Advice of Counsel (The Samuel Collins Series Book 1)

by Trueman, Debra

  “Samuel,” Oliver called out. “Will you swing me?”

  I was glad he couldn’t hear me groan. “Sure.” I dragged myself over to the swings. What I needed was a cold beer. Oliver played on the swings and in the fort for the next half-hour when yet again, the foreman’s voice sounded. I wondered if he would ever run out of things to do or if there was an endless supply.

  “Anybody like to roast marshmallows?”

  As tired as I was, roasted marshmallows sounded pretty damn good. That and a cold beer. We made our way to the front of the house where there was a circle of stones with a small fire burning in the middle. We found sticks and stuck marshmallows on the end and cooked them until they were golden on the outside and melted on the inside. They were as good as I remembered – maybe even better.

  By the time the foreman ran out of things for us to do it was dark out and by then, even Oliver had run out of steam. We said goodbye to the fathers and sons who hadn’t already left and I looked down at Oliver.

  “Will you carry me?” I asked.

  Oliver laughed. I picked him up and carried him to the car and he fell asleep even before we got off the ranch road. The quiet seemed surreal after the previous 12 hours of Oliver’s non-stop jabbering. And when I pulled into my driveway, it seemed like I’d been away for days.

  I tried to get Oliver out of his seat without waking him, but I still hadn’t figured out the stupid buckle on his seat and I finally had to wake him up just to ask him how to undo the damn thing. After the long and tiring day, I would have expected him to be tired and groggy, but it was just the opposite. It was like the power-nap had recharged his batteries and he was raring to go.

  Maddie met us at the door. “How was it?” she said, squatting down to give Oliver a hug.

  “It was so much fun, Mom. Wasn’t it Samuel!”

  “It was. It was great.” I was aware of the stupid smile on my face, but I couldn’t do anything about it.

  “We won the sack race!” Oliver said.

  “You did? That’s great!” Maddie said enthusiastically. She looked at me. “Are you hungry? You want a beer?” she asked me.

  “Yeah, I’ll take a beer.”

  Maddie’s mom was in the kitchen with the baby. “Hi. How are you?” I asked.

  “I’m fine,” she said, smiling.

  I noticed that Oliver got a funny look on his face. “Grandma, you’re not fine, you’re fat,” he said.

  “Oliver!” Maddie said, horrified.

  “But Samuel said,” Oliver started . . .

  My face got hot. I was standing in back of Maddie and her mom, waving my hands and shaking my head no. Oliver stopped mid-sentence and looked at me confused, but Maddie and her mom both turned around too. Oliver continued.

  “The girls that Samuel said were fine didn’t look like Grandma,” he stated.

  “Oh, is that right?” Maddie said, giving me a look.

  Maddie’s mom picked up Oliver. “When I said that I was fine, Oliver, I meant that I was feeling fine. Not necessarily that I was looking fine.”

  “Oh.”

  All three of them looked at me. “How about that beer?” I said.

  Chapter 22

  I awoke Sunday morning to the realization of what I’d committed myself to, and somehow, I felt conned. I knew what it was. It was that damn dinner that Landra had cooked for me. In hindsight, what seemed logical at the time was actually a foolish snap-decision made from a gratified belly full of good food. Once again, my stomach had overruled all rational thought and now I was going to have to pay the price.

  It wasn’t that I didn’t want my family to meet Landra and vice versa, it was just the whole thing of them reading something into the introduction that wasn’t there. And they would. Maybe not Landra, but my parents definitely would.

  Growing up, I’d seen enough sibling break-ups to know how the family operated in times of couple-crisis, and I wasn’t about make myself the butt of discussion by bringing in a girlfriend and letting them get attached to her, then having to put up with their whining when we broke up. I guess it was my own fault for not having introduced any of my other girlfriends before. I should have realized that it would only make the occasion more momentous when I finally did.

