Chapter 13 Where It Belonged
WHERE IT BELONGED
All night and most of the day, Rory was more focused on the parting words from Gale.
That maybe he was in Lake George for more than one reason.
It’d be crazy for him to say he didn’t believe in fate when he believed he talked to his sister several times a month in dreams.
Where any of this was going to lead was still up in the air, but as Gale said when she guessed his underwear, he let it hang and went where he was called.
He laughed out loud over that description.
She was pretty accurate.
He’d been like that his whole life but more so once everything came crashing down around him.
Crashing was a good word to use. His life, his dreams, his world. All of them were slamming into one and making him decide what to do and where to go.
Even something as simple as dinner out.
A date.
Shit, he hadn’t been on a real date in years.
Did he meet up with women and get together, then have casual sex? Yeah, he did.
But nothing in his mind had ever been long term. It couldn’t be. He’d never be able to put someone else first until he could put the past where it belonged.
Yet in walks Gale right next to him in the courthouse, a wide smile, a charming voice, and an attitude that she was going to take care of it for him.
He still wasn’t sure how he felt about all of that, but would see where it went.
After hours more of reading the court trial and not discovering much new or helpful other than a few odd things he’d made notes on, he left to pick Gale up at her place.
He found her car and parked a few down next to it, went into the building, then up to the fourth floor and knocked on her door.
It was opened quickly. She’d obviously changed from work, wearing dark jeans like him, only hers were more fitted to her body, giving off curves he hadn’t noticed before, a multi-colored silk shirt tucked into the waist, and let’s not forget nude pumps on her feet.
Heaven help him, there was no way he was going to concentrate on anything with her sitting across from him.
Not when he was betting there was a matching set of silk undergarments this time. She’d be that way, he was sure.
She was grinning at his stare. “Do I meet with your approval?”
“You know you do.”
“What’s going through your mind?”
“Nothing you want to know.”
She laughed, and the sound rippled through him, over his face, down his chest, settling low in his belly until his cock stirred and shifted for space. Thank God for boxers and the freedom they gave him.
“I think I can guess,” she said, leaning in close to his face. “Yes, they match.”
He groaned when she stepped back to shut and lock her door, her purse over her shoulder, her hair casting off the scent of citrus.
If he inhaled it longer than he should have, it’d be his little secret.
“How was your day?” he asked. She’d gotten out earlier than he’d thought she would.
“Good. How about yours? Find anything interesting?”
“A few things interesting but nothing earth shattering. There are times I feel I’m not as open-minded as I should be. Or I wasn’t for years and am getting there now. I think that is why it’s all getting checked over, but it takes time.”
“It does and it will.” They got in the elevator. “Tonight, your choice of what you want to talk about. The case, your book, me.” The grin she sent him told him exactly what she wanted. “Or the area. Sometimes it’s nice to take a break from the grind. That’s what I’m doing for a bit.”
He reached for her hand, fingers grazing hers and their pinkies catching for a heartbeat before slipping apart.
The spark wasn’t just in his hand; it tingled straight through to his chest. This trip was already turning into more than he’d planned.
He only hoped it wasn’t more than he could handle.
And the last thing he wanted to do was take anyone down with him.
“I’d like to know more about you,” he said.
“Good. I enjoy talking about me,” she said proudly.
He laughed. She really was so much like his sister that it hurt...in a good way.
And went right back to what had been on his mind all day and what more was planned for him here.
They got to the parking lot and climbed in his SUV. “Tell me where to go unless you’d rather drive?”
“If I cared to drive, I would have got into my car. I like to be in control, but I’m not a bitch about it.”
“That’s good to know.”
He followed her directions to downtown. They found a spot on the street rather than in public parking and walked to the restaurant.
“Gale,” the hostess said. “So nice to see you again. Table for two?”
“Yes,” she said.
Once they were seated, he looked at her grin. “You really do know everyone around here.”
She laughed. “It feels that way. It was like that before I opened my practice. A lot had to do with my parents’ farm.”
“Tell me about you on it. I can’t see you milking cows or gathering eggs.”
“Ugh,” she said, sticking her tongue out of her open mouth and faking a gag.
Or maybe it wasn’t really that faked. “No cows, thank God. We had chickens and still do. I don’t like them and they didn’t like me.
Ford had the touch with them. We didn’t have a ton of animals.
Horses at one point to pull a wagon during the fall for hay rides.
But slowly the animals got phased out and it was chickens for the eggs that my mother uses at the cafe. ”
“Cafe?” he asked.
“I thought for sure you’d know about that. Don’t tell me you didn’t research my family the way I did yours.”
“I did, but hadn’t realized there was a cafe there. I just noticed the orchards were now for hard cider.”
She nodded. “Clay’s doing. My father broke his back about three years ago now.
