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The door cracks open, and Callie peeks in. “Coffee. And an almond croissant.”
I’m not hungry, but she’s sweet to bring it. “Thanks.”
She sets the coffee and roll on my desk. “Black, right?”
“The only way to drink coffee.” I take the plastic lid off and inhale. “Rita makes a good cup. Doesn’t beat my mom’s, though.”
“Yeah. Alyssa said no one else is allowed to make coffee here.”
I can’t help a chuckle. “That sounds like Mom. She swears no one can make it like she does. So, Callie to the rescue, huh?”
“Rather Rita to the rescue. And Ava. The croissants are from her place.”
“Ava nearly put Rita out of business when she opened up two years ago. Rita had to expand to a café, and her saving grace is that Ava doesn’t sell coffee.”
“Yeah, why is that, anyway?”
“Hell if I know. If I know Ava, it’s because she didn’t want to put Rita out of business. Ava is a champion of the underdog, including herself. She opened her place all on her own. Wouldn’t take any money from her parents.”
“Champion of the underdog, huh?”
“Yup.” I take a sip of the coffee. Delicious, but not the Jade Steel masterpiece. Hell of a lot better than the brown swill I drank at the hospital yesterday, though.
“I can believe that. She wouldn’t take money for the croissants.” Callie sighs.
“Ah… And you don’t want her feeling sorry for you because of what your family lost in the fire.”
“Bingo.”
“I get it. I do. But this is a small town. A friendly town. We take care of each other. And Ava’s been known to nurse baby birds back to health. She’s the caringest of all the Steels.”
“I don’t think caringest is a word. Did you see it on the bar exam or something?”
I smile. Damn, Callie Pike is adorable. “Legal licensing. We’re allowed to make up words. It’s in the handbook. About a quarter of the terms in Black’s Law Dictionary were made up by lawyers, and they caught on.”
“Right.” She shakes her head, smiling subtly.
“God, you’re cute. You know, there are actually women who would fall for that.”
She scoffs. “Not on my watch.”
“Nope, not on your watch. As for Ava, just take her gesture for what it is.”
“Charity?” Callie asks.
“No, Callie. Kindness. That’s Ava to a T.”
She sighs. “I know. Enjoy your coffee. I guess I’ll get back to work.”
“What are your plans for lunch?” I ask.
“Sitting in the park with my turkey sandwich. Unless it’s too chilly. Then sitting at my desk with my turkey sandwich.”
“Sounds like a plan. Call Ava and order a turkey sandwich for me. She knows what I like. I’ll join you.”
She laughs, shaking her head. “Turkey? Not Steel beef?”
“Hey, I’m a well-rounded eater. Plus…I like all meat. I really don’t have a preference among protein. Remember when I told you never to tell Dale and my dad that I’m not all that crazy about wine and bourbon?”
She nods.
“Don’t tell them I like turkey as much as beef, either. It’d kill them.”
“You’re something.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“That’s how it was meant.” She walks through the door. “Open or closed?”
“I have some calls to make, so closed.” Not calls so much as databases to explore and doctor.
God, what am I getting into?
Callie closes the door.
And I freeze.
Literally. Okay, not literally. As an attorney, I understand the power of a word’s actual meaning. But I seriously go numb. I want my fingers to get on the keyboard, to start tapping and searching.
But the magnitude of what I’m about to do freaks me out more than a little.
Dale. I need to call Dale. He’s probably at the winery with his Syrah. It’s nearly done fermenting, and he’s getting ready to age it, first in a barrel and then in bottles. I don’t know the actual process. The winery is usually full of noise. Will he even hear his phone?
I make the call on my cell.
“Yeah, Don?”
The sounds of the winery buzz in the background. “Sorry to bother you while you’re at work.”
“Not a bother. What’s up?”
“I’m here. In my new office, and Alyssa just set me up to access everything.”
“Yeah?”
“So it’s time. I have to figure out how to get Brendan out of the building and close down the bar for a few days.”
“And you’re having second thoughts.”
I scoff. “Of course I am! I’m an officer of the court, and I’m about to commit fraud. Plus…”
“What?”
“If we force Brendan to shut down the bar, he and his family lose several days of income.”
Silence for a moment. “Yeah,” Dale finally says. “I guess we didn’t consider that.”
“I know. I feel like shit about it. I just thought about it because Callie’s here. Ava gave her free croissants, and she took it the wrong way, of course. But it got me thinking. The Pikes have lost a lot of income this year. Do we want to do that to the Murphys?”
