ILL-TIMED ENTANGLEMENTS (The Kate Huntington mystery series #2) by Kassandra Lamb Read Free Book Online Page A

the idea that young children need to be with their mother, he may not get custody at all,” Kate said.
    “That’s what I’m afraid is going to happen. I can present the best possible case, give a performance to rival Perry Mason, and this still may not turn out good.”
    “You’re dating yourself with that reference, my friend,” Kate teased.
    He gave her a lopsided grin, then his face sobered again. “I should be back in Maryland right now, working on my arguments and combing through case law to find more precedents for giving dads custody. But I couldn’t let Aunt Betty down.”
    Kate took one of his big hands and held it in hers, unable to think of a thing to say to bolster his mood. Realistically his client wasn’t likely to get all of what he was asking for.
    After a long pause, Rob squeezed her hand. His voice came out of the darkness now gathering around them. “You don’t need to cheer me up, Kate. As usual, just talking out a case with you is helping.”
    Rob knew her so well that he had developed a sometimes disconcerting ability to read her mind. As she could his at times. Through the years, they had helped mutual clients deal with a variety of legal messes, and had socialized outside the office along with their spouses. Even before Eddie’s death, the Huntingtons had considered Rob and Liz their closest friends. Then she and the Franklins had endured those horrible weeks following his murder. Shared adversity makes for powerful glue.
    “So how’ve you been, my friend?” Rob said, as the last of the lights around the adjacent parking lot finally decided it was truly dark and snapped on.
    She squeezed his hand before letting it go, then sat back and sighed herself. “Looking forward to returning to work, and then feeling guilty because I’m actually glad my maternity leave is almost over. I’m just not cut out to be a stay-at-home mom.”
    “You should talk to Liz, sweetheart. She’s had the been-there, done-that experience with that. She loves being a mom, but all day, every day pretty much drove her up a wall when the girls were little.”
    “Don’t get me wrong,” Kate said. “It’s great when I’m actually interacting with Edie, and I’m very aware of how lucky I am that she’s such an easy, cheerful baby. There’s way too much time, though, when she’s sleeping. Of course there are always chores to do, laundry and such…”
    “
But
laundry is boring. Not exactly in the same league as helping people get sane,” Rob said.
    “Yeah, I’m pretty much bored to tears most days.” The nearest streetlight was reflected in the tears now pooling in her eyes. “And lonely,” she added in a whisper.
    He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her up against his side. “You still miss him a lot.” A statement, not a question.
    “Every minute that I’m not thinking about something else.” She leaned her head on his shoulder.
    “I miss him too,” Rob said out of the darkness, his voice husky. He gave her shoulders a squeeze, glad for the dim light, hoping she wouldn’t notice the tears in his own eyes.
    His connection to Kate had always been stronger, but over the years he’d become good friends with her husband as well. Ed Huntington had been the kindest and most easy-going man Rob had ever known. “Sometimes I still catch myself, when I hear a good joke, thinking I gotta remember to tell Ed that one,” he said quietly, turning his face away from her as one of his tears broke loose.
    Kate sniffled. Rob reached into his pocket for his handkerchief and handed it to her. While she was wiping her eyes, he furtively swiped at his own with the back of his hand.
    There were very few things he kept from this woman with whom he was closer than anyone else on the planet, with the exception of his wife. But he had tried to hide from her his own grief for her husband. She’d already had so much to deal with–losing Ed and having to face childbirth and parenthood on her own–and