9. Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
Kat gave the Burroughs’ attorney a firm handshake and the older couple, already outside and climbing into their Mercedes, a brief wave. She closed the door and turned to face Adam and Danny, who sat side by side on the couch. Did they have any idea how alike they looked? They shared the same intense dark blue eyes, the same stubborn chin, even matching ears. On Danny, the ears were too big, but it was clear looking at Adam that Danny would grow into them.
“I wish I could say that went well,” Kat began, crossing the room to reclaim her armchair. “But we all know that’s not true.”
She sighed in frustration. Danny refused to talk, and Adam refused to listen. He refused to admit that Danny might possibly do better with someone else. She understood his commitment to his brother’s last wishes, but at the same time wanted to shake him. When would he concede that something had to change? How many years would it take?
She addressed her next words directly to Danny, who stared at her but gave no hint of his emotions. “Let me be honest,” she said. “Right now they make an excellent case for themselves.”
Adam’s mouth tightened but he didn’t interrupt .
“Do you want to fight this?” asked Kat.
“Of course I want to fight,” snapped Adam. “That’s the whole point.”
“I wasn’t asking you,” Kat replied, her voice calm and her eyes on Danny, who looked down at the table.
They both waited for any kind of sign from Danny, but Adam lost his patience first.
“Evan and Lainey only ever asked me to do this one thing,” he said, his voice low and strained, “and I’m not going to let them down. I’m not going to let her parents railroad me because they feel like they know best. Danny stays with me.”
Kat kept her eyes on Danny, looking for any sign of his thoughts or feelings, but he gave nothing away.
“Adam, would you mind giving Danny and me a moment alone?”
There. It wasn’t much, just a flicker of his eyes up to her own and then back down again. She had startled him. Good. At least she knew he was in there somewhere. He was aware of the world around him, even if he chose not to engage.
When Adam didn’t respond right away, she gave him a hard look, raised one eyebrow.
“Why don’t you go wait in the car. I’ll bring Danny out when we’re finished.”
The unspoken question was, Do you trust me?
Adam studied her, but she didn’t look away. Finally he nodded and rose to leave.
“I’ll be waiting,” he said. The bell jangled as he pulled the door shut behind him.
Kat relaxed back in her chair and studied Danny. After a minute, he got tired of staring at the table and looked up at her. She cocked her head to one side and gave Danny a smile.
“You don’t say much, but you listen.”
She waited a long time for an answer. Finally he gave her a slow nod .
What she wouldn’t give for a window into that brain. She needed to know more about Danny and what he wanted. Forget about the grown-ups. Danny held all the cards, if only he would show his hand.
“Do you understand that Adam and your grandparents are about to start a tug of war with you in the middle?”
He shrugged.
“Okay. You don’t care. That’s fine. You can go along for the ride on this one.”
He looked surprised, as if he thought Kat would require him to have an opinion.
“Here’s what I need you to understand,” she continued. “If you care about where you live and who you live with, you need to tell me.”
He shrugged again.
“Right, Got it. You don’t care. But there may come a day when you do care.” Kat let that idea sink in for a moment. “When that day comes—because it will, eventually—I need to know. I can’t help you get what you want if you don’t tell me. You need to speak up. Do you understand?”
Kat studied him for a long minute, trying to assess whether or not he was really listening.
He nodded, more firmly this time. He almost smiled, which made Kat wonder once again what was going on in that brain of his.
She smiled, too—the real kind of smile, not the professional kind.
“Good.” She stood and walked over to the credenza. On the top, beside a fan of brochures about her law practice, sat a stack of business cards. Kat picked one up, turned it over, and wrote her cell number on the back. Then she handed the card to Danny.
“Here’s my card. If you decide that you have an opinion about where you’d like to live, or who you’d like to live with, you call me. I’ll make it happen.”
He stood up, his poker face back on, and shoved the card into the front pocket of his jeans.
“You know how to use a phone, right?” asked Kat, wanting confirmation before she let him go. He was just young enough that he might not know how to call her.
He nodded again. Wow. Three nods and two shrugs. This was almost a real conversation.
