That fit with the first encounter she’d had with Huffington as well. Bree didn’t like it, but she understood that all jobs had interpersonal politics. Another challenge to add to all she was dealing with.
Theresa Fairchild was the judge she hadn’t met yet. What really stuck in her mind besides Hank’s assessment that Fairchild was reserved but devoted to her job was that she’d been out of commission for several months because she’d been shot in the courthouse parking lot one evening about a year before, and the case was still unsolved. That had been disconcerting.
Bree considered that the job should come with hazardous duty and overtime pay. A glance at the clock made her realize how late it was getting. She was tired and ready to go home. She had one last memo she wanted to finish, so Bree grabbed it as she headed to the common lounge to rinse out her coffee mug.
Bree’s head was down, her attention buried in the memo as she entered the lounge. The shapely backside of a woman in dark dress slacks and a white blouse with her head in the refrigerator was the image presented to Bree when she looked up from her paperwork. As she watched, the woman backed up and turned around.
Bree’s heart leapt into her throat. She was looking into a pair of shocked hazel eyes.
“Bree!”
“Tess!”
The lounge resounded with their simultaneous surprised and thrilled exclamations.
“What are you doing here?” Tess’s tone carried a mix of spontaneous incredulity and delight. Bree had the same question.
“My new job—I’m a judge. You?” Bree replied.
“But the new judge’s name is Brianna O’Br…” Tess paused and shook her head as though she was trying to clear it.
Bree watched it dawn on Tess thatBreewas short forBrianna. Bree could only nod and then repeat her question. “You?”
“I’m Theresa Fairchild. Judge too.”
“And I thought it was Your Majesty. Never dreamed it wasYour Honor. And Theresa…Tess?” That made sense. Tess was the judge she hadn’t yet met.
“It’s so good to see you,” Tess smiled. “Really good.”
“I don’t know what to say.” The surprise of seeing Tess hit Bree. She felt a rush of pleasure, but then prudence crept in too. She hadn’t expected to see Tess again—she’d convinced herself that Tess was a vacation fling. She really liked Tess, but the timing could not be worse. “I’ve wondered who you really were and what you were doing.”
“Yes, me too. I came home a bit early. Tahoe wasn’t the same without you.”
“I probably would have felt the same,” Bree said as she continued to process the situation.
“I can’t believe we’re fellow judges.” A new thought seemed to hit Tess. “Being a good judge isn’t just about doing the usual job—it includes dealing with other workplace-related issues…like the appearance of impropriety.” Her voice trailed off.
Bree nodded. “I fully agree. What we had in Tahoe—I lovedit. But maybe there was a reason we agreed that what happened in Tahoe needed to stay in Tahoe.”
It was Tess’s turn to nod, a flash of sadness as well as caution entering her expression. “This could be complicated…coworkers in the same courthouse.”
“And I’m going to be honest. I’m feeling overwhelmed with just trying to make sure I succeed at this new life I’ve created for myself. I just moved up from LA. Plus, this job is a career shift from defense attorney to judge.”
Tess nodded again and swallowed. “If you need any advice or help, you know that I’m always happy to assist. I was a new judge once too.”
“So maybe we should have lunch sometime,” Bree managed to say before she did her best to offer Tess a smile and turn around to head home.
Tess hadn’t talked to Bree since that initial encounter in the courtroom lounge the other evening, but she’d spent a lot of time thinking about it. Tess was certain that both she and Bree had been surprised, but also elated to see each other again. It was incredible that Bree was right here in Corazon Cove. Right here working in the same courthouse as a colleague. She’d wished that Tahoe had not stayed in Tahoe, but this was so far beyond what she’d contemplated. She knew she wasn’t good at relationships, at personally interacting with most people, but this was Bree. And it was clear to her that Bree wasn’t ready to just pick up where they’d left off.
She could understand concerns about potential workplace circumstances that would have to be addressed. Those could be real concerns, but she and Bree weren’t at that point. Breehad only politely indicated that they might decide to have lunch sometime.
It crossed her mind that maybe Bree had only wanted her under those Tahoe guidelines, but she wanted to believe that wasn’t the case. At forty-seven, she should be doing a better job of handling this. She was letting her own insecurities overshadow the situation, and she didn’t want to let them dictate her life anymore.
Bree had mentioned being overwhelmed with all the new change in her life. And if Bree needed space, Tess needed to accept that. Bree hadn’t really rebuffed her. She’d reacted with the same shock that Tess had at what they’d discovered, and her initial response had conveyed that she was happy to see Tess again.
Maybe they needed to redefine their relationship—there was so much Tess didn’t know about Bree. The mature thing to do was to figure out how to deal with what she now knew, to come up with the best way to move forward. Maybe discussing things with Flo would help. Flo was always a good sounding board.
That was Tess’s state of mind as she entered the Steam Stop this Saturday morning. Flo waved from the table she’d claimed at the back of the room.
