Free The Return of the Fallen Angels Book Club (A Hollis Morgan Mystery 3) by R. Franklin James

just—”
    “No, wait.” He held up his hand. “Sit down. We’re not eating until we get things straight.”
    “Dinner is ready now.” Hollis sat heavily and threw the dishtowel on the table. “What do you want from me?” Then, as if hearing herself, she leaned back in her chair and let her chin drop on her chest. “Look, I don’t know what the matter is. At first I thought it was Jeffrey’s death, but it’s not all about him, it’s … it’s … me.”
    “You mean us ?” John looked at her struggle for words. “You want me to go?”
    “No!” she protested. “No, I definitely do not want you to go.”
    He got up from the table and took her in his arms. “And I don’t want to go, but we need to clear the air between us.”
    She clung to him. “This is where I want to be.”
    “Then what’s the problem? I will be here for you, always.”
    She pushed him back, and in a shaky voice said, “You’re asking me to take down a wall I put up to keep my feelings safe. Last time I didn’t read the signs. No, ‘sign’ is not a strong enough word; it was a billboard. I let my ex-husband betray everything I held dear. I lost my way.”
    He tilted her chin to look into her eyes. “Listen, I love you. I love us . We can take it slow. There are other signs, too. But don’t make up stuff to justify pushing me away.”
    She grazed his lips with her fingers, then murmured, “I need more time.”

 
    Chapter 10
    “H ollis,” Tiffany said over the phone, “Vince is here from the mailroom. He has a package for you.” Her voice did little to hide her curiosity.
    Hollis smiled to herself. “It’s okay. Send him back to my office.” She owed her cheerfulness this Monday morning to an enjoyable weekend with John. Once they’d gotten past their rough start, he agreed to give her the space she needed and not push her. She’d relaxed, and now she couldn’t seem to stop smiling.
    “Aren’t you going to want me to date-stamp it in?”
    “I’ll bring it to you later. It’s not time sensitive,” Hollis said. “Tiffany, just send Vince back to my office.”
    A few moments later he stood in her doorway.
    Hollis got up and gave him a hug. He stiffened, bent over, and patted her shoulder.
    She took a step back. “Vince, you look good.”
    He was dressed in a new white T–shirt and his standard gray hoodie with a pair of dark slacks that had a worn sheen. Hollis didn’t care. She looked into his eyes. He was clean, inside and out.
    “Hi, Hollis, I wanted you to know I’d started work. I was here last week but I had to go to employee training.”
    “That’s great news. Have a seat.”
    “I can’t. I gotta get back. The U.S. Mail gets delivered at ten o’clock.”
    Hollis smiled to see him taking his job so seriously.
    “I came to bring you this package. We’re supposed to hand-deliver packages we’re told to look out for.”
    “But I didn’t send a hand deliver notice.”
    “I know. When I saw your name on the package, I just wanted to see you and let you know I was here.” Vince added gravely, “Thanks, Hollis, for getting me this job. You won’t be sorry.”
    She grinned. “I know.”
     
    Brian had sent her several documents comprising about sixty pages. The before will and the after trust were included, along with several years of tax returns and a home refinance application. Hollis removed the staples and headed to the firm’s high-speed printer.
    She was finishing up when one of the new paralegals walked up to use the machine. “I’ll sign out for you. What’s the client code?”
    Hollis gave her a smile. “Thank you, but, uh, I used to be a paralegal. I’ll take care of it. This is a new case and I need a new matter number.”
    The young woman, who looked like a high school junior, waited patiently. “No problem. By the way, congratulations! I saw in the firm’s weekly report you brought in a new client.” She stacked an inch-high packet into the copier. “I’m taking the bar