Rebecca Atkins: Attorney At Love (Lonely Cowboy Series)

by Susan Leigh Carlton

  Becky continued shopping for things she needed in her pantry and didn’t get anything extra for Bandit.

  * * *

  Rebecca had discovered the company of Bandit had relieved her of the concerns of work. She didn’t regret quitting but she wanted to find something else. She just didn’t fret about it as much as before. She didn’t have to worry about work due to her family’s position in life. She wanted to work.

  As she walked along the street toward her home, she saw a man putting up signs about a lost dog. He looked unkempt, as if he had been drinking. Quite heavily too. His clothes were rumpled and dirty and he didn’t appear to have bathed in a week.

  The posters had pictures of Bandit. Torn between her newly acquired affection for the dog and the desire to do what was right she opted to do the right thing. She hesitated and then walked up to the visibly upset man. “Sir, my name is Rebecca Atkins and I would like to ask you a couple of questions.”

  “What do you want? Can’t you see I’m busy? I don’t have time to talk to you about any questions you have, now just get out of here,” he said.

  “I just need to ask you a couple of questions. It won’t take but five minutes. It’s about…”

  “Lady, I don’t care what it’s about. I don’t want to talk to you. Now, take your questions and go away and leave me alone. Just go away.”

  “There’s no need to be so upset or nasty. I just would like to ask you two or three questions.”

  “If you don’t get out of here and leave me alone, I’m going to show you just how mean I can get.” He picked up the rest of the signs and his bag of nails and hurried off down the street.

  Rebecca had rarely encountered such a mean tempered and rude person. He couldn’t even spare her five minutes so she could ask him about his dog. She admitted to herself, “I didn’t really tell him it was about his dog, but I tried to. Actually, I didn’t really try to. I should have been more forthcoming in the beginning. He didn’t have to be so hateful. I don’t want Bandit to have anything to do with someone as hateful as that. He’s too sweet a dog.

  Just listen to me. I’m making excuses because I didn’t want to give Bandit up. That’s not fair. It makes me as bad as he is.”

  Rebecca got a real mad on at herself. She now became angry and frustrated. That idiot couldn’t spare her a minute. He didn’t even look at her. It embarrassed her to be dismissed so off hand. “I’m not going to tell him I have Bandit. At least tonight. Maybe I’ll tell him tomorrow,” she continued talking to herself.”

  She went on home, convinced she had done the right thing. She was greeted at the door by the enthusiastic beagle. His tail waved back and forth. He was glad to see her. She took him to the back door and let him out. He quickly ran to his favorite spot and urinated. He ran back and forth just to be running. Then he squatted and did the rest of his business. He ran around to the other trees in the yard, sniffing and hiking his leg, marking his territory.

  “Bandit! Come on, I have a treat for you. Bandit, come on, let’s go in now.” He wasn’t finished so she sat on the steps. Finally he came to her and stood there, tail wagging, and panting. They went in the house. He checked his water and gave him some of the food left from the night before. He scarfed it down and came back to her expectantly. She gave him one of the bones the butcher had so kindly given her. He took it and went to the blanket she had put on the floor for him. He sat on all four legs, held the bone between his paws and gnawed away happily. “I knew I did the right thing,” she said aloud. Nevertheless, she felt guilty.

  After she ate, she said, “Come on Bandit. Let’s go for a walk.” She had determined if she saw the man again, she would tell him about Bandit.

  They walked her usual route and saw no sign of the man. The flyers were nailed to trees every so often. He obviously cared. After she and Bandit returned to her house, they settled down for the evening. She noted the address on the poster and decided to go talk to the man the next evening but wouldn’t turn over Bandit until she was sure he was the owner and would treat her dog… his dog properly.

  She donned a nightgown and got into her bed. Bandit whined and went from one side of the bed to the other. Finally she realized what he wanted. She got up, lifted him and placed him on the bed. He nearly sank up to his belly in the feather bed. He squirmed around and made his way under the covers, where he stayed, until it apparently became too warm for him. He emerged from the covers and snuggled down against her. They both went to sleep that way.

  * * *

  It was with a great dread that Rebecca went to Charles’s house to talk with him about Bandit, in reality Charles’s dog. Before she could even knock on the door it was yanked open by Charles. “What do you want?” he demanded. “I thought I made it clear I don’t want to talk to you.”

  Rebecca was shocked at his continued rudeness. “You are without a doubt the rudest man I have ever met. If you’re this rude to everyone, I don’t see how you can keep a job.”

  He continued berating her and she was giving as good as she got. “You don’t even know what I want and are still being an ass about it.”

  The argument became quite loud and several of his neighbors had opened their doors to see just what was going on. Others were looking out the windows. A few passers-by had stopped to gawk. It was on its way to becoming a spectacle, when Charles took her arm and pulled her into the house. After this, he startled her even further when he said, “What would you like to drink”

  Rebecca couldn‘t believe her ears. “Water will be fine,” she stuttered. He abruptly turned and went into the kitchen and returned with a glass of water.

  “Now, what is so all fired important that you want to ask?”