He couldn’t work the farm, we all had jobs and it was hard, but we did our part.
Clay left the service and came home, but there was no way he was going to run things the way they were.
Times are different and the money wasn’t there for the amount of work.
The cafe was holding things together more.
Now even that’s grown, but it’s still only open mornings during the week for baked goods, then Friday through Sunday for lunch for eight months a year.
The other four they are open seven days a week and my future sister-in-law, Reenie, works there with my mother now. ”
“That’s nice your family came together like that.”
“I’m sorry that yours didn’t. I’ve got to imagine in tough times you need more support, not less.”
“Not everyone is built the same,” he said. They were saved by placing their drink orders and since he’d known what he wanted for dinner, she made a quick decision and placed her meal order too.
“They aren’t. It seemed not one of my siblings was going to take over the farm and my parents were fine with it.
Sad, but fine. I think they hoped one day there would be grandkids to do it, but nothing yet.
Now with Clay there and Reenie, even Clay’s fiancée, Meredith, the family is expanding the way my parents always wanted. Things happen the way they should.”
“I don’t know that I believe that. I’d hate to think my sister was meant to be murdered.”
“No,” she said. “But if I’ve learned one thing, there is a lot of evil in this world, but more good to counter it. I have to believe that or it’d be hard to get out of bed daily.”
“My mother felt like that for years,” he said.
“There was a time I’d come home and the mail was still in the box, my father was working late, dinner should be done and set on the table like it used to be, but the house was dark.
I’d find my mother in her room with the lights off and lying on the bed sleeping.
She’d been crying, I knew it, but who hadn’t been? ”
He’d go in and wake her, hold her, do the things his father should have been there to do.
That was how they leaned on each other. That was when he realized it was going to be the two of them now to get through.
Their drinks were brought over. He’d gotten a beer; she’d gotten a wine.
“I can’t fathom what you went through. You were a kid yourself. The blame you carried on top of it. Returning home to those who knew you and your family couldn’t have been any better. I’d like to think your community rallied behind you.”
His head went back and forth. “Yes and no. I could never shake that others might have blamed me. Gale, I’m sitting on the dock eating a sub and texting my friends stupid meaningless shit while a worm is drowning on a line next to me.
Why didn’t I feel something was wrong?” He leaned closer.
“I can see her in my dreams as vividly as I can see you sitting across from me, but I didn’t know she was in trouble? Why does that happen?”
Her hand reached for his on the table. “One of those mysteries for the world.”
“And you wanted to talk about you and here I am, talking about me. Why law?”
She patted his hand. “It’s going to go back to you. Or back to the case.”
“Cooper?” he asked.
“Parts of it. I didn’t like the injustice done to him.
I wanted to fight for the little guy. Maybe that has always been my nature anyway.
I like control and money. So you know, I needed to find a career for that.
Being my own boss gives me the control. The money is still coming and will, but those things take time. ”
“You could have gone to any other bigger area, why not?”
“I still service other areas, even have clients in Albany, but this is where my heart is. It’s where I need to be, so I have to make the best of what is available.”
“Gale.”
They both turned their heads when her name was called.
“Kane,” she said, her eyes on his. Few had that name in this area and it looked to him like he was going to meet one owner of the company that kept popping up in his research.
“It’s so nice to see you out to dinner. You remember my wife, Ashleigh, right?”
“I don’t know if we’ve formally met before,” she said, putting her hand out. “It’s nice to meet you. This is Rory.”
He shook hands with the guy who was blatantly staring at his date in front of his wife. What a dickhead.
Kane turned his attention to Rory, their hands still shaking. He could see the guy was processing. “Not sure we’ve met before. I hadn’t realized Gale was seeing anyone, or is this business?”
Gale laughed. “You should know better than to ask that, Kane. I like to keep people guessing.”
Kane was assessing the situation. Rory knew damn well the guy was aware of who he was. It was as clear and blinding as the diamonds dripping off of Ashleigh.
“You always were that way. I’ll let you get back to your dinner. Ashleigh and I had an early date night while my mother has the kids.”
“It’s always nice to get out,” she said.
The minute the McGregors were out of sight, Rory asked, “Why didn’t you give my last name?”
“Because he knows who you are. I like people to think they’ve got the upper hand. It’s better to see what cracks and crawls out.”
“That’s where you and I are different. I’m not afraid to shake some trees if I need to.”
“I know. But be careful,” Gale said. “He came over to the table for a reason. I noticed his wife halfway out the door before he pulled her over.”
“Oh, so it wasn’t only me that picked up on her annoyance that Kane was checking you out?”
She leaned in closer. “Some men can’t help themselves with me, but anyone who cheats, lies, steals, or pisses me off, they better take cover.”
“Guess that’s something else that is good to know.”