Page 21 of Rebel Summer

“A professor?”

“I’m working on a postdoctorate, Your Honor. But I hope to be a professor soon.”

His eyes were twinkly as he gave a low whistle. “I always knew you’d do good things.” He sobered for a second. “You know, except for this.”

A soft snort came from Dax’s direction. I lifted my chin a fraction but gave him no mind.

“What are your summers like, with your university?” he asked me.

“Mainly filled with research. Later this summer, I’m set to teach a class.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “I see. Later, you say?”

It was his piercing stare and his weighted words that suddenly brought me up short. I couldn’t put my exact finger on what he wanted from me, but I instinctively knew that it might be in my best interest to be extremely busy this coming summer.

“The class starts at the beginning of August, but I need to be—“ He held up his hand to stop my onslaught, but I was half panicking at this point. “Mr. Baylor, I?—”

“Your Honor,” my attorney hissed in my ear, though he rested his head in his hands next to me.

“Your Honor,” I added in a rush, “I have some money in savings. I’m happy to pay for all the damage.” I shot a side glance to find Dax watching me, leaning forward in his seat with his arms folded casually across his stomach and a somewhat curious expression on his face. “I feel terrible about Da—Mr. Miller’s shop. I’m happy to make everything right. So just let me know how much to pay, and I?—”

“Ms. Brooks,” Judge Baylor’s soft drawl broke into my furious onslaught. “Thank you. I have no doubt we will make it right. It’s just deciding…how, exactly.” He looked at Dax. “Mr. Miller, how are you doing over there?”

“I’m good, Judge.” Dax gave the judge an easy smile. “How’s that golf cart holding up?”

“It’s been running fine, thanks to you.”

It was that exact moment—watching Dax and Judge Baylor with their easy rapport together, probably from Dax’s past misdemeanors, that I knew my summer was about to blow up in my face.

Judge Baylor tapped his chin for a long moment. “You know. We’re all here right now. Let’s figure this out. This isn’t usually how it’s done, but it is my courtroom.”

“Mr. Miller, beyond the cost of the windows, was there any other damage to the structure of the building? Marks on the floor, damage to the back wall? Any landscaping ruined?”

“There was no damage to the actual structure of the building. Just the windows. Insurance will take care of that, so we should be good there.” I breathed a bit easier. So far, Dax didn’t seem to be throwing me under the bus, which meant I should probably be wary.

“Now, I’m going to ask about the thing that has me, and I’m sure most of the town, concerned. The Lego car. How can we make it right?”

All my do-gooder attitude went completely out the window as I gaped at the judge who was looking toward Dax with a definite twinkle in his eyes. I threw Dax a pleading look, but he kept his gaze averted.

“That’s what has me most concerned as well, Your Honor. All the pieces survived, but the structure was completely destroyed.”

Really? Most concerned? Half of his building was wrapped in a tarp.

“How many hours do you think were spent on the initial construction of the car?” Judge Baylor asked.

“My brother and I worked on it for a few hours after school for probably a year. Two hundred hours’ worth of time, I’d guess.” With that statement, Dax glanced at me, and there was a definite gleam hidden in his eyes behind the fake Boy Scout persona he seemed to have donned for today’s court date.

“Judge Baylor,” I began, my hand at my heart. “I’m happy to pay to fix whatever damage I caused,” I said, panic raising my voice all while my attorney shook his head, hardly sparing me a glance. “As for the Lego car, I can hire somebody to rebuild it. I’m guessing Orlando has guys that could do it in their sleep.”

The Legoland guys would take a credit card, right?

“With all due respect, Your Honor,” Dax began, standing up and clutching his chest with one hand. “Maybe Ms. Brooks is used to just flinging money around to cover up her mistakes, but money can’t replace what was lost. Not in this case.”

My body tightened as I stared at him.

“Where’s the line? How is she supposed to learn her lesson if she just writes a check anytime she makes a mistake?”

To my utter horror, Judge Baylor began nodding in agreement.

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