  So rather than making a big deal out of it, I decided to play the whole thing down. I called my mom and I merely told her that Landra and I might stop by that afternoon. If she was shocked, she didn’t show it. In fact, she was rather blasé about the matter.

  As it turned out, my mom must have speed-dialed the entire family as soon as we’d hung up because Landra and I arrived to find not just my parents, but all of my brothers, sisters, and in-laws, and what looked like most of their offspring, as well. I was horrified and thoroughly pissed off at my mother’s lack of self-control.

  “I thought you said it was just going to be your parents,” Landra said cheerfully, when we pulled up to what looked like a parking lot in front of my parent’s house.

  “That’s what I thought,” I said, trying to hide my irritation.

  I considered backing out, but it was too late. Landra was already out of the car. At least we’d get the thing over with in one fell swoop, I told myself. One introduction for the whole family and it would be over and done with.

  My oldest sister greeted us at the door. “Sammy! I’m glad you guys could come,” she said happily. She offered her hand to Landra. “Hi. I’m Sam’s sister, Kristie.”

  Glad you could come? Something told me these people were not gathered to meet my girlfriend. The two women faded into the background as I racked my brain trying to figure out what family function I’d stumbled onto.

  “Come in,” Kristie was saying.

  What timing. I figured it was someone’s birthday, but I had no idea whose. There were no balloons, so that ruled out the nieces and nephews.

  “Samuel!” my mom called out, and I made my way toward her.

  Mom had been a nurse up until she started spitting out kids. She’d never gone back to the profession after we were grown, but she never did shake the habit of wearing nurse’s shoes. When we were little, I always thought she wore them so she could sneak up on us and catch us doing something bad, but years after we were gone, the shoes were still there.

  “Hi, Mom.” I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “What’s going on?” I asked under my breath.

  “It’s your brother’s birthday,” she said, sounding surprised that I didn’t know. “Don’t you remember? We talked about it two weeks ago.”

  “Oh, yeah,” I lied. I made a mental note to pay more attention next time my mom told me something. Never in a million years would I have chosen my brother’s birthday party to introduce my girlfriend to the family. “This is Landra,” I told my mother.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Landra,” my mother said. She turned to me, “Landra and I had a nice visit on the phone the other day.”

  “She told me,” I said.

  Someone tapped me on the shoulder and when I turned back around my sister had dragged Landra off in another direction. The phrase divide and conquer sprang to mind. I was visiting with my brother-in-law while I watched Landra from across the room. She was talking and laughing with different members of my family just as naturally as if she’d known them for years. And as much as I had dreaded introducing Landra to everyone, I caught myself feeling jealous that my sister had taken over the role. She was stealing my glory.

  I watched, only half-listening to my sister’s long-winded husband, as Kristie introduced Landra to my brother’s best friend. I’d never liked the guy but women loved him. He and Landra shook hands and then all three of them looked over at me and laughed. Landra waved and smiled and I felt a surge of pride that she was there with me. She was so damn pretty; so damn likable. No, actually lovable. I excused myself and made my way over to Landra’s side. I put my arm around her waist and she gave me that incredible smile.

  “Who haven’t you met?” I asked her.

  “I�
��ve met both of your sisters, one of your brothers, that guy over there,” she pointed, “your mother . . .” She was looking around for more people to name but I stopped her before she could continue.

  “Excuse me,” I called out several times until everyone stopped talking and turned around expectantly. “I want everyone to meet my girlfriend. This is Landra Krally.” I put my hands on her shoulders and moved her forward a couple of steps like she was my show-and-tell exhibit. “Landra this is . . .” and I systematically introduced her to everyone in the room. When the introduction was over and the spotlight was off of her, Landra took my hand and smiled up at me.

  “Thanks. That was very sweet. I know it was hard for you.”

  “It was actually very easy.” Her lips were beckoning me and I couldn’t help myself. I took her face in my hands and planted one on that seductive mouth of hers, but she started laughing and I kissed teeth. “Quit laughing,” I said, holding her still, trying to give it another shot.

