All for You

by Moore, Heather B.

  As Dawson parked his truck, Nelson opened the door of Maddy’s Subaru and climbed out. Then he waited by the steps for Dawson.

  “How are you doing?” Dawson said, his tone friendly.

  The guy was wearing another expensive suit, which didn’t surprise Nelson. “I’m fine,” he said. “Thanks for meeting me.”

  “No problem.” Dawson led the way up the steps to the building. He unlocked the front door, then flipped on lights as the two of them entered the building. They bypassed Lindsey’s office, where the door was shut, and Dawson opened the door to the second office.

  There, Nelson took a seat in the leather chair across the huge desk from Dawson.

  “I listened to Paul Locker’s message on Lindsey’s phone,” Nelson began, not wanting to waste a moment. Since seeing Lindsey this morning, he hadn’t been able to think of anything else.

  Dawson nodded. “She told me. And the voice recording will be submitted as evidence if the case gets before a judge.” He shuffled a few papers, then focused his brown eyes on Nelson. “Before we get into all of this, I need to know what your intentions are toward Lindsey. You only met her a few days ago, so needless to say, I’m surprised at your insistence to meet with me.”

  “Fair enough,” Nelson said. “We’re staying at the same place and have talked a few times. I guess you could say we’ve become friends. But when she told me about her previous firm this morning, I didn’t want her to be alone in this fight. Yeah, she has you as a lawyer, but . . . I guess I want to help.”

  Dawson didn’t blink, didn’t respond. Then he said, “I’ve done my own checking up on you. So far, things look clean, and I hope that’s the case.”

  Nelson held Dawson’s gaze. “You don’t have to worry about me. What I want to know is how someone like Paul Locker can get away with being such a creep? In my world, this would have been taken care of within a few hours with a visit and a few choice words.”

  Dawson lifted a hand. “First of all, Paul isn’t going to get away with anything. And second, the legal process takes time and endurance. Months at the very least, possibly longer if Paul follows through on his threat.”

  Nelson clenched his jaw. Dawson’s answers were all textbook, telling Nelson what he wanted to hear. “And you think you can go up against a major, established law firm? You have what? One or two paralegals working for you?”

  “One,” Dawson said, his tone less friendly now. “I’m not worried about my ability to defend Lindsey. Her case is solid, as you know, and in the end, she’ll come out on top. Which will be well deserved.”

  Nelson couldn’t argue with the fact that Lindsey deserved to win the case. The whole situation was frustrating to him, whether or not he was coming to like Lindsey more than he should. All of that aside, he’d watched his sister work hard for her degree and put in overtime hours at her job. Becoming successful in her own right. And he knew there was no way he’d sit around while lawyers emailed motions back and forth if this had happened to his sister.

  For a panicked moment, he wondered if she’d ever dealt with a “Paul” in her life. It made him feel cold all over to think of it, even more so if she hadn’t told him. She’d be getting a surprise call from him later tonight.

  “So what are the next steps?” Nelson asked, knowing that his tone sounded hard and possibly skeptical.

  Dawson leaned back in his chair. “We filed Lindsey’s report to the firm yesterday, and we’re waiting for an official response from the firm.”

  “So what was Paul’s phone call about?”

  “Separate from the firm, he could countersue for personal damages,” Dawson said in a smooth tone. “Which of course would affect the litigation of the current case. Make things more complicated. But the end result will be the same.”

  Nelson nodded. He felt better, but not much better.

  “Look, Tyler—”

  “Nelson,” he corrected.

  “Nelson,” Dawson amended. Leaning forward, he steepled his hands on the desk. “Lindsey and I go way back to law school. We’ve been friends for a long time. I’m not going to let anything happen to her. And if . . . as you say . . . this case turns out to be more than I can handle, I’ll bring in joint counsel.”

  This was what Nelson was looking for. To know that Lindsey wasn’t going to be at a single person’s mercy. “Okay.”

  “Anything else?” Dawson asked.

  “One more thing.” Nelson leaned forward as well. “What would happen if I did make a visit? Had a chat with Paul?”

