Read Online Home Is Where Your Boots Are by Kalan Chapman Lloyd - Free Book Online

hospital. And the people in this town have finally seen me for that. I’m kind of their knight in shining armor. I’m the guy in the white hat, on the white horse, you know?” he implored. I propped my hip on the corner of my desk and slowly applauded.
    “How long you been working on that speech?” I asked sarcastically. He smiled, his hand in the cookie jar.
    “A while.”
    “Okay. What else?” I kept digging, well aware of my bad habit of not leaving well enough alone.
    “Alright, smartass,” he shot back, “ I’m well aware that you end up being the best at whatever you’ve always set your mind to. It doesn’t matter if it’s hopscotch or hairdressing, you win at everything. Except against me,” he finished with a devilish grin.
    “That’s not true. I’ll beat you at anything, anytime, you name it,” I shot back.
    “You see Lilly, it’s that fightin’ spirit that makes me want to hire you as my lawyer”
    “Sure, bubba. But you’ve got something else going on in your head on this deal,” I reasoned out loud, tilting my head and fixing my eyes on him.
    “I figured the fact that you hate my soon-to-be ex-wife might come in handy.” He ducked as I threw my Montblanc pen at his head.
    “You jackass. I should have known that whatever your intentions were no way would they be pure,” I ranted. “And that’s the farthest from the truth. I feel deeply sorry for your wife. Anyone dumb enough to be married to you has to have a screw loose. If push came to shove, I’d choose her side over you, on principle alone.”
    He took a second to look hurt.
    “Just calm down and listen, Lilly. Let’s be rational about this. You and I have always been at each other’s throats. We’ve been going at it for years. It’s what the town expects. Now imagine us in cahoots, the town’s two most dynamic individuals as a team. It’ll shock people. It’ll turn the town on its ear.” This last bit was said with a diabolical grin. “And to be honest, I need your reputation. If you’re behind me, I have a shot of one of the judges in this town listening to my side. Otherwise, they’ll take one look at me and send me on my way with nothing.”
    I looked for something else to throw at him.
    I was opposed to divorce. But I was a lawyer, and justice was a big driver for me. Cash was right. He probably wouldn’t get a fair shake in this town.  My presence on his side of the courtroom would go a long way toward leveling the playing field.
    “I’ll do it,” I affirmed, sticking out my hand to seal the deal with a handshake. He took my hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing it softly and then returning it to my side as I stood there in stunned silence.
    “Lilly, you’re the best. Together, no one will touch us. I’ll call yo u,” he turned and walked toward the door. He winked at me before he walked out of my office. I was still standing with my mouth open and my hand dangling at my side. Exactly what I had gotten myself into, I wasn’t all that sure. I saw that gleam in Cash Stetson’s eye, the same one I’d seen at sixteen, right before he’d eased me up against his shiny red pickup and removed any trace of my first kiss from my mind. 

Chapter Eleven
     
    The next day, I went through what was becoming my normal routine of unlocking the door, flipping on all the lights, loading up the coffee pot and setting it to perk. When I was in Dallas with my firm, I’d taken for granted my secretary, paralegal , and two clerks, not to mention the nameless gofers who got my dry c leaning and did courthouse runs, the mundane office chores I’d considered beneath me. I was discovering there was a certain serenity in adjusting the temperature on the thermostat and organizing my desk. Lord knows I needed some serenity.
    Sitting down at my computer, I listened to the coffee pot gurgle and savored the strong aroma of good old-fashioned Cain’s. Screw Starbucks. I opened my computer to check my email and wait on my nine