Kelsi waited patiently until they were cleaning up, moving the uneaten lasagna into smaller containers for the fridge, and getting started on dishes. “So, Mom, what bad news is there that you felt deserved the lasagna treatment?”
Her mom’s hands stilled momentarily where she was busy drying the casserole dish. “Oh no, I have nothing to tell you, honey. No news at all. Nope, nothing.”
“Mom, please tell me that you’re not sick, or dying?” Kelsi felt an edge of panic creep in. What would she do if her mom was sick? She would have to see if there were treatment options available. She knew some doctors; maybe she could call themfor second opinions and advice, if needed. Kelsi couldn’t lose another person she loved.
“Oh no, no,no. Nobody is sick or dying.”
Her mom’s voice cut through Kelsi’s panicked overthinking, and she relaxed with a huge sigh of relief. Her mom was a horrendous liar, always had been. Kelsi had been able to read her like a book from day one. Watching her mom’s tense shoulders, she knew that at least she was being truthful about there not being anything terminal to worry about. As for anything else, Kelsi decided not to push it. Her life had been enough of a shitstorm recently, what was another thing lobbied at her?
Kelsi and her mom had grown close in the years since her dad left, and she couldn’t imagine anything happening to her. For so long, it had been them against the world. She never wanted that to change, although she did sometimes wish her mom could find someone to spend the rest of her life with. While she had Kelsi and Sarah Beth, Dylan’s mom, Kelsi still wished her mom could find love again.
“Now, I’ve packed you some leftovers for lunch at work tomorrow, okay?” Her mom thrust a Tupperware container with some of the lasagna crammed in. “I want you to call me as soon as you leave to tell me how your first day went! And, if Banksy is a hard-ass, you let me know and I’ll set her straight.”
Kelsi smiled, picturing her petite mom going hand to hand with her friend, who, honestly, was always a little bit of a hard-ass. “Will do, Mom. Thank you again for dinner. You know the lasagna is my favorite. No matter the news.”
Her mom gave her a hug, arms tight around her. “I know,” she said, holding Kelsi tighter to her for longer than normal. “I love you.”
A little coil of worry snaked its way around her heart, but she brushed it aside, knowing that to force her to talk would not get her anywhere. Her mom may be a terrible liar, but she was even more stubborn than Kelsi. “Love you too, Mom.”
Her mom finally released her, giving Kelsi room to slip on her shoes at the door. “Now, go kick ass tomorrow!” she exclaimed with a loud whoop.
Kelsi chuckled, amused at how little her mom understood about a typical day in the life of an attorney. Definitely not as high stakes or action-packed as her mom’s television dramas told her. Kelsi and Banksy had both tried for years to bring her back to reality, but she insistedSuitsandLaw and Orderwere the real deal.
Climbing into her car and heading home, Kelsi glanced at the lasagna sitting innocently in the Tupperware on the passenger’s side, wondering why her mom thought she would need it tomorrow.
CHAPTER 5
Kelsi
Kelsi pulled intoa spot in the Jefferson County Courthouse’s parking lot right at eight thirty the following morning, admiring the Virginia red brick and the imposing colonial columns that adorned this small and historic courthouse. It wasn’t even a quarter of the size of Virginia Beach’s courthouse, but, when the entire county had a population under 11,000, it didn’t need to be.
When she was a child, she dreamed of working here. Banksy had brought her to work with her some days to show her what a day in the life of a prosecutor looked like, and she’d fallen in love with the drama, the stakes, and the advocacy of it.
Of course, that had been beforethe incident.Instead of coming here as planned, she’d run from anything to do with this town and fled to Virginia Beach, where she at least had Abby in her corner.
Now she was finally returning to this building and the career she’d dreamed of.
She was excited as she stepped out of her car, free of first-day jitters, her travel coffee cup and purse in hand. She strolled through security and made her way up to the third floor, wherethe commonwealth’s attorney’s office was located. Without an employee badge, she pressed the buzzer to be admitted.
A tinny voice came out of the speaker. “This is Cat. How may I help you?”
“Hi, Cat! It’s Kelsi Cameron, here for my first day.”
“Right, of course! I’m going to buzz you through now. Just walk through and I’m the first desk you’ll come to.”
The light on the intercom system next to the door flashed from red to green, and Kelsi heard the mechanical lock disengage. She grabbed the handle, turned it, and stepped into the office.
The hallway before her was carpeted, worn in the middle where people walked over it daily, and carried a musty smell that betrayed its age. Kelsi took a deep breath and walked through the short hallway, admiring the pictures on the walls of previous employees of the office, spotting Banksy in many of them. As she reached the end, she stopped in front of the desk, peering over the elevated countertop and spying who must have been Cat sitting in a massive ergonomic desk chair.
She smiled when she saw Kelsi and pushed away from the desk. Cat slowly stood, one hand on her stomach—herverypregnant stomach, Kelsi noticed with slight surprise.
She was petite, and Kelsi guessed, based on where the top of her head hit the bottom of Kelsi’s chin, that she must have been barely five feet tall. Her face was young, and she looked familiar, probably a few years behind Kelsi in school, but in a small town like Oyster Shoals, everyone was familiar.
“Hi, Kelsi! I’m so excited you’re here!” She walked around the desk and laced her arm through Kelsi’s, hooking them together at the elbow and dragging her down the hallway. “It issonice to have another woman around this office. There are too many men and none of them appreciate gossiping with me. We are going to be best friends—I can feel it.”
Kelsi blinked slowly, trying to process the sheer energy radiating off Cat. She smiled at her, though, and confessed, “You didn’t hear it from me, but I do love a good gossip sesh to go with my morning coffee.”
Cat tipped her head back and laughed loudly, patting her arm. “Yes, we’ll get along just fine.”
