Bourbon & Branch Water (14 page)

“No. It was Jeff. He wants to get together.”

“And?”

“I said no.”

“I see. I thought you liked him.”

“I do. But you said…”

Tanya paused before saying, “Yeah, I know
what I said. But what I meant was that you should keep your emotions in check,
not that you shouldn’t enjoy a hot date when it comes your way.”

Exasperated, Stormy snapped at her friend. “I
can’t! I can’t just turn off the emotions and sleep with him like there’s
nothing going on but sex. Okay… So maybe there
is
nothing going on but sex
—I can’t figure it out—
but that doesn’t
mean I don’t want more. And wanting more makes me lean toward emotional
attachment
.”

“You’re in a bad way, sister.”

Stormy nodded. “I guess so. I hadn’t put it
all together like that before. What do I do?”

“Hmm.”

“How can I know if he feels the same?”

“What did his text say?”

Stormy showed her friend the last text. “What
do you think?”

“I think he’s backing off.”

Groaning, Stormy put her phone back in her
purse. “Oh no. Do I call him?”

Her friend shrugged. “It depends on what you
really want. If you want some sort of romantic relationship with this guy, it
would be smart to go ahead and see him
, though you still have to
keep it on the sly because of your job
. If you’re worried about getting
dumped—which, as I told you before, is a serious possibility—let it
drop.”

Stormy considered both scenarios. She
certainly didn’t want to get dumped, but she also didn’t want to throw away a
chance at happiness with someone special. Presuming he truly was
her
someone special. So far, he’d
treated her very well
,
except for those three days with no calls, but
he’d apologized for that and had been quite attentive ever since. She nearly
blushed. “Attentive” made her think of all the attention he paid to her during
sex. That was definitely “attentive.” Remembered intimacies made her belly
clench down low. There was more to Jeff than his great looks, however. He was
smart, funny, charming.

Maybe he was a player as Tanya said, but
maybe he wasn’t. Tanya’s assessments were not always right. There’d been that
guy she’d almost married, until she found out he was already married. And that
guy who fooled her into thinking he was well-off by borrowing suits and a car
from some friend. Tanya later admitted that she’d have been better off meeting
the friend.

It was entirely possible that this was
another misjudgment on Tanya’s part.

“I’m going to call him.”

“Going to go for it, huh?”

Stormy nodded, her mind made up. “Sometimes
you have to take a chance.”

“Like that old comedian George...urn…Carlin
used to say, ‘Take a firkin’ chance!’“ Tanya’s smile was wry. “I’m an expert at
taking chances. Not so much at hitting the jackpot.”

Patting Tanya’s hand, Stormy hoped for better
for her friend. “You’ll wish on the right star one of these days, Tanya. I know
you will.”

“Maybe you’ll get there first. I’ll be rooting’
for you.”

Story’s appetite had returned, but she had a
phone call to make. “Excuse me for a minute?”

Tanya picked up a menu and turned to the
dessert page. “I’m going to order a hot fudge sundae while you’re on the phone.
I need a consolation prize.”

Laughter made Stormy buoyant as she exited The
Lounge and parked herself to the side of the tavern’s doors. There was a smoker
out there, but Stormy waved away the smoke and focused on dialing Jeff’s
number. He answered after three rings, just as Stormy figured she’d get his
voicemail.

He was breathing hard when he answered.
Breathing hard like he did after sex. Oh no. Had she messed up that badly?

“Hey, baby. Miss me?” There was a smile in
his voice, not a reprimand.

“Yes. Did I interrupt…something?”

“I was working out. Got to keep the girlish
figure.”

Remembering his wonderful muscles, Stormy
grinned. It was a relief to know he wasn’t with another girl already. “I wanted
to say I’m sorry.”

There was a pause. “Sorry for what?”

“For being so terse with you. For saying no
to lunch. I’d love to have lunch with you.”

“Okay. I was wondering what the cold shoulder
was about.”

“Cold feet, more like it. I’m afraid of you.”

“Afraid? Wow. How come?” Genuine surprise
colored his voice.

“You…move me. I don’t know. I was…afraid.”

“Not afraid anymore?”

“Terrified.”

He laughed. “I’ll try to make you less
fearful at lunch tomorrow. I ought to spank you for giving me the frosty
treatment.”

As uncomfortable as a hot fanny might be, the
idea of making that connection with Jeff was appealing. “You would?” Maybe that
was eager-sounding. She wasn’t eager for a punishment spanking, was she? The
erotic kind was a different story.

“Maybe. It wasn’t in my lunch plan. Do you
deserve it?”

“Maybe,” she countered. The thought struck
her that if he spanked her hard at lunch time she’d have a difficult time
sitting at her desk for the rest of the afternoon. She remembered what that was
like from the other day at his office. It would be physically uncomfortable,
but it would also remind her about Jeff and his interest in her, his caring
about her behavior. It was mighty confusing. “That’s not the kind of-” she
couldn’t say “spanking” while standing in a public place, could she? “Err…attention
I’d choose.”

That brought on a chuckle. “We’ll work it
out. I’ll be meeting with the Randolph’s at eleven. Would noon be okay with
you?”

She normally took lunch between twelve-thirty
and one o’clock, but it wasn’t like she punched a time clock. And there had to
be some benefit to being a junior attorney at the firm. “Yeah, that would be
fine. Where are we going?”

“I’ll surprise you.”

She grinned and they filled in the details,
careful to remember that they shouldn’t be seen together except at their
respective offices or in court.

Back at the table, Stormy relished each bite
of her dinner like it was a feast for the gods. Tanya slowly nibbled at her
sundae as Stormy ate.

