Sandra Brown
Page 37
"Kendall was a lawyer at Bristol and Mathers," she began. "He got into trouble with the partners when the D.A."s office| accused him of tampering with evidence. The allegation was| never substantiated, although it was generally believed that| he was probably guilty of some malfeasance. No charges were filed, but he was dismissed from the firm.
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"For months afterward, he sent out resumes, but no other| firm was interested in hiring someone with a tainted record.|
Kendall Came discouraged and decided to go to ..v Carl il At'
a while. He asked me to forward his mail.
"A few months after his departure, he received a letter Prosper County, South Carolina. Because it looked like a response to his resume, I forwarded the letter to him immediately.
He called to thank me, said it was indeed a job offer, but that he wasn't interested in pursuing it. He was living a swinging bachelor's life in Rome, working as a consultant to a marketing firm, and loving it. That's when I decided to go for it."
She looked at him, hoping to see un derstanding in his expression, but he remained impassive. "I had graduated third in my class from law school, John. I was the most promising new lawyer at Bristol and Mathers, but I was given grunt work. I didn't feel a spark of interest, or challenged in any way, until the case I told you about, the woman with AIDS who was desperate for my help.
"That's when I knew that I didn't belong in a large, revenue oriented firm. I wanted to help people. I wanted justice for the down-and-outers. So I began sending out queries to states that use the public defender system, but received no encouraging replies. When Kendall declined the opportunity in Pros perit seemed like a . ... sign.
"Grandmother and Ricki Sue thought I was crazy, of course, but I wrote back passing myself off as Kendall. It's incredibly easy to assume another name, although I now know why Pros per County hired Kendall Deaton without conducting a more thorough personnel check," she added wryly.
"They wanted a corruptible public defender," John said.
"Exactly. The blot on his record appealed to them. He was just what they were looking for. Their initial reaction to me as a woman was negative. But I suppose that after further consideration, they decided a female would be even more malleable. Or maybe more vulnerable."
After a reflective moment, she continued. "Maybe my motives for becoming a P.D. weren't as altruistic as I would like everyone to believe. As I would like to believe. Maybe my goody-two-shoes ambition was based on pride. I wanted to show off, show everybody how smart I was. I wanted to please my parents, which your insightful comments helped me to see is impossible.
"Anyway, maybe the opportunity was taken away from me because my motives weren't as selfless as I claimed. Grand mother warned me that nothing good could come from a lie, and she was right."
She sat down on the corner of Pepperdyne's desk. Kevin was sleeping in his infant carrier. She heard John approaching her in what was now a familiar tread, with the bump of the 4. rubber stopper of his crutch preceding each footstep. :
He moved up behind her, reached around, and gave the ; infant carrier a push so it would rock gently. He stroked Kevin's cheek. Her heart melted at the sight of his tan, masculine finger against the smoothness of the baby's skin, not only because it demonstrated his affection for Kevin, but because it meant that he had slain his own dragon.
He said, "You knew that when the authorities discovered your false identity, you wouldn't have any credibility with either them or a jury."
"Who would believe such a tall tale coming from someone who's life was a fabrication? I had no choice except to run an. find a hiding place. First in Denver, then . . ." Glancing over her shoulder at him, she whispered, "With you."
He drew her up to stand facing him. He ran his finger through her short, cropped hair. His eyes roved over her face Then, with an almost violent motion, he pulled her against him and held her tightly.
"They could have killed you, he said fiercely. "I thought I was going to watch you die."
Wrapping her arms around him, she buried her face in his neck. ""What if you had died because of me, John? What if you had died?"
For a long moment they clung to each other. Finally he set her away. "Don't blame yourself for what happened to me.
"If you won't blame yourself for Marshal Fordham's death he frowned. "That's tough We'll work on it together.
"Together?"
"I think the three of us might have a shot at making this family thing work What do you think?
"I think Kevin and I need you. And you need us." She stroked his face, lightly touched the scar from which she had removed the stitches. "I have absolutely nothing to gain by lying, so you know this is the truth. I love you, John."
"I love you, too." Clearing his throat of unprecedented emotion, he said, "It would be nice to know your name."
"I'll tell you my name if you'll tell me at what point your memory came back."
Slowly, a smile stretched across his face. He lowered his mouth to hers for a deep, sexy kiss. She could easily have become lost in it, but she angled her head back and looked up at him.
"Well, John?"
Still smiling, he kissed her again.