A Man of Distinction

by Sarah M. Anderson

  That was a big enough problem. The bigger problem was that Tanya didn’t realize it. “Love you,” she whispered, her voice so soft that he felt it more than heard it.

  He needed to say something, but it had to be the right thing. Nothing that would tear her down, but nothing that would build up her hopes. His mind spun in circles, waiting for the right words to appear. He was a lawyer, damn it. He ought to be able to say something.

  Tanya leaned back, her gaze searching his as she lifted her body off him. That sadness—acceptance, really—danced around the edges of her eyes again, but she shook it off and gave him a satisfied smile. “It’s okay. I understand.”

  He wanted to believe that, but he didn’t think she did.

  Nine

  Something just beyond Nick’s grasp shifted, like there was someone watching him. Then the smell hit him—souring milk and…biscuits? Where was he? Although his head screamed in protest, he managed to pry one eye open.

  Bear’s face was less than a foot from his. The little boy had both a thumb and the ear to his teddy bear crammed into his mouth, and he was wearing a Onesie. When he saw Nick’s eye open, his eyes smiled for him and he threw himself at Nick’s head.

  “Oof,” was all Nick could say as the boy climbed up and sat on him. “What time is it?”

  “Seven,” Tanya called from the kitchen. She sounded awake. Perky, even. “Which, you should know, is considered ‘sleeping in’ to a toddler.”

  Seven? As in, the morning? Nick shut his eye again. This had to be a bad dream. In Chicago, he spent Saturday nights out on the town and rarely got into bed much before three on Sunday mornings. If he was lucky, he got up in time for lunch. True, he hadn’t been out on the town last night, but he’d exerted himself in plenty of other ways that required at least another hour of sleep. Preferably two.

  Then the thin string of baby drool hit him on the cheek. “I’m up, I’m up,” he mumbled, hauling Bear off his chest and sitting up. “Morning, Bear.”

  Bear smiled at him again, and Nick decided he didn’t mind getting up early. At least everyone here was happy to see him. That hadn’t always been the case when he’d spent the night with Rissa in Chicago. Then the little boy scrambled down and tottered his way back to the bedroom.

  Finally, Nick got both of his eyes to focus, and he saw Tanya. Still barefoot, still in that short nightgown, her legs almost glowing in the early-morning sunlight that streamed in through the window over the sink. Her hair hung loose down her back as she stood over the stove, and Nick thought she might be humming. “Good morning,” he said again. “When did you get up?” Because the last thing he remembered was falling asleep with her in his arms on the couch. The couch had been better than the truck, but it still wasn’t as good as an actual bed. They were definitely going to spend the next weekend at his place.

  Tanya looked at him over her shoulder and gave him a grin that was both innocent and entirely too wicked at the same time. “About forty-five minutes ago. I let you sleep. Breakfast is almost ready.” She turned with a skillet in hand and the scent of sausage smacked him upside the head. Man, he was hungry.

  Bear came back out of the bedroom pulling a ratty-looking blanket and the first book Nick had read to him, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

  “After breakfast, little man,” Nick told him as he picked up the boy and attempted to put him in his high chair. “Food first.”

  A profound sense of peace overcame him. Nick hadn’t expected to feel such a sense of belonging here with Tanya, nor had he expected that family life would come so naturally. Right now, he didn’t have to worry about watching his back or protecting his flank from an attack. He didn’t have to worry about making sure he had on the right tie or the right suit. He didn’t have to worry about what people wanted from him or how far they’d go to get it. None of that mattered. The only thing that mattered to Tanya and Bear was that he was here with them. He didn’t have to prove that he’d earned his place at this table. They welcomed him with open arms and wide smiles. It was simple. Easy, even.

  Which is not to say that he’d forgotten everything. As he ate homemade biscuits and sausage and drank Tanya’s extra-strong coffee, he began to make a mental list of everything he had to do. At the very top of that list was one action item that was a list in and of itself: he had to get Bear to a doctor. The sooner, the better.

