yourself.”
Daniel glared at Josh, his face red from his exertion. “You don’t want to help me. You just want to tap my mom and you’re using me to do it!”
Josh swallowed the anger surging through him, and put on his best lawyer face. “First of all, that’s no way to talk about your mother. Second, I am only trying to help you and your mother stay in your home.”
“Yeah, well, she’s my mom. I can talk about her any way I want.” He’d assumed a belligerent stance. “And saving our home is a lost cause.”
“Daniel, let’s get one thing straight. You talk about your mom like that again, and I won’t hesitate to put you in a headlock until you remember your manners.”
The boy’s eyes spit fire and his jaw jutted out in defiance.
“Now, your mother is my client. I don’t have . . . relationships with clients.”
“Yeah, right. I saw you holding her hand.”
“What you saw was one human being comforting another. Nothing more. I respect your mom. And as the man of the house, I respect you.”
Confusion skittered across Daniel’s face.
Josh reached out for the bat and taking it from him, pulled a reluctant Daniel down on the bench. “Do you know what ethics are?”
Daniel frowned. “My dad said ethics are what you follow to be a good person.”
“That’s a good definition. It’s a notion of what’s right and wrong. As a lawyer, I’m bound by a certain code of ethics. One thing the code says is I can’t have a relationship with a client unless that relationship started before she became a client.”
Josh waited as Daniel gave it some thought. “So, just as your father taught you to understand the difference between right and wrong, my mother taught me the same thing. She also taught me that actions have consequences, and the consequences of unethical actions were not usually pleasant. She might be small, but my mother packed a wallop.” Josh smiled. “I carry those lessons with me today. I may not always get it right, but I always try my very best to make my mother proud.”
“Yeah, my mom packs a pretty good wallop, too.” He frowned at some memory. “What about your dad? Did he teach you anything?”
Yeah, he taught me how not to behave , Josh thought. “I lost my dad when I was your age.”
Daniel’s eyes grew wide. “You mean your dad died too?”
“Yeah.” Josh picked up the bat and turned it in his hands.
“Oh.” Daniel hesitated a moment. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really.” But he was glad to finally get Daniel talking.
“Okay. That’s cool.” Daniel nodded in understanding.
“What I want to do is knock some balls out of the park.” He shot Daniel a smile as he stood. Grabbing the batter’s helmet, he shoved it down on his head, before turning toward the batter’s box.
“Hey, Josh?” Daniel twirled the foul ball in his hands.
“Yeah?”
“Did you mean it when you said I was the man of the house?”
“Goes without saying.”
A grin spread across the boy’s face. The first real smile Josh had seen all day, or ever, for that matter.
“Thanks again for the foul ball.”
Josh stepped into the batter’s box feeling like he could conquer the world. “You got it, dude.”
Josh set aside the case he’d been analyzing when he recognized Darcy’s number on his phone.
“‘Sup, Sunshine?” Josh turned to look out his window at the gloomy skies.
“My, you’re in a good mood for a rainy day.”
“I kept a single mom with two kids from being evicted today.”
“Congrats. Nice snag at the game on Saturday, by the way.”
“You saw, huh?”
“Just me and the other fifty thousand fans at the game. Not to mention the replays on ESPN.”
“No shit? I missed that.” Mark and Chris were probably green with envy. The fact that they were in court today explained why he hadn’t heard.
“Who was the boy you gave it to?”
Josh explained, without violating attorney-client privilege, about Daniel.
“That’s a nice
Daniel glared at Josh, his face red from his exertion. “You don’t want to help me. You just want to tap my mom and you’re using me to do it!”
Josh swallowed the anger surging through him, and put on his best lawyer face. “First of all, that’s no way to talk about your mother. Second, I am only trying to help you and your mother stay in your home.”
“Yeah, well, she’s my mom. I can talk about her any way I want.” He’d assumed a belligerent stance. “And saving our home is a lost cause.”
“Daniel, let’s get one thing straight. You talk about your mom like that again, and I won’t hesitate to put you in a headlock until you remember your manners.”
The boy’s eyes spit fire and his jaw jutted out in defiance.
“Now, your mother is my client. I don’t have . . . relationships with clients.”
“Yeah, right. I saw you holding her hand.”
“What you saw was one human being comforting another. Nothing more. I respect your mom. And as the man of the house, I respect you.”
Confusion skittered across Daniel’s face.
Josh reached out for the bat and taking it from him, pulled a reluctant Daniel down on the bench. “Do you know what ethics are?”
Daniel frowned. “My dad said ethics are what you follow to be a good person.”
“That’s a good definition. It’s a notion of what’s right and wrong. As a lawyer, I’m bound by a certain code of ethics. One thing the code says is I can’t have a relationship with a client unless that relationship started before she became a client.”
Josh waited as Daniel gave it some thought. “So, just as your father taught you to understand the difference between right and wrong, my mother taught me the same thing. She also taught me that actions have consequences, and the consequences of unethical actions were not usually pleasant. She might be small, but my mother packed a wallop.” Josh smiled. “I carry those lessons with me today. I may not always get it right, but I always try my very best to make my mother proud.”
“Yeah, my mom packs a pretty good wallop, too.” He frowned at some memory. “What about your dad? Did he teach you anything?”
Yeah, he taught me how not to behave , Josh thought. “I lost my dad when I was your age.”
Daniel’s eyes grew wide. “You mean your dad died too?”
“Yeah.” Josh picked up the bat and turned it in his hands.
“Oh.” Daniel hesitated a moment. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really.” But he was glad to finally get Daniel talking.
“Okay. That’s cool.” Daniel nodded in understanding.
“What I want to do is knock some balls out of the park.” He shot Daniel a smile as he stood. Grabbing the batter’s helmet, he shoved it down on his head, before turning toward the batter’s box.
“Hey, Josh?” Daniel twirled the foul ball in his hands.
“Yeah?”
“Did you mean it when you said I was the man of the house?”
“Goes without saying.”
A grin spread across the boy’s face. The first real smile Josh had seen all day, or ever, for that matter.
“Thanks again for the foul ball.”
Josh stepped into the batter’s box feeling like he could conquer the world. “You got it, dude.”
Josh set aside the case he’d been analyzing when he recognized Darcy’s number on his phone.
“‘Sup, Sunshine?” Josh turned to look out his window at the gloomy skies.
“My, you’re in a good mood for a rainy day.”
“I kept a single mom with two kids from being evicted today.”
“Congrats. Nice snag at the game on Saturday, by the way.”
“You saw, huh?”
“Just me and the other fifty thousand fans at the game. Not to mention the replays on ESPN.”
“No shit? I missed that.” Mark and Chris were probably green with envy. The fact that they were in court today explained why he hadn’t heard.
“Who was the boy you gave it to?”
Josh explained, without violating attorney-client privilege, about Daniel.
“That’s a nice
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