her.
At the time he had been all ego, because not only was he an above-average student, popular with both boys and girls, and he was also a stand out on the gridiron—all which served to inflate his sense of self. It had taken age and maturity to for him to realize what he’d said to Nicole was not only cruel, but totally uncalled for.
He nodded, realizing he had to accept the truth. “You’re right. It was more ego than anything else.”
* * *
Nicole did not want to dredge up the past, but knew if she was going to spend more than six months in Wickham Falls and would probably run into Fletcher, they had to settle their past. “You were so used to girls falling over themselves to get you to notice them that you couldn’t accept that I’d rejected your invitation to go to prom with you.”
“It wasn’t only that, Nikki.”
Shifting slightly on the seat, Nicole turned to look directly at him. “What else was there?”
“It’s what you said when you accused me of sleeping with a number of cheerleaders at the same time. And, for your information, I’d never slept with any girl that went to our school.”
She went completely still. “If that’s the case then why did you say, ‘What’s the matter, Nikki? Are you jealous I didn’t ask you to sleep with me?’”
Fletcher shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Her eyebrows lifted slightly. “You don’t know. Had you found me so unattractive that you couldn’t see yourself sleeping with me?”
“No, no,” he said quickly. “It was just the opposite. I’d always thought you were one of the smartest and prettiest girls in the school, but I was afraid to ask you out because of your father.”
Nicole stared at Fletcher as if he had taken leave of his senses. Andrew Campos had been the local judge for the first ten years of her life before being appointed to the criminal court in the state capital. “What did my father have to do with anything?”
There was a swollen silence until Fletcher said, “Did you ever wonder why most of the boys at the school wouldn’t talk to you?”
“No. Why wouldn’t they?”
Fletcher smiled. “They were afraid of Judge Campos.”
Her jaw dropped. “Are you saying they viewed my father as some kind of monster?”
“Not a monster, Nikki. Just someone they didn’t want to have to deal with in case you told him a boy had attempted to take advantage of you.”
“That’s absurd. And you weren’t afraid of having to face him when you asked me to prom?”
His smile grew wider. “No, because I knew it would be the first and hopefully not the last time I’d ask you out on a date. And besides, I wouldn’t have done anything you hadn’t wanted me to do.”
“Like sleep with me?”
“I told you before, I didn’t sleep with any girl from our school, and I had no intention of starting with you.”
Nicole felt a modicum of relief he hadn’t thought of her as a “judge’s daughter” trophy about which he could brag to his buddies. And Fletcher had been truthful about boys either not talking to or coming onto her. There were occasions she’d felt totally isolated when her female classmates gave her smug stares because she wouldn’t have to compete with them for the attention of the more popular boys. Her best friend had been the boy who’d lived across the street from her and who’d confided to her that even though he was attracted to the same sex he was afraid to come out; that she was the perfect foil for his proclivity.
“Thank you for being truthful,” she said as she forced a smile.
“Does this mean you’re going to accept my apology?”
“As I said before, it’s the past, Fletcher.”
“Either it is yes or no, Nikki.”
Nicole turned and stared out the side window at the passing landscape. If Fletcher wanted absolution for his remark, then she would offer it. “Yes, Fletcher, I forgive you.”
She quickly dismissed his apology, pondering the issue of having to deal with her brother’s-in-laws. She now understood Reggie’s dilemma whenever he called to talk about his wife’s family. There was never a time he did not complain about the drain on his finances when writing checks to cover the Clarkes’ bills. Nicole had not wanted to get involved in what could possibly become a family feud, so she’d offered him little or no advice on how to deal with the Clarkes.
“Are your parents enjoying their retirement?”
Fletcher’s question broke into Nicole’s musings.
Once her parents retired, they’d given Reggie and Melissa their house as a wedding gift. She smiled. “Oh, yes. They’re like kids in a candy shop. They live in a gated retirement community with every amenity you’d want and need. Dad offers legal advice pro bono for at-risk youth, while my mother volunteers tutoring those studying for the LSAT. They claim it’s their way of giving back.” Her smile faded. “But whenever I talk to Mom, I can hear sadness in her voice when she talks about Reggie. She claims she prays every day that he will make it through his first ninety days without relapsing.” Her brother had managed to hide his addiction from those in The Falls until he’d overdosed and been transported to the hospital.
“Is she able to see him?” Fletcher questioned.
“No.”
“Isn’t that rather restrictive for family members?”
“Yes and no. Yes, because it keeps families in limbo as to the patient’s progress. No, because some may be complicit in aiding their addiction. Once I told my parents that Reggie needed in-patient rehab treatment, they found a private facility less than a mile from where they live. Convincing him to go was like attempting to pull an impacted wisdom tooth with a pair of tweezers.”
Fletcher asked her yet another question. “What did you do to convince him?”
“He knew he needed help after his sons found him unresponsive on the bathroom floor with a hypodermic in his arm. They were so traumatized that I decided to put them into counseling.”
“Good for you, Nikki. Addiction is a disease that affects the entire family.”
“You’re so right about that,” she said softly, knowing Reggie’s addiction to opiates had affected not only his children, parents and sister, but also his in-laws.
“You can let me out here and I’ll walk to the courthouse,” Nicole told Fletcher when he turned into the designated public parking lot. “I appreciate you dropping me off. I’ll take a taxi back to The Falls.”
“You don’t have to do that. I’ll drive you back,” Fletcher volunteered. “I’ll wait here while you defend your client.”
Nicole met his eyes. “I’m the client.”
“You’re joking, aren’t you?”
“I wish,” she countered. “My nephews’ grandparents are suing me because they want mandated court-ordered visitation.”
“Have you kept them from seeing the boys?”
“No, but it’s a lot more complicated than that.”
“If that’s the case, then I’m coming in with you.”
She smiled and rested her hand on his forearm. “I can assure you that I don’t need backup.”
Fletcher stared at her hand. “If you have to deal with folks from Mineral Springs, then you’re going to need someone to have your back.”
“Don’t be silly, Fletcher. This is not some football game between rival teams.” No one could pinpoint when the football rivalry between Wickham Falls and Mineral Springs had begun, but it had been evident when she was in high school and rumor was that it persisted more than a decade and a half later.
“It doesn’t matter,” Fletcher said as he pulled into an empty parking space and shut off the engine. “I’m still going in with you.”
Nicole did not want to argue with him when she had to keep her head straight to defend her decision against the lawyer the Clarkes had hired to represent them. “Okay. Come with me.”
For the second time that morning, she had conceded to Fletcher, something she had only done in the past with her commanding officers. As
a former captain in the corps she was used to giving orders and having them followed without question. But she was no longer active military, just a civilian attorney who had resigned her position as an associate with a prestigious Miami-based law firm to take care of her family.
Don’t miss
This Time for Keeps by Rochelle Alers,
available September 2019 wherever
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Copyright © 2019 by Rochelle Alers
ISBN-13: 9781488058233
To Take a Chance
First published as Beyond Business in 2005. This edition published in 2019.
Copyright © 2005 by Rochelle Alers
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