Exposed (Rosato & DiNunzio #5)(40)

Bennie walked to the porch. “Did you see me coming?”

“The advantage of the high ground.” Declan grinned. “I was waiting for you. I sat at the window like a dog, panting and panting.”

“Sure you were.” Bennie crossed the crunchy gravel.

“How good to see you, babe!” Declan opened his arms, wrapped them around her, and gave her a big hug, and even though she felt the cold beer bottles on her back, she wasn’t complaining.

“I missed you. It’s been, what, three weeks?”

“Tell me about it. It’s killing me.” Declan leaned over, kissing her gently, once, then again. “Oh, man. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Bennie reached out and rubbed his back, feeling her world gradually fall back into place.

“Come sit down and have a cold beer. You look like you need it.” Declan kept an arm around her, and they walked together to the porch swing, sitting down.

“I do. I’m glad you were here.” Bennie accepted the Rolling Rock and took a quick sip, which tasted delicious. She scanned the bucolic setting, a hilltop surrounded by woods, and it felt cooler this high, with a gentle breeze. Declan moved his arm around the back of the porch swing, and she felt herself relax against it like a pillow, taking another sip of beer.

“I’m glad I was too. Harrisburg drives me up the wall. I’m glad that deal’s over.”

“How’s the family?” Bennie asked, which used to be a touchy question. They had met on a criminal case, when she defended a man who had been charged with murdering Declan’s ne’er-do-well nephew. Bennie had proved her client innocent, but Declan’s attachment to his sister and her children were part of the reason their romance was long-distance.

“They’re all doing well. My sister’s clean and sober, and the kids are doing great. They’re both at a daytime baseball camp, which is cute. I go to the games.” Declan took a swig of beer. “So tell me what’s going on. I’m happy to see you but I want to hear the deal.”

“It’s a long story.”

“I got time, and the whole left side of my body feels good.” Declan smiled down at her.

“Okay, here we go.” Bennie filled him in, telling him the whole story from yesterday afternoon, since he’d been out of town and they kept missing each other, trying to connect on the phone, but failing.

“I hate to have her leave. It’s been fun, and we all get along so well. It’s actually the best situation.”

“That’s nice. Sorry you have to lose it.”

“Me, too, but that’s not the only problem.”

“You can’t afford to lose her, can you?” Declan cocked his head.

“No. To be precise, I have the fees coming in, but the problem is cash flow.” Bennie hated to admit it. “I don’t think she realizes that, but that’s neither here nor there. It’s my problem and I have to deal with it.”

“Break it down for me.” Declan rubbed her shoulder on the back of the swing.

“Right now, she pays half of the overhead. Payroll. Insurance, equipment rental, like the duplicating machines. Office supplies. All the other costs.”

“Your payroll must be a killer. Four lawyers, the receptionist.”

“It is.” Bennie knew he would understand. He had a solo practice, like she used to. “I’ll have to sit down with our accountant and go over the numbers, but I doubt I can stay in my offices if she leaves. I might have to move and start all over again.”

Declan frowned slightly. “But you used to cover the overhead before by yourself. You just made her partner recently, right?”

“Yes.”

“So what happened in the interim?”

“I shifted my practice. I assumed that we’d be together longer than a year, so I changed the cases I took.” Bennie had thought it over on the way here, trying to sort it out. “Since I had help with the overhead, finally, I was able to take bigger cases that raise my profile—but they last longer. You know how litigation can be. The bigger the case, the longer it takes to get through the court system. Most are in the public interest, a lot of high-profile work on important issues.”

“But it doesn’t keep the lights turned on.” Declan nodded. “You thought you had the backup.”

“Exactly, and now I don’t.”

“It’s like the rug gets pulled out from under you.”

“Right.” Bennie felt her heart ease. It made her feel better to be so completely understood, even if it didn’t change the situation any. She had never really believed that could be true, but it was, happily. Love was a good thing.

“I’ll tell you one thing. If I weren’t so happy with you sitting here, I’d drive to Philly and open a can on that Nate character.” Declan looked at her sideways. “But you wouldn’t like that, would you?”

“On the contrary, not a bad idea,” Bennie shot back, and they both laughed.

“How could you go for a guy like that? Temporary insanity?”

“Just about.” Bennie smiled. “Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, you gotta make plans if Mary decides to go.”

“Right.” Bennie sighed, trying to resign herself to the next step. “I guess I have to call the accountant.”