A Cowboy's Hope
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Mary Anne Wilson
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CHAPTER ONE
ANNA WATTERS HAD never been a risk-taker. She’d been methodical and logical in her plans and life decisions during most of her twenty-eight years. She set goals, made lists, focused on work, and seldom veered off that path. But, in one weak moment, she’d stepped sideways out of Chicago and way out of her comfort zone, and ended up in a storefront firm in a small town in northern Wyoming.
She was sitting in a cluttered office looking across a large wooden desk at the only attorney in the Addison Law Firm, Burris “Burr” Addison. He was a patient man, from all she’d seen over her two-day visit, solidly built and maybe two or three inches over her five feet six inches. He looked to be in his midsixties, with thick gray hair and an impressive full mustache. Wearing jeans, flannel, Western boots, and with a black Stetson hanging on a hook by the door, he fit right in with the other people she’d seen around town.
As nice as Burr had been, she found herself in an awkward situation. She had to make a monumental decision about her future as an attorney before she left for the airport in one hour. The thing was, she didn’t know what decision to make.
Burr fingered a gold-painted horseshoe that acted as a weight on a stack of papers in front of him while he made small talk. Obviously, he was trying to give her time to make up her mind about the partnership he’d offered her no more than half an hour ago.
“So, here we are,” he said and sat back. “And you’re flying out to Chicago soon.”
“Yes, here we are,” she echoed, buying time. “I don’t suppose that horseshoe is solid gold, is it?”
“It’s solid but not gold,” he said with a smile that lifted the corners of his mustache. “I assume you know about cold winters, coming from Chicago. But if you decide to take the partnership, you’re going to need enough warm clothes to carry you from September through May to survive around here.” He sat forward to rest his elbows on the desk, and his expression was a bit apologetic. “And boots, not heels.”
Anna had always kept her professional wardrobe simple. Dark dress pants, two-inch black heels, a tailored shirt and her prized designer suede jacket, a gift to herself for passing the Illinois state bar exam. All she’d brought in her bag for her short stay in the town of Eclipse was two changes of the basics, both the same, except for the jacket. They had been appropriate for one of Chicago’s top law firms, but not around a town where flannel and denim took front and center.
Maybe her hairstyle fit in, long and brown, pulled straight back from her face in a single braid that fell halfway down her back. It wasn’t fancy. Her makeup was sparse; no mascara was needed on her dark lashes. None of that was a priority right now. Money and character were important—how much she could earn and the character of the people she’d be working with. She’d checked out this man and his business online and read great reviews from clients. That was probably the reason she’d agreed to fly out to Eclipse to discuss a partnership, along with the fact that Burr had paid for the trip.
“I do have warm clothes. I guess, if I were to stay here, I’d need to do the town uniform.”
He crooked an eyebrow. “‘Town uniform’?”
“You know, denim, flannel and boots, maybe thermals, too? Possibly a great Western hat. That’s pretty much all I’ve seen in the past two days.”
He chuckled at that, a deep, rich sound. “You’re definitely right, but that’s a minor concern compared to the huge steps you’d have to take to work here, both geographically and career-wise. I don’t want to push, Anna, but I really need your answer before I take you to the airport.”
“Of course,” she said, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt about producing that answer for him by his deadline.
“Over the past two days, I’ve tried to give you my idea of what you’d gain by becoming my partner, but only you can evaluate your personal pros and cons.”
Burr had done that, and he’d done it very well as he’d showed her around a laid-back town with hospitable people. There was a certain charm with its eclectic mixture of the old West, dude ranches and eclipse viewings. He’d said they even had meteor showers that were spectacular. The town was nothing like Chicago, and definitely nothing like what she was used to. But Burr seemed direct, thoughtful and honest. She decided that it was time to put all her cards on the table.
“After all the trouble you’ve gone to, paying my way here,” she said, “and setting me up at that beautiful bed-and-breakfast, I won’t play games with you.”
He nodded. “I appreciate that.”
“I came here because I’ve run out of options to get out of the firm I’m currently with. I signed on with them as soon as I passed the Illinois bar when they offered me a great bonus and an unreal salary. To get that, I had to commit to five years. At the time, I really needed what they were offering.”
He listened silently, so she kept talking. “With my commitment up in another two weeks, I’m looking for a chance to walk away from that firm. But after I investigated my options in and around Chicago, reality hit me hard. The character and values of the firms interested in interviewing me aren’t what I’m looking for. I want to help the clients, to deal with them personally and fairly, and not worry about the profit it means for the firm. I’m not stupid. Money’s important when billable hours are the bottom line for every client. I can’t keep doing that.
“I also can’t afford to open my own office anytime soon, despite that being what I really want to do. So, right now, I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place.”
She sighed. She’d begun to accept the fact that she’d have to stay at her firm and work to get her student loans down or pay them off. But that could take forever, the way things were going, and then Burr’s unexpected offer had come in.
Anna’s mother had moved to Colorado to be with Anna’s aunt after her uncle died. Given Anna was an only child, there wasn’t a whole lot tying her down to Chicago. Except memories, and they would be with her wherever she went.
Burr had kept stoic, without comment and without frowning even once at what she’d said. So she kept going. “I don’t want you to think I see myself as a caped superhero, because all I want is to do right by my clients. That’s what drew me to the law when I was a kid. It seemed so simple. A person needed help and my dad gave it to them. He took a burden off his client. So simple in theory, but not very easy to find in this world.”