  “Don’t do that here,” she whispered, pulling away and looking around self-consciously.

  “No one’s watching,” I told her. I had no idea if the statement was true or not since I had my back to the crowd, but I didn’t care any way. “It’s just a kiss. It’s not like we’re having sex on the living room floor,” I said.

  “Sex on the living room floor?” someone said.

  I turned around and my sister was right behind me. Landra gave me an I told you so look and thumped me in the chest.

  “Did you know that you’re the first girl Sammy has ever brought to a family function?” Kristie told Landra. She said it like she was confiding a secret to her new best friend.

  “Yeah, but believe me, it wasn’t on purpose,” Landra said laughing.

  “What do you mean?” Kristie asked.

  “He didn’t know all of you were going to be here.”

  “Quit talking about me like I’m not here,” I said. “Besides, even if I’d remembered about the stupid birthday party, I still would have brought you,” I asserted. Whether it was true or not was another matter. I couldn’t say with certainty that I would have.

  “Well, you should have brought her over sooner,” Kristie said. She put her arm around Landra and squeezed her shoulder. “And you better think twice about ever breaking up with her because we might decide to disown you and keep Landra instead.”

  Great. Just what I needed. Now I was going to have to compete with my sister and probably the rest of my family for Landra’s attention. I should have left things the way they were and kept her all to myself. Damn that special dinner she’d cooked for me.

  Landra and Kristie had started talking about girl stuff. Just like that I had become a third wheel. I left the two of them and made my way into the kitchen to find a beer. My mother made a beeline straight over to me.

  “She’s gorgeous! And sweet! Oh, I tell you Samuel, she’s just a charm!”

  Typically, my mom’s statements would have totally irked me, but I found myself delighted, even relieved, that she approved of Landra.

  “She’s pretty incredible,” I said, watching Landra from across the room. I could feel my mom looking at me, and I took a big swig of my beer to hide the stupid smile on my face.

  My dad joined us in the kitchen to add his two cents worth. As an ex-FBI agent, Dad was a man of few words. I always assumed it was a lingering effect from his occupation from having to maintain secrecy, kind of like Mom and her shoes.

  “Landra seems like a very nice girl,” he said.

  “She is,” I agreed.

  “Are you two serious?”

  “We got married in Vegas last night,” I said.

  In the split second that he fell for it, I could tell that he was ecstatic, and I almost felt bad when he realized that I was kidding. He laughed and clinked his bottle up against mine. “That’s what I get for asking.”

  “It is,” I agreed.

  I left my parents in the kitchen, and went to find Landra.

  “Are your ears ringing?” I asked her.

  “Why?” she laughed.

  “Because I’m certain that my entire family is talking about you.”

  I didn’t want to be the first to leave the party because I knew how my family operated; as soon as I left, they would start conspiring to marry me off. I figured the fewer conspirators, the better, so we ended up staying late, which would have been fine, except that I had to share Landra the whole time.

  But when it was all said and done, the day had turned out okay. I’d survived the introduction unscathed, and I’d actually enjoyed showing Landra off. I dropped Landra off at her house on my way home and walked her to the door.

  “You want to come in?” she asked.

  “I better not. I’ve got some work I need to finish up,” I told her. I put my arms around her waist. “Thanks for going with me today. I was very proud to introduce you as my girlfriend.”

  “Thank you. I had a nice time. It was fun.”

  She kissed me, then I just held her in my arms, hugging her close. I realized instantly that it had been a mistake; I didn’t want to leave her but I had a shit-load of work to do.

  “I wish you didn’t have to go,” Landra said.

  “Did I say I had to go? I don’t know what I was thinking.” I put my arm around her and we walked side by side into her house and Landra locked the door behind us.

  Chapter 23

  The grand jury convened on Monday to hear Landra’s case, and I couldn’t keep my mind on anything else. I’d suggested that Landra take the day off, but she didn’t see the point.

