Oddly defensive

Oddly defensive
 “Of course it is,” Mrs. Clayton said unrepentantly. “Now that Ashlee’s divorced, her father and I would give anything to have the two of them here all the time. I know Ashlee is very successful in Denver, but she hasn’t been truly happy there for a long time. She just refuses to admit it. And Caitlyn loves it here.”

“No doubt about that,” Hanna agreed. “And I think a certain newspaper editor might be pleased to have them nearby, too.”

The suggestion brought a wistful expression to Mrs. Clayton’s face. “Ford seems to be a fine young man. Ashlee could do worse. Of course, every time they’re together for five minutes, they seem to end up in an argument.”

“I’ve noticed,” Hanna said with amusement. “Don’t you think all of that explosive chemistry is a good thing?”

“I don’t know,” Mrs. Clayton said skeptically. “I haven’t seen any evidence that they have a meeting of the minds about anything at all. If Ford said the grass was green, I think Ashlee would contradict him and point out every single brown patch in the lawn. I listen to the two of them and shake my head. Whatever happened to that agreeable girl we raised?”

“She grew up and became an outstanding lawyer with a passion for

defending the little guy. Arguing is second nature to her. If she’d been on the debate team in high school, they would have been national champions, but back then she hated confrontation.”

“Well, that’s certainly changed, hasn’t it?” Mrs. Clayton said. “And I’m proud of all she’s accomplished, I really am. I just wish she’d give poor Ford a break every once in a while.”

Hanna patted Mrs. Clayton’s hand. “She will. I predict that watching them will give Winding River more entertainment than any other courtship to come along in years.”

“I don’t know about that,” Ashlee’s mother said, grinning at her. “They’ll have to work for that honor. I’ve heard some absolutely fascinating things about you and that young man who followed you here from back East.”

Hanna blushed, even as she insisted that she and Rafe were just friends. “Maybe so, but if Ashlee and Ford were half as friendly, I’d be a happy

woman,” Mrs. Clayton said, then glanced at the driveway. “There’s my wayward daughter now.”

Practically before Ashlee pulled to a stop in front of the house, Caitlyn tumbled out of the car. “Grandma, Grandma, how’s my pony? I gotta see him right now. I missed him soooo much. Do you think he missed me?”

Mrs. Clayton winked at Hanna, then reached for Caitlyn’s hand. “Of course I do. Let’s go to the barn. I think your grandpa’s down there with him right now. He probably already has the saddle on, so you can go for a ride.”

Caitlyn’s smile spread. “Really? Hurry, Grandma.”

Ashlee emerged from the car, shaking her head as the two of them went off toward the barn. “I swear that pony is all Caitlyn talked about all week. Now she’s begging me to let her stay here when I go back to Denver.”

“Why don’t you?” Hanna asked. “In fact, why don’t you just pack up and move here?”

Ashlee’s gaze narrowed. “Okay, what has Mom been telling you? Did she put you up to this?”

“No. This is my own idea, I swear it,” Hanna insisted.

“Yeah, right.” Ashlee sat in the rocker next to Hanna’s and sighed. “That breeze feels good.” She gazed enviously at the glass of lemonade Hanna was holding. “And that looks wonderful.”

Hanna grinned. “If I hand it over, will you give me some free legal advice?” “Absolutely,” Ashlee said, reaching eagerly for the glass. “Talk to me.

What’s going on?”

“This is confidential, right?”

“You’re asking as a client, then, not as a friend?”

Hanna nodded.

“I don’t think a glass of lemonade would qualify as a retainer. Give me a buck. That’ll make it nice and legal.”

Hanna pulled the dollar out of her pocket and gave it to her friend. Ashlee tucked it in her purse and grabbed a legal pad from her briefcase. “Tell me,” she said when she was ready.

“I’m in trouble,” Hanna told Ashlee then. “I just don’t know for sure how much.”

“Start at the beginning and let’s see if we can’t get you out of trouble, then,” Ashlee said briskly.

As Ashlee took copious notes, Hanna outlined the mess Bobby had created, the financial disaster he’d left behind. “Right now my manager is juggling creditors, but some of them are bound to start getting impatient. Should I sell out and pay them what I can? Declare bankruptcy?” She regarded Ashlee despondently. “I hate this. I just hate it. If it were my mess, I’d take responsibility for it, but it’s not. I’m so furious with Bobby, I’d like to see him strung up by his toenails and left to die.”

“An interesting form of justice,” Ashlee said, clearly amused. “I don’t think the legal system has a provision for it, though.”

“Too bad.”

“Okay, here are the options I do see,” Ashlee said. “Depending on your partnership arrangement with Bobby, you might be able to distance yourself from the problem, but that could take some very tricky and time-consuming legal maneuvering.”

Hanna shook her head. “As much as I would like to and even if it were perfectly legal, I can’t duck out on my responsibility to make things right if I can. A lot of our vendors are small businesses. I can’t just abandon them. And our investors gave us their money in good faith. I thought Bobby was paying them back with interest, but apparently they haven’t seen a dime.”

“It’s probably not as simple as filing for bankruptcy. Not with Bobby missing, but you could start the proceedings. It would buy some time to reorganize the business. Your investors and creditors would get their money on a timetable established by the court. It’s complicated, but I think at the same time you could sue Bobby for restitution of everything he stole.” Ashlee regarded her intently. “What are the odds he still has the money?”

“I have no idea. I don’t know if he stole it so he could go off to live on some Caribbean island or if he took it to pay gambling debts or if he ran off with it just for kicks.”

“Well, that doesn’t matter. We’ll sue just in case there’s anything left to get

back. I have a friend, a classmate from law school, who’s practicing in New York. Since I haven’t passed the New York bar to be licensed there, he can handle things on that end. He’ll file the papers when we’re ready.”

Ashlee’s professional, no-nonsense approach gave Hanna the first spark of hope she’d felt in days. “You really think we can straighten this out and save Café Tuscany?”

“Absolutely, if that’s what you really want.” She studied Hanna with a penetrating look. “Is it?”

“Of course,” Hanna said without hesitation. “Why would you even ask something like that?”

“Because you’re still here. Even with all this needing your immediate attention, you didn’t run straight back to New York after the reunion.”

“Because of Cassie’s mom and then Caleb,” Hanna said, feeling oddly defensive.