Page 51 of Freedom's Kiss
All had gone smoothly since then, but a heaviness rested on Olivia’s sternum, and she was afraid it wouldn’t lift until she told him the truth—that she thought he ought to return to law and the courtroom. He was even more at home there than she was here in his kitchen, and she could only imagine how much he’d miss it if he could see past the guilt that held him prisoner.
“Good evening. What can I get for you tonight?” Adam leaned across the narrow counter, ducking under the service window, pad and pencil poised.
A woman held a toddler on her cocked hip, her dark-blond hair even darker due to oils from needing a good washing. Her tank top pulled to the side she held the child, revealing the top of her grungy tan bra. Everything about her reeked of desperation, from her shallow eyes to her bone-thin body. The small boy sucked his thumb, dirt streaks marring his smooth cheeks. The mother cast nervous glances behind her before hoisting her son higher up on her hip. “Mr. Carrington? Adam Carrington?”
Adam lowered the pencil, his gaze narrowing. “Yes.”
His affirmation seemed to cause her more distress. Olivia paused in stirring the large pot of grits to observe the exchange.
The woman’s hand shook as she reached up and gripped the small overhang at the window, stepping even closer so her words wouldn’t be overheard. “Please, Mr. Carrington, you’ve gotta help me. I’m in some deep trouble and don’t know what to do. He said you’d help. He said you were the man I could come to. That you’d listen.”
“Who said?” Adam became still except for his eyes, which quickly swept down the sidewalk on each side and the large field in front.
Was he looking for danger? Or whoever had sent her? Or perhaps another customer he could use as an excuse to send this woman on her way? But there wasn’t anyone. The night had grown quiet, the crowds dying down.
“Mr. Burke. He said you’d know what to do. He said—”
Adam silenced her with a cut of his hand through the air. “Hudson Burke?”
The woman’s fingers fell from the window. “Yes, sir.”
Adam straightened and mumbled something under his breath as he removed his hat and resettled it on his head. With a deep sigh, he hunched back down to speak out the opening. “I don’t know what Mr. Burke told you, but he was mistaken. I’m not a lawyer anymore. I just run a food truck.” His voice dropped. “I’m sorry.”
The woman shook her head frantically. “Please. I don’t have anywhere else to go. If you don’t help… Please.” The boy wiggled in her arms, drawing her attention. She used her thumb to caress his cheek, then returned pleading eyes to Adam. “Please.”
Olivia couldn’t speak. The weight in her chest grew, pushing down on her diaphragm. The fear and worry and anxiety that marked the woman’s countenance took up residence in Olivia’s own heart. She glanced at Adam, gut twisting at the firmness of his jaw. Would he really turn this woman away? Remain immobile due to the crush of guilt and shame and refuse to help her?
Olivia stepped forward and placed her palm between his shoulder blades. “Adam.”
He sucked in a breath, blinking rapidly as if returning from somewhere in his head. He looked at her, almost to the point of begging—a shared expression with the woman outside.
She tilted her head and flicked her gaze in that direction.
His shoulders sagged, but he nodded. Turning back to the woman, he pointed behind her. “No promises, but let’s talk at the picnic table.”
Her face lit. “Thank you. Oh, thank you.”
Olivia reached for three cups and poured lemonade into them, handing them in a triangle to Adam. “I’ve got things covered from here.”
He took the cups, his expression pained, and walked out the back. She watched him approach the woman, who pulled out a toy from her bag and offered it to the boy who sat on the bench beside her. Adam set the lemonade cups on the table before shaking the woman’s hand.
Olivia couldn’t hear their conversation, but she studied Adam’s face as he sat silently absorbing whatever tale the mother shared. At first he seemed panicked, a man pushed into an unwanted corner, but as she watched, he seemed to change. Only slightly. Only because she looked so hard did she see it. Or maybe it was her own wishing she saw reflected from his face. But he did seem to straighten as he listened, the immediate flash of denial and defense taking a backseat to a raw hunger to help.
A shadow from the streetlight elongated on the sidewalk in front of her, and Olivia pulled her focus to a man as he stepped up to the window. She flashed the customer a smile while simultaneous casting another furtive glance to the picnic table. But as she pulled her gaze back, her friendly greeting died on her lips as recognition stole her thoughts. Snazzy suit, slicked-back hair, an air of importance.
“I feel at a disadvantage, as you obviously know who I am, but I have not yet been introduced to you.” Hudson Burke’s smile surprised her with its genuineness. For some reason, she thought he’d resemble more of a snake than a puppy.
“What are you doing here?” The words flew from her mouth, and she cringed from their bite against her tongue.
Hudson Burke’s expression didn’t change except for a slight lift of his brows. He shifted his gaze from her to Adam and the woman.
Of course.Hadn’t the woman said Mr. Burke had been the one to direct her to Adam?
“You know, I wasn’t even sure he’d hear her out. A month ago, I know he wouldn’t have.” He regarded her from hooded lids. “I wonder what’s changed.”
But from his calculated look, she could read that he thoughtshewas the change. Yes, she and Adam had formed a friendship, but she didn’t think she had any sway over him. Especially not the way this man thought, as if she and Adam were romantically involved.
She squinted against the dark, glad another streetlamp illuminated the picnic table and the trio. Adam leaned forward, his head tilted in thought, as if weighing possibilities, sifting through case files, and building a defense right there in the middle of the field. But his lips pressed against each other, the strain of which pulled his whole body in a tight ball.
