You’re coming out with us this afternoon. That’s all there is to it.” Hayden stood in the doorway, arms crossed, on her face a determined look Emilie had seen enough times to know protesting wouldn’t accomplish a thing.
“I have to pack.” A Monday-morning deposition of a client in Virginia Beach meant she would fly south Sunday afternoon, then back for a hearing first thing Tuesday morning. In the middle of all that she had to gain traction on her investigative piece for the Nation’s Post. It felt like all the balls she juggled were one false step from crashing on her.
“It doesn’t take that long to pack for an overnight business trip, and you have to eat.”
Emilie knew she shouldn’t argue with a fellow attorney. “I don’t want to be a third wheel. You and Andrew go have a great time wherever you have plans. I’ll be fine here.” In her comfy yoga pants with a pint of black cherry chocolate ice cream.
“Nope. Plans changed. Jaime and Caroline are on their way to meet us at the Union House. We’ll get some beer cheese and burgers, sit outside, and let the breeze from the Potomac cool us.”
“You mean we’ll fry in the afternoon sun.”
“When winter is here and you’re perpetually frozen, you’ll look back on this excursion with warm memories.” Hayden tugged Emilie to her feet. “Come on. It’ll be good for all of us to get our weekly dose of vitamin D.”
Emilie laughed as she let Hayden pull her to her closet. “You are creative.”
“What?” Hayden turned to her with an innocent expression. “You didn’t see that 10 percent of Americans are short on this vital nutrient?”
“All right, I’m coming. Let me change in peace.”
Twenty minutes later, Emilie straightened her jean skirt and then looked in the mirror and swiped on some rosy lip gloss. She’d decided to go for an easy breezy look, pulling her hair into a small messy bun. She stepped into strappy sandals, then headed upstairs. Sunlight streamed through the gauzy curtains on the windows.
Hayden was reading in a wing chair in a puddle of light.
“You ready?” Emilie poured a glass of water and drank it while she waited for her roommate to set her Kindle aside.
“That took longer than I expected, but wow. You know we’re just meeting the girls for a late lunch, right?”
“Yep. I felt the need to do more than run a brush through my hair.” Her mother had taught her the importance of being ready at every moment for whomever you might run into. In this town, it could be anyone from a cabinet member to a congressman, with a few lobbyists and important bureaucrats thrown in. Emilie slipped her cross-body purse over her head. “Ready to roll.”
When they stepped outside, the air-conditioned coolness gave way to the heavy warmth of DC. The messy bun alone might not be enough to keep her hair from escaping into reluctant coils. Humidity did not favor those with wavy hair. Still . . . “You were right.”
Hayden kept her gaze forward, but Emilie could feel her curiosity. “About what?”
“The sunshine feels great.”
“It should. I love you, Em, but sometimes that basement seems like a cave rather than the retreat you claim. I still can’t understand why you let me live on that sunny second floor.”
They’d had quite an argument when Hayden moved in, and Emilie had given up trying to explain why she felt so safe and secure in her little world below ground. It also helped fend off distractions when she needed to settle in and focus on a story or legal argument. Plug in her headphones, light a candle or two, and all she could see was the task in front of her. For some reason that was easier in her basement suite than in Hayden’s upstairs area.
By the end of the few blocks’ walk over to the Union Street restaurant, sweat rolled between her shoulder blades, and Emilie was ready to chuck the dose of Vitamin D for a tall glass of water and some air-conditioning. “It will be good to get inside.”
“We’ll see.” Hayden’s smile was oddly mysterious. It wasn’t a look that telegraphed she was deep in thought about a legal puzzle she needed to solve. More likely it meant she was thinking about Andrew.
The hostess asked for their names.
“We’re meeting some friends, and I see them.” Hayden did her take-charge thing and swept past tables filled with guests, her shoes clicking against the dark wood floor. She reached the far side of the restaurant, where the floor changed to black-and-white tile and the walls were a stark white. It felt stiffer and less welcoming than the natural wood and brick in the main space.
Emilie, trying to keep up, suddenly stopped when a diner slid back his chair without looking to see if anyone was coming. He smiled a quick apology, and she realized it was Reid Billings—well, if she’d been right about him at the funeral. “Are you Reid?”
He looked at her, eyes narrowing before he forced a smile. “Yes.”
“Emilie Wesley.”
“Kaylene’s attorney.” He settled back. “I owe you a call.”
“You do.” She felt something in his gaze pull at her. Did her eyes mirror the wells of pain she saw in his? She dipped her chin to say it was all right. Hayden cleared her throat, and Emilie smiled apologetically. “I need to join my friends.” She quickly closed the distance to the table where the other women waited.
“Getting run over by a chair is one way to meet a handsome guy.” Caroline Bragg stood for hugs, her words thick with Southern honey. “Can you introduce us?”
Emilie looked back toward Kaylene’s brother. He had a sophisticated air, but the stubble on his face lent a carelessness to his demeanor. His untucked polo and khaki cargo shorts gave him an unconcerned-about-impressions appearance. But the circles beneath his eyes suggested there was more going on. He caught her looking at him, and a slow smile creased his face.
Hayden tugged Caroline into a hug, breaking Emilie’s focus. “We have got to find you a guy to call your own.” She glanced back the way they’d come. “But you’re right. He’d be a good candidate.”
