If the Shoe Fits (5 page)

Will agreed to think it over, but only to appease his old friend from law school. He had no real intention of making a move two hours south, especially at this point. He and Julianne were hardly out of the gate yet with the practice, and his father had lived in that house on Winlake Drive for twenty years.

The better part of the afternoon had been spent making notes for Greg Rush, the guy from Will’s former practice who would handle the arbitration hearing scheduled later in the week. He closed the file and leaned back in the chair for a good stretch.

The sun left the marks of a rainy day across a sky splotched in rose and faint purple outside the window of his new office. There were no words to express the relief of freeing himself from exclusive attachments to commercial transactions, business loopholes, and federal regulations. With the last of his loose ends all tied up, he could now handle anything that came his way, and he could hardly wait to see what that would be. He hoped for a good criminal defense, or even a hairy accident settlement in which to sink his teeth. Anything other than the exclusive and dry Sahara of corporate law.

He squinted at the clock on the wall to make sure he hadn’t misread it.

Can it really be after six?

Phoebe had already gone for the day. He heard Julianne turning pages in the conference room and noticed the yellowish beam of light glowing from her general direction.

Will crossed the lobby and stood in the doorway observing her for a few moments. Chewing on a lock of honey blonde hair, Julianne sat hunched over one of several law books spread out on the table before her. She tapped the fingers of her right hand as she read, and Will watched them as they drummed against the varnished oak tabletop. Her fingers were long, with short, manicured nails lightly frosted with pale pink polish. The thin circle of silver she always wore on her right thumb glistened as it caught a reflection of light. He’d bought it for her a couple of years back when the group from church went to Mexico to help rebuild an orphanage, he recalled.

They hadn’t been allowed much R & R time while there, but how beautiful she had looked that singular afternoon when the group had gone to the beach. She’d been wearing a modest bathing suit, and the deep purple of the suit had blended with the silky floral sarong she wore tied in a knot just above one hip. He remembered thinking, as the setting orange sun reflected off her sun-kissed hair, that she was the most radiant beauty he’d ever seen.

Of course, he also remembered that she’d burst into a fit of laughter at just the moment when he’d been about to tell her so.

“What in the world are you thinking about?” she’d teased him as she nibbled on the wedge of lemon balancing on the rim of her glass of iced tea. “You look like you’re just about to declare your undying love or something.”

“Too many taquitos,” he’d commented quickly. And it had become a private joke between them after that.

Julianne didn’t look up as he crossed the conference room to the miniature fridge tucked into the corner of the counter and yanked out a small bottle of ginger ale. She finally noticed him at the hiss of the opened bottle.

“What’s this?” she asked as he filled two paper cups and walked toward her.

“A toast,” he replied. “To the end of our first day in our new offices.”

Julianne smiled as she accepted one of the cups, and she tapped it against the side of the one still in his hand.

“There’s nobody I’d rather partner with.” She smiled up at him and took a sip.

But only in law
, he thought.
Partnered in practice, but not in life. That’s never even crossed your mind, has it, Julianne?

Will fell deep into his own thoughts, and he jumped as she waved her hand playfully in front of his face.

“He—
lloooooo
?”

He blinked several times, hard. “I’m sorry. What?”

“Where were you just then?”

“Forever-Everland, I guess.”

“Hey, that’s my hometown, not yours.”

Will managed a smile, but it didn’t quite make it up to his eyes.

“I heard that.”

Will’s heart began to race.

“Pardon?” he asked her.

“Your thoughts. I can hear them.”

He could feel the thunderous pounding as it pushed against his chest.

“Oh, really?” he asked casually.

“Yep. I can hear your thoughts, Will Hanes!”

Will’s mind clouded
over with visions from a regrettable movie he’d seen as a teen. Some poor guy’s stomach had burst suddenly open, and the monster within exploded out for everyone to see.

“You don’t believe me?” Julianne asked him, stepping back and looking him squarely in the eye. “You think I would lie?”

“No,” he finally replied, and his own voice sounded as frozen as a couple pounds of chicken legs tucked into the back of the freezer at home.

“Want me to prove it?”

All Will could manage was a slight shrug and an awkward smile.

“All right then,” she said confidently, and she crossed her arms as she glared at him. “You’re thinking how lucky you are to have a best friend like me.”

When the corner of her mouth twitched in amusement, Will snickered, more out of relief than amusement.

“And you’re thinking that this ginger ale is good, but not as good as a fruit punch and a plate of citrus shrimp from Vandella’s will be.”

The inward sigh of emancipation would have thundered overhead and rattled the windows had he released it.

“Jules the Magnificent,” he said with a nod. “You really are remarkable. Like the prophets of old.”

“Pastor Dean is treating the volunteers to a night out, remember? Let’s walk over, and I’ll be your date!”

“I’ll get my jacket.”

Several tables were pushed together, the only two seats available at opposite ends. Vandella’s had become a favorite for church fellowship. Tabletops vividly painted with renditions of various landmarks exclusive to the Cincinnati area displayed truly appetizing food on brightly colored platters. It was situated conveniently right near Fountain Square at the center of town. As everyone exchanged greetings, Will walked Julianne over to the far side and held out the empty chair next to Maureen Alden, the pastor’s wife. Once Julianne settled down into it, he made his way to the other end and sat between the pastor and Jimmy Rudd.

