a little less than half her gas tank with a few extra bucks to buy the lotto tickets. She rummaged through the glove compartment, searching for any extra loose change. But all that was in there were a few pennies and a thick pile of old McDonalds napkins shed been hoarding for years. Her sisters words from the night before echoed in her mind again. Itll only get worse from here. At this moment, perhaps for the first time, it felt true. She felt raw, as if life was scraping her along without her consent. Holding the cash in her hand, Lexi closed her eyes and let out a loud scream. It felt good, like she was finally releasing the bad energy hovering over her all day. There had to be more than this. There had to be. When she opened her eyes, Lexi saw with horror Nancy was standing only a few feet away, looking right in her direction. She must have just come out of the drugstore next to the salonshe was holding a plastic bag in her hand. Lexi cowered in her seat, hoping Seths mom hadnt actually seen her pathetic breakdown. But the look on her faceconfused and concernedtold her she had indeed seen it all. Before Nancy could have the chance to say or do anything else that would make her feel even more embarrassed, Lexi peeled out of the parking lot in her dirty car. As her tear-filled eyes darted from the road to the gas gauge, she began to pray shed have enough fuel to make it to the station. And since she was already talking with God, she figured shed go ahead and ask for something else that she needed at that moment: an antidote to the poisonous feelings overtaking her bodyhumiliation, envy, and disappointment with how her life was turning out.(BK-9781982115630)
| SKU | BK-9781982115630 |
| Barcode # | 9781982115630 |
| Brand | Emily Bestler Books |
| Artist / Author | Julie Pennell |
| Shipping Weight | 0.2700kg |
| Shipping Width | 0.130m |
| Shipping Height | 0.020m |
| Shipping Length | 0.210m |
| Type | Paperback |
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