“It’ll get easier.” She cringed as the platitude escaped her lips.
He remained silent. The other man stood to one side and watched them with obvious interest. Chelsie felt the heat of his gaze and looked over. He smiled and pulled his hand from the pocket of his jeans. “Ryan Jackson.”
She grasped his hand, grateful for a friendly face in the enemy camp. “Chelsie Russell. Nice to meet you.”
At the exchange of pleasantries, Griffin’s gaze settled on their intertwined fingers and his expression darkened.
She picked up her briefcase. “As I said, I’m sorry. If there’s anything I can do...”
“There’s not.” He didn’t bother to couch his anger with niceties.
She sympathized with his pain, but did not have to take his abuse. “Right.” She reached out to Alix, fingering her soft curls between her fingers.
Without another word, she turned and walked out of the building, away from the man and the child.
Griff scowled at Chelsie’s retreating back, his gaze unwillingly fixed on the gentle sway of her hips as she walked. He grunted in disgust. There was nothing gentle about Chelsie Russell. He placed Alix beside him on the floor.
That he’d almost allowed himself to be distracted by Chelsie’s dark eyes and huskily spoken words disgusted him. He couldn’t let himself forget her attempt to separate him from his niece, a little girl she’d never given a second thought to until now.
Chelsie had never been one for family visits, and though he’d have liked to get to know her better, he hadn’t been given the chance. He’d always admired her looks, and as an attorney, he’d respected her dedication and zeal, but he’d never expected her to turn those killer instincts on him.
Thanks to her misplaced family loyalty, he’d almost lost his niece, his last link to his broth
er. For that, he’d never forgive her.
“Cool off, buddy. You won. Alix is safe and she’s yours.”
“Yeah. Thanks for the surveillance tape, by the way.” Proof that Chelsie’s parents had attempted to bribe Griff into relinquishing custody had undermined every seemingly credible witness on their behalf and undoubtedly swayed the judge.
“What’s a good P.I. for?”
Griff turned to watch Alix run in circles around the marble pillar. She looked so much like Jared that a lump formed in his throat. Once it lodged there, the accompanying emotional pain and memories would take time to subside.
The car accident that claimed the lives of his brother and sister-in-law had shaken the foundation of his existence. He and Alix had each other and no one else. The Russells didn’t count and for all the time she’d spent with the little girl, neither did Chelsie.
At two years old, Alix needed Griff to keep the memory of both parents alive in her heart and her mind. He would do that, even if he had to alter his entire lifestyle to accomplish it.
“Why do you suppose she takes on all those tough cases?” Ryan asked. He pulled a carrot from a paper bag and placed it in Alix’s hand. “More than half of them are pro bono, you know.”
“This doesn’t count as one of her tough cases,” Griff muttered. “And her parents don’t exactly classify as those in need of free legal counsel. How do you know all this, anyway?”
“Had to do something with my time while I kept Alix away from the theatrics in there.” He gestured towards the courtroom.
“Who the hell knows why women do what they do? Most of them want something.” Griff could understand Chelsie’s need to support family. He’d stuck by his brother all their lives. But a bright woman with an ounce of compassion would want more for her niece than to be raised by people capable of deceit and bribery. Even if they were her parents.
“Chelsie Russell’s not Deidre.”
Griff lifted one eyebrow. “No? Could have fooled me. She does a damned good imitation. She’s out to build a reputation and doesn’t care who she steps on in the process.” His gaze drifted towards the glass doors Chelsie had disappeared through minutes before. “Trust me, Ryan. She’ll get what she wants. I know the type.”
“Maybe she’s building that reputation, but seems to me it’s the other way around. Unlike some women, she gives. Doesn’t take.”
“Sure she does. You’re just a sucker for a pretty face.”
“Still bitter, huh? I guess it hasn’t been that long, but I’d say you’re better off without the witch.”
“Drop it, Jackson.” His fiancée hadn’t had the decency to wait until Griff had buried his brother before she dumped him, his new charge, and a lifestyle that didn’t fit into her plans. She’d turned out to be no better than the mother who had abandoned him as a child. Without a six-figure salary, Griff held little appeal. Deidre had stuck around only as long as he remained a partner at the largest firm in the city of Boston.
“What’s all this hostility about anyway? The lady was just doing her job,” Ryan said.