“You were practicing corporate law before, right?” Beckett asks.
“Yeah?” He doesn’t push, but I feel the need to explain. “I guess, kind of. It’s not like I was really given any cases. I was really only allowed to be a paralegal with a law degree.”
“You know,” Beckett’s voice is thoughtful, “I bet the guys could use you in legal at White Picket Fences Records.”
I scrunch my face up before I can stop myself from reacting. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have an issue with that idea,” I start and then pause because I’m not sure what else to say.
“But it’s not the kind of law you’re interested in practicing,” Amelia offers.
“Exactly.” I bite my lip before admitting something I’ve only ever told Bridger late at night when we’ve been whispering to each other about our secrets, dreams, and favorite things. “I’m not sure I would have chosen to be a lawyer if it had been up to me,” I tell them, “but since I am a lawyer, I want to help people.” I shrug. “Right now, I’m feeling a little useless.”
“You’re not useless,” Bridger growls and I roll my eyes. He always gets growly whenever I talk about a job. “You’re growing our little peanut. It’s a full-time job.” His lips brush my earlobe, and his voice drops to a whisper, “And you know we’re good as far as money goes. You don’t have to work if you don’t want to.”
This is a conversation we’ve had more than once, and he’s been incredibly open about his finances. I wasn’t expecting him to basically open his books to me, but he has. He’s right, we’re fine financially, but I’m used to working and I feel a little lost now that I’m not.
As Amelia nods, I can see the cogs in her mind working. She looks at Beckett, but he gives her a look full of bewilderment. He chuckles and kisses her forehead. “Normally I can read your mind, Baby, but this time I have no idea what you’re thinking.”
She giggles and huffs, “Then what good are you to me?”
His hand slides down her back and slaps her ass which causes her to yelp. “I’ll show you exactly what good I am to you.”
Even though she rolls her eyes, she can’t hide the smile on her face. “Yeah, yeah,” she dismisses him with a wave of her hand before focusing back on me. “I don’t know if you’ve heard about it yet, but we put together a charity event around Christmastime. We’ve been doing it for a few years now and last year the beneficiary was a woman’s shelter. When I talked to the director about the difficulties the women there face, one of the things she mentioned were the legal issues and how difficult they are to navigate. They don’t have the resources, the shelter or the women, to pay for a good lawyer. On top of that, they need to keep a lot of the legal cases as anonymous as possible because of the dangers these women are running from.”
I perk up even as Bridger stiffens. When he gently releases the hold he has on my belly, I lean toward Amelia and grab her hand. “They need volunteers?”
She bites her lip and shrugs. “I’m not entirely sure because I’m not a lawyer nor do I know a lot of them. This issue really stuck with me because it must be so difficult to navigate getting a divorce or dealing with custody because of the secrecy around the shelter’s location and the fear around confronting their abuser, especially after they’ve gotten free.”
“That must be scary,” I whisper. My mind wanders to what my life probably would have been like if I hadn’t gotten pregnant and subsequently kicked out of my life. What if I would have married Eric?
A shiver runs down my spine at the thought. I can only hope that if a woman gets trapped in his web she isn’t physically abused and can escape if necessary.
Amelia squeezes my hand.
“It’s not a job,” she reminds me. “At least, they weren’t able to pay anyone at the time. I’m not sure if it has changed with the money we were able to raise for them.”
“No, that work should be done pro bono.”
“I love it when you talk legalese,” Bridger murmurs and nips at my ear.
The more I think about it, the more appealing Amelia’s suggestion becomes. It could be something I do and keep my hours flexible, especially once our peanut arrives. And I’d be helping people.
“Can you send me their information?”
Amelia grins at me and nods. “Of course. This might be perfect for you. You can help people and I’m sure a lot of the work can be done from home, which will be good after your little one arrives.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” I admit.
“Grab your refreshments and start to pull your cars around to grab a spot,” Booker, Suburban Outcasts’ guitarist, shouts. “The movie starts in five minutes.”
“I still need to grab popcorn,” Amelia exclaims. She turns toward Beckett and commands, “You wrangle the kids.”
“You got it, Baby,” he agrees and kisses her.
It’s not just a simple kiss either. None of the kisses I’ve seen around this place have been simple. Everyone shows the love they have for their partner with everything in them. If I didn’t have Bridger holding me right now, I would be jealous.
But this thing between us has been getting better and better every day. I love him. With the way he looks at me, I think he loves me too.
We haven’t said the words, but they’re right there; I just know it.
