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“Yes,” I say. “It does.” I narrow my eyes at him. “I just told you I turned down a case worth a shit-ton of money. You aren’t going to ask why?”
“If I have to ask, you shouldn’t be my partner, but if it was Carlson Wright, he called me next, and I turned him down, too. He’s a low-life. Not our kind of client.”
I laugh. “And that, my friend, is why I’m now in New York with my name on a wall next to yours. I need to finish wrapping up loose ends, work with the associates, and wait for a case I really want to win. That’s when I win.”
“As do I,” he says. “Lori will learn that. She’s a young attorney, but as a friend, let me say this: Maybe you should take Lori to Houston. See our new partner candidate. Get her away from the heat of it all and give her the room to melt down. Then come back and start fresh.”
“Maybe,” I say. “But Lori needs to feel in control. I’m not sure pulling her from the familiar does that for her.”
“Right here, in this place, she has to have control,” he says. “And that woman has worn a suit of armor for years. Maybe that means she really didn’t let the attack get to her. Or maybe it means the effects are going to build and build under all that armor and explode without warning.”
He’s hit a nerve I didn’t know existed, something bothering me that I couldn’t identify. Under that armor, Lori was losing her mind when I met her, stressed and worried all the time. I’m supposed to be the person she can throw it away with. I’m supposed to be her safe place. My need to protect her has done just the opposite. I’ve forced her to put that armor back on.
Reese’s phone buzzes with a text and he glances at it. “One of my associates. Let me call him and then we should go upstairs where our women await.”
“Is Lori here?”
“For about ten minutes,” he says. “Cat sent me a text when Lori was on her way up to give them about twenty minutes of girl time.” He stands up and walks toward the bar.
Lori is here and didn’t stop by and tell me. That doesn’t feel right. I stand up, grab my briefcase and motion toward upstairs to Reese. I don’t wait for him to join me. I need to see my wife. And if I have to, I’ll take Reese’s advice. I’ll tie her to a bed and keep her there while I tear away that armor, inch by inch if that’s what it takes.
Lori
I’m still standing in the bathroom, staring at the box that reads “pregnancy test” when Cat knocks on the door. “Well?”
I open it and hold up the box. “I haven’t taken the test.”
“Why?!”
“I don’t know, Cat. I don’t know. I just can’t seem to make myself take it. Maybe that’s why I haven’t found a way to get the test. I’m afraid to find out.”
Her hands come down on my arms. “Honey, this is not you. You aren’t afraid of anything.”
“Apparently I am. I don’t know how I could worry over a baby when I just worried over my mother. And my father died and—”
“Deep breath. You are not pregnant, but if I’m wrong, and I’m not, you will be the best mother ever. Take the test.”
“Cole and Reese will be here any minute.”
“Reese is going to text me when they head up here. I’ll warn you. Take the test. Should I stand here and supervise?”
“No, you will not,” I say indignantly. “I’ll take it.”
“Hurry,” she says, waving me back inside and shutting the door behind me. “If you hear the door,” she calls out, “I’m expecting documents from the courthouse I ordered for my work-in-progress I want to show you. That means hurry, in case you didn’t hear my first hurry.”
“Right,” I call out. “Hurry.” I sit down on the toilet seat. What is wrong with me? I read the box. I’ve read it five times. It doesn’t seem to matter. I read it two more times and then tear open the box. The test is officially in my hand. I set it on the sink, and press my hand to my forehead.
There is a knock on the door. I stuff the test back in the box. I’m doing this in the morning. It says morning on the box. My phone rings and I snatch it from my purse to find my mother calling. “Hey, mom.”
“Why do you sound weird?”
“Because I was born that way?”
She laughs. “Ah, your father loved that joke. I miss him.” She sighs. “I miss you, too. We’re home. Can you and Cole come see us soon?”
“We’d like that. This weekend?”
“Perfect. And then I can thank Cole for that amazing trip to the Hamptons in person.”
