It was as if someone had slugged Kate in the stomach. Trailer trash.
She tightened her grip on her pen. She couldn’t explain it, but the words hit something in her. She was more than relieved it was time for lunch and made a beeline to her office, trying to take deep, calming breaths. She could hear Nicole following behind her. Of course. They had to discuss the information they had so far and make sure they were on task. And discuss points they could tear apart, to get Ms. Herrera to backtrack.
It was dirty. And necessary, even if Kate felt nauseated at the prospect.
But this was what she did.
And the sooner she got her head in the game, the sooner she could wrap this up.
…
Dominic took a drink of the lukewarm coffee that Benny had brought him and the rest of their small group seated in the waiting room. It had been a couple of hours and, from what the doctor had explained, it could still be another hour more.
Waiting sucked.
Benny sat next to him. “So Kate seems really nice. Smart but not overly full of herself.”
He’d wondered how long it would take before Benny started talking about this.
“Are you guys serious?”
He could say one thing about his sister, she certainly was straightforward. “Kate and I…we’re kind of complicated right now.” Benny stared at him, waiting for him to continue, and he sighed. “I don’t really want to talk about this right now, Ben. Can we save it for later?”
“Okay. But I wanted you to know. I like her. We all do. She’s nothing like Melinda.” Benny waited about twenty seconds and started again. “But what’s so complicated?”
Dominic repressed a sigh and was just about to tell his sister she needed to learn the definition of “no” when he saw a familiar redhead in a knee-length navy skirt, matching blazer, and killer heels walking his way. And all other thoughts save one left his mind.
She came.
Even with her hair drawn into a tidy bun at the back of her head, she looked damned sexy. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms.
She stopped in front of Daisy and his mom, and they both stood and welcomed her in a hug. If he weren’t mistaken, Kate actually looked comfortable with the contact and seemed to return it—even if she hadn’t initiated it.
He and Benny joined them, and he could feel everyone watching him and Kate. He spoke first. “You came. Did everything go okay with the deposition?”
She shrugged. “It went fine.”
But he could see something in her eyes, and the dark shadows underneath told him there was more to the story. He’d have to pursue it later.
“Your mom told me your dad’s still in surgery. How are you holding up?”
Dominic looked around at the curious faces and smiled. “I’m doing all right. I need to walk my legs a bit. Care to join me?”
He waited until he knew they were out of ea
rshot to ask. “You look beat. You didn’t have to come, you know.”
She looked affronted. “Of course I did. We already went through this. I care about your family, just as I care about you.” The words made his heart thud a little irregularly, even when she hastily added, “I mean, I think over the past couple of weeks we’ve become…friends.”
“Okay, then since we can both agree that we’ve become friends, maybe you can tell me what has you so upset? Don’t tell me you’re fine. I can see you’re struggling.”
“Yeah, fine. This one seems to be taking a lot out of me. Making me wary of the whole process. I’m used to turning off my emotions when I question witnesses. Empathy doesn’t have any room in a deposition or a courtroom. But something about this woman…” She paused and tried to force a smile. “I’ll probably feel better a little later. After I’ve processed everything, had something to eat.”
“You hungry? We can grab something in the cafeteria.”
“No, but thanks. Not that hospital cafeteria food doesn’t sound appetizing, but I need to get back to the office. I’ll just pick up something on the way. I have a meeting with Tim and Nicole to discuss the progress of the case and next week’s round of depositions. How late are you going to be here?”
Dominic looked at his watch. Just past two. “If everything goes as planned, Dad should be out within an hour and in recovery. I want to see him before I go. Then I was planning on getting the tile laid in your bathroom.”