  CHAPTER 4: I HAVE YOUR DOG

  Rebecca was puzzled by the turn of the events. They were arguing and yelling on the porch with neighbors and strangers watching and now she was inside and he had turned into a perfect host. She walked around the living room, looking at the pictures several of which contained another woman. An attractive one at that. Rebecca didn’t know why that should disappoint her, but it did. She also saw Bandit in several of the pictures. There were some where Charles had his arm around Bandit. Obviously he cared. Even more obvious was the fact he owned the dog. Rebecca was saddened by the show of affection displayed in the pictures. She had been hoping he would turn out to be a bad owner, in which case she would not let him have Bandit.

  She asked him a couple of questions and then with great reluctance, she said softly, “I have your dog.”

  “You what?” yelled Charles. “You have Shakespeare? Where is he? I want him back now. You’ll be lucky if I don’t call the police,” he said.

  “Go ahead, call them. I’m a lawyer and I’d love to try this case.”

  “Well, I’m a lawyer too, so we’ll see,” he retorted. “Now, I want Shakespeare back. Now!”

  “You’ll have to come back with me to my house and you can have him. I don’t want to give him up, though. He is a really a nice dog.”

  “Yes he is. I’ve had him since he was a puppy. Cynthia is the one that named him Shakespeare.”

  “I think Bandit suits him a lot more than Shakespeare. I’m satisfied he’s your dog, so if you come over to my house, you can pick him up.”

  “Is this Cynthia in these pictures?”

  “Yes, she’s the one who threw my clothes in the street,” he said.

  “You look happy in these pictures,” Rebecca said.

  “We were so long as she got her way. She didn’t want to work or help with the bills. She just wanted to party.”

  “Well, it seems to me, you’re much better off now that you’re rid of her. You can get your life back in order and get back to work. When do you want to come get Band… Shakespeare? ” Rebecca asked with a catch in her voice. She did not want to give him up.

  “Can we do it now?” asked Charles.

  “I guess so. My house is just down the street.”

  “Sit down while I change clot
hes and I’ll be ready. Can I get you anything else?” he asked.

  “No, I’m good,” she replied. Do you mind if I walk around and look at your pictures? They are very good. Are you a photographer?”

  “It’s just something in which I dabbled in college and after I passed the bar. It was fun but I haven’t done anything since seeing Cynthia. Go ahead and explore if you like. I’ll be right back.”

  * * *

  As they walked down the street toward her house, Rebecca asked, “What type of law do you practice?”

  “I hate to admit it but I didn’t have much of a choice in offers when I graduated. I was quite disappointed, but my dad was really disappointed. I took an offer with a firm here in DC and was blown away when I discovered the number of hours I was be expected to work. I wasn’t ready for that effort, so I just started doing word of mouth stuff for people. I am doing wills, real estate, trusts and such. I need to go back to school and take some more courses and really work at it and maybe get better offers.”

  “What about you?” he asked.

  “There were three women in my class and none of us had as many offers as the men. I guess the court room isn’t ready for female lawyers. I took an offer from a top firm, but I was put into the family law division. For the past eighteen months I’ve done nothing but family disputes and property settlements and putting in 90+ hour weeks. It gets depressing. I’ve had fights in my office, threats from spouses and so on. Finally, I just resigned. I decided it wasn’t worth the stress. I’m not sure what I will do. I’ve been thinking about moving back to Texas and handling the legal matters for the family business. I have a standing invitation from Dad if I decide I want to do that. I sort of hate doing it because it seems the cowardly way. I just don’t know.

  Here we are, this is what I call home.”

  “It’s a large house,” said Charles. “How are you going to afford it now that you quit your job?”

  “Fortunately, that is something I don’t have to worry about. Dad bought it as an investment and figures in time, my brother Josh will be here a lot on business, so it works out for me. The other two girls from my class roomed with me my senior year.”

  “You went to Georgetown Law School then?”

  She said, “Yes I did. Where did you go?”

  “I went to Harvard but I guess I did too much playing around and didn’t study enough.”

  Rebecca unlocked the door, and there was Bandit, waiting to greet her. She knelt down and Bandit began licking her hands and face. “Let’s let him out and we can sit on the porch while he does his thing. Would you like some tea or anything?”

  “Tea would be nice.”

  Rebecca got a glass from the cabinet, put some ice in it and gave it to Charles. She poured one for herself and opened the back door and Bandit ran through it and began his ritual in the yard. Rebecca and Charles sat in the chairs and watched, occasionally laughing at his antics.

  “Would you agree to let me see Bandit again?”

  Just then, Bandit came running back to where they were sitting. He went straight to Rebecca, ignoring Charles. This irked Charles. “You have stolen my dog,” he accused.

  “What? I didn’t do anything. He followed me home and I fed him.”

  “You could have put up signs saying you had found a dog,” he said.

  “Guilty as charged,” she said.

  “We’d better be going,” he said.

  “Why? You don’t have any more to do than I do,” she laughed.

  “You’re right there,” he admitted.