“You two look like you’ve been together all your lives,” Maureen said to Julianne as she offered a basket of warm tortilla chips.

“We almost have,” Julianne giggled, popping one into her mouth. “Will was my first crush back in grade school.”

“Have you ever dated?” Maureen asked curiously.

“For about a minute in high school,” she replied. “But we were always best friends. Nothing more.”

“What a shame,” Maureen commented softly, and Julianne wondered for a moment what she meant. There was no shame in what she and Will had settled into. Their friendship was one of the most valuable relationships of her life.

“Hey, everyone!” Jimmy Rudd announced from the other end of the table. “Will and Julianne have opened their law office.”

“Yep. We’re all moved in to the brand-new digs,” Will told them, and he cast a quick smile at Julianne.

“Well then,” Maureen said sincerely, raising her glass of raspberry tea. “Here’s to a long and lucrative partnership.” Leaning toward Julianne, she whispered, “If only in the practice of law.”

The evening was great fun, just as they all were when this group of men and women got together. Julianne adored her pastor, and she enjoyed watching his interactions with others. Pastor Dean Alden, one of those very unusual combinations of true wisdom and absolute humor, always seemed to exude love and understanding, no matter what the challenge or situation.

She especially enjoyed the exchanges between the pastor and his wife. Their mutual love and respect almost crackled in the air around them, and it trickled down to even the tiniest parts of the church.

“Julianne?” Beth Rudd said as she walked up behind her at the bathroom sink after dinner wrapped up.

Julianne tugged a paper towel from the dispenser and dried her hands with it as Beth said, “I was talking to Maureen. And, well … you really aren’t attracted to him in the least?”

“Who?”

“Will!”

“Attracted to Will?” she clarified. “That would almost be like incest, Beth! Will is my best friend. You don’t cross over lines like that one.”

“For goodness’ sake, why not?” she asked through the reflection in the mirror, fussing over her helmet of ebony hair. “I’d have given just about anything if Jimmy and I were friends from the start. It took us years, and no small amount of turmoil, to find that part of our marriage.”

Julianne’s amused chuckle was cut short when the bathroom door slipped open and Linda Barnes poked her head inside. “Are you riding with us?” she asked Beth.

“I’ll be just another minute,” Beth replied with a nod. Turning to Julianne, she said, “The reason I’m asking is … I don’t want to step on any toes. You know what I mean?”

“Not entirely,” Julianne admitted with a smile, and she tapped the used towel down into the bin. “What are you getting at?”

“I was thinking of setting up Will and my younger sister, Alison. You remember, you met her at the Christmas pageant?”

Julianne thought back and shrugged. “I’m sorry. That was such a crazy night. I had twenty-seven crazy junior choir kids to look after.”

“Oh, well, Alison has just broken up with her boyfriend of three years, and I know Will and Holly split last year. Anyway, she’s just not meeting any nice Christian men, and I was thinking … if you wouldn’t mind …”

“Oh! Well, of course not!” she replied, stunned. “It’s not like that with Will. Really. I mean, fine. Go ahead.”

“Really?”

“Sure,” she said with a shrug. “Yes. I mean, if Will wants to.”

“Oh, I think the two of them will be perfect for each other!”

Julianne hated to admit to the little scratch of irritation she felt right in the hollow of her chest at the thought of Will being set up with someone. She wondered why, but recalled how long it had taken to get a handle on his devotion to Holly. Whatever the source of the irritation, it settled in as if it might plan on staying awhile.

That Vandella’s had developed a following among the legal community over the years went a little sour for Julianne as she exited the ladies’ room just in time to find Lacey James standing with Will near the front door.

“Ready to head out?” she asked Will as she reached them.

“Oh, William, you don’t have to leave just yet, do you?” Lacey asked him as if Julianne hadn’t entered their airspace.

“I do. I’m in court first thing.”

“Oh, how disappointing.”

“You take care, Lacey,” Will said kindly, and he turned to Julianne. “Ready?”

“More than.”

She had to run to catch up to him at the crosswalk.

“What’s up with you? Did she get to you?”

“Who?” he asked as the light signaled them to cross.

“Lacey!”

“Lacey? No,” he said, shaking his head. “She’s all right. She gets to you way more than she gets to me.”

“Oh. Well, could you slow down? I can’t keep up with you!”

He glanced down at her four-inch heels and grimaced. “Well, they’re not much for walking, are they?”

She clicked her tongue. “Then don’t make me run, Will.”

He paused and looked at her seriously before his face melted down to a smile that cut straight to her heart. “Sorry.”

“You know what? Let’s head down to The Wall,” she suggested. “Can we?”

Will didn’t respond with anything more than a shrug, but he changed course, up the street toward the river.

One of her favorite places in the area, Julianne came to The Serpentine Wall as often as she possibly could. A huge construction of what looked like perfect concrete stairs leading straight down into the Ohio River, she and Will had been going there together for years. Whether for a quick lunch, or a jam-packed Fourth of July celebration for fireworks over the river, it was one of their most beloved spots. They’d been seated right there on the third stair from the top, in fact, when they planned the opening of the law partnership.

A party seemed to be going on at one of several riverboats moored at The Wall, and lively Dixie music wafted gently up toward them from the river below.