  He wanted to believe that the sense of urgency he felt about this was due only to his fatherly concern, but even he knew that wasn’t the whole truth. Yes, the boy needed medical attention. Badly. Nick couldn’t think of a better way to prove himself to Tanya than to take care of Bear—to give him the voice he so desperately needed.

  But.

  The “but” was huge because he knew that Tanya would view it as a betrayal. He needed to get Bear tested because he needed those test results for his case against Midwest Energy. He had a bottle of water he’d filled up at Doreen’s house under his passenger seat. The water had smelled terrible, and Nick didn’t doubt for a second that it had so much methane and diesel in it that he could have held a match to a running stream and it would have lit on fire. That was the most impressive sign that the water table had been contaminated.

  That Bear and Doreen had been contaminated.

  If Tanya knew about the details of the case, she would accuse Nick of using her and Bear to win. She’d get that horrible, fallen look on her face, and Nick would know he’d broken her heart again. She’d still love him—she’d said she would—but she wouldn’t trust him. Not for a long time, maybe not forever. She would fight him with everything she had to make sure he didn’t get to spend time with his own son.

  Part of him knew he should tell her about his plans up front, which would give him the opportunity to justify his actions. But he couldn’t. The case was confidential, and Tanya wasn’t on the list of people who were in the know. Besides, he preferred to ask for forgiveness rather than for permission. And it’s not like he was lying. He wanted Bear to get better. No matter if the test results helped or hurt his case, he’d still see the medical treatment through to the end. It’s not like he was going to walk away the moment the case ended.

  He was in this for the long haul.

  “I want to get Bear to a doctor,” he told Tanya over what turned out to be one of the best breakfasts he’d had in a long time. “Can you tell me where things stand right now?”

  For the first time all morning, a look of worry crossed her face. “There’s a clinic in Parkson. The doctor there did a hearing test and checked for strep throat—said sometimes strep will do this. But it wasn’t strep, and he couldn’t do anything else.” She dropped her eyes, clearly ashamed. “He referred me to a pediatric specialist in Sioux Falls, but that doctor didn’t take on patients who were on CHIP.” Nick must have looked confused, because she added, “South Dakota Children’s Health Insurance Program.”

  That made Nick mad. God, how he had hated being poor and ignored. No way he was letting that happen to his son. No way. “Is that even legal? Doesn’t he have to take you?”

  “I tried to tell them that, but they kept telling me how much money an initial visit cost, and how the tests might cost thousands, and how I had to pay that money up front before they’d even schedule the appointment…” her voice trailed off. “Dr. Klein is supposed to be the best in the state. Dr. Jawarski said so—that’s the guy in Parkson. But I didn’t have the money. I don’t have the money,” she corrected.

  “I do. Give me the doctor’s name. I’ll take care of it.” First, he’d rip that doctor a new one for refusing to help Bear. If they had to go out of state for attention, so be it.

  “It’ll cost thousands,” she said, her voice small. “It’s a lot of money.”

  “Not to me.” When her head snapped up, he held out a hand. “Tanya, I know you think I’m shallow and greedy—and maybe I am—but this is the whole reason I wanted to have money. People don’t ignore you when you’re rich, and they don’t write you off when you’re powerf
ul. You watch—I’ll have an appointment for Bear within two weeks. If not sooner.”

  She opened her mouth again, but Nick cut her off. “And don’t act like you’re asking this huge favor of me and you’re going to owe me, because you don’t. This is the way it’s going to work from now on. If Bear needs something like this, I’m going to take care of it. No negotiations, no arguments.”

  “That’s going to take a little getting used to.” But he heard how pleased she was. Good.

  He reached over and cupped her cheek in his hand. “You’ve taken care of Bear the best you can for a whole year. Now it’s my turn to take care of you—both of you.”

  “Okay.” Again, it seemed almost too easy. Tanya agreeing with him—no negotiations, no arguments? That was going to take a little getting used to.

  The tenderness of the moment lasted right until Bear hit Nick upside the head with a pre-chewed chunk of biscuit. Tanya started to giggle, Bear clapped his hands and Nick couldn’t do anything but smile.

