Betrayal - Fern Michaels [75]
Kate couldn’t have been more surprised. “This is shocking! Does Alex know?”
“No, I wanted to get your take on this before I said anything to him.”
Kate was sorry she’d jumped to conclusions about Coleman. He really was bothered by this new information.
“It changes a lot, doesn’t it?”
“Yes and no. Will it get Alex released? Possibly, but not right away,” Coleman explained.
The waitress brought their salads and a basket of homemade cranberry-nut muffins. They ate, stopping occasionally to speak of things they deemed unimportant. Kate did learn Coleman had lost his wife to breast cancer five years earlier.
“I’m sorry. It must’ve been hard for you.”
“It was. Suzanne was a strong woman. She fought the disease until she drew her last breath. We were in practice together. We both had a profound love of the law. When she died, I thought about closing my practice. She would’ve been disappointed if I had, so I took a few months off. I went to the cabin. I had never been there without Suzanne. It was strange. All of her things are still there. I can’t bring myself to pack them away. I guess that’s stupid after all this time.” Coleman lowered his eyes. He busied his hands spreading butter on a muffin. Coleman was a compassionate man who obviously had loved his wife deeply.
“She sounds wonderful. I would have liked her.”
“Yes, there wasn’t anyone who didn’t. And if there were those few who had reservations about her, she’d have them on her side in no time. She was the light of my life.”
“Then you were a very lucky man to have loved so deeply.” After the words were out of her mouth, Kate wished she could take them back. This talk of love and sorrow hit too close to home.
“Yes, I was. I see the same type of love between you and Alex.”
Kate was surprised he would even say this. She liked him more and more. Maybe when this was all over, she and Alex would invite him to North Carolina.
“I’d only been out of college a year when I met Alex. My parents had died in a terrible crash. I thought I’d never find happiness after their deaths. I was very close to both my parents. Alex knew them before they died. He’d purchased the kennels from them. They wanted to retire, and selling the kennel was such a big decision for them. When they met Alex, they felt like they’d been blessed. He loved animals as much, if not more, than they did. I wish they’d lived long enough to see Alex and me married.”
“They would have approved of Alex. He’s a decent man, Kate. I can tell these things. I’ll do whatever I can to see that he’s out of that pit. I promise.” Coleman looked at her from across the table. She knew he would keep his promise, too. He was that much like Alex.
“Something tells me that you will do just what you say. I thank you for that, Coleman. I just wish we’d hired you before it went to trial. Maybe if I had, Alex wouldn’t even have gone to trial.”
“One never knows, Kate. Now”—he looked at the chrome watch on his wrist—“if we want to beat the traffic, we’d better head out. I-75 is a killer this time of year, what with all the tourists. You won’t have to rush once you’re at the airport.”
“Thanks.”
Coleman took care of the check, even though Kate had tried to insist. It was a business meeting, after all. She excused herself to the ladies’ room. She brushed her hair and put on lip gloss. She had good feelings about Coleman Fitzpatrick. Her gut feeling told her he would get Alex out of that hellhole. And this time, she was going to listen.
Chapter 22
Don calculated that he had enough money left in his accounts to cover the mortgage for one more month. He wouldn’t pay Emily’s and Sara’s tuition again this month. Debbie could. She was making all kinds of money selling real estate. What the hell she did with it besides buy clothes, he hadn’t a clue. Every day she came home from work and informed him she’d been on a wild shopping spree. She’d bought the girls Louis Vuitton purses last week. She’d paid $1,500 apiece for them. That would have