  Dawson stilled, his brown eyes gazing right into Nelson’s soul. This was man to man now. No lawyers or hockey players involved. Something flashed in Dawson’s eyes. “I told Lindsey to change her cell number, so hopefully Paul won’t be calling her again. But let’s just say that if you do make a visit, I don’t want to know any details. I can’t be discredited as her lawyer in any way. Understand?”

  Nelson felt like grinning. “I understand.”

  The continuing conversation after that was much less tense, and Dawson explained how the process worked and all the hoops that had to be jumped through. By the time Nelson left the lawyer’s office, he was grateful for a career that was more cut and dried. Sure, sometimes the refs screwed up or he had to put up with dysfunctional teammates and a cold-hearted coach, but the rules of the game made hockey straightforward and not dependent on the decision of a single judge.

  When Nelson climbed into Maddy’s Subaru, he decided to make a detour to the Main Street Café. He’d been suffering through Maddy’s concoctions of green smoothies and hard-as-a-rock granola for long enough. Ending a long day with something with meat in it would be more than welcome.

  The café looked warm and welcoming as Nelson parked in front of the place. He could practically smell the warm food before he even climbed out of the car. He strode to the door, and his hand paused on the door handle. Through the glass windows, he saw Lindsey sitting with a man. It was like déjà vu. Although this man wasn’t Dawson Harris.

  The guy was dark-haired and wore khakis and a leather jacket over a sweater. A bit preppy, in Nelson’s opinion.

  Nelson exhaled and opened the door. He wasn’t going to make a big deal out of anything. Besides, Lindsey looked like she was having a perfectly good time with this other guy. So what if Nelson had shared an amazing hug with her that morning? It wasn’t like they were dating or anything close to that. The guy across from Lindsey had a laptop open and was pointing to something on the screen. Maybe he was another lawyer? How many lawyers could there be in the small town of Pine Valley?

  Nelson headed to the counter to order dinner. He wasn’t going to interrupt the two at the table. This time he’d let Lindsey take the lead. Truth was, in a couple of weeks, if all went as planned, he’d be back in Vegas fighting for his position. And Lindsey would stay in Pine Valley, building her business.

  A teenager was at the counter, and his silver braces caught the light as he smiled. “What can I get you, sir?”

  “How’s the chicken pot pie?” Nelson asked.

  “My favorite thing here.”

  “I’ll have two then,” Nelson said. “And a couple of those brownies. Plus a water bottle.”

  “Sure, thing,” the teen said and rang up the price.

  After paying and picking up the water bottle, Nelson turned to see Lindsey looking over at him. Well, he couldn’t be so nonchalant now.

  “Hey,” she said with a smile.

  He liked that smile. Very much. It meant she was feeling better compared to this morning.

  “Hey.” He walked toward the table.

  The guy she was with stood from his chair. “You’re Tyler Nelson,” he said. “When Lindsey told me you were in town, I wasn’t sure I believed her.”

  The guy’s blue eyes were filled with admiration.

  So maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. “Yeah, do you follow hockey?”

  The guy chuckled. “Sure do.” He stuck out his hand. “I’m Jeff Finch. Nice to meet yo
u.”

  Nelson shook the guy’s hand briefly.

  “Sit with us,” Lindsey said.

  It wasn’t an invitation that Nelson could turn down, although he wasn’t liking the way that Jeff Finch turned and grinned at Lindsey. How did they know each other? Was he from her old firm, or maybe she was dating him . . . ?

  Then Nelson saw the laptop screen, which displayed a condo complex. “Looking for a place to live?”

  “Yeah,” Lindsey said. “Jeff’s helping me. He’s a realtor.”

  Nelson looked at Jeff with new eyes, much kinder eyes. “Great.” Nelson shifted his gaze to the screen. “Looks like a nice place.”

  “It has tons of amenities,” Jeff said. “I was just telling Lindsey here that this complex is the newest one in Pine Valley.” He clicked on something and pulled up a map. “Phase one is built and ninety percent leased or sold. Phase two is currently under construction. There’s a pool, two hot tubs, a park for kids . . .”

