Page 9 of Christy

Me: No problem, I can wait to start dinner. You’ve been trying to hire someone forever!

Max: Fingers crossed. Haley didn’t tell me who it was, just that I’d want to talk to this one. I think she finds too much enjoyment in driving me crazy.

Me: You’d be lost without her, and you know it. I’ll see you when you get here.

Max: See you.

Time for some reading while I wait. I’ve got three new books to dive into.

Max

Haley just left a few minutes ago, and she still wouldn’t tell me who’s interested in the position I’ve had open for a while. I’ve had plenty of applicants and even offered the position to a couple of people. One, an established attorney named Leah has joined my practice, but she’s currently on maternity leave. Even when she gets back, we really do need a third person to share the workload.

I have found an outstanding paralegal. Jamie is great and gets along with Haley. The two of them work well as a team and keep Leah and me organized and prepared for each case. I have a case starting in a couple of days, so, of course, my desk is covered with a mass of files. Yes, there is a lot online, but you have to be able to access things quickly in the courtroom, so I like to have files on hand as well. No one will ever be able to claim that I’m not prepared.

There’s a knock on my office door, and it opens. Jamie’s head pokes in. “Your interview is here. Here’s the file that Haley wouldn’t give you.” I grab the file from Jamie. I look inside, set it down immediately, and head to the front area. I look around the doorway. “Colton?” I get a smile as he stands up and walks over to me. I hold out my hand to shake his. He shakes my hand and speaks up. “I heard you were still looking for someone, andI’m interested.” This man is one of the most successful divorce attorneys in the county, so I’m gonna need to know why he’s willing to walk away from that.

“Well, come back to my office, and we can have a chat. You know I’m going to need more than that.” I turn to walk back to my office, and I hear Jamie call out, “I’m leaving for the day!”

I walk into my office, sit in my chair, lean back, and wait for Colton to start talking. He takes a seat across from me and leans back in the chair. He sighs and looks at me. “You know why I got into law.” I nod. We’d swapped our reasons for going into law back in college. We were in a few undergrad classes together, even though he was a couple of years ahead of me. Colton clasps his hands together. “Well, as much as I have done well and have a thriving practice, I don’t feel like I’m helping people in the way I want. I have more contentious divorces where whoever I’m representing just wants to get back at their soon-to-be ex because they’re mad at them, not because the other person treated them horribly or did something inexcusable. Sure, I’ve got clients where the other person cheated, which is horrible, but that’s…” I think I know what he’s getting at. “You aren’t helping people who were wrongly accused or who need a legitimate defense.” He nods empathically. “I wanted to take on cases of women and men getting out of domestic violence or other shitty situations, but those aren’t usually money makers, because—”

I interrupt him, “Because they usually don’t have money for an attorney.”

Colton sighs again. “Exactly. I don’t think I realized just how true that was till I started working. Fuck, if I’m honest, I think your uncle Erik is one of the few clients I’ve had that I feel even comes close to the type of client I thought I’d have when I was in law school. I have plenty of work, but it’s not what I want to be doing. Hell, it’s not why I went to law school.” I look at him and ask the question that matters most. “And you think the cases our firm has are more in line with what you see yourself doing?” He nods again, but I continue with the part that has had so many potential hires leaving. “It’s all well and good wanting to defend those who have been wrongly accused or helping with an appeal of a sentence, but do you think you can handle defending someone you know is guilty? Even if they’re pleading not guilty? It doesn’t happen all the time, but it does happen. Even if they’re fucking assholes—” Colton finishes my sentence, “Their family is paying good money, and every person deserves a fair trial.” He smirks and continues, “I took Professor Edward’s class too. But to answer your question, yeah, I can do that. My opinion on their guilt or innocence doesn’t affect whether they get a fair trial. I believe in the justice system. Yeah, I know it’s flawed, and we’ve both seen our share of innocent people being found guilty. But in my experience, the guilty, the ones who are the kind who really need to do some serious time, are often their own worstenemy. They’re the clients who take the stand after you try to tell them, until you’re blue in the face, not to. If they’re really bad, they fire you and represent themselves.” I chuckle and nod. “Okay, well, when would you want to start? We’re small, but I have a list of people who’ve contacted me to look at their cases and assess their chances of appeal. Some are futile, but there are some legitimate ones that neither Leah nor I have had time to go over. Add to that our ever-growing current defense clients, and I’m pretty sure I could fill your calendar by your second or third day.”