Burr finally spoke up.
“I understand what you’re trying to do. I had ideas and dreams but not much money when I started out. I was lucky because I was in a small town and my first office was in my garage. I’m not surprised by your struggle, or that this position is your last option for the near future. We aren’t fancy around here and most of our clients aren’t wealthy. The money isn’t nearly what you’d get where you are now, but we’re the only option for legal help in the area, so we won’t go broke, either.”
“I didn’t mean to offend you,” she said quickly.
“I’m not offended. Truth is never offensive.”
She took him at his word and laid out some basic truths. “Okay. I need to work somewhere that won’t suck the life out of me—where billable hours aren’t the holy grail. That’s not the atmosphere I want to work in.”
“Okay, I know what you don’t want in a firm but, specifically, what do you want?” Burr asked.
“This probably sounds a bit Pollyanna, but I want a law firm with a heart, that’s fair, that’s good at what they do, and when they talk about client care, they mean care, not how to offer clients a higher level of service to increase their billable hours, or talking about which restaurant is the best for client entertaining.”
Burr stood unexpectedly. “Coffee?”
“Yes, thank you. Black.”
Her dad had had a gift that had served him well when he’d practiced law. He’d been able to read people, to see them for what they really were, not what they wanted him to think they were. She wasn’t as good at that as he had been, but he had taught her a lot.
After being around Burr for a few days, she could tell that he had a heart for the law, a real love for it. He was smart, kind and patient. Now she was starting to think that the man himself could tip the scales in favor of her taking his offer—if she did. She genuinely thought he was as close to any attorney she’d ever met who had the same character she’d admired so very much in her own father.
Burr came back with a steaming mug and set it down in front of her, then took his seat again. As she cautiously took a sip, he said, “I was hoping this town would appeal to you.”
“I told you about my dad and how he worked, more with his heart than anything. He drove my mom nuts doing pro bono work or bartering for his fees. But Dad always did the right thing, and I loved him for that. He was my hero, and I wanted to be like him. I still do.” She leaned slightly toward him. “You know I appreciate your offer so much and your help getting me here, and this town seems great, but I just don’t know if I—”
“Oh boy,” Burr said, cutting her off but surprising her with a smile that twitched his mustache. “Here comes the old brush-off line ‘It’s not you, it’s me.’ So, before you say something I’ll regret, let me say a few more things for your consideration. Then you can tell me bluntly what you want to do. No hard feelings. I promise.”
She liked him even more now. “Okay.”
“You told me your plan had always been to work side by side with your dad at his law firm. I’m sorry that never happened for you, but you kept going after he passed away. I can tell you’re passionate about the law, the way I bet he was. Here, the legal needs of my clients, no matter where I find them, are for honest, solid service, and for me to care for them and about their lives. But I understand that you’re worth more than I can offer. You graduated law school second in your class. You could draw top money anywhere you want to go, but I have a gut feeling you’d fit in here perfectly.”
“I’m not going to walk away from something good even if it means I need to stretch payments for my student loans further.” She looked down at her hands cradling the warm mug, then back to Burr. “Dad didn’t get wealthy from his practice, but he was a huge success.”
Burr touched the gold horseshoe. “I understand that completely. That’s why I contacted you about the partnership when I saw your query in the law magazine.” He sat forward. “I did a full background check on you, just to see what would turn up. Do you want to hear something strange?”
Why not? “Sure.”
“I went to the same law school in Chicago as your dad did, but I was a year ahead of him. So we may have crossed paths at one time or another. Smith Watters, right?”
Anna had never truly believed in “signs,” but if this was genuine, maybe a very small sign had just hit her over her head. “Yes. Smith Watters was my dad. Law school’s where he met my mom.”
When he spoke, she could hear the sincerity in his voice. “I’m sorry you never had a chance to go into practice with him.”
Her chest tightened. “That is the biggest regret of my life. I was only thirteen when he died.”
“For what it’s worth, from what you also told me about him, I think you’re on the path to being a lot like him.”
She felt the prick of tears behind her eyes and swallowed. This was not what she’d expected. “I’m not there yet, but thank you.”
“Anna, I think you’d be a good fit in this town,” Burr said again. “These people are mostly soul-deep good people, and I’m hoping that since you’ve seen it on our tours and met them, you’re swinging toward taking me up on my offer.”
Anna could feel things changing for her. The whole idea of being here, practicing law in this town with Burr, was something she was pretty sure her dad would have supported. Burr’s honesty made that almost a certainty. “I like the town and the people I’ve met. But I’m not a small-town person. I’m not sure that I’d even understand where the people around here would be coming from.”
“Anna, people are people. You’re used to the big city, but believe me, this town is very easy to slip into and thrive.”
She took a deep breath and, even though she still had some misgivings, she knew what she was going to do—or try to do. She’d given the firm in Chicago five years, and she’d been miserable. Maybe the least she could do was give herself time to see if she could make it work with Burr and the people of Eclipse.
Burr watched her across the desk.
“Okay, I think I should see if I could fit in here,” she said before she could change her mind. “But the deal is, if I can’t make it work, I will go back to Chicago.”
Burr stood and came around the desk. “Is that a yes I hear?”
She looked up at the man in front of her who was starting to smile. Maybe working here with Burr was as close as she could ever get to what working alongside her dad might have been like.
“Yes, it is for now.”
