Advice of Counsel (The Samuel Collins Series Book 1) (37 page)

Even as I was crash tackling her, I could hear Maddie talking
frantically in the background, “This is Madeline Griffin.  I live at . . .”

Landra sailed back a good five feet, and the gun went off, but
I’m not sure if it was before or after we hit the ground.  I landed on top of
Landra and I gripped her wrist and banged her hand on the ground until she
dropped the revolver, then I pinned her down with my knee in her chest and
picked up the gun.

Maddie was off the phone and at my side.  “The police are on
their way,” she said.

“Here.  Take this,” I said, trying to hand her the gun.

“I don’t want that!” Maddie said, holding her hands up in the
air.

“Just take it in the other room,” I suggested, and she took the
gun and held it out from her body between her finger and thumb and left the
room.

Landra was yelling obscenities and fighting to get out from
under me, but there was no way she could get away.

“It’s a little different when I’m not fucked up, isn’t it,” I
said.  I was glad I got the chance to redeem myself.  The way she’d kicked my
ass before had been a real thorn in my side.

I picked her up roughly and twisted her arm up behind her back
the same way Niki had done to me on several occasions, then I marched her out
through the house. 

There were clothes strewn all the way from the bedroom to the
entryway – pants, shoes, shirt, jacket.  Maddie had gotten dressed again, but I
was still in my underwear.

If there’s one thing about the Hollywood Park Police
Department, its that they’re on the ball, and by the time we got to the front
door, they were already pulling up to the house.

I held on to Landra until they got the cuffs on her.  The
police lights had alerted the neighbors that something was going down and they
were all outside, looking at me in my underwear.  Maddie went in and returned
with my pants and shirt, and I dressed right there in front of everyone and
God.

I spotted Mrs. Howard huddled with the Johnses at our property
line and after I’d given my statement to the police, I made my way over to
them.  I shook Mr. Johns’ hand and then his wife’s, and then I turned to Mrs.
Howard and gave her a bear hug.

“You’re going to be okay,” I told her.  “We’re all going to be
okay.”

I let go of her and she patted my cheek.  I could tell she’d
been crying, but she managed one of her toothy grins.

“I love you like a son, Sam.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Howard.” I leaned down and kissed her on the
cheek.  “I’ve got to get back over there,” I told her.

She nodded and patted me again.

“What kind of muffins are we having tomorrow?” I asked.

“How does sweet potato sound?”

“Sounds great.  See you in the morning.”

It was another hour before the police left and all the
neighbors had gone back home.  I put my arm around Maddie and we went back
inside her house.  She was walking in front of me, leading me back to her
bedroom.

“What a psycho,” Maddie said.

“No kidding.  I wonder why she came back,” I said.

Maddie turned around.  “I was talking about you.  What were you
thinking, tackling her like that?  She could have killed you.”

She put her arms around my neck and I pulled her close and
hugged her.

“No girl is going to kick my ass twice,” I informed her.

I nuzzled my way into her neck and kissed it, and she let her
head fall back giving me full access, then I moved down further and rubbed the
side of my face against her sweater.

“Keep that on,” I said.

I scooped her up and carried her back to her bedroom and I laid
her on the bed.   I looked at the clock.

“Is this still our first date, or is it already over?” I asked.

Maddie laughed.  “What difference does it make?”  She was
unbuttoning my shirt and kissing my chest.

“Because I can’t tell you how much I love you unless the date’s
over.”

She moved her lips to mine. “In that case . . . it’s definitely
over.”

I never did go on that vacation, but I found something even
better to spend my money on.  Unfortunately, Maddie’s finger had gotten too
swollen to wear it.

We were sitting on a bench on the school playground, and I had
my hand on Maddie’s belly.

“Did you feel that!” she exclaimed.

“Yeah.  She’s going to be a soccer player,” I said proudly.

Maddie shook her head and rubbed her tummy.  “A ballerina.”

“A kick boxer.”

Max came running up.  “Mommy chase me!”

Maddie groaned.  “Mommy’s too tired.  Ask your dad.”

“Come on, Daddy.  Chase me!” he said, enthusiastically.

I roared like a lion and charged the kid, and he took off
laughing and screaming while I chased after him.

Oliver was at the controls of his new remote control airplane. 
I could hear the little motor buzzing as it circled in the sky over my head.

“How’s it going, Oliver?” I called out.

“Good.  Can we set it to do an eight?”

“A figure-eight?  Sure.”

It was his brand new birthday present that he got for turning
five, and I’d sat up all night putting the damn thing together.  I took the
control and changed the setting and the thing started climbing as it went into
a figure-eight pattern.  The plane had almost completed the bottom of the eight
and I was getting ready to hand the control back to Oliver, when Maddie put her
arm around my waist.  Just looking at her made me smile.

“We need to go to the hospital,” she said.

The announcement shattered my concentration and I dropped the
control box just as the plane was heading towards the top of the eight.  Oliver
looked from the control box to me, and I got a sinking feeling.  I picked up
the box, and it was even worse than I’d feared.  A part had broken off and it
was impossible to steer the plane manually.  The little plane made it to the
top of the eight, but it never did turn.  The damn thing just kept going and
going, farther and farther, until it was just a speck in the sky.

Oliver crumpled to the ground in a heap. I scooped him up and
held him while he cried on my shoulder.

“We’ll get you another one,” was all I said.

I wondered if it was too early to start grooming Oliver to be
my partner.

Family Counsel

Book 2 of the
Samuel Collins Series

Picking up where Advice of Counsel left off, attorney Samuel
Collins is learning the ropes of fatherhood, with a kindergartener, a toddler and
a newborn on his hands. As he performs a balancing act between his thriving law
practice and his newfound parental status, Sam quickly discovers that looking
out for #1 is a thing of the past.  With new neighbors, new clients, and new
relations vying for his attention, Samuel finds a common theme of family
recurring not only in his personal world, but in his business dealings, as
well.  But when Felicia Armstrong, Maddie’s long lost cousin, unwittingly gets
him involved in a family dispute that could cost him his life, Sam will need
all of his wits about him to keep safe everything he holds dear.

Family Counsel  . . . Catch up with the old cast of characters,
and meet some new friends and neighbors along the way. 

Available in paperback and on Kindle at
http://amzn.com/B00MJLYDOW.

www.debratrueman.com

[email protected]