Secrets Among the Cedars (Intertwined Book 2) by Sherri Wilson Johnson Page A
Authors: Sherri Wilson Johnson
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you would’ve been Supreme Court Justice Justice. I’m sure you’d have gotten a lot of snickers with that."
"Exactly!" She rolled her eyes. "Nothing wrong with being named Justice as long as your occupation isn’t being a justice in the Supreme Court system. In order to get there though, regardless of my name, I have to be a judge first. In order to be a judge, I have to become District Attorney. My county is small and is run judicially mostly by men. They're all good old boys. It takes a lot of work to get their approval. This case could get me closer to my goal."
"You mean your dad's goal." He touched her knee with the lightness of a butterfly's wings, leaving behind a sensation that left Kathryn breathless.
She shrugged. "True."
"Is that what you want?"
"I don't know anymore. But if not this, I'm not sure what I'd do."
They lingered over their coffee and watched the pelicans and seagulls soar outside in the post-storm afternoon heat. Sadie tapped her tail on the floor and pinned her ears back every time a bird swooped in front of the door. Phil stretched out his legs, letting his thigh rest against Kathryn's thigh. Could she believe this meant something? That he was interested in her. Could it be possible?
"Do you know the whole story about why Maria found someone to replace me? My best friend, at that?"
Kathryn grimaced. "Great subject change.”
“Sorry. Do you?”
“No, but do I want to know? That's part of your past, and it's private."
"I want to tell you." He turned toward her, placing his mug on the coffee table.
"Okay." Kathryn changed her position and faced him.
“Unless you don’t want to hear.”
“No, I’d love to know what happened.”
"Promise not to laugh."
Kathryn raised her right eyebrow. "I can promise, but since you've already broken that promise to me twice…" She twirled a tendril of hair and stared out the window.
He bent his neck until he captured her gaze with his. "All right, all right. Guilty as charged."
Kathryn patted his knee. "I promise not to laugh."
" Maria wanted to be more physical than I wanted to be. I know that sounds like I'm some kind of freak or something, but I was trying to do things differently than the men in my family. I didn’t want any unplanned children, and I didn’t want there to be deep scars if we didn’t make it, the kind you get when you’re physically attached to someone. Apparently she wasn't willing to wait."
"Yeah, well, that doesn't make you a freak. It makes you admirable. It shows you respected her even if she didn’t respect herself. For the record, I didn’t know any of that. I just always assumed y’all were…involved.”
“I think a lot of people thought that. Maria liked it that way.”
“That’s kind of how things happened with me and Zeke. He did a lot of unwarranted talking. I probably wasn't as chaste as you were, but I'd been raised pretty conservatively and wanted to keep my reputation clean, so I wouldn't move in with him when he asked me to and wouldn't spend the night. As a side note, my dad was cheating on my mom the whole time he was telling me to remember that people were watching me and that I'd better live an upright life."
"Crazy."
"I know. Such a hypocrite. I thought I'd marry Zeke, but he wanted to test drive the car first, so we were at an impasse. He was too busy being a playboy to realize how much I cared for him. When we broke up, he moved in with a friend of mine a few weeks later, and I pretty much swore off men."
"So we've both had the same situation happen to us. Has it made you reluctant to get involved again?"
"You have no idea. I figure all men must be cheaters, so I'm better off focusing on my career." Kathryn raised her eyebrows and shook her head. She'd succeeded at everything but love. Phil waited for her to continue, seeming to take everything she said in seriousness. " I'm not good at relationships. I fell in love in high school, or thought I did, and that ended poorly like most
"Exactly!" She rolled her eyes. "Nothing wrong with being named Justice as long as your occupation isn’t being a justice in the Supreme Court system. In order to get there though, regardless of my name, I have to be a judge first. In order to be a judge, I have to become District Attorney. My county is small and is run judicially mostly by men. They're all good old boys. It takes a lot of work to get their approval. This case could get me closer to my goal."
"You mean your dad's goal." He touched her knee with the lightness of a butterfly's wings, leaving behind a sensation that left Kathryn breathless.
She shrugged. "True."
"Is that what you want?"
"I don't know anymore. But if not this, I'm not sure what I'd do."
They lingered over their coffee and watched the pelicans and seagulls soar outside in the post-storm afternoon heat. Sadie tapped her tail on the floor and pinned her ears back every time a bird swooped in front of the door. Phil stretched out his legs, letting his thigh rest against Kathryn's thigh. Could she believe this meant something? That he was interested in her. Could it be possible?
"Do you know the whole story about why Maria found someone to replace me? My best friend, at that?"
Kathryn grimaced. "Great subject change.”
“Sorry. Do you?”
“No, but do I want to know? That's part of your past, and it's private."
"I want to tell you." He turned toward her, placing his mug on the coffee table.
"Okay." Kathryn changed her position and faced him.
“Unless you don’t want to hear.”
“No, I’d love to know what happened.”
"Promise not to laugh."
Kathryn raised her right eyebrow. "I can promise, but since you've already broken that promise to me twice…" She twirled a tendril of hair and stared out the window.
He bent his neck until he captured her gaze with his. "All right, all right. Guilty as charged."
Kathryn patted his knee. "I promise not to laugh."
" Maria wanted to be more physical than I wanted to be. I know that sounds like I'm some kind of freak or something, but I was trying to do things differently than the men in my family. I didn’t want any unplanned children, and I didn’t want there to be deep scars if we didn’t make it, the kind you get when you’re physically attached to someone. Apparently she wasn't willing to wait."
"Yeah, well, that doesn't make you a freak. It makes you admirable. It shows you respected her even if she didn’t respect herself. For the record, I didn’t know any of that. I just always assumed y’all were…involved.”
“I think a lot of people thought that. Maria liked it that way.”
“That’s kind of how things happened with me and Zeke. He did a lot of unwarranted talking. I probably wasn't as chaste as you were, but I'd been raised pretty conservatively and wanted to keep my reputation clean, so I wouldn't move in with him when he asked me to and wouldn't spend the night. As a side note, my dad was cheating on my mom the whole time he was telling me to remember that people were watching me and that I'd better live an upright life."
"Crazy."
"I know. Such a hypocrite. I thought I'd marry Zeke, but he wanted to test drive the car first, so we were at an impasse. He was too busy being a playboy to realize how much I cared for him. When we broke up, he moved in with a friend of mine a few weeks later, and I pretty much swore off men."
"So we've both had the same situation happen to us. Has it made you reluctant to get involved again?"
"You have no idea. I figure all men must be cheaters, so I'm better off focusing on my career." Kathryn raised her eyebrows and shook her head. She'd succeeded at everything but love. Phil waited for her to continue, seeming to take everything she said in seriousness. " I'm not good at relationships. I fell in love in high school, or thought I did, and that ended poorly like most
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