We discuss the pertinent details and agree for him to come in on Friday to iron out his transition plan. I’m running more than just fifteen minutes late, so I hurry to shut down my computer and grab my bag. Heading out to my truck, I send off a text to Christy.

Me: Took longer than I thought, but heading your way now.

Christy: I’ll have dinner almost ready when you get here. See you soon.

If I wasn’t so fucking late already, I would stop and get some wine or something, but I don’t like keeping Christy waiting. She deserves me keeping my word.

I pull up to her apartment complex and hurry up the stairs to the second-story apartment, thankful that someone talked some sense into the three girls about not getting a ground-level one. We may live in a small town, but you still can’t be too careful. I knock on the door and hear Christy call out from inside. “Come on in!” I open the door and walk in, heading to the kitchen where the noise is coming from.

I move toward the kitchen, and the sight takes my breath away. Christy’s not dressed up fancy or anything, wearing leggings and a sweater, with her long hair pulled up in a messy bun. She’s plating dinner, and a timer is going off. I’m hit by how much I’d love to watch this sight of her for the rest of my life. Not just the special, fancy, or loud moments, but the little, everyday bits of living life together. I’ve always known I want what Ma and Pa have, but I’ve never had a clear picture of what the woman was like. That was until the night up on the mountain.

I know you’re asking why the hell I haven’t made a move in almost a year, but there’s a good answer for it. No, and not because I’m a chicken shit, thank you very fucking much. A year ago, she was just fresh from escaping a cult that was demanding she marry some fucker whom she didn’t choose. She’d neverlived on her own or had any sort of freedom. I didn’t feel it was right to try to swoop in right away and claim her as mine. She deserved that time to experience the day-to-day things that we all take for granted. She needed to figure out who she is outside of that cult. She needed to figure out what she liked and didn’t like.

I wasn’t gonna totally leave her alone, and to be honest, in this last year, she’s become one of my closest friends. She’s smart, funny, and so caring about those who mean something to her. I’ve loved helping her study, though I don’t think she needs it. She could easily go on to college if she wanted to.

Christy gets me out of my head. “You gonna stand there all night or grab yourself a drink and have a seat since dinner’s just about ready?” I look at her, and my mouth works before I can think. “Why did you leave your door unlocked? That’s not safe with you gals living here alone?”

I’m pretty sure she rolls her eyes at me. “I knew you were coming up, and I knew the timer was about to go off. Now get your drink, mister.” I walk over to the fridge and reach in, grabbing a soda pop. “You want one?” She nods as she reaches into the oven and pulls out what looks like some amazing biscuits. “Smells amazing. Should I go tell Mary dinner is ready? Is Kinsley gracing us with her presence?” Christy shakes her head. “Nope. Kinsley is off doing Kinsley things, and Mary is over atJane’s helping her out. Jon, Juan, and the twins all have colds or something, and she’s helping with bedtime. It’s just you and me tonight.”

I can’t help but smile at the thought of it just being the two of us. I take our drinks to the table and go back to the kitchen. “Anything else I can bring out?” She points to the platter of biscuits. “If you want to take these, I’ll bring in our plates, and we can eat.” I take the plate of biscuits, and the smell has my mouth watering. I set them down and have a seat. Christy sets a plate down in front of me. “Everything looks delicious. Thank you for cooking.” Christy gives me that smile that makes me want to do things to her. Very naughty things.

“Dig in, you don’t want it getting cold.” I nod, words escaping me at the moment.Say something and get out of your fantasies, jackass.“So, you ever going to tell me where Kinsley is always at?” Christy shakes her head. “Nope. That’s her story to tell, not mine.”

Christy

We eat dinner, and Max helps me clear the table so we can get to work. Music plays in the background since I forgot to turn it off when he got here. The song changes, and a song I don’t thinkI’ve ever heard starts playing. Max sets the plates in the sink and reaches out for my hand. I must give him a strange look, but I place my hand in his. He smiles, and I swear I’d agree to just about anything with that sexy grin directed at me.

