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He’d filed the paperwork, but he was having a hard time putting himself in the middle of it right now. He just did what his clients wanted, after all. It wasn’t like he had any dogs in this fight.
“What does that mean?” she asked.
Despite her wanting him to spell things out, he knew this wasn’t her first dealing with the courts. When her dad died, he left behind a will, making each sibling equal partner with their mom in the dude ranch business. They’d had to go to court to deal with some creditors who put claims on the property.
Clayton hated to admit he’d paid some attention to the details when he’d heard town gossip, but even as intrigued as he was by Georgia and her family, he’d stopped short of researching what had happened after. It was none of his business.
“It means that the Knott brothers retained me to help,” Clayton said. “We filed a complaint—it’s a civil matter. You and your family will need to retain a lawyer to act on your behalf.”
He really shouldn’t be talking to her. He knew better. He could have hired a process server to deliver the complaint. Something had driven him to get up that morning and put a little extra attention into his post-shower routine. He’d dressed in his nicest plaid button-down shirt and blue jeans and headed straight to Cupid Ridge Dude Ranch.
He’d known fully well at that hour who he’d run into. But he’d expected to knock on the door and have her open it to him, not find her standing on the front porch in her PJs.
It was time to admit he had a crush on Georgia Ludington. It was a crush that’d lasted for years, and it was pathetic. She wasn’t even allowed to look at him, or so it seemed. But that hadn’t stopped him from admiring her.
“So, you’re the Knott family attorney?” she asked.
Again, he stared at her, speechless. Still trying not to be speechless, though.
“They hired me to take on this case, yes.”
Hadn’t he mentioned that before? He couldn’t remember. She’d scrambled his brainwaves so much that morning just by making eye contact with him for the first time ever.
“And it’s normal for the attorney for the other side to deliver paperwork that helps the defendant?” she asked.
“I prefer to call you the respondent,” he said. “You’re not on trial. It’s a civil dispute that’s best decided by a judge, but nobody’s going to jail.”
“Or losing a home?” she asked. “Because it sounds like that’s what can happen here.”
“I’m sure an arrangement can be made that you keep the property—the part you’re using, anyway.”
“We’re using all of it,” she said. “We run a dude ranch, remember?”
Yeah, he remembered. He also knew her dude ranch brought quite a bit of business into Cupid Ridge. No way would Judge Page agree to something that would put those city tourism dollars at risk.
“Look, I can’t advise you beyond telling you to get an attorney,” he said. “I can make a recommendation. I have a colleague who?—”
“That won’t be necessary,” she interrupted.
Of course, it wouldn’t. The Ludingtons had an attorney. There were two other attorneys in town and a big law firm in a suburban community twenty minutes away. He was guessing they’d go with the suburban one. That’s what he’d do if he was in their shoes. They charged more, but they could squash a case like this on some small technicality.
Of course, he wouldn’t refer her to them. She might render him speechless whenever she was around, but she didn’t render him completely foolish. If she asked his advice, he’d offer an attorney who might work with him to somehow get the families to compromise.
Still watching him, Georgia lowered her arms and walked toward him again. She stood at the edge of his desk a moment before looking to her left. Finally, she shrugged out of her coat, setting it on the farthest of the two guest chairs in front of his desk. She plopped down on the one closest to the door.
“So,” she said, and he braced himself for whatever was about to come next. “What do we do to make this go away?”
Again, Clayton found himself staring at her, but not for the previous reasons. This time, he was trying to figure out what her angle was. Did she think she could bribe him somehow? Even though he wasn’t making much off this case—he’d given the Knotts a discount because they were like family—he wouldn’t compromise his ethics for anyone or anything.
“You go to court,” he said. “Or you get an attorney who works with me to settle the case. Those are your two choices.”
Her smile fell and her expression hardened a little, but it seemed like a false front. She was playing brave, but she was worried. He could see it in her eyes.
Clayton took a deep breath and let it out. “I can talk to the brothers and see if they’ll withdraw the complaint, but I can’t make any promises.”
He could talk to the Knott family, sure. But in the end, his loyalty was with them, not the brunette beauty seated in front of him.
Georgia took a deep breath again and slowly let it out. It sounded shaky, and that in itself went straight to his heart. Yeah, he’d have to watch out for this woman. She had the power to get him to do things that went against his best interests as an attorney.
