Allan chuckled. “I haven’t heard that expression in years. Yes, he is. He led off by saying he could use my services. That didn’t work, so now he’s sent Legal Babe.”
Kate stared straight ahead and said nothing. The television droned on, unwatched.
“Kate?”
“Hm?”
“You’re not worried about this, are you?”
She turned to face him. “Lawyers work a lot of hours, don’t they?”
He nodded. “That’s part of why I gave it up.”
“I can’t manage the farm alone, Allan.”
“What makes you think you’ll have to?”
Her eyes probed his, questioning.
“Kate, this is likely to cost me a half-dozen meetings and a few hours reviewing legal documents. If it has me away from the farm for three full days all told, I’ll be really surprised.”
She nodded and started to turn away. He caught her chin and compelled her to remain facing him.
“Is that the only thing you’re worried about?”
Unreadable currents passed over her face.
It’s the woman. It has to be.
“Sweetheart, I’ll be working alongside you tomorrow morning till ten. I’ll be home by two PM at the latest. I might have to take the same sort of leave a few more times, but I swear to you, on my wedding vows, that I will not allow this, or Jack Taliaferro, or Schuyler Clarke to drag me back to the practice of law. I left it for good reasons, and I have even better ones to be here with you. Believe me? Please?”
“So why are you doing it at all?” she said.
“It’s an ethical obligation.” He stroked her cheek as he cast about for the right words. “Ted Guillory’s passing left a few people with unfinished work. They’ve paid for it, they deserve to have it completed, and it seems I’m the only guy around who can see to that. If they’d been my clients, and my death had left them high and dry, I’d certainly want someone else to step in and finish what I’d started. So I have to do this.” He swallowed. “To be a good Christian, if for no other reason.”
She nodded and fixed a thousand-yard stare on the television.
It’s not the farm, and it’s not the law. It’s the woman. But she’ll never say so.
He rose. “I have to make a quick trip into town. I’ll be back in an hour or so, okay?”
She nodded without looking at him, and he left.
* * *
Evenings To Remember was, thankfully, still open. Allan had never entered it before. He knew of it only from a conversation overheard as he left church. But if there was any establishment in Onteora that might sell what he sought, that would be the one.
He pushed open the door tentatively, uncertain what he might see. The interior of the shop was pleasantly lit, and the arrays of goods were approximately what he expected to find there: erotic lingerie and shoes, vibrators, bondage devices, and assorted other bedroom playthings. Though there was no concealing the nature of the place, nevertheless he found it more tasteful than he’d expected. He cast a quick glance over the racks without finding the specific item he needed.
A beautiful young woman in leather garments and high heels came out from behind the counter and ambled toward him, smiling pleasantly.
“Good evening and welcome to Evenings To Remember.” She held out a hand. “I’m Martine. May I help you with something?”
He took her hand and shook it gently. “Hello. I’ve never been here before, and I’m not sure you carry what I need.”
“Well,” she said, eyes twinkling, “that depends on your definition of ‘need.’” She waved at a card table in the corner, set with a china tea service and a plate of small white cakes. “Care to chat over a cup of tea?”
He shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
She pulled him gently toward the little table and seated him, took a seat for herself, and poured each of them a cup of tea. He sniffed it and smiled in appreciation.
“Earl Grey?”
She nodded. “My favorite. It goes really well with these cakes. Try one.”
He took a cake from the plate and nibbled off a corner. An exquisite blend of sweetness and spice, like a Christmas confection but with a subtle undertone of sensuality, spread through his palate. “Mmm! Your recipe?”
“No, taught to me by a friend.”
He smiled. “Hold onto that friend.” He finished the little cake with two more quick bites. “These are delightful.”
“Thank you. Now,” she said, reaching across the table to take his hand again, “what exactly is it that you need, and why would you think I might not carry it?”
Her eyes went wide as he told her.