Mission Canyon

Mission Canyon by Meg Gardiner Read Free Book Online Page A

Book: Mission Canyon by Meg Gardiner Read Free Book Online
Authors: Meg Gardiner
fifty. My fault. I think of my biz-law students as kids, even years later.’’
    Harley occasionally taught an undergraduate class at UCSB. Jesse had taken it, and, I gathered, so had Cassie— for extra credit.
    She was pouring herself another glass of champagne when the door opened and Kenny Rudenski walked in. Scratch that. Kenny paused in the doorway, giving everyone in the bar time to admire him. He was wearing a motorcycle jacket, khakis, and heavy boots. The outfit was straight out of The Great Escape . He held a motorcycle helmet under one arm. He smiled and strolled to the table.
    ‘‘Harley.’’ He beamed at me. ‘‘Gidget.’’
    He spun a chair around backward and sat down, straddling it. He set the helmet on the table as if it were a war trophy. Bring me the head of Steve McQueen.
    He leaned my way. ‘‘I owe you an apology. The other night, I didn’t know you had a thing going with Jesse Blackburn. Sorry if I made things uncomfortable for you.’’
    I looked at Harley. Had she set this up? She was staring at her champagne.
    I said, ‘‘Thank you. But Jesse’s the one who deserves the apology.’’
    ‘‘Loyalty. I like that.’’ He pressed his thumb against a knot in the wood of the table and massaged it. ‘‘Anyway, I didn’t mean to get so hot.’’
    ‘‘All right.’’
    His thumb worked the wood. He saw me looking at the helmet.
    ‘‘Old love. Raced motocross in my wild youth. You like motorcycles?’’ He nodded out the window. ‘‘Mine’s parked up the street. You want, I’ll take you for a ride. I’m perfectly safe, no bike crashes, I promise.’’
    I stared him straight in the face, thinking, Did he just say that?
    I said, ‘‘I’m taking a poll. Why do you think Franklin Brand has come back?’’
    ‘‘To clear his name? What do you say, one spin around the block? I bet it’s been a long time since you were on a bike.’’
    ‘‘You’re still hawking the line that Brand didn’t do it? Who do you blame, the Mossad?’’
    Harley looked up. ‘‘Don’t answer that, Kenny.’’
    ‘‘Why shouldn’t I?’’
    I said, ‘‘Yeah, why shouldn’t he?’’
    ‘‘Evan’s a legal journalist. That’s how she met your father, interviewing him for a magazine article.’’
    He said, ‘‘She’s not interviewing me. We’re just jawing. ’’
    She set down her glass. ‘‘All communications with the press are to go through my firm. I’m not kidding.’’
    He grinned. ‘‘You like to strap on real clangers, don’t you, Harley?’’
    Her cheeks pinkened. ‘‘Save it for the locker room, would you?’’
    The grin spread. ‘‘Hey, it’s okay. Don’t get your jock-strap in a twist.’’
    I stared at him with bewilderment. Were these jibes meant to tease Harley about her sexuality, or about lawyers? Were they meant to impress me? Or were they a mental tic, equivalent to Kenny grabbing his genitals to make sure they were still there?
    He got up from the table, saying to Harley, ‘‘If she’s a writer, it means Blackburn has unlimited bandwidth to tell his side of the story. Maybe it’d be good to let me even things up.’’ He winked at me. ‘‘Last chance for that ride.’’
    ‘‘No, thanks.’’
    ‘‘Your loss. Catch ya later, Gidget.’’
    He took the helmet and headed back through the bar toward the restaurant.
    My mood had dried and curled up at the edges. ‘‘Harley, what was that all about? Did you set it up for him to stop by?’’
    Her hand went through her hair. ‘‘I thought it would be a good chance to cool down the rhetoric, let Kenny get back on the right footing.’’
    ‘‘Rhetoric? That was innuendo, and it was rough.’’
    ‘‘It’s okay. If you haven’t noticed, nothing in life ever goes right for more than ten seconds at a shot. It’s why lawyers earn such a handsome living.’’ She held out her glass. ‘‘Pour me some more champagne.’’
    When I left the Paradise, I drove to Jesse’s house. The

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