“I’ve never heard this song come on and Pa not start dancing with Ma. He always says that some songs are meant to be heard while dancing.” I love that he’s got such great memories with his family. As someone who has very few of those, I know just how precious they are. Max pulls me into him and starts to slowly sway. He looks down at me. “Have you ever danced with someone?” I chuckle. “Am I that bad at it?” Max shakes his head. “No, nothing like that. You just don’t seem like you know what to do.” Well, he’s not wrong. “No. I mean, besides dancing around with the girls to music that Hanna and Kinsley have introduced us to. I’ve never danced like this before. Then again, there are a lot of things that are considered normal that I’ve never done before. Just like this song, I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before.”

Max puts a hand on my back, pulling me as close to him as he physically can. The hand he’s not holding rests on his shoulder. “Just sway to the music. That’s the beauty of slow dancing. You can’t really get it wrong.” We slowly sway as I listen to the song. “Does your Pa sing this to Ma while they’re dancing?” Max slowly spins us around the dining room. “Yeah, he does. Pa’s no Lionel Richie—that’s who’s singing this song. He doesn’t have avoice like this, but if you saw Ma’s face while they dance and he sings to her, you’d think he was the best singer in the world.” Makes sense to me. “That’s because to your Ma, it’s not the words that matter in that moment. It’s the love he has for her that she’s feeling. I saw it on your sister’s face when she danced with Mick at their wedding. Same with Kierstie when she danced with Shane that day. To feel that kind of love…I can only imagine what it’s like, that deep connection to someone.”

Max doesn’t say anything back, but he sings the chorus to the song just barely loud enough for me to hear it. “Guess I’m on my way…Needed a friend…”

The song ends, but neither of us moves to break apart. I’m not a stupid woman and will take any chance I can to touch Max. I move and look up at Max, and he’s looking at me with an expression I can’t place, but I feel its intensity through my whole body. He takes a moment, then what he says surprises me to my core, or my toes…whichever is bigger. “I thought when we met, you needed a friend, and I was determined to be one. I’d like to think that we’ve become good friends over the last year.” I nod. “I think we are. I mean, I would consider you one of my closest friends.” His mouth turns up in a small smile. “The thing is…” Max lets out a breath and continues, “The thing is that I don’t think I want to be friends.” I look away from him, my heart hurting, but he quickly reaches for my chin and moves my headback so I’m looking at him again. “That didn’t come out how I intended it to. I don’t want to just be friends with you. I want more.” Is he…

My mouth moves before my brain. “What are you saying?” Max doesn’t answer with words. His head lowers, andoh my God!His lips touch mine and…ohhhhh. This is why people like kissing. Max breaks the kiss and touches his forehead to mine. “I’ve wanted to do this since the moment I laid eyes on you. I want to be more than friends with you. I think you and I could have something really special between us. What do you think?” I may not be the smartest person, but I’m not a complete idiot. I nod. “I’d like that. I don’t know what I’m doing at all, but I know I like you as more than a friend.” This earns me that sexy smile that I love to see. Max leans in and kisses me again. I could get used to this whole kissing thing.

When he breaks the kiss this time, he moves his head back slightly to look at me. “I want to explore this with you. I want to do that without my whole nosy-ass family butting their heads into it. Are you okay with keeping this between us while we get to know each other as a couple, not just as friends? I’m not wanting to hide for forever or anything, just a little while to give us privacy to explore this between us.” I nod because, as much as I’ve come to love his family, they can be intimidating at times with their exuberance and excitement. “Yeah, I’d likethat. I need to share it with Mary, though. She won’t tell anyone. I can’t lie to her, and if you’re gonna be here more, it’s only fair.” Max nods. “She’s a steel trap, that one. I think she could know the world’s atomic secrets and not give them up. I’m fine with that.” He leans in and gives me a quick kiss. “As much as I would fucking love to take you to your bedroom right now and explore every inch of you with my tongue, I’m not going to derail your dream of passing this test and getting your GED.” I pout, but can you blame me? Max kisses the tip of my nose. “Fuck, you’re cute.” He taps my butt. “Grab those study guides. Maybe instead of that cake for dessert, afterward we can explore each other some more.” I almost run to the coffee table and grab the books and trip as I head back to the dining room table, catching myself before I fall. I quickly sit and push the guide over to Max. I catch him smiling at me. “What?” He shakes his head, but his smile stays. “I really like seeing you’re as excited as I am to explore things between us. Now, since we’re both motivated, let’s dive into the Social Studies section and talk about the Constitution and its amendments.” I’ve never been so motivated to get through a lesson in my life. I definitely get why people like kissing. I just can’t imagine how anything else could be better, but I’m more than ready to learn.