  As Jeff Finch droned on about the amenities that they could read for themselves on the website, Nelson looked over at Lindsey. She’d been watching him, and now her gaze shifted away. Then back again.

  Had she been checking him out? Whatever she’d been doing, she wasn’t shying away from looking at him now. Something had changed between them, and Nelson wasn’t sure what. But she was looking at him differently . . . like she was really seeing him . . . and she was interested. Which of course was ridiculous. Whatever friendship had budded between them was going to be pretty short-lived. At least in person. Nelson was hoping to keep in touch with her by phone once he returned to Vegas, if for nothing else than to follow up on the case with Paul Locker.

  “How are you?” Nelson asked Lindsey in a quiet voice, despite the fact Jeff Finch was still expounding about the wonders of central heating and the weight room at the club house.

  “Fine,” she whispered. “How’s your knee?”

  “Better than yesterday,” he said.

  She smiled, and he was pretty sure his heart skipped a beat. Her blue eyes were the color of the Vegas sky in summer. And her minimal makeup had exposed her dash of freckles. He wanted to lean in, breathe in the perfume that he could smell.

  “Your dinner, sir,” a voice said above him. The teen had arrived with a couple of plates, a fork, and napkins. One plate held the chicken pot pies, the other brownies.

  “Anyone want a brownie?” Nelson asked.

  “I already ate,” Jeff said.

  But Lindsey’s eyes had locked onto the brownies.

  Nelson slid the plate closer to her. “Help yourself.”

  “You’re probably starving,” Lindsey said, pushing the plate back. “I can’t take your food.”

  Nelson slid the plate toward her again. “Maddy is going to kill me if she finds out that not only did I have dinner here, but I also ate brownies. So really, if you eat one, you might not only be doing me a favor, but saving my life.”

  Lindsey laughed.

  “Who’s Maddy?” Jeff asked.

  “The physical therapist from hell,” he said. “Uh, heck.”

  Lindsey smirked.

  “I mean, the best physical therapist in the country,” Nelson continued, “and her whole focus is on returning me to my former glory.”

  Jeff chuckled. “Sounds like there’s an interesting story there.” He clicked on the laptop again and said, “Now, if you want to wait for phase two, then you’ll have the option of . . .”

  Nelson tuned out Jeff and took a bite of the chicken pot pie. The flaky, buttery crust and steaming goodness was ambrosia to his stomach. And sitting by Lindsey was an unexpected perk. If only Jeff would take himself elsewhere, this night wouldn’t be half bad.

  “I’ll take one of those condos, Jeff,” Lindsey said. “Whatever is available. I want to move in as soon as possible.”

  It had been a long day, filled with the ups and downs of getting her number changed and then looking at places with Jeff Finch. Maybe Lindsey was jumping in too fast when she told Jeff to draw up the paperwork for the condo as soon as possible. But the place was in her price range, and she didn’t want to spend another day, or three, looking at other places. If Pine Valley worked out, she’d have plenty of time later to look around for a place to buy. For now, a one-year lease wasn’t something to lose sleep over.

  When Jeff had gathered his things to leave the café, he offered to drop Lindsey at the bed and breakfast, but Nelson had interrupted and said he had a car and was going the same direction. So here Lindsey sat, in Maddy’s Subaru, while Nelson navigated the small-town streets. Sitting in a car with Nelson put them in close proximity with each other, not to mention that it isolated them from other people or distractions. It was just her . . . and Nelson.

  His hair was combed more than usual tonight, and he was clean-shaven. She wondered why he seemed more dressed up than usual. He wore dark jeans, a button-down shirt, and loafer shoes that matched his belt. She hadn’t pictured Nelson as a belt-wearing type of guy. Not when she’d only seen him in ratty jeans or athletic shorts. Oh, and the hockey uniform she’d spied during her google searches. But the belt was a nice touch, and if Lindsey was going to be completely honest, sexy on him.