  For the first time, he wasn’t fighting for a client or the highest bidder.

  For the first time, he was fighting for his family.

  * * *

  “No, I want to talk to Dr. Klein personally.” Nick managed to keep his voice completely professional, but he was beginning to see why Tanya had given up on the specialist. The woman who had answered the phone at the neurology clinic in Sioux Falls was as movable as a gigantic stone wall.

  “The doctor does not take phone calls from people who are not patients.” If possible, she sounded bored with the entire conversation.

  Oh, for God’s sake. That did it—no more Mr. Nice Lawyer. “Does he take calls from lawyers? Lawyers who have a detailed understanding of the Patients’ Bill of Rights? Lawyers who know that a verdict for the defendant—that would be your boss—can cost just as much as settling out of court? Does Dr. Klein really want to see his malpractice insurance costs go through the roof? Because if he does, you can just keep giving me the runaround. I can always call back when I’ve got a subpoena and a news crew.”

  When the woman didn’t have a pat comeback for that, Nick had to smile. Nothing like the threat of litigation to shut up the obstinate. Then he heard a click. Had she just hung up on him? Hell, no. He would sue them into the last century.

  But before he could do anything, the gentle sound of Muzak filled his ear. Ah, that was more like it.

  Tanya stuck her head in his office. “How’s it going?”

  “On hold.” He winked at her, and was rewarded with a hint of a blush.

  “You’ve got a meeting in fifteen minutes with Councilwoman Mankiller and Ms. Armstrong,” she reminded him before winking back.

  Nick craned his neck to watch her turn around and walk away. Sure, he was dog-tired. He’d been at Tanya’s house until eight last night, then driven home and spent five hours researching the known health risks associated with fracking. That was a whole different reason why he had to keep Tanya in the dark about this. What he’d found—childhood cancers, strokes and more unexplained deaths than he could count—would scare the hell out of her. Honestly, it scared the hell out of him, too. He didn’t want to burden her with the worst-case diagnoses. In this case, ignorance was truly bliss. He didn’t want to worry her until he had confirmation and a plan of action.

  “This is Dr. Klein,” a deep voice crackled at the other end of the phone. He sounded pissed, condescending and more than a little concerned.

  Nick knew the type perfectly. No doubt, this doctor thought he was better than everyone else, but he lived in terror of being proven wrong.

  “Dr. Klein, my name is Nicholas Long. I’m a junior partner with Sutcliffe, Watkins and Monroe, based in Chicago, and I’m representing the interests of the Red Creek Lakota Tribe in an ongoing matter.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Do I have your attention yet, or will I need to tell you what I told your receptionist?”

  Dr. Klein cleared his throat. “How can I help you today, Mr. Long?”

  Oh, yeah—Nick knew the type. “Dr. Klein, I understand that you’ve turned away members of the Red Creek tribe because you do not honor South Dakota’s CHIP program. Is that correct?”

  After a strained pause, Dr. Klein said, “We have a limited number of resources available to us. Due to ongoing budgeting issues at the state level, certain segments of the population—”

  Boy, it was amazing what one could blame on “budgeting issues,” including denying care to sick children. “You won’t work if you don’t get paid—that’s what you’re really saying, correct?”

  Another strained pause. “We all have bills to pay, Mr. Long.”

  That was a “yes.” “Well, I’d like to make you an offer. I’m going to need a series of tests run on several members of the tribe. I’m going to need the results of those tests in days, not weeks, and I’m going to be paying for these tests in cash, up front.” Eliminating the baggage of insurance should do the trick.

  But it didn’t. Nick could hardly believe his ears when the man came back with, “I’d be happy to have the receptionist schedule the next available appointment. I believe I have an opening in three months.”

  “Are you serious?” Because three months was literally one-fourth of Bear’s life. No way Nick was going to put his son’s health on the back burner for months.

  “Mr. Long, I’m sure you can appreciate that time is money.”

