Forget about the treatment getting old. It was beyond black-squishy-banana-drawing-fruit-flies rotten. “Gramps could’ve retired ten years ago but he comes into the office every day.”
“He enjoyed the accolades when a case goes well.”
Which they did because of Elias. Even Dad relished the credit for work Elias did. Both of the elder Carpenter men loved being seen as the “big fish” in Berry Lake.
Which meant Elias shouldn’t expect them to treat him differently once he turned thirty or forty. Possibly even fifty.
The knot in his gut quadrupled. He’d followed the rules, kept his thoughts to himself, and worked hard. Look where that had gotten him. Even though he always wore a life jacket, he wasn’t one to rock the boat, but the oars had disappeared, and water was filling the hull. Sometimes capsizing was the only—the best—option.
“We need to hire more staff.” The words rushed out like the snowmelt feeding into Berry Lake. “There’s too much for one lawyer.”
The deep lines on Dad’s face would draw the rock climbers to town better than the local crags. “Three attorneys work here.”
Elias laughed, deep from his belly. The sound rumbled through him and loosened the knots inside him. That only appeared to irk Dad more. Elias wasn’t about to stop. He couldn’t.
He pushed the re-staked files toward Dad. “Take your cases back. I can’t do all this extra work if I have to be on some stupid committee.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Dad’s furrowed brow matched the confusion in his voice. “The Extravaganza will be excellent publicity for the firm.”
Seriously? Elias glanced around his office as if expecting to see a hidden camera or a film crew pulling a prank. “We’re the only lawyers in town.”
“It’s called giving back.” His father’s face turned a festive holiday red. “Do you have any idea how lucky you are? How many lawyers would appreciate the opportunity we’ve given you?”
“No.” Elias’s law school classmates hadn’t been impressed by his interning at his family’s law office. While friends gained prestigious law clerk positions, he hadn’t even applied. “How many?”
Dad’s eyebrows drew even closer until they nearly met. “What’s gotten into you?”
“I’m tired.”
Elias didn’t want to argue. Helping Grammy was his priority, but he needed more in his life than doing work that went unappreciated and left him unfulfilled. A new job would have to wait until Grammy felt better.
He rubbed his gritty eyes. “Anything I should know about being on the committee?”
Dad’s posture relaxed. “We’re an official sponsor, so don’t offer to pay for anything more.”
Not a surprise. Dad focused on the bottom line more than Gramps did. But if Elias quit, the firm wouldn’t survive without a massive reorganization and new hires.
“Keep your grandmother looped in, so she doesn’t feel left out. Oh, and she mentioned something about Sabine Culpepper’s animal rescue foster program happening in conjunction with the benefit, so you may find yourself involved with that too.”
Animal foster?
Before Elias could formulate a sentence, Dad headed out of the office. Then, he stopped at the doorway and faced Elias. “It’s clear the Extravaganza isn’t something you want to take on, but it’ll help your grandparents.”
Elias’s gaze bounced from Dad’s empty hands to the files stacked on the desk, still sitting at the same high level. “I said I’ll do it. But talk to Gramps about hiring an associate and a paralegal at minimum.”
Dad’s lips thinned. “We’ll see.”
Better than a straight-out no, but it wasn’t enough. Elias wanted to help people so justice was served. He took pride in representing Missy Hanford, accused of setting the Berry Lake Cupcake Shop on fire, but those cases rarely ended up on his desk. Jenny Hanford O’Rourke was only reason he was Missy’s attorney. He hated that she was accused of arson, but he was grateful for the opportunity to prove her innocence and himself. One more neighborly dispute and he might lose it for good.
January.
He would have to wait until then.
But come the new year, if Dad and Gramps didn’t hire additional staff, Elias would revise his life plan so it no longer involved the family firm…
Or Berry Lake.
Elias hoped Grammy would understand.