“Good,” she said. “You call me if you need me. Now let’s get you out to the car. Your uncle must be wondering what we’re talking about.”
Together they walked out to the car. Danny had his windbreaker to protect him, but Kat found herself wishing she had grabbed her blazer.
She spoke to Adam through the window while Danny climbed into the back seat and buckled up.
“Anything I need to know?” he asked. Kat smiled at him, then winked at Danny in the back seat.
“Sorry, Adam,” she said. “Attorney-client privilege and all that.”
Adam looked like he was going to insist on full disclosure, but Kat put up a hand to forestall any further questions.
“I wanted to make sure that Danny understands the seriousness of the situation. He does.”
When Adam still didn’t look satisfied, Kat decided to nudge him out of his comfort zone.
“Why don’t you get Danny back to school and then meet me back here. I’ll take you to Lucy’s for a cup of coffee and we can talk about next steps.”
She gave him her warmest smile and stepped back, taking his ‘yes’ for granted. As she had hoped, he went along with her suggestion rather than continuing to press her for details in front of Danny .
“Right. I’ll be back in ten minutes,” he said.
As she watched him drive away, she tried to dampen her rising anticipation. He had agreed to coffee at Lucy’s. This would add a personal dimension to their otherwise purely professional relationship. She wouldn’t call it a date—couldn’t, in fact—but it was a step in the right direction. All she had to do was not screw it up.
Callie parked on Main Street in front of the diner. She had played her very first gig at the diner the summer she had turned eleven, and it didn’t look like much had changed since then. She leaned back in the driver’s seat and stared at the carved wooden sign hanging above one of the doors in the row of shops. ‘The Law Office of Katherine Rodriguez’ occupied the storefront between ‘Lucy’s Diner’ and ‘BJ’s Flowers and Found Objects.’ It seemed right at home, tucked under the classy green awning.
Could it really be the same Kitty Rodriguez?
Never in a million years would Callie have imagined Kitty as a lawyer. A trophy wife, maybe, or a model, but a lawyer? Kitty had been the ‘Jolene’ of their generation. She could have had any man—okay, at the time it would have been ‘boy’—she wanted, and she had broken most of the good-looking hearts in town. The rest of the girls had simply picked through the wreckage. Things had changed after her mom died and she moved away. Callie had never heard where she ended up. Back home, apparently.
Callie struggled to imagine Kitty building a life on her own, rather than attaching herself to a powerful man, but she couldn’t quite picture it. Then again, Callie would never have imagined submerging her own dreams in order to support Brian’s agenda, so who was she to judge?
This certainly complicated things. If Jim Stephens had retired, and Kitty Rodriguez was now the only lawyer in town, Callie might need to look elsewhere for advice. Jim had been an old friend of the family. She had imagined approaching him informally, asking for help understanding her legal obligations to the band, and—the really scary part—her options for a graceful exit, maybe a year or two down the road. But Callie couldn’t imagine having that same conversation with Kitty. She wanted advice from a friend. No matter how much water had flowed under the bridge since high school, Kitty would never be an ‘old friend.’
Why did everything have to change? Home was supposed to be her firm foundation, frozen in time. The idea of home had anchored her amid the crazy chaos of the music business, but the once-solid ground now kept shifting beneath her feet. Jim Stephens had retired. Kitty Rodriguez had grown up to be a lawyer. And Callie James had come running home when life got tough. Throw in her scraggly dog and broken-down Bronco, and she could write a great country song about her own sorry life.
She sat in the car for a few more minutes, pondering her next move. There must be a lawyer in one of the nearby towns. So what if she had to drive a little farther for advice? It would still be easier than trying to start fresh with Kitty. Between Google and the local phone book, she should be able to scrounge up a few candidates.
As she sat there, the door to Kitty’s office opened and Kitty herself stepped out, looking amazing in some kind of power-lawyer getup. The slim lines of the suit showed off her still-spectacular curves. The wind whipped at the bottom of her skirt and mussed her casually upswept dark hair. She looked like a supermodel at a photo shoot: high heels, relaxed stance, thousand-yard stare, and a complete lack of self-consciousness. Callie didn’t like to compare herself to this vision. Her casual, bohemian look couldn’t compete, and that was completely ignoring the fact that she stood almost a foot shorter. A foot narrower, too, if she took her meager bra size into account.
