Advice of Counsel (The Samuel Collins Series Book 1) (4 page)

“You want to all go together?” Landra asked.

“Sure.  I need to get Oliver’s car seat.  Let me get my keys,”
I told her.  “You want to come in?”

“Yeah, let me see what you’ve done with the place,” she said
smiling.

She followed me inside and walked around my house, making
herself at home.  I watched her go from room to room, and I tried to remind
myself that she was probably scoping out my stuff so she could rip me off later,
but it was hard to imagine. She seemed so nice.  I didn’t want to believe what
I had convinced myself of just two minutes earlier.

“It looks really good!” she said enthusiastically, after she
had checked out the whole house.  “Did you pick the colors yourself?”

“Yeah.  I’m not finished painting yet.  I’ve still got to do
something to the walls in the TV room back there.”

“Why don’t you let me paint rock walls for you back there?  I
did it at my house and they look incredible.”

“No shit?”

“No shit,” she said smiling.  “Do you have a beer or
something?”

I was so infatuated with this girl it was ridiculous. I liked
everything about her. 
Except that she was stealing hundreds of thousands of
dollars from my neighbors
.  But then, if they were stupid enough to let her
rip them off, maybe they deserved it.

I pulled out two bottles of beer from the fridge and opened one
and handed it to her.  “Do you want a glass?”

“No.  This is fine, thanks.”  She took a swallow of beer and
licked her lips, and I realized I was staring at her again.

“What do you do for a living?” I asked. 
Other than ripping
off my neighbors.

“I work part-time at a shelter.”

I didn’t see that one coming.  “Really?” I said trying to hide
my surprise.

“Yeah.  And I help out Sara and the Johnses.  Have you met
Verna and Andy?”

“Yeah,” I said, distracted.

“And you’re a lawyer,” she stated.  She was leaning against my
counter, checking me out again.  It was almost like she was sizing me up,
trying to determine if she could take me on.  “What kind of lawyer are you?”

“Well, that depends,” I said. “Do you mean,
what kind of law
do I practice
, or do you mean,
am I a nice lawyer or a dick
?”

She smiled and took another drink of her beer.  “The second.”

“I’m a dick,” I said without hesitation.

Landra laughed out loud. 
God, she was beautiful
.  I was
staring at her again, and I must have had a stupid smile on my face, because
she finally asked what I was smiling at.

“I guess at you.  I didn’t realize I was,” I told her
truthfully. And then I couldn’t help myself.  I had to get it out in the open. 
“Exactly what is your relationship with Mrs. Howard and Verna and Andy Johns?”

“My relationship?  They’re my friends.  Sara’s actually my
Godmother.  And technically, I guess I’m their employee, if you want to call it
that.  They each pay me to help them out with things.  But first and foremost,
we’re friends.  Why?”

“I just wondered.”

If she was up to anything, she sure didn’t show it.  She didn’t
even flinch when I asked.  She was either really good or she was really good at
being bad.

Landra looked at her watch.  “You ready to go?”

I went next door and retrieved Oliver and his car seat while
Landra fetched Mrs. Howard, and we all met back at my house and I installed the
car seat in the back seat of my Suburban, which was no easy feat.  If four days
earlier, someone had told me that I would be driving an 80-year-old woman, an
almost-4-year-old boy, and a beautiful con-artist to dinner, I would have told
them,
when hell freezes over
.  But there I was, Mrs. Howard sitting next
to me, Oliver in his car seat behind me, and Landra Krally next to him.  
Unbelievable
.

“So, which side are you on with the deer?” Landra asked me.

I had no idea what she was talking about.  “What do you mean?”

I was watching her in the rearview mirror.  She was playing
some game with Oliver that involved covering her eyes, and every time she took
her hand away from her face, Oliver laughed.

“I’m surprised you haven’t heard.  Park residents either love
them or hate them.  And both sides are equally passionate in defending their
views.”

“I like the deer,” I told her.  “That’s part of the reason I
moved here.  Where else can you sit on your front porch while a dozen deer
graze through your yard?  I think it’s awesome.”

