Read Online Heart of the Matter by Marta Perry - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Marta Perry
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aftershave.
She didn’t want to keep remembering that, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.
She’d have to find a way. Ross’s curtness today had to mean that he regretted what happened. Recognized it and regretted it.
That was the best course, surely. Nothing real could ever develop between them, and she’d be smart to accept that.
She forced her attention back to the table. Matt had begun telling an anecdote about one of his clients, an elderly man who wanted to sue his landlord for letting pigeons roost on the gables of the house he rented over in Mount Pleasant’s old town.
She laughed with the rest of them, but the story reminded her of C.J.’s housing problems. Matt, as an attorney, might have some insight.
“What if you had a tenant with a real problem? For instance, he or she had a landlord who refused to fix the air-conditioning in a building where folks were really suffering from the heat.”
“I’d have to know a bit more about it to give advice.” Matt focused on her. “But certainly they have legal recourse if they have a signed lease that includes air-conditioning.
It’s a violation of the warrant of habitability. Is this someone you know?”
“In a way. My intern at work. She lives with her grandmother somewhere in Charleston, and they’re having a lot of trouble with the landlord.”
Matt frowned. “Too often, people are afraid to fight in situations like that. Or they can’t afford to.” His lips twitched as Georgia and Amanda both looked at him. “And, yes, I would take a case like that pro bono, if that’s what you’re planning to ask me. But as I said, I’d need a lot more information.”
“I can talk to C.J., my intern, about it.” Amanda recognized the enthusiasm that gripped her. It was what her brothers liked to call her Joan of Arc response to the little guy getting hurt.
Well, good. Maybe it would keep her distracted from the stupid attraction she kept feeling for Ross.
“Well, now, Amanda, it seems this might be just what you’ve been looking for.”
Amanda stared blankly at her grandmother. Had Miz Callie been reading her mind?
“You’ve been talking about wanting to write an important story, haven’t you?” Miz Callie said. “Seems to me you’ve just found one.”
The idea took root with a sureness that made it seem as if God was sending a message to her through Miz Callie. She reached over to squeeze her grandmother’s hand.
“You know, you might be right about that.”
If this guy got any more evasive, Ross decided, he just might slide right out of the booth at the coffee shop and on out the door.
“Your contracts with the Coast Guard base must be pretty important to your business, Mr.Gerard,” he prompted.
The list of suppliers had finally come through from Amanda’s father, and he’d picked Gerard Plumbing as a good place to start. Now he was starting to wonder about that. Amos Gerard had balked at coming to the newspaper, but finally agreed to meet for a cup of coffee at the coffee shop across the street. So far the coffee was the only thing that had crossed his lips.
Gerard shrugged, wiping a ham-size palm on his jeans. “I guess so. They’re good folks to work with.” His gaze shifted from the coffee cup to the spoon to the sugar bowl without coming to rest on Ross.
“How did you come by that contract?”
He considered himself pretty good at reading the people he interviewed, but he couldn’t decide whether the man had something to hide or was just nervous at talking to someone from the press.
“Saw the announcement and bid on it, like everyone else.” Now Gerard’s gaze did meet his, but with a suspicious glare. “If you’re saying there was anything wrong with my work, you’re way off base. The Coast Guard got exactly what they ordered from me, and at a fair price, too.”
“I’m not questioning your work at all,” he said quickly. If Gerard thought that, he’d clam up entirely. “I’d just like some
She didn’t want to keep remembering that, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.
She’d have to find a way. Ross’s curtness today had to mean that he regretted what happened. Recognized it and regretted it.
That was the best course, surely. Nothing real could ever develop between them, and she’d be smart to accept that.
She forced her attention back to the table. Matt had begun telling an anecdote about one of his clients, an elderly man who wanted to sue his landlord for letting pigeons roost on the gables of the house he rented over in Mount Pleasant’s old town.
She laughed with the rest of them, but the story reminded her of C.J.’s housing problems. Matt, as an attorney, might have some insight.
“What if you had a tenant with a real problem? For instance, he or she had a landlord who refused to fix the air-conditioning in a building where folks were really suffering from the heat.”
“I’d have to know a bit more about it to give advice.” Matt focused on her. “But certainly they have legal recourse if they have a signed lease that includes air-conditioning.
It’s a violation of the warrant of habitability. Is this someone you know?”
“In a way. My intern at work. She lives with her grandmother somewhere in Charleston, and they’re having a lot of trouble with the landlord.”
Matt frowned. “Too often, people are afraid to fight in situations like that. Or they can’t afford to.” His lips twitched as Georgia and Amanda both looked at him. “And, yes, I would take a case like that pro bono, if that’s what you’re planning to ask me. But as I said, I’d need a lot more information.”
“I can talk to C.J., my intern, about it.” Amanda recognized the enthusiasm that gripped her. It was what her brothers liked to call her Joan of Arc response to the little guy getting hurt.
Well, good. Maybe it would keep her distracted from the stupid attraction she kept feeling for Ross.
“Well, now, Amanda, it seems this might be just what you’ve been looking for.”
Amanda stared blankly at her grandmother. Had Miz Callie been reading her mind?
“You’ve been talking about wanting to write an important story, haven’t you?” Miz Callie said. “Seems to me you’ve just found one.”
The idea took root with a sureness that made it seem as if God was sending a message to her through Miz Callie. She reached over to squeeze her grandmother’s hand.
“You know, you might be right about that.”
If this guy got any more evasive, Ross decided, he just might slide right out of the booth at the coffee shop and on out the door.
“Your contracts with the Coast Guard base must be pretty important to your business, Mr.Gerard,” he prompted.
The list of suppliers had finally come through from Amanda’s father, and he’d picked Gerard Plumbing as a good place to start. Now he was starting to wonder about that. Amos Gerard had balked at coming to the newspaper, but finally agreed to meet for a cup of coffee at the coffee shop across the street. So far the coffee was the only thing that had crossed his lips.
Gerard shrugged, wiping a ham-size palm on his jeans. “I guess so. They’re good folks to work with.” His gaze shifted from the coffee cup to the spoon to the sugar bowl without coming to rest on Ross.
“How did you come by that contract?”
He considered himself pretty good at reading the people he interviewed, but he couldn’t decide whether the man had something to hide or was just nervous at talking to someone from the press.
“Saw the announcement and bid on it, like everyone else.” Now Gerard’s gaze did meet his, but with a suspicious glare. “If you’re saying there was anything wrong with my work, you’re way off base. The Coast Guard got exactly what they ordered from me, and at a fair price, too.”
“I’m not questioning your work at all,” he said quickly. If Gerard thought that, he’d clam up entirely. “I’d just like some
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