Kitty raised a hand in greeting to a man who was getting out of his car. He had parked a few spaces down from Callie, and she couldn’t tell who it was yet. Her view was blocked by the other cars. He strode toward Kitty, took the steps two at a time, and stopped when he reached her.
Callie inhaled sharply. Adam and Kitty? She slouched down, willing herself to be invisible, and waited to see if they would embrace, or kiss, or drop any kind of hint as to the nature of their relationship. A rush of possessive anger surprised her, and she gave herself a swift mental kick. If he wanted to spend time with Kitty, it was nobody’s business but his own.
As she watched them interact, Callie marveled at the change in Kitty. The old Kitty had flirted as naturally as she had breathed. Sexual energy had infused all her interactions with men. But the new Kitty stood tall. She didn’t flutter in response to Adam’s arrival. She met him eye-to-eye and held herself as his equal. The transformation was remarkable, particularly since Callie considered Adam a prime example of the male species.
God, it was good to see him again. She could watch him all day. All night, too, if she could figure out a way to make it happen. She smiled grimly to herself. He had made that comment the other day about how hard it had been to watch her walk away, and she just couldn’t get it out of her head. He was the one who had done the leaving, not her. If she didn’t get a grip, she would soon cross the line from fondly nostalgic into stalker-land, and wouldn’t the tabloids have fun with that? Still, she couldn’t help feeling a shiver of awareness as he pulled open the door to Lucy’s and gestured for Kitty to step inside. She would never forget the feeling of those hands on her body.
Callie let out her breath as the two disappeared inside Lucy’s, leaving her to mull over her options. She could sit here in her car all day, pouting about the collapse of her half-baked plan, or she could go home and come up with something better.
Or, if she were feeling bold, she could go into Lucy’s to pick up some doughnuts and casually bump into them. Maybe things with Kitty wouldn’t be weird after all this time. Maybe Kitty was the perfect person to help her. Maybe Kitty would explain that Adam was only her client….
Callie snorted, imagining the scene. No way could she pull that off. Her sister Mel would do it in a heartbeat, but Callie lacked the necessary swagger. Performing in front of thousands of people? No problem. Gracefully handling awkward social situations? Not going to happen.
A knock on the car window had Callie jumping out of her skin. She found herself eyeball to eyeball with a less-than-prime example of the male species, Larry Hutchinson. With no clear escape route, she lowered the driver’s side window.
“Hi, Hutch.” She couldn’t muster much enthusiasm for the greeting. Hutch’s sudden appearance, combined with the cold air flowing in through the window, chased away any lingering warmth of sexual awareness. He was the human equivalent of a cold shower.
“Miss Callie James,” said Hutch. “I heard a rumor you were back in town.”
“Just for a visit,” she clarified. “A short visit.”
“Let’s grab a cup of coffee,” he suggested. “I’ve always wanted to go on a date with a rock star. We can catch up on old times.”
“Ah, Hutch, I’m not a rock star. We play country music. And we’re not even that famous.”
He shrugged.
“Close enough for me,” he said. “You’re on the radio, right? ”
“Um, yes.” She scrambled for a graceful exit. “But I have some…errands I need to take care of this morning.”
“Right,” he drawled. “I guess we’ll have to catch up another time.”
How much could there be to catch up on? Larry still sported the same leather jacket that he had worn in high school. Same slicked-back hairstyle. Same moves (the casual lean, the knowing wink). Unlike Kitty, he hadn’t changed much in the past ten years.
“I see you’re still driving the old Bronco,” he observed.
She sighed. If she were honest, she hadn’t changed much, either. Same car. Same hairstyle. But she still didn’t want to have coffee with him.
“Yep, this baby’s still going strong after all these years,” she answered weakly.
“So, what brings you to Main Street?” he asked. “Looking for Jim Stephens?”
How could he know that?
“No, of course not,” scrambled Callie. “I was going to pick up some flowers for my Mom, but I just realized I left my wallet at home.”
