“Are you that way with all your customers, or is he special?” Heather inquired curiously.
“Foolish old man,” Henrietta muttered, her gaze following him nonetheless. “He’s a judge. Harry Corrigan. Thinks he’s God. I’m here to tell him otherwise.”
Heather hid a smile. “Interesting.”
Henrietta turned her attention from the departing judge to Heather. “I haven’t got time to waste talking about the likes of him. Tell me about you.”
Heather gave her the short version, leaving out any specific mention of Todd. An hour later she had the job, a place to stay—in the rooms upstairs—and a new friend.
“This is just temporary,” Heather reminded her.
“Girl, you’ve told me that half a dozen times. You’ll go when the time is right and I’ll be no worse off than I am today. Who knows, maybe you’ll decide to stay. You could do worse than Whispering Wind. It’s a nice little town for raising kids. And I imagine Buck over at the service station can find you a deal on a used car.”
Heather knew with absolute certainty that staying wasn’t an option, but she’d been as honest about that as she could be. “Thank you. You’ve been very kind.”
“Kindness has nothing to do with it. You’re bailing me out of a jam. I’m tired of working dawn to dusk, seven days a week. Having you around to share the load will be like going on vacation.”
“Maybe so, but I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I never expected to be lucky enough to find work on my first day in town.”
“You want to run across the street and see Jake now, you go right on and do it,” Henrietta told her. To her credit she hadn’t asked Heather why she needed a lawyer when she’d barely set foot in town. “Business won’t pick up for a while yet. I can keep an eye on Angel for you.”
Heather hesitated. She hated taking advantage of a woman who’d already been so generous. “Angel can be a handful,” she warned.
“Believe me, you don’t know the meaning of the word until you meet the two hellions I’ve got living with me.”
“You have kids?” Heather asked, surprised. She would have thought Henrietta was old enough for grandchildren, not little ones of her own.
“Oh, they’re not mine, if that’s what you’re thinking. It’s a long story and best saved for another day. They’ll be along any minute once they’ve finished with their tutor. Both of them are smart as whips, but they missed a lot of classes a while back. They’re getting caught up after regular school lets out. They can keep Angel company till you get back.”
“If you’re sure…”
“Go. You might as well get whatever’s on your mind taken care of. Much as he tries to demonstrate otherwise, Jake’s a good lawyer and a decent man. He’ll do right by you.”
“I won’t be long,” Heather promised. There was no need to reassure Angel about her absence. She’d already crawled into Henrietta’s lap, where she was being rocked to sleep.
Maybe for once in her life, Heather concluded, she had done exactly the right thing. Not only was Angel going to gain a daddy, but it looked as if she was going to pick up an extended family, as well, something there had been little time for Heather to cultivate in New York.
And if the byplay she’d observed between Henrietta and the judge was anything to go by, the next two or three months would be downright entertaining.
The secretary in Jake’s office regarded Heather with fascination.
“Honey, do I know you? You look real familiar to me.”
“I doubt it,” Heather said. “This is the first time I’ve ever been here.”
The woman continued to stare, then snapped her fingers. “Wait. I know who you are. Hold it a sec. It’s right here.” She opened a file drawer in the desk and began tossing things out of it until she finally came up with an old issue of Soap Opera Digest, the one with Heather’s picture on the cover. “I knew it. That’s you, isn’t it?”
Heather couldn’t decide whether to be flattered or dismayed. She had played dozens of parts in her career, but it appeared that that particular one was going to follow her forever. Unfortunately there was no denying that she was the woman on the cover. “Afraid so,” she said finally.
“Well, I’ll be. What on earth are you doing in a one-horse town like Whispering Wind? I’m Flo Olsen, by the way. If you’re here to see Jake, he’s out. Of course, he’s usually out. That man works less than any human being I’ve ever known, and now that Megan’s pregnant, he’s impossible. He hovers over her like he thinks she’s going to break. She keeps calling here and begging me to come up with some big emergency that’ll get him into town and out of her hair, but I ask you, what sort of an emergency is a lawyer likely to have around here?”
Her expression brightened. “Of course, telling him that a famous actress is here to see him ought to do the trick. Just a sec. Have a seat. I’ll track him down.”
Heather sat. Since the only apparent reading material was the soap magazine, she had little to do but stare around at the office, which was surprisingly well-furnished for a man who supposedly did very little work. Suddenly what Flo had said clicked.
“Did you say his wife’s name is Megan?” she asked Flo when the secretary had hung up, her expression triumphant.
“Yes. Megan O’Rourke. I’m sure you’ve heard of her. She’s our very own local celebrity. Have to say she and I didn’t hit it off too well at first. She’s my little girl Tess’s legal guardian. Tess’s father was Megan’s granddaddy. He was taking care of Tess for me when he died, and he specified in his will that Megan was to take over.”
A grin flitted across her face as she told the story. “Sounds like something that would happen on a soap, doesn’t it? Leaving Tess with Tex O’Rourke wasn’t one of my best moments, but everything’s working out now. I get to spend a lot of time with Tess, but Megan and Jake are real good to her. I think things happen for a reason, don’t you?”
“I do,” Heather said, since nothing more seemed to be expected. This situation was getting increasingly fascinating. She couldn’t help wondering, though, just how wise it was to spill her secrets to the man married to Todd’s boss. She knew how much Megan relied on Todd. How would she feel about anything or anyone who upset the man’s orderly existence? Just to protect her own interests, would she throw a monkey wrench into Heather’s plan?
Heather was still debating what to do an hour later when Jake Landers finally came through the door, looking harried and nothing at all like a lawyer. Instead, in his worn jeans and chambray shirt, he fit her notion of a rugged cowboy to a T. Rugged and handsome, Jake exuded masculinity.
“What’s the big emergency?” he asked Flo.
Flo jerked her head in Heather’s direction. “You have a client.”
Jake gave Heather a once-over, then focused his attention on Flo once again. “I thought I told you not to schedule any appointments without consulting me, not until this baby thing is wrapped up.”
Heather stifled a grin at his naive belief that there would be a time in the near future when the “baby thing” would be wrapped up. Wasn’t she here precisely because that never happened?
“Your wife is pregnant, not sick,” Flo told him. “I’m sure she can spare you for a few minutes. Besides, this isn’t just any client. This is Heather Reed.”
When Jake failed to look impressed, Flo added pointedly, “Liza Whittington, you know, on ‘Heart’s Desire.’”
Jake looked more perplexed than ever. “Excuse me?”