“You’re grinning from ear to ear. It’s a
wonder you don’t slobber your food down your chin.”

Laughing, Stormy finished her fries with a
flourish. “I am in a good mood.”

“I can see that. Jeff was receptive, I take
it?”

Stormy nodded. “Yes!”

Tanya smiled and whatever she said was
drowned out by the jukebox for a moment and then
 
the topic of conversation changed.

Although she had a positive attitude going, Stormy
continued to mull the potential problems over in her mind. It was possible she’d
made a huge error already. Several huge errors where Jeff was concerned. They
were on opposite sides in a law suit.
Her brother Drake might get
over-protective when he found out about Stormy and his friend Jeff. Her mother
was ringing wedding bells.
 
And Jeff
wasn’t really
in her league in the dating market. He was Varsity and she was still Pee Wee.
However, each Pee Wee leaguer wanted to be on the big kids’ team someday.
Stormy wanted to be on Jeff’s team, and she didn’t want to get picked last. “Take
a chance,” she reminded herself. “Take a
fuckin
’
chance.”

Chapter 8

Jeff checked the weather report the next day
and cursed. Rain was predicted. Of course, he thought sarcastically, plan a
picnic, you’re sure to get rain, even in the desert. Unfortunately, he didn’t
have a Plan B. He made up the ice chest of food anyway and hoped for a break in
the clouds at the right hour. If worse came to worse, they’d eat in his car.

The meeting with the Randolphs went well
enough. They agreed sincerely to show up at the next negotiation session, but
were quite irritated by Ella Portermans attempt to sabotage the process by
circulating petitions around Fire Gorge. The petitions called for the immediate
cessation of work on the distillery and a call for a new town meeting to
re-consider the permit.

Jeff assured them that the permit would be fine
and he’d
counsel
them
ahead of any
town meeting. He
pointed out that there were jobs at stake and people were always concerned
about unemployment, especially in small, modest-income towns. The distillery
would employ quite a few local people and that wouldn’t be overlooked.

“I heard that the Portermans got a young
whippersnapper attorney from Fire Gorge,” Leland said, concern in his voice.

“I heard it’s a woman,” Nan added.

“Yes,” Jeff told them. “I know her
credentials.” He didn’t want to say anything bad about Stormy, but the truth
was, she lacked experience. He’d been a practicing attorney for almost five
years and was on the path toward partnership. Stormy’s lack of experience wasn’t
her fault at all, but it was still a disadvantage for her and her clients. “I
don’t think she’ll be a problem.”

The Randolphs both relaxed visibly.

Jeff was less comfortable about it. He knew
that both of their law firms would take a dim view of their fraternization.
Every hour he spent with Stormy was risky. In Las Vegas, where they could be
lost in a sea of people, it was not particularly worrisome, but out in Fire
Gorge, people would talk. As it was, it was rather dangerous that Stormy’s
mother knew his first name, but that couldn’t be helped. Hopefully, she wasn’t
the gossipy type and wouldn’t put two and two together.

It would be rather awkward telling Juanita
the truth after the case was closed, but with a little luck she’d see that it
was a necessary white lie and nothing more sinister. Jeff hoped he’d impress
her enough to make the matter minor.

Stormy was smiling as he met her in the parking
lot of Holyfield, Ramus and Fyne. Her beauty outshone the utilitarian
surroundings like a beacon in the darkness. She wore a green, knit dress that
clung to her figure. She didn’t need to emphasize her tiny waist with a thin
black belt, but it did exactly that. Her low heels did little to increase her
height, and Jeff considered how petite she was and how she fit into his arms.
It was appealing in a way he’d never considered before, having always dated
long-legged blondes. Stormy was a sweet little package. He’d be proud to
introduce her to his friends and family someday, after the case was over. In
the meantime, they were relegated to meeting in the parking lot at her work,
in a
far corner,
where they wouldn’t be observed. Jeff didn’t like it, but he also didn’t
want to cause Stormy any hardship, so it was necessary.

She dashed to the car as raindrops began to
fall. The sky was quite gloomy and once again Jeff pondered what exactly they
were going to do since the picnic plan was nixed.

He got out of the car and opened the door for
her, standing in the early, heavy droplets until she was seated.

Once they were in the car together, he gave
her a sound kiss, trying to ignore the stick shift pressing into his thigh. “Hey,
babe. You look delicious.”

She smiled a sweet, Stormy smile that was
much brighter than the day. The rain got heavier in contrast. “Hey yourself.”

“Well,” he said. “I have some bad news.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s raining and I had planned a picnic.”

She considered that for a moment. “That’s
awkward.” Her gaze drifted to the windshield, where the windshield wipers were
fighting a losing battle with the rain which had become a deluge.

“I can park us somewhere discreet and we can
eat in the car. I made a feast, all packed in an ice chest.”

“Yumm
,
I have an idea.” Stormy dug
in her purse and came up with a key.

“What’s that?”

“A key to
my
new apartment
!”

“That’s great! But what does it have to do
with our lunch plans?”

“We can go camp out in the apartment for
lunch. No one will take note of who you are
,
there are mostly working
class people there and they’ll be gone to their jobs
and we’ll have
it all to ourselves. It’ll be fun.”

It did sound like fun. Jeff put the car in
gear. “Where to?”

It took about three minutes to get there. In
the town of Fire Gorge proper, everything was concentrated in about a twenty by
twenty block square. The building looked a little careworn, but
well-maintained, and it looked like a reasonable neighborhood. Stormy would be
safe there.

Jeff grabbed the chest and Stormy’s hand and
they ran into the shelter of the breezeway. Another minute and they stood at
the door to her apartment shaking the water out of their hair.