Saddle Up

Bridget hugged the pillow closer, her thoughts still stuck on her parents, who at the moment were more an aggravation than an asset. If only they had been more supportive of her decision to file that suit, things might have been different. Hell, if they had been even a little supportive, she wouldn’t be in the predicament she was in now.

Unfortunately, they had been anything but supportive. In fact, they had been outraged and demanded that she withdraw the suit minutes after she’d returned from the courthouse.

“How dare you do something like that without consulting me first?” Allen Martin had bellowed.

“Why, Dad? You weren’t the one Wainwright tried to maul! Besides, I’m grown and responsible for my own actions.”

“Well, you sure couldn’t prove that by me.”

“Your father’s right, honey,” Anita Martin had chimed in. “I can’t believe you’d smear a good man’s name.”

“Didn’t either of you hear what I told you? Dammit, Wainwright—”

Her father had cut her off, his voice cold. “Not another word, young lady, especially using that kind of language. Mason Wainwright is a longtime friend and excellent attorney. You know we all go to church together—or you would know if you’d attend more often. He’s a deacon, for heaven’s sake! Hardly the type to come on to you like a man of the world!”

Bridget’s laugh was bitter. “Oh, he’s a man of the world, all right—with Russian hands and Roman fingers!”

Allen bristled. Anita gasped.

Bridget wanted to scream, unable to believe this was happening. How could they take that vile man’s word over hers? She shouldn’t have been surprised, though. Despite her father’s retirement, he kept in touch with everything that was going on in the legal field through his “of counsel” status, and his expert opinion was still sought after by a host of attorneys. However, in Bridget’s heart, nothing excused his siding with a man she knew to be an oversexed hypocrite, deacon or not.

“Look, it’s obvious you think I’m making a mountain out of a molehill, and that’s okay. You’re entitled to your opinion. But I’m not going to back off.”

Much to her dismay, she did have to cat her words and back off.

“I bet I know what you’ve been thinking about,” Tiffany said in a disapproving tone, waltzing into the room and setting Bridget’s iced tea on the coffee table. “Your parents, right?”

Bridget sighed, then rubbed the back of her neck, registering her exhaustion. “You’re right.”

“So are you going to listen to them?”

“As in dismissing my suit?”

“Yep.”

“I already have.”

“Honestly, Bridget, when are you going to let them stop running your life?”

“I didn’t do it for them, Tiff. The other attorney in the office, the one who was supposed to corroborate my story, since she’d been a victim herself, clammed up. She refused to testify, and there went my case. Without her, it’s a swearing match.”

“Mmm, sounds like old Wainwright put the screws to her.”

“I suspect he threatened to blackball her just like he did me, only she’s divorced with two kids to consider.”

“So what are you going to do?”

Bridget shrugged her slender shoulders. “Start pounding the pavement, I guess. I still have a burning ambition to become every bit as good a litigator as my dad or better, then open my own practice. Working for these large firms isn’t my cup of tea. Unfortunately, that’s the only way you can get the experience it takes to make it on your own.”

“Only now you’re ostracized.”

“That’s a mild word. You’d think I had leprosy or something.”

“It’s really that bad, huh?”

“Yes, it is.” Gloom was mirrored in Bridget’s face. “I can always go to Dallas, or maybe San Antonio— if I can get at least one good recommendation from the firm.”

“I wouldn’t count on it.”

“I’m not.”

“So what does Hamilton think about all this?” Tiffany raised her hand. “Don’t answer that. Let me guess. He’s as furious as your parents.”

“Righto.”

“Jerk.”

In spite of her friend’s sarcastic tone, Bridget’s lips twitched in good humor. She just couldn’t get mad at her friend. “I guess it’s safe to say that you don’t like my fianc6-to-be.”

Tiffany snorted. “Fiancé, hell. You have no intention of marrying Hamilton Price. You never have. If anything, he’s too much like your old man, more so, actually. Hamilton wears his underwear so tight, it’s a wonder he can breathe.”

“Please, don’t start on Hamilton, okay? Besides, we’re a long way from walking down the aisle. We’re not even engaged.”

“Good…cuz I gotta tell you straight, friend, you and Hamilton have nothing in common. Nada. El zippo!”

“I know,” Bridget said, sighing.

“At least there’s one bright point in all our misery.”

“And just what is that?” Bridget asked.

“It’s not what, it’s where.” Tiffany pointed at the screen. “There!”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Hell, no, I’m not kidding. I’m more serious than I’ve ever been in my life.”

Bridget harrumphed. “Well, as far as I’m concerned, you’re on another planet. Circling Jupiter would be my guess.”

“Hey, come on, where’s your sense of adventure?”

“Where it ought to be, in the toilet, along with my career.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. That’s why we both need a change of scenery.”

“But you’re working, Tiff. You didn’t get fired.”

“Yeah, but I have oodles of vacation time I haven’t taken.”