The Family Plan (The McClouds of Mississippi 1)

“I have many nice memories of my father. We didn’t have money and we didn’t always have a nice place to live, but we had love. I tried to remember that during the worst financial times.”

“When did he die?”

Though she spoke matter-of-factly, it still hurt to remember. “Soon after my college graduation. Massive heart attack. He was so proud at the graduation ceremony. He wore his only special-occasion necktie and he didn’t stop smiling all day.”

Nathan covered her hand with his. “I wish I’d had a chance to meet him. I’m sure I would have liked him.”

Caitlin didn’t doubt that. Nathan didn’t judge people by their appearance or social standing or financial success. He was as unfailingly respectful to the least affluent of their clients as he was to the local bigwigs. She knew that his circle of friends included doctors, bankers, mechanics and laborers.

His parents had been wealthy and influential, but he would never look down at her because hers hadn’t been.

It was no wonder she had fallen so hard for him, despite her misgivings about mixing business and pleasure.

“I’d like to go with you to visit your mother sometime.”

That surprised her. “Why would you want to do that?”

“Because she’s your mother,” he answered simply.

Caitlin toyed with the cover of the case file. “She doesn’t know she’s my mother. She doesn’t know she’s anyone’s mother. She sits in a chair, totally immersed in whatever video is playing in her mind. Sometimes she murmurs words, but they don’t make any sense. Sometimes she seems to be singing a little, but there’s no real tune or lyrics. I talk to her when I visit, but I doubt that she even knows there’s anyone in the room with her.”

“But you still go. And you still reach out to her, even though she can’t reach back. We’re a lot alike, you and I, Caitlin Briley.”

She had never thought of them as being very much alike or even having anything much in common, other than their work. Swallowing, she opened the file again. “About the Smith case…”

“Nate?” Isabelle wandered into the room, rubbing her eyes and carrying her stuffed owl. “I don’t feel good again.”

Nathan rose to tend to his sister and Caitlin closed the file in resignation. It seemed that they wouldn’t be working today. Again.

Chapter Fourteen

Caitlin was falling behind at work, though she would have been hard-pressed to pinpoint the reason why. Irene was certainly doing her part to keep everything on track. The clerical staff was keeping up with the filing and the billing, for the most part. Nathan left the office only when his responsibilities as Isabelle’s guardian called him away. If he’d taken any free time just for himself, Caitlin cer

tainly didn’t know about it.

It was true that she’d been spending many evenings with him and Isabelle during the two and a half weeks that had passed since the Sunday when Isabelle had been sick. They had several dinners together, attended a kid-friendly movie one evening and spent quite a few hours watching Isabelle make use of the local playground facilities. The holidays were approaching, and Isabelle was busy with school programs and the twice-a-week dance class she had persuaded Nathan to enroll her in, but there was still the occasional evening when Nathan and Caitlin found a few hours to be alone together, with Mrs. T.’s cooperation.

They made very good use of that time.

Caitlin had been forced to cut back from sixteen work hours a day to ten or twelve. Maybe that was why she was having trouble keeping up with her too-heavy workload. She had worried from the start that her relationship with Nathan would interfere with her work, she thought in mounting frustration.

“You and Mr. McCloud should consider bringing in another lawyer,” Irene said after a particularly strenuous afternoon. “Not necessarily a partner, but an associate to take some of the time-consuming bankruptcy cases.”

“It’s something to consider,” Caitlin replied absently, her fingers flying over her keyboard.

“Ms. Briley, there’s a call on line two,” Mandy said over the desk intercom. “It’s a Mr. Tom Hutchinson from Los Angeles.”

Gathering papers, Irene left to give her privacy to take the call. Caitlin pushed a hand through her hair and looked at the phone with misgiving. She wasn’t sure what to say to Tom right now, especially if his call had anything to do with an interview with his firm.

Because she couldn’t simply leave him holding, she picked up the phone.

“Katie. Hi, it’s Tom.”

She’d forgotten how annoying it was for him to call her that. “How are you, Tom?”

“Great. Couldn’t be better. I’m working on a couple of possibly precedent-setting cases and making more money than I could have imagined at this stage in my career. It’s a tough firm—fiercely competitive, unforgiving of mistakes, almost cutthroat, at times, but the future is unlimited here.”

“I’m happy for you, Tom. I know this is what you wanted.”