“All in due time. The judge keeps me hopping.” Caroline looked ready for a pleasant afternoon outside. Her perfect sundress showed off her slim figure, and she wore a wide-brimmed hat that would shield her from any hint of sun that dared slip inside. She sank onto her chair and took a sip from a glass of iced tea that had condensation running down the outside.
Jaime Nichols, on the other hand, looked more than ready for a day far away from humid Virginia. Her black hair had corkscrewed around her head, and her glasses threatened to slip down her nose. “I’m so glad someone invented air-conditioning.” She stood for quick hugs, then sat back down.
Angela Thrasher smiled from her chair. “It’s good to see you, Emilie.” She shifted but didn’t stand, twirling a straw through the glass in front of her. She seemed distracted as she adjusted her cardigan. The thin woman was always cold.
Emilie nodded, still trying to get used to the fact that Hayden had hauled her former friendly rival at Elliott & Johnson into their circle. “Nice to see you again, Angela.”
“We’re almost all here.” Hayden pulled another chair to their table and sank onto it.
Emilie frowned as she looked at her cadre plus one. “Who’s missing?”
“Savannah. She wants to catch up with everyone, and this was the perfect time.” Hayden had a self-satisfied tilt to her head. “She’s scheming and wants to share something with us.”
Jaime frowned, Angela looked unconcerned, and Caroline commented that it would be good to see their law school mentor. Savannah Daniels had provided a safe place for Hayden to land when her firm had unceremoniously fired her a few months before. Hayden’s efforts to build her own base of clients was taking shape and turning into a success, thanks to the older woman. And from what Emilie had heard, Angela was starting to have similar success. What would it be like to have someone believe in her like Savannah believed in them?
The ambient noise of music playing in the background, along with the conversations ricocheting off the tile and wood floors, provided a noisy background that settled over her. She sank onto an empty chair. “It’s good to be here.”
Hayden grinned at all of them and leaned on the table. “Andrew’s taking me to the Kennedy Center tomorrow night for an off-Broadway show.”
“That explains why you were suddenly free today.” Emilie placed her drink order and then set the white cloth napkin across her lap. It was nice to be with the girls.
“That sounds fun, Hayden. Andrew is so good to you.” Caroline practically swooned in her chair.
“He is.”
Jaime took a sip of her water. “How are you doing, Emilie? What a week for you.” The words were right, but her shoulders were stiff and her gaze distant.
“It wasn’t my best.” Emilie leaned forward, trying to meet Jaime’s gaze. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. I want to know how you are.”
“Not so good.” Emilie was relieved when Savannah chose that moment to arrive in a swirl of skirts and energy.
Her arrival distracted everyone until new hugs had been exchanged. Then Savannah settled on the chair next to Emilie, turned toward her, and with great concern asked, “How are you?”
Reid swiped another fry through the mound of salted ketchup on his plate. So that was what Kaylene’s attorney looked like. There was a vivacity to her that didn’t come across in website photos. The question was whether she could help him. He pushed the thought away to consider later, when he was alone. This was the first real meal he’d had since Brandon had brought him Chinese earlier in the week, and his stomach demanded he give the food the attention it deserved. Amazing how a guy could live on Clif Bars and Powerade.
Brandon wolfed down another big bite of his double cheeseburger with extra bacon, then wiped a napkin across his face. “So, you know that woman?”
Reid paused, the fry halfway to his mouth. “What woman?”
Brandon jerked his chin toward a table by the wall. “The one you ran over with your chair. She’s focused on you.”
Reid returned her stare, noting the blush that crept up her neck in response. She was cute, with her hair pulled up in a casual way, a few blonde strands escaping around her face. He looked away. Then he looked again.
A chuckle pulled his attention from her to the oaf across from him.
“Should I get her number for you?”
Reid maturely kicked him in the shin under the table. “I’ve already got it, actually.”
Brandon looked surprised. “What will you do with it?”
“Not much. I don’t have your beefy charm.”
That elicited another guffaw from his friend. “It’s all these leftover football muscles.”
Leftover nothing. Brandon remained friendly with the local gym, a carry-over from his playing days, but a discipline not all his former teammates had adopted.
“I need to tell you what I found.” As they ate, Reid filled him in on the boxes and letter from Kaylene.
“So what did she mean? ‘Take care of the girls’?”
“I’m not sure.” Reid dipped the last fry in his ketchup. “I knew she wasn’t happy, but she wouldn’t talk about it. Guess it wasn’t something her unmarried baby brother was supposed to understand.” Except she’d written the letter—but then tucked it in a place he might not discover for a long time.
“Someone’s got to know.” Brandon leaned forward. “If she didn’t talk to you, who would she have talked to?”
“Her attorney.” Reid’s gaze slipped over to the table filled with women, who were now hugging an older woman who had just arrived.
“Kaylene had an attorney?”
“Yes. In fact, that woman I ‘ran over’ is her attorney.”
“Then I’d go talk to her.”
“She’s out with friends. And I need to pray about it first. I’ll call her first thing Monday.” It was the weekend, after all, and while he worked crazy hours, chances were good she wouldn’t get his message until then. Attorneys didn’t exactly serve on call. “I’ll leave a message, then head to the hospital. Robert hasn’t returned my calls, but maybe he’s too busy with Kinley. I want to see how she’s doing. I’d like to learn when Kaydence’s funeral is too.”
They finished the meal with a minimum of conversation. Brandon washed down his burger with the remnants of his watery Coke. “Ready to go?”
Reid nodded and stood. With one last glance at Emilie, he followed his friend from the restaurant and back to the questions that dogged him.