Mrs. Howard had been humming to herself and I wasn’t sure if
she had even been listening to the conversation, but she reached over and
patted my arm.  “We like them too,” she said smiling at me.  I could tell she
was glad we were on the same side.

She hadn’t brought muffins over for the last two mornings and I
had actually been disappointed.   “What happened to my muffins?” I asked her,
slowing down to let a doe cross the street.

“Oh!  I was out of flour, but Landra brought me some today so
I’ll do some baking tomorrow.”  She patted my arm again.  “It’s nice to have
someone to bake for.”

We got to the restaurant and stood in line to order.  The place
is decked out with rustic old license plates and neon beer signs hanging on the
walls.  They have a good selection of imported beer and I always thought they
should put in a nice beer garden out back – a place for the local Parkers to
hang out.  As it was, they had a back room where they could roll up the walls
when it was nice outside, which would have to suffice.

We took a table in the back room, but no sooner had our food
come, than Oliver announced that he had to use the bathroom.

“Right now?” I asked in disbelief.

“I’m busting,” he said dramatically.  He crossed his legs and
sort of danced in place.

I looked at Landra, waiting for her to volunteer.

“I want
you
to take me,” Oliver told me, pulling on my
hand.

I looked at her again, but no offer was forthcoming.  In fact,
I could tell that both she and Mrs. Howard were amused and that
neither
of them planned to bail me out.  I groaned and got up and followed Oliver to
the bathroom. After an eternity, we returned to the table.  My burger was cold
and the fries were gone.

“What happened to all the fries?”

Landra stopped chewing and looked guilty, then she finished her
bite and swallowed hard.  “Sorry.”

“You ate all the fries?”

“I’m sorry,” she said, looking up at me with those big brown
eyes.  “I’ll get another order,” she said, jumping out of her chair.

For some reason, her hearty appetite was a real turn-on. 
“Don’t worry about it,” I told her, pushing her back into her seat.

“No.  I insist,” she said.  She got up and disappeared through
the door, and Oliver and I sat down and started eating.  Landra reappeared
within minutes with another order of fries. She set the fries down in front of
me, then salted them and squirted ketchup in the corner of the tray, then she
proceeded to eat at least half of the order.  I was impressed to no end.

“No wonder you have to work out,” I told her.

Landra narrowed her eyes and pointed at me with the last fry. 
“Are you insinuating that I eat too much?”

“Let’s just say that I wouldn’t want to be stranded anywhere
with you if there was a food shortage.

Mrs. Howard laughed and Landra acted insulted.  “You want the
last one?” she offered.

“Not after you’ve had your fingers all over it.”

She looked me in the eye and held the stare with this cute
little smile on her face. She was playing with me, teasing me, and right there
in front of Mrs. Howard.  I took the challenge and stared right back at her and
made her look away first.  She laughed out loud and polished off the last fry.

We drove home after dinner and I pulled into Mrs. Howard’s
driveway and dropped the two of them off, then I parked the Suburban in my
driveway and walked Oliver home. Maddie greeted us at the door.

“How was it?” she asked, bending down and hugging Oliver.

“It was fun!” Oliver said.

“I forgot your car seat,” I told Maddie.

“Don’t worry about it.  It’s a spare.”

I reached down and messed up Oliver’s hair, then gave his head
a little shove.  “See ya later, Oliver.”

He wrapped himself around my legs.  “Bye, Samuel.  You want to
play catch tomorrow?”

“I don’t know.  We’ll see.”

I went back to my house and Landra was sitting on my front
porch petting the Siamese. 
Shit . . . about both of them.

“I can’t believe he lets you near him.”

“Siam loves me,” she said, rubbing him behind the ears. She
picked him up and nuzzled her head against his.  “Don’t you?” she asked the
cat.

“Siam?   That’s his name?”  I could hear him purring from five
feet away.

She put the cat down and stood up.  “I think I left my jacket
in your car.”

We walked over to the Suburban and Landra retrieved her jacket,
then she followed me back to my front steps.  I had no intention of inviting
her in. Landra Krally was nothing but trouble.  I knew that.  But I was
thinking with the Old Fella again, and with each minute I spent near her, the
importance of my neighbors’ welfare slid further and further down the scale.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” she asked, cocking her head
to the side and flashing me that smile.

