Page 68 of All Yours

“I have a lawyer.”

“Jeremy’s your lawyer?” Jonah asked.

“Hey cousin,” Jeremy said.

“I retained him when I moved to town,” I explained.

“Yeah, touching family reunion,” my dad barked, stepping forward and throwing his hands in the air. “You can’t use some second-rate small-town attorney at a time like this.”

“He’s not second rate,” Jonah snapped.

I sighed and put my head in my hands. If I could master the art of disappearing, that would be a helpful skill.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jonah

My blood pressure had set to boil. How dare this man insult the entire town like that? And Sloane had put her head down on the scuffed metal table like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand.

“Just because we’re in a small-town doesn’t mean anything is second rate,” I said.

“Oh, come on, son, you can’t believe that this lawyer,” he pointed at Jeremy, “is the same caliber as my Harvard educated Holden here.”

“They take the same Bar exam, and they all are required to pass. So, yes, Jeremy’s as good as your overpriced, Harvard educated guy there.”

“You’re out of your mind,” Sloane’s dad put his hands on his hips. “Holden was at the top of his class. The best of the best. You can’t argue against that.”

“It doesn’t make our lawyer inferior—”

“I appreciate the defense,” Jeremy said, standing and buttoning his suit jacket. “I am Sloane’s hired counsel and what is going on here is entirely unprofessional. I’m asking all of you to leave.”

“This is preposterous,” Sloane’s dad bellowed. “I am not going anywhere. Young lady, come to your senses right now. I’m doing what’s best for you.”

Sloane, with her head still down on the table, didn’t respond. Jeremy moved to the door and poked his head out. “We need these gentlemen removed.”

“You cannot do this,” Sloane’s father said.

Holden leaned over and spoke to his client. “If Julia doesn’t want me involved, then we have to leave.”

“Are you serious?” he asked, jerking away from the lawyer.

“I am. We legally can’t be in here now.”

“But—” the man’s face flushed from the neck up.

“Thomas,” Holden interrupted. “You cannot make this decision for her.”

“Alright,” a broad-shouldered officer in uniform stepped through the door. “Everyone who isn’t Sloane or her attorney needs to get out of this room.

“This is an outrage,” Thomas barked. “I want whoever brought her in here in handcuffs fired.” He pointed a finger in the officer’s face.

“Do you want to spend some time in a cell?” the officer asked.

“Are you threatening me?” Thomas demanded. Everything he said was tinged with the tone of a man who was used to getting his way.

“That’s it,” Sloane yelled, slapping her palms on the table as she stood. The smack echoing through the small, barren room. “Just put me in a cell. I’d rather go to jail than stay for one more minute in a room with these people.”

“Sit down, Ms. Thompkins,” Keith said, entering. “That won’t be necessary. We’ll have this room cleared in a second, and we’ll get down to why you’re here.”

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