  So not where she wanted her thoughts to go. Nelson lived in Vegas and would be leaving in, what? A couple of weeks? Three at the most? Then what? He’d become an interesting and fond memory. She might watch a little more hockey, catch a few of his games, think of him as a guy whom she’d once blurted all her problems to . . .

  “Wanna take a detour?” Nelson asked, cutting into her increasingly misdirected thoughts.

  They were nearly to the bed and breakfast.

  But she wasn’t much looking forward to saying goodbye to Nelson and holing up in her room with a stack of contacts to begin emailing. Courtesy of Dawson. So she said, “What did you have in mind?”

  “When we were hiking down the mountain this morning, we passed by another hiker—Dr. McKinney or something,” Nelson said. “He said that just past the area we were hiking is a small herd of elk. They’re nesting this time of year. Coming down from the higher elevations. We could go see them.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re turning into a nature boy after all.”

  Nelson laughed.

  Lindsey sighed a happy sigh. She loved his laugh.

  “Is that a yes?” he asked.

  “I’m up for watching some elk in the dark.”

  Nelson slowed the car and did a U-turn. “The moon’s out.”

  And yes, it was. The full moon was bright, and as they drove up the canyon road past the Pine Valley Lodge, Lindsey watched the moon winking through the pine trees. This place really was gorgeous. Dawson had told her that the summers were the best. Perfect temperature. Wildflowers all over the mountain. Crystal-blue streams.

  Not that Lindsey would be hanging out in nature much.

  “I think this is it,” Nelson said, pulling onto a dirt road. The Subaru bumped along for a few minutes. Then the road opened into a wide meadow. A fence separated the road from the meadow.

  At first, Lindsey didn’t see anything, but when Nelson turned off the headlights of the car, her eyes adjusted. Dark forms were scattered throughout the meadow. Some standing, some lying down.

  “Wow, there really are elk,” she said, leaning forward in the car to peer through the windshield.

  “Let’s go out.” Nelson looked over at her. “Are you going to be okay in those high heels?”

  She looked down at her shoes. “I think so.”

  He nodded. “My jacket’s in the back seat.”

  “I can’t keep taking your clothes.”

  Nelson reached between the front seats to grab the jacket in the back, and his arm brushed hers.

  Lindsey leaned away to give him more room and to command her pulse to slow down.

  “Here.” Nelson handed her the same jacket she’d worn that morning. Full circle.

  “Are you sure?” she asked.

  “I’m s
ure.” He opened his door, effectively cutting off their conversation.

  She pulled on the jacket, and a few seconds later, Nelson had reached her side of the car. He opened the door and held out his hand.

  Why was she so nervous all of a sudden? She put her hand in his, and he helped her stand, but then . . . he didn’t let go of her hand as they walked to the fence. Maybe he was worried about her tripping in her shoes over the uneven ground? Lindsey tried to decide how she felt about Nelson’s large, warm hand enclosed around hers.

  She could admit that it felt nice. More than nice.

  They stopped at the fence, and Nelson kept a hold of her hand as they stood close together. She tried to focus on the elk, picking out different sizes of them and wondering about their quiet lives out here. But in truth, she was thinking about Nelson’s fingers and his palm and how his arm was nestled against her and how much she liked his scent.

  “What a life for an elk,” she said. “Full of peace.”

  “Except for hunting season,” Nelson said, squeezing her hand.

  She smiled. “Except for that.” Her gaze moved upward to the dark sky and glittering stars. “The sky seems so much larger out here.”

  Nelson looked up too. “I think that’s a shooting star,” he said, pointing.

  She caught the streak of light. “Are you sure?”

  “Make a wish.”

  So she did.

  They were silent for a moment. “Did you make a wish?” she asked him, casting him a sideways glance.

  “I did,” he said.

  She turned to face him, keeping a hold of his hand but linking their fingers. “What was it?”

  He chuckled. “I can’t tell you.”

  “Why not?”

  “Then it won’t come true.” He looked down at her, and even in the light of the moon and stars, she felt the intensity of his gaze.