new life.
Noise came from the front of the office, and Clark turned as two hefty delivery guys carried a table down the hallway. “Good timing.” He opened the door wider so they could get in.
I got out of the way and just stared. The square shaped table was a fifties style with an aqua-blue shiny top circled by crimped silver, and the chairs were silver stools covered with either blue, yellow, or pink tops. The fridge was a matching blue with yellow handles. “Oh, that’s awesome,” I breathed.
Clark scratched his head. “They’re not very professional. You can tell they came from a bakeshop.”
“Who cares?” I ran my hand over a plush stool. “We’re the only ones back here, and these make me want to have ice-cream. I don’t suppose Lola’s was selling anything else? An ice cream machine?”
“No,” Clark said. “I’ll pay the delivery guys.” He followed them back down the hall.
I finally made it to my office and read over Krissy’s affidavit. Oh, Orrin was going to be ticked.
My phone buzzed and I answered it. “Hello.”
“Hey, Anna Banana,” Quint said. “The family is worried about you, so I thought your favorite cousin should check in. Do you want Zena to come stay with you?”
Boy, did I. “Not right now, but soon. I miss her.” I glanced at the clock. “How are things with you?”
“I’m fine. I’ll see you at the family barbecue on Sunday and we can catch up.” He hung up before I could tell him I might not make the barbecue. Probably on purpose because Quint was a stubborn one.
I rolled my eyes and stood to gather my papers in my satchel. It wasn’t quite a briefcase, but I liked the style of the blond leather laptop bag. Then I straightened my light jacket. For court today, I’d worn a lilac colored skirt with matching jacket over a pale yellow blouse. Yeah, Aiden and I had stopped by Donna’s house on the way to work so I could borrow it. Her navy blue pumps looked perfect with the suit.
Sometimes I figured Donna wished she had different sized feet. I, however, liked things as they were.
My body felt lighter than it had been in days, even though I still carried a few bruises. I walked out of the office with Bud protecting my body. In the hallway, Hailey and Darrin Jennings were coming out of Cousin Wanda’s office. “Hi, kids,” I said. They were holding hands.
“Hi,” Hailey said. “We just met with Wanda. Things are good.”
Darrin’s smile was wide in his young face.
Sometimes things just went right. I knew that if there were any problems, any danger to either one of them, then Wanda would know it. For them to still be seeing her and looking happy, things were working out.
Man, it was a good morning. It really was. I felt like the entire world was looking up, and everything was going to be okay.
Yeah, I should’ve known better. Sometimes you just don’t want to invite fate to kick your ass.
That’s a lesson I hadn’t quite learned.
Chapter 37
I stood at my table in the courtroom with Kelsey next to me after having shaken out my umbrella to place beneath the table. The storm was going full force outside, wind and rain competing to destroy the summer peace. Bud had figured I was safe enough in the courthouse and had gone to run a few errands so long as I promised to stay put until he returned.
Kelsey fidgeted but looked cute in linen pants and a flowy white blouse. Teddy Thompson sat several feet back in the rows, his arm still in a sling. I leaned over. “So Teddy’s the winner, huh?”
Her eyes twinkled. “Today, anyway. Saber was supposed to come, but he had to cancel because of work. I mean, what kind of work does a motorcycle club do?”
Huh. Apparently Saber hadn’t let Kelsey in on his real job, but they probably hadn’t had a chance to talk, considering the team was locked down and hunting for a serial bomber. “Well, they both seem nice. It’s good that you’re not getting tied down right now. Also, Officer Bellingsly asked if you were single.”
“Oh, he’s cute,” she whispered. “I heard he was in the hospital. Maybe I’ll go visit him.”
“That’s a good idea. If you want, we could grab lunch at my office and drop by the hospital first,” I said, wanting to see for myself that John was mending nicely.
She bit her lip. “I actually have a lunch