“I haven’t signed a retainer agreement and I need to know what your fee is.”
He just looked at her then, his gaze thoughtful and his jaw set hard. “I’m not taking a retainer.”
“You are.” She leaned back against the counter as she let the cheese cool on the pizza. “Come on. I know that you’re a very expensive lawyer, and we’re going to be official about this.”
“As far as I’m concerned, you’re part of the team, Millie.”
Her chin lowered. “Neither one of us is really part of the team.”
The Deep Ops team was unique and they were a lot of fun, but she’d only been assigned to them for a brief time before her superiors had yanked her onto another case, and Scott just gave legal advice. Well, when he wasn’t getting shot.
“We can discuss it later,” he said.
She opened her mouth to argue just as the back door opened. JT strode inside, pulling along a smaller woman by the sleeve of her sweatshirt.
“Lila’s going to join us,” he said gruffly. “Lila? Meet Millie and her lawyer, Scott.”
“Hi,” Lila said, her voice quiet. “I don’t need dinner.” The woman ineffectually struggled against JT’s hold.
Millie tried really hard to keep her mouth from dropping open. JT wasn’t usually such a brute.
“Hi, I’m Millie.” She held out her hand.
JT released the woman.
“I’m Lila.” Lila looked at Millie’s hand and slowly clasped it, shaking quickly and letting go. She had vibrant brown hair cut in a bob, tawny brown eyes, and a scar across her chin. “I’ve been helping your aunt with the business.” She shuffled her feet. Her sweatshirt was overlarge and even her jeans looked baggy; Millie couldn’t unobtrusively bend down far enough to double-check, but she was fairly certain Lila was wearing Millie’s boots from a couple of seasons ago.
“Oh,” she said. “Yes, my aunt mentioned that she had somebody helping out. I’m so glad you’re here.” Going on instinct, she grasped Lila’s hand and pulled her toward the table. “I made pizza. It’s my specialty.”
The aroma must have hit Lila because a light pink flushed her cheekbones. “It does smell delicious.”
“I’m Scott.” Scott remained relaxed in his chair and didn’t make a move toward Lila, as if instinctually he realized the woman wanted to bolt.
Millie pulled out a chair. “Please, eat with us.” Her great-aunt had mentioned that she’d hired a woman to clean the bunkhouse for the upcoming season, as well as to organize a lot of the tackle gear. It certainly wasn’t one of JT’s skills, and Millie was too busy just now to come help.
Lila sat almost reluctantly, her hands in her lap. Millie cut her brother a look, but he ignored her and took a seat across the table. Was he trying to figure out what Lila was doing working for their aunt? If so, he didn’t need to look so deadly sitting at the table.
Roscoe clambered off Scott’s feet and lumbered toward Lila, who shrank back, her eyes wide.
“Hey.” JT dropped his hand onto Roscoe’s head and scratched behind his ears. “Stick with me, big guy.”
As if he understood, Roscoe partially turned and leaned into the rub, his tail wagging on the floor and over one of Lila’s boots. The woman moved her feet to the side. Roscoe shoved his butt out, keeping his head beneath JT’s vigorous rubbing, and shook his tail faster over both of her boots as if he wanted to include her. She watched him, and a hesitant smile tilted her lips. “I wonder how far he’d chase me with that tail.”
“He’d stretch all the way across the kitchen if he could. Roscoe wants everyone to like him,” Millie said, fetching two additional wineglasses before taking her seat and starting to dish out the pizza. “So Lila, where are you staying?”
“I’m staying in the cabin on the other side of the big sycamore tree,” Lila said, reaching for her pizza and taking a bite. “Oh my gosh, this is amazing.”
Her aunt hadn’t told her she had rented out the cabin. It was another one that Millie had retrofitted with some special electronics, even though it looked like an ordinary small cabin from the outside. “How’s the cabin working for you?” Millie asked. “I had a little trouble with the window shades last time I was home.” She had them rigged to automatically move with the sun.
Lila smiled, transforming her face from pinched to pretty. “They’re working well. Every once in a while in the middle of the night they spring open.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “But it’s just fun. For a while I thought the place was haunted until your aunt told me about your skills.”
Millie smacked her hand against her head. “I’m sorry. I’ll be out there to fix them when I can. I also want to take a look at the heated floor. It seemed to be on the blink last time I was home.”
“Oh, it’s always hot,” Lila said, grinning. “I don’t mind because it’s cold for now. In July, it might be a disaster for whoever is staying there.”
JT cocked his head and released Roscoe to reach for his wineglass. “You won’t be staying there? I thought Aunt Mae hired you for the entire season?”
Lila reached for her wine and took a deep drink. “We’ll see.”