  The statement hung out there. Unbelievable, Nick thought. Dr. Klein was trying to shake him down. Clearly, this man did not know with whom he was dealing. Nick took a deep breath and focused on keeping his cool. Shouting would betray his position. A calm, level approach would be that much more menacing. “I’ll make you a deal, Dr. Klein. You give me your earliest appointment—as in this week—and I won’t report you to the authorities. I’m sure they might buy that weak ‘budgeting issues’ argument, but combining a denial of care with soliciting bribes? You might get to keep your license, Dr. Klein, but I can promise you a long, expensive investigation. Would you care to contemplate your finances after you pay your lawyer, malpractice insurance premiums and the time away from paying clients, or would you rather just give me a damn appointment now?”

  The silence went on for a beat too long. Nick was either about to win this little battle or he was about to be hung up on.

  Then Dr. Klein cleared his throat. “I, uh, could have an opening this Thursday.” His voice was quiet and undeniably nervous.

  Nick smiled. Victory, no matter how small the battle, was always sweet. “I’d like to take that appointment, Dr. Klein. I’m also sure that any related tests—a complete blood count, metabolic panel, heavy metal, CT scans or MRIs—will be completed immediately.” How much was this doctor going to charge him for this? It didn’t matter. Bear’s health was worth it.

  “I think we’re on the same page, then.” The condescending tone was back in force, which made Nick think that someone else had walked into the room.

  “So glad to hear it.” As long as that page was that Dr. Klein was an A-number-one jerk. Greedy men shouldn’t be in charge of other people’s lives.

  Dr. Klein’s voice got muffled, as if he was holding the receiver against his chest, but Nick thought he heard the man telling someone to cancel his golf appointment.

  Nick hung up and sat there, staring at his desk. Yes, he had the appointment, which was something. But Nick couldn’t shake the feeling of pervasive dread that had built up over the past twenty-four hours.

  No need to panic. He needed to stay focused on his case, that was all. His resolve set, he grabbed his boxed-up water samples and headed to the front desk. Tanya was typing something in a spreadsheet, her hair wound into a loose braid. More than anything, Nick wanted to sneak up behind her and plant a kiss on her neck. But that would be unprofessional on several different levels, so instead he made sure to keep the desk between the two of them. “We’re going Thursday morning.”

  “Really?” Her face lit up, like she’d just unwrapped diamond
s on Christmas morning. “How?”

  “I can be very persuasive when the situation calls for it.” So he wasn’t touching her. He couldn’t stop himself from giving her the kind of smile that any idiot would be able to guess the meaning of. “It’s at nine-fifteen, so we’ll have to leave your house by seven-thirty.”

  Tanya leaned forward, her eyes fastened on him. “You want to spend the night?”

  Yes was the short answer, but… “I have to see how much work I get done before that. I’ll drive us all, though, okay?” He heard the front door open behind him. Right—this was not the time or place to be making sleeping arrangements. “Oh, and make sure this goes out today.” He handed her the package with his water samples in it. “Overnight.”

  Tanya’s face was bright red. “Yes, Mr. Longhair. Good morning, Ms. Armstrong.”

  Nick turned to see Rosebud shaking her head at the both of them. “Good morning, Tanya. Heard you put in quite the appearance at the powwow this weekend, Nick.”

  Tanya only got redder. But at least she was still smiling. Much better than the last time the three of them had been standing here. “I just showed up and played with my son. Was that somehow scandalous?” He kept his tone full of innocent surprise.

  Nick was glad Rosebud was on his side because the way she was staring at him was intense. “No, I suppose not. So is this common knowledge now or just an open secret?”

  Nick glanced at Tanya, who looked deeply uncomfortable with this entire conversation. “Tanya and I have reached an understanding. I’m sure I don’t care what anyone else thinks about a private matter.”

  “Boy,” Rosebud said with an unlawyerly giggle, “you have been gone a long time.” Even Tanya managed a weak smile at that.

  The phone on the desk buzzed, and Tanya answered it, sounding very businesslike and not the least bit embarrassed. “Yes? Yes. I’ll send them down.” She hung up and tried to give Nick a stern glare. “Councilwoman Mankiller is waiting for you both.”