Her purse was sitting there on the passenger seat. He looked at it, then looked back at her.
“Right,” he said again. “I hate it when that happens. I won’t keep you then.”
He straightened up, and she started the car.
“If you do decide to look up Jim Stephens, you’ll need to go to Phoenix. He left for warmer weather ages ago.”
“Oh.”
“Kat’s a great lawyer, though.” Again with the winking. “If you need one.”
“Thanks,” replied Callie weakly. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind—if I ever need a lawyer.”
Larry leaned back against the car next to hers and crossed his arms, watching her back out of the parking space. She held her breath until she was safely away. What a disaster. Even if Larry had no connection to Nashville, the last thing she needed right now was local gossip about why she might be looking for a lawyer. Her life was complicated enough.
“So what can I do to convince you that Danny should stay with me?” demanded Adam as he and Kat sat down at a table for two at Lucy’s. Kat stared at him for a moment, blinking, as a dozen inappropriate replies chased through her mind. She busied herself with hanging her jacket neatly over the back of the chair. Adam didn’t need flirting right now. He needed professional reassurance.
It was mid-morning, and there were only a handful of other patrons at the tiny diner, mostly retired police officers sitting at the counter listening to the scanner. As long as she and Adam kept their voices low, they could discuss the details of the case in relative privacy.
“Honestly,” she began, “I don’t think there’s much more you can do. You’ve already made major life changes. You’ve left the intensity of your old job behind. You’re putting down roots, for you and for Danny. It’s not like you can magically conjure up a wife and a few ready-made siblings.”
“You think my marital status is a problem?”
Kat hesitated. From her perspective, it was a huge bonus, but that had nothing to do with the case.
“It’s not so much a disadvantage as an unknown. Danny’s grandparents are the picture of stability. They’ve been married for more than thirty years. Your single status, on the other hand, implies a period of uncertainty for Danny as you date, and then adjustment when you find the woman you’d like to marry. ”
“So I won’t date,” he shrugged.
Kat snorted. She couldn’t help it.
“For a while,” he qualified.
This was not the solution that she would recommend.
“Putting your personal life on hold is one option, I suppose,” she said carefully, “but not exactly a healthy example for Danny.”
“And yet I don’t see the dating scene as particularly kid-friendly.”
Kat leaned across the table.
“It’s not as if you would take Danny with you to a singles bar,” she said. “You’re entitled to your private life.” She met his eyes. This was her moment to plant the seed, if she could only play it right. “There are a number of single women in the area. Smart, attractive, single women. I’m sure you could persuade at least one of them to date you.”
She leaned back slowly, holding eye contact. Surely he couldn’t miss her implication.
At that exact moment Lucy interrupted them.
“What can I get for you kids?” she chirped.
And just like that, the moment evaporated. Kat closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning to Lucy with a bright smile.
“Coffee for me,” said Kat.
“And me,” said Adam.
“That’s it? No doughnuts?” asked Lucy, looking offended. She was famous for her doughnuts.
“Two please,” said Kat, before Adam could decline. The extra calories were well worth staying in Lucy’s good graces. “Chocolate frosting, with sprinkles,” she added, figuring she might as well go all the way.
Adam raised an eyebrow at her as Lucy walked back behind the counter to hunt up the doughnuts and the coffee pot.
“The price of good public relations,” explained Kat. The chocolate should also help ease the frustration of Lucy’s poorly timed interruption. “Look, Adam, all I’m saying is that you can be a parent and still have a social life. I wouldn’t advise dating someone new every week, but you don’t need to isolate yourself either. Just set a good example for Danny.” She hesitated, then plowed forward. “At some point, you’ll want a partner—and Danny will need a mother.”
She held her breath, wondering if she had crossed the line. Adam remained silent for so long that she figured she had blown it. Finally he spoke.
“I understand that Danny needs to be a part of a family again, at some point, but I’m not sure he’s ready yet.” He rubbed away the deep furrows between his eyebrows. “I know I’m not ready, but one day I’d like to be able to give him the same kind of stability that Evan and Lainey were building together. Two parents that he can rely on. A little brother or sister. Family dinners every night. The real deal.”
