around until I found the seat adjustment button and moved it forward.
On the other side of the parking lot, the Challenger started up with a rumble.
“He doesn’t need to worry about me,” Madeline said.
“You do drive a little fast.”
“I do. I know. And my reactions might not be the best they’ve ever been, but I’ve taken driver training.”
“Everybody takes driver training.”
She chuckled as Josh pulled out in front of us. “Not like I did. I’ve taken surveillance driving, high-speed pursuit driving, security driving—all courtesy of the police department, and those guys know what they’re doing. I learned traction control, high-speed skids and turns, motorcade evacuation. And I was first in my class in the high-speed reverse slalom.”
I stared at her. I had no idea what to say.
“He worries for nothing.”
“Doe Josh know you’ve taken all that training?”
“All he sees is that I’m getting old. I am getting old, but I’m not going to crash the Challenger anytime soon. I love that car. I wouldn’t put it at risk.”
I wanted to laugh. It wasn’t exactly funny, more ironic. As I pulled Josh’s SUV into drive, I realized I should probably be letting Madeline drive.
“I’ve been thinking about Elizabeth Jones,” she said as we gathered speed up the gravel road.
I’d been thinking about Elizabeth too, wondering why she’d done what she’d done.
“You can’t buy loyalty like that,” Madeline said.
“I didn’t do anything to deserve it,” I said.
Elizabeth and I were colleagues, sure. I’d even say we were friends, at least, we chatted a fair amount on nights when the lawyers stopped for drinks at the JW or Coopers down the street from the office.
But we didn’t have a close personal relationship, not like me and Cecily. Now, if Cecily had resigned in protest over my firing, I’d have understood. I wouldn’t have advised it, but . . . a horrible thought hit me. What if Cecily had resigned too?
“Why would you think you don’t deserve loyalty?” Madeline asked, frustration in her voice. “That’s stupid talk.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant. “I don’t think I don’t deserve loyalty,” I said, trying to explain the nuance in my mind. “I mean I didn’t do anything in particular to earn Elizabeth’s loyalty. She’s walking away from a partnership? For me?”
“Maybe she’s walking away from unethical men for herself.”
I thought that one through while I navigated across the freshly repaired road.
“If they were willing to throw you under the bus,” Madeline said, hanging onto the door handle as things got bumpy, “they could do it to anyone at the firm.”
“Including Elizabeth.” Now that made more sense.
“And why would she want to be a partner in a firm like that?” Madeline asked, indignance in her tone.
“She was only promoted last year.”
“If she’s decided their values are incompatible with hers, then this is the time to get out.”
When I looked at it that way, I felt less guilty. It was far-fetched to assume Elizabeth had done something drastic solely because of me.
“You should ask her for a reference,” Madeline said.
“That’s a good idea.” I hadn’t gotten started on the search just yet. Things in Rutter’s Point kept getting in the way.
Chapter Twelve
We had eight primped and adorable dogs in three pens inside the shelter’s summer festival stall. It was day one, midmorning, and the crowds were milling around between the gardens, the games, a few carnival rides, and the entertainment on the bandstand stage.
I was surprised at how many people I recognized, more surprised by how many stopped by to chat and included me in their conversations like we were old friends.
A school group was dancing now for an appreciative audience. Gerry’s daughters had been on the stage earlier. I’d caught some of it and thought their routine was adorable.
There were virtually no children in my social circle in Manhattan. Like me, my friends were career focused. For the first time I was noticing how charming children could be, happy and delightful in a way I’d never imagined.
Watching Becky and Ben’s anticipation of their twins had given me pause as well. They had a nursery set up, little clothes and blankets and a musical animal mobile over the crib. It was hard not to get swept up in their excitement.
“But I want a new puppy,” a little girl of about seven was saying to her mother as she reached over the low white fence to pet Vegas.
Okay, maybe kids weren’t happy all the time. But they were still delightful. The little girl was awfully cute.
“We already have a