  He walked around, looking at her pictures. “Are these of your home in Texas?” he asked.

  “Yes, those are from the Bar S Ranch, just outside Cimmaron. It’s not too far from Corpus Christi and San Antonio."

  “Do you think you’re going to go back there?”

  “I don’t know. At this point, I have no idea what I am going to do. I could go to Austin, Houston or Dallas. My Dad says Houston is going to explode in growth now that the ship channel has been built. There will be lots of business and jobs then.”

  “Shakespeare, come on Shakespeare.”

  The dog just sat looking at him, not making no move other than sit by Rebecca’s chair. “I don’t think he wants to go with you,” Rebecca said.

  Charles went over and picked Shakespeare up, and turned to Rebecca and said, “We’d better be going. Look, I really appreciate your taking care of Shakespeare and letting me know you had him. You could have kept him and I’d never have known.”

  “I thought about it. If I hadn’t decided you were going to be a good responsible owner, I would not have told you I had him. When you refused to talk with me, I was just trying to ask questions to determine whether I should give him to you.” Rebecca was speaking in an emotional voice and was on the verge of tears.

  Charles saw this and it surprised him but it bothered him at the same time. He stopped, put Bandit down and said, “It’s not as if you’ll never see him. You can see him anytime. I’m usually home and I won’t mind at all.”

  “That’s not it at all. I’m sorry to see him go, in the three days I’ve had him, I’ve gotten used to having him around. It was good especially since I quit my job. He gave some small bit of direction to my life. Since I gave up the job, I feel as if I have no purpose unless I go back to Texas and take advantage of the family name.”

  Charles moved to the side of Rebecca’s chair and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I have more than I can handle. I can give you some of my work. It’s been piling up since I broke up with Cynthia. I haven’t done anything and need to get back to it. Why don’t you come over tomorrow. You can see Bandit and look over what I have.”

  CHAPTER 5: REBECCA’S PROBLEM

  She could still feel the warm spot where Charles’s hand had rested on her shoulder last night. “I don’t know why I’m doing this other than it’s a chance to see Bandit,” Rebecca thought to herself as she was getting dressed the next morning. She had decided to go down to Charles’s house. It wasn’t as if she had anything else to do. After he had left the previous night, she had just about decided to call her old boss and ask for her job back. She was sure she would get a favorable response since she was the most productive of any of the associates. Rebecca put the decision off for the time being.

  Now, she made her way down the tree lined street to Charles’s house. The day was bright and sunny in sharp contrast to Rebecca’s mood. She looked around, saw no one out so she went to the porch and the door.

  She twisted the ringer located in the door just below the glass. It was answered by Charles and Bandit a minute later. “The entire time he’s been sitting by the door. I don’t know whether he’s waiting for you to come or wants me to let him out so he can come find you. I’ve never seen that type of behavior from him.”

  “I guess he was just worried about me. I wasn’t in the best of spirits when you left last night.”

  “That may very well be true,” Charles said, as he watched Bandit jump into Rebecca’s lap.

  “Would you like something to drink? I have coffee, milk or water.”

  “I’d like a cup of coffee, cream no sugar,” Rebecca replied. Charles got up and went into the kitchen. Rebecca followed him along behind him.

  “Nice kitchen,” she remarked.

  “Yes it is. Mom set it up the way she liked it, so when they come to visit, she feels right at home.”

  “Do they come often?”

  “About every other month,” he replied. “They can catch a train up from Atlanta so it’s not that long a trip.”

  “It’s a two day trip for Mom and Dad when they come. They get a Pullman Drawing Room so they’re comfortable, but at their age, it’s still a long trip. They make it once or twice a year.”

  “So, have you decided what you’re going to do?” he asked.

  She replied, “Not yet, I’m thinking about the possibility of going back to my old firm, but it would just be more of what I was doing. I’m going to thin
k about it for a while before I make the jump.”

  “Would you like to share some of my cases? I’ve got quite a few sitting around, nothing urgent, just waiting until I can get to them. It might help you meet expenses.”

  “That’s not a problem, except to my ego. I own the house and Dad gives me an allowance. It’s set up so I have a line of credit at one of the local banks.”

  “Well that puts a different slant on things. Have you considered going into private practice?” he asked.

  “No, actually I have not. I haven’t considered criminal law either. Most of the attorneys in the prosecution side are newly minted or politicians and I don’t think I would like that.”

  Charles said, “I guess you could say I’m in private practice without all of the trappings or expense of an office.”

  “Have you had clients come here?”

  He answered, “Some.”

  Charles blushed, and asked, “Could I take you to dinner sometime?”

  “I would like that, so yes, please call me,” Rebecca said. “You probably need to get back to some things that can bring some cash into your business.

  “Rebecca, I do want to thank you for shaking me up and out of the blue funk after Cynthia.”

  “Well that’s sort of what you’re trying to do for me, though I could always go back to my old firm or go back to Texas and practice there. I just want something more meaningful than helping to end marriages. If I didn’t have such an ego and so much pride, I’d be just fine. Unfortunately, I was cursed with both along with a conscience.”