Free Reckless Moon by Doreen Owens Malek

sighed, exasperated. “I don’t care about his personality, Bram.”
    Bram’s brow furrowed. “I think I broke his nose in a fight once.”
    Beth groaned. “Wonderful. I’ll remember not to mention your name.”
    Bram snapped his fingers. “It wasn’t Jason, it was his brother Ronald. It doesn’t matter, they’re both blockheads.”
    “Nevertheless, I assume their money is green,” Beth said, standing up. “I’ll go over those papers tonight and call you in the morning.”
    Bram rose also. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
    “That isn’t necessary.”
    Bram deposited several bills on the table and took her arm. “Yes, it is. A woman was mugged not two blocks from here only last week.”
    “Bram, this is the Hartford business district, and it isn’t even dark yet.”
    “Are you going to argue with me about this now?” he asked, steering her through the door.
    “Okay, okay. The car is just around the corner.”
    When they reached the parking lot Beth paused beside her little green sports car and took her keys from her purse.
    “Thanks for escorting me to the door,” she said formally.
    “Thanks for taking my case,” Bram replied, extending his hand.
    When Beth reached out to shake it he held her fingers to his lips. Her eyes closed at the warm touch of his mouth, the bristling softness of his mustache. Then she straightened and pulled her hand away.
    “No fair,” she said in a soft, warning tone.
    “A minor infraction,” Bram pleaded.
    “I expect you to treat me as you would any other lawyer who worked for you. Would you have kissed Don Matheson’s hand?”
    Bram started to laugh. “Point taken,” he conceded. He stood back and folded his arms as she got into the car and started the engine. When she rolled down the window he leaned on the sill and looked in at her.
    “What was the name of that little dog you used to have?” he asked.
    Beth blinked, confused. “What?”
    “That little dog, you told me about him the night of your father’s party. He had a name like a prison, San Quentin or Leavenworth, something like that.”
    “Alcatraz,” Beth supplied, wondering what had uprooted that memory.
    “Right. Alcatraz. God, your face when you talked about him, so sad and so sweet. I wanted to kiss you until you couldn’t breathe.”
    Hit the road, Bethany, she instructed herself. Don’t stick around for any more of this, or all your resolutions are going to flow down the drain.
    “Bram,” she said firmly, “I really have to go. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She waited pointedly until he moved away from the window, and then rolled it up smartly. With a cheerful wave she drove away, feigning a nonchalance she didn’t feel.
    This was going to be awfully difficult. Just being with him was an endurance test. How could she hope to work with him on a business level and keep all of her turbulent feelings in check?
    One day at a time, she thought as she pulled out onto the highway that would take her back to Suffield. She would just have to deal with it one day at a time.

 
    CHAPTER 5
     
    Jason Raines was a stiff, or maybe it was just the contrast with Bram’s imposing presence that afternoon that made Jason seem that way. Beth was happy to leave him with Hal to discuss some political issue in which she had no interest. She wandered into the kitchen, where Mindy was trying to persuade Tracy to drink a glass of milk.
    “How did it go?” Mindy asked, looking up from her daughter.
    “Okay, I guess. He has a reasonable amount of work for me. The lawyer who used to handle his account moved to Florida. So it looks like I’m the choice to take over for him.”
    Mindy studied her. “You could seem a bit happier about it.”
    Beth shrugged. “I am happy about it. Just preoccupied.”
    “With Bram?”
    “What do you have, Melinda Sue? Radar?”
    Mindy shook her head. “Twenty years experience dealing with you. You told him you’d represent him, didn’t you?”
    “Yes. I’m going to be