  “What good would come from me sitting around doing nothing?” she asked.

  I wasn’t going to argue with her. After all, who was I to know what was right for her. But for me, it was turning out to be impossible to get anything done. I’d tried three or four times to get started on a brief, and each time, I’d ended up staring at my blank computer screen.

  It was late in the day when I received a call from the District Attorney’s Office.

  “The grand jury wants to hear from Ms. Krally. They’re going to subpoena her to testify tomorrow morning.”

  I was psyched. I wouldn’t be allowed in the room while Landra gave her testimony, but she could come out and ask me questions if she needed to. And she could always invoke the Fifth and not answer any of their questions if she chose. But I was glad that she’d get the chance to appear before them. As far as I was concerned, all Landra had to do was tell the truth and the men and women of the grand jury would see that she was innocent. I only hoped that I was being objective in my assessment of the case.

  I called Landra on her cell phone but got her voice-mail, so I left a message for her to call me at the office immediately. It was just after 5:00 o’clock when she called me back.

  “What’s up?” she asked.

  It seemed like whenever I left her a message, there was always trepidation in her voice when she returned my call. I thought back to the last time I’d given her important information over the phone instead of in person, and I caught myself before I did it again.

  “You want to go have a drink?” I asked instead.

  “I’d love to, but is something the matter?”

  “Nothing’s the matter,” I said, and I considered it a truthful response. “Want to meet at Chuy’s, say in . . . 20 minutes?” I said, looking at my watch.

  “Sure. I’ll see you there.”

  Chuy’s is a trendy Mexican restaurant bar close to the Park that packs ‘em in for happy hour margaritas and great food. I high-tailed it over there because I wanted to get there first. I hated the idea of guys hitting on my girlfriend when I wasn’t there. As it turned out, not only did Landra beat me there, but she was already sitting outside and there was an extra drink on the table. I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek and pulled up the chair next to hers.

  “Whose is that?” I asked, pointing to the drink.

  “Oh, just some guy I ran into. He went to the bath
room.” She smiled while she sipped her margarita through a straw, then she batted her eyelashes at me. She was playing me, but I wasn’t going to take the bait.

  “Good thing I’m not the jealous type.”

  “Good thing,” she agreed, and I could tell she was trying not to laugh. She pulled my head over to hers and kissed me on the lips. “It’s Niki and his girlfriend.”

  “Fiancée,” I corrected, in the same tone of voice Niki had always used when he said it.

  Landra laughed. “I stand corrected.”

  I ran my fingers through her hair but my hand got stuck in a tangle and it yanked her head to the side.

  “Ouch!” she whined.

  “Sorry about that,” I said, as I tried to extricate my fingers from her mane. “You ever heard of a thing called a brush?”

  “Very funny.” She scrunched up her nose and made a face at me and for some reason it made me want to jump her bones.

  I needed to tell her about her appearance the next day but I hated to do it and have Niki and Stacy reappear the next minute. But it wasn’t something that could wait, so I dove right in, trying my best to put a positive spin on it. “I got a call from the DA’s office this afternoon. You’re going to get to appear before the grand jury after all.”

  “You’re kidding,” she said. “What made the DA change his mind?”

  “He didn’t. The grand jury subpoenaed you for tomorrow morning.”

  “Tomorrow morning?” She sat back in her chair, her big brown eyes looking at me in disbelief, and I reached over and picked up her hand.

  “I know its short notice,” I said. “But I think it’s a really good development. All you have to do is tell the truth.”

  “I know,” she said quietly. “It’s just that . . . I’m going to have to relive the whole thing over again. It makes me sick every time I think of it. To have to talk about it out loud, to have to tell a bunch of strangers about it . . .” She let the sentence hang and I could feel her drift off somewhere.

  “Hey,” I said, squeezing her hand. She looked at me and forced a smile. “You’ll do great,” I assured her.