Kat slowly released her breath, not sure what to say. It was the most personal thing he had ever shared with her, but she could see from the way he straightened up in his seat that sharing time was over.
Before Kat could reply, the door opened and Larry Hutchinson strolled in. He sauntered over to the counter and took a seat near the posse of retired officers. Not too near, of course, given his awkward history with local law enforcement, but close enough to eavesdrop on the scanner. His overly casual demeanor tipped off Kat right away: Hutch was on the job. She had no idea what local squabble could possibly require the services of the town’s only private investigator, but everyone in town could tell when he had a paying gig because he started to take himself very seriously. It would be entertaining if he weren’t, well, Hutch.
Any hope of recapturing the moment evaporated with Hutch’s arrival. Kat realized she was grinding her teeth and unclenched her jaw. Lucy returned, placing a small plate with two doughnuts between them and filling their mugs with steaming coffee.
“Cream and sugar’s on the table,” she said. Then she winked at Kat. “I’ll give you two kids some privacy.” She hustled back behind the counter to listen more closely to a burst of chatter on the scanner. Kat sighed. At Lucy’s, it didn’t matter how many degrees she had, or how many clients. She was still twelve.
“She thinks this is a date,” stated Adam, his eyes following Lucy. “Why?”
“Please don’t take it personally,” said Kat. “Lucy has tried to pair me up at one time or another with every unmarried man in town under the age of fifty. And a few over fifty, now that I think about it. She’s just trying to be helpful.”
Adam was new to small-town life. Though he had spent summers here, he had grown up closer to the city. More kids had attended his high school than lived in the entire village of Hidden Springs. There was little she could do to ease his feelings of paranoia. Everybody really was watching him.
“So we’re starting rumors by having a cup of coffee together?”
“I wouldn’t—”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“What?”
“Going out in public together. I don’t want to give people, particularly the judge, the wrong impression.”
“Really, Adam, I wouldn’t be concerned about local speculation. There’s nothing improper about having a cup of coffee together.”
“But why risk it?” he asked. “I don’t want to have to start from scratch with a new GAL.”
Kat separated herself from the unexpected hurt his words caused her. She tamped down on the flash of anger toward Lucy, who didn’t deserve it and was only trying to help. This twist in her insides was her own fault. She had allowed her craving for a personal relationship to take precedence over the work at hand. Lawyer first, then life. She knew the rules.
“I understand your concern, although I don’t share it.” The words came out evenly, masking her growing frustration, but she couldn’t help the tight edge that crept in. “This type of local speculation is very different from caught-in-the-act photos of you and some one-night-stand downtown.”
She paused a moment to let her words sink in and to get a firm grip on her temper.
“For the moment,” she continued, “let’s enjoy our coffee and doughnuts. We’ll fuel a lot more gossip by leaving abruptly than by finishing our coffee. After all, we have a professional relationship that provides a perfectly reasonable explanation for having coffee together.”
Adam looked like he wanted to argue, but he kept his mouth shut. Given her darkening mood, that was a smart move. She shifted gears, trying to move away from the touchy subject of dating and relationships.
“Why don’t you tell me how things are going at home? Maybe we can think of a new way to get through to Danny.”
Adam’s obstinate expression reminded her so much of Danny that she couldn’t help smiling. Some of her frustration slipped away. She shook her head at his questioning look.
“Maybe if you put yourself in Danny’s shoes…” she suggested. “Imagine that you’re the one grieving and that you don’t want to talk to anyone. What would be important enough to get you to speak up?” she asked.
“Basketball,” he said thoughtfully.
She cocked her head to one side at the non-sequitur.
“Evan and I used to play basketball together,” he explained. “We never had heart-to-heart talks like girls do, but basketball seemed to work when things got tough. I never really thought about trying that with Danny. He’s still so small, and I don’t have the setup.”
“But you can fix that,” she observed, smiling slowly.
“Yes, I can,” agreed Adam.
For the first time that morning, he gave her a genuine smile. Kat held on to a tiny thread of hope, both for Danny and for herself.