on.
“You want to stop and get something?” Greg asked when they crossed the state line. “I could go for something more than a sandwich right about now.”
“It’s up to you. You’re the one driving.”
“Good point.”
So they stopped at a little out-of-the-way place; however, the town was so small, it might have been in-the-way as it was, quite possibly, the only place in town. Going in, they found it was only them and a couple other people, and that the establishment was far more down home than upscale.
“Grab you a seat,” the lady behind the counter said. “I’ll be right with you.”
They chose a table along the wall. Taylor couldn’t help but admire the place even though it wasn’t trying too hard to be impressive. The walls had old-timey deeds and legal-looking documents as well as pictures that might well be a hundred years old or better.
“Quite the place,” Greg said.
“I think I’m in love,” she said, and when he looked at her in surprise, she laughed. “With the place.” She waved her hand. “I’m in love with the place.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Really?”
“Yeah. Look at it. There’s history here. All around us. You can feel it, sense it, see it.”
“Well, I hope we can’t taste it.”
“Here’s two menus,” the lady said. “Could I start you folks off with some drinks?”
They each ordered, and when the lady left, Greg got started with the menu while Taylor continued her fascination with the décor.
“Good news, there is steak,” he said. “Bad news, there’s not much else. Looks like steak or a hamburger if you’re really desperate.”
“Do you think that photo is real?” Taylor asked, pointing to a picture behind him. “It looks real. Do you think it’s real?”
Greg half-turned and came back around. “Could be.”
“I just love places like this,” she said. “Don’t you?”
“I… uh… sure.”
“You could look at stuff for hours. Just get lost in it.”
The lady came back, brought their drinks, and took their orders.
“Uh, Ma’am,” Taylor said, “could you tell me if that photo is real?”
Barely looking at the one Taylor pointed out, the lady retrieved their menus. “Sweetheart, everything in here is real. Dutch wouldn’t have it any other way.” And with that, she was gone.
“Dutch,” Taylor said, her eyes dancing with the thoughts as she took a drink. “Bet there’s a story there. You think that’s his real name? First name? Last name? I bet it’s his last name, and I bet it’s short for something. Dutchinson or Dutchover, something like that.”
She took another sip before letting the mystery of the place fall into the reality she really needed to talk with Greg about. One more moment to get the words to line up right, and she came up, toying with her straw because facing this stuff always felt too big to hold. “So, I was talking to Lily the other day.”
“Oh yeah?”
“She was telling me that Mitchell is a family law lawyer. Something like that.” When she came forward to take a sip, she wished her hair wasn’t still in the impromptu braid. It would’ve been nice to have something to hide behind. “She said she’d talked to him about my case.”
A gut punch with no warning would not have been any more surprising. Nonetheless, Greg fought not to let the shock sound in his voice. “Oh, yeah?”
Taylor nodded. “Lily said if I want, I could go talk to him about maybe representing me at the trial next week.”
“Representing you? But you’re not on trial.”
Her gaze came up, and he saw instantly the worry and fear in her eyes. “I’m not?”
He wanted to argue, but how could he? “Tay, listen…”
“No, Greg,” she said firmly. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and I think Lily’s right. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to at least go talk to Mitchell about it. See what he has to say.”
“I’m not saying that’s a bad idea. I’m not,” Greg said. “It’s just that lawyers are expensive, and I don’t want you to…”
“She said he might even do it pro bono if I need him to. She said he’s one of the good guys, like you and Nels and Wes.” Taylor’s eyes fell into soft pleading. “Look, I know you’re trying, you and Ms. Ornelas and everybody. I just… I want to be prepared, that’s all. I don’t want them to be able to pull something like they did at the deposition.”
Greg nodded slowly. “Okay. Well, if this makes sense to you, then we should at least check it out. But I’m going