“I hadn’t planned to.”

“Why not?  Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No one I date exclusively.”

Landra rolled her eyes.  “Typical lawyer response.  So that’s a
no
?  You don’t have a girlfriend?” she said, pinning me down to a
definitive answer.

“No.  I don’t have a girlfriend,” I admitted.  “And I’m not
looking for one either.”

“Sure you are,” she said confidently.

She turned me around and directed me towards my front door,
then she followed me inside and hung her jacket on the coat rack by the door.

“Make yourself at home,” I said sarcastically.

“Okay. Thanks.”

“Has anyone ever accused you of being overly assertive?” I
asked her.

“First I eat too much and now I’m overly assertive?  Come on
Sam, can’t you say anything nice?”  She led the way through the living room to
the kitchen.

“That’s Samuel to you.  And no, I can’t say anything nice,
because frankly I’m afraid where it might lead.”

Landra laughed out loud.  “Why?  What do you think’s gonna
happen?”

“Nothing’s gonna happen.  That’s what I think.”  I opened the
fridge and took out two beers and handed one to Landra.  She had these nice
full lips that were just begging to be kissed.

“You want to know what I think?” she asked, moving closer to
me.

I held my ground.  “Not particularly,” I said, holding her
stare.

“I think you’re scared of girls.”

This time it was my turn to laugh.  “Only one of them.”  My
eyes were locked on hers and I was dangerously close to doing something I knew
I would regret.

 Without taking her eyes off mine, Landra set her beer down on
the counter and moved in right next to me.  She slid her arms around my waist,
clasping her hands behind my back, then she turned her face up towards mine and
fixed those damn eyes on me.

“I am so attracted to you,” she said, and that was it. 
To
hell with the neighbors.
  I was a goner.

I took her head in my hands and I brought my mouth down to meet
hers.  Her lips were soft, and mine molded perfectly to them.  I kissed her
long and hard, probing her mouth with my tongue while she reciprocated with
matched vigor.  She smelled so clean and she felt so soft and warm that I
couldn’t stop.  I breathed in her scent and I ran my fingers through her hair
as the kiss progressively intensified then slowed to a more passionate,
leisurely pace.  I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist, and
she used the leverage she had gained to become the aggressor.  The girl was
sparring with me, even as we kissed!  I put her back down and pinned her
against the fridge and the pace and furor picked up again as I regained the
upper hand.  She put her hands on my shoulders and tried to climb up me, but I
rested my weight against her so she couldn’t move.  We had both started to
laugh and I finally had to end the kiss because our teeth were colliding.

Landra threw her arms around my neck, laughing out loud.  “Oh
my God, that was awesome!  Can I be your girlfriend?”

Now, I’d had quite a few partners in my time, but none that I
had wanted as badly as I wanted Landra Krally right then.  I had a colossal
erection that was threatening to bust my zipper and I was breathing hard just
from kissing her.  I wanted to rip her clothes off and take her right there on
the kitchen floor, but something stopped me.  She wasn’t the kind of girl that
a guy could do that to and hope to see again.  And I definitely wanted to see
her again, and a whole lot more of her for that matter.  Landra Krally was
fun.  And I hadn’t dated anyone who I would classify as
fun
for a long
time.  Plus, she was a great sparring partner.  Shit, even in the depth and
breadth of a heated kiss, she was trying to one-up me.  Yeah, Landra Krally
could be my girlfriend any day, but I wasn’t about to tell her that.

“Didn’t your mother ever tell you it’s not safe to seduce a guy
you don’t even know in his own home?”  I was trying to sound serious but I
couldn’t pull it off because I was still laughing.

“Well, I won’t make a habit of it.”  She ducked under my arm
and retrieved her beer and handed me mine, then she backed me up against the
counter and stood right in front of me, leaning her weight against me.  “If I
can’t be your girlfriend, will you at least ask me out on a date?”

She was such a tease.  She nuzzled her face against mine and
kissed me so lightly on the lips that it sent goose bumps down my spine.