our date for
the next day. I was saved from any other discussion by the arrival
of our burgers, and it was nearly impossible to talk while eating
one. After we were finished, I was glad for the chance to walk back
to Where There’s Soap. At that point, any exercise I could get was
worthwhile.
I hesitated when I got to the porch, and
Louisa asked, “Aren’t you coming in?”
“ No, I’d better do a little
more checking on this fence. I want to pin Paulus down and see if
Andrew knows what he’s talking about.”
“ See you later, then.” I
started for the Miata when Louisa called out, “And Ben, don’t worry
about Kelly. Things will work out.”
“ I hope you’re right,” I
said. Mom had given me special dispensation to park with the
customers on the grounds that I was trying to get the situation
resolved, and I’d need my own transportation to do it.
I drove to Paulus’s house, but his car was
gone and no one answered the doorbell. Where in the world could he
be? I thought about calling Kate and asking her, but even if she
knew, I wasn’t sure she’d tell me. I’d pushed her once, but I
didn’t think I’d have a chance pushing her again so soon.
As I drove around town trying to think of
anything I could do to help the situation, I suddenly found myself
parked in front of Kelly Sheer’s law office. Now how had that
happened? Was I there to check on her progress on our case, or was
it for more personal reasons? Either way I had a legitimate reason
to visit her, and if I could get a better read on our situation
while I was there, that was fine, too.
Kelly’s office was in a complex downtown near
the courthouse, the main professional building for Harper’s
Landing. There were three other attorneys in the building, along
with two accounting firms. I walked into her office and saw that
she’d hired a new receptionist. The man was in his late twenties,
and I hated to admit it, but he was quite a bit better looking than
I was.
“ May I help you?” he asked
before the door could close behind me.
“ I need to see Kelly,” I
said.
“ Do you have an
appointment?” he asked as he scowled at his computer
terminal.
“ No, but she’ll see me if
she’s here.”
He gave me a look that conveyed how sorry he
was, and how deluded I must be. “She’s in conference at the moment,
then she’s due in court. If you’d like to make an appointment, I’d
be happy to set you up with something late next week.”
“ Tell her Ben Perkins is
here to see her,” I said, fighting the urge to blow past him and
tell her that myself.
If he recognized my name, he didn’t show it.
“Mr. Perkins, I’m afraid I can’t interrupt her at the moment.
She’s-”
Kelly came out of her office. Her long blonde
hair was pulled back, and wire-rim glasses were perched on her
nose. She looked great in her tailored suit, but I preferred her in
blue jeans.
“ Ben, what are you doing
here?” I’d had warmer welcomes from people I had to collect money
from.
“ I need to talk to you,” I
said.
“ I tried to tell him you
were busy,” the receptionist said.
Kelly took my arm and pulled me into an empty
office, no doubt where a partner would be someday. “What’s this
about?”
“ What did you find out about
our property line?” I asked.
She frowned. “It’s not as simple as I thought
it was. There’s some doubt about the original survey. I’ll have to
look into it myself on Monday.”
There was no way in the world I could wait
until then. “Why not now? This is important, Kelly.”
“ And you don’t think what
I’m doing is? I’m in a meeting at the moment, and then I’ve got to
be in court. By the time I’m finished, the register of deeds will
be closed. I’m sorry, but I’ve got to get back in
there.”
“ That’s fine,” I said. “I
didn’t mean to interrupt.”
A handsome man about my age poked his head
out of her office. “Kelly, is everything all right?”
“ It’s fine,” she
the next day. I was saved from any other discussion by the arrival
of our burgers, and it was nearly impossible to talk while eating
one. After we were finished, I was glad for the chance to walk back
to Where There’s Soap. At that point, any exercise I could get was
worthwhile.
I hesitated when I got to the porch, and
Louisa asked, “Aren’t you coming in?”
“ No, I’d better do a little
more checking on this fence. I want to pin Paulus down and see if
Andrew knows what he’s talking about.”
“ See you later, then.” I
started for the Miata when Louisa called out, “And Ben, don’t worry
about Kelly. Things will work out.”
“ I hope you’re right,” I
said. Mom had given me special dispensation to park with the
customers on the grounds that I was trying to get the situation
resolved, and I’d need my own transportation to do it.
I drove to Paulus’s house, but his car was
gone and no one answered the doorbell. Where in the world could he
be? I thought about calling Kate and asking her, but even if she
knew, I wasn’t sure she’d tell me. I’d pushed her once, but I
didn’t think I’d have a chance pushing her again so soon.
As I drove around town trying to think of
anything I could do to help the situation, I suddenly found myself
parked in front of Kelly Sheer’s law office. Now how had that
happened? Was I there to check on her progress on our case, or was
it for more personal reasons? Either way I had a legitimate reason
to visit her, and if I could get a better read on our situation
while I was there, that was fine, too.
Kelly’s office was in a complex downtown near
the courthouse, the main professional building for Harper’s
Landing. There were three other attorneys in the building, along
with two accounting firms. I walked into her office and saw that
she’d hired a new receptionist. The man was in his late twenties,
and I hated to admit it, but he was quite a bit better looking than
I was.
“ May I help you?” he asked
before the door could close behind me.
“ I need to see Kelly,” I
said.
“ Do you have an
appointment?” he asked as he scowled at his computer
terminal.
“ No, but she’ll see me if
she’s here.”
He gave me a look that conveyed how sorry he
was, and how deluded I must be. “She’s in conference at the moment,
then she’s due in court. If you’d like to make an appointment, I’d
be happy to set you up with something late next week.”
“ Tell her Ben Perkins is
here to see her,” I said, fighting the urge to blow past him and
tell her that myself.
If he recognized my name, he didn’t show it.
“Mr. Perkins, I’m afraid I can’t interrupt her at the moment.
She’s-”
Kelly came out of her office. Her long blonde
hair was pulled back, and wire-rim glasses were perched on her
nose. She looked great in her tailored suit, but I preferred her in
blue jeans.
“ Ben, what are you doing
here?” I’d had warmer welcomes from people I had to collect money
from.
“ I need to talk to you,” I
said.
“ I tried to tell him you
were busy,” the receptionist said.
Kelly took my arm and pulled me into an empty
office, no doubt where a partner would be someday. “What’s this
about?”
“ What did you find out about
our property line?” I asked.
She frowned. “It’s not as simple as I thought
it was. There’s some doubt about the original survey. I’ll have to
look into it myself on Monday.”
There was no way in the world I could wait
until then. “Why not now? This is important, Kelly.”
“ And you don’t think what
I’m doing is? I’m in a meeting at the moment, and then I’ve got to
be in court. By the time I’m finished, the register of deeds will
be closed. I’m sorry, but I’ve got to get back in
there.”
“ That’s fine,” I said. “I
didn’t mean to interrupt.”
A handsome man about my age poked his head
out of her office. “Kelly, is everything all right?”
“ It’s fine,” she
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