The Hot Lawyer: Hargrave Brother Romance Series, #4

By Alexa Davis

Tucker has always been a man of honor. When he was forced to make a choice between putting his brother in harm's way, or finally leaving the toxic environment of the firm he had worked so hard to change, he sets aside his pride and leaves the firm behind. 

When the ex-wife of his dearest friend and mentor comes to him with a plea for help, he decides to take her case on himself. Andrew Peele had done the unthinkable and traded in his gorgeous wife and sweet daughter for a younger, more plastic version. When illness took him unexpectedly and with a questionable will, Tucker felt honor-bound to help Libby protect herself and her daughter's inheritance. 

Libby Peele had always loved Tucker, a little. It was impossible not to be drawn to his sense of fair play and desire to help all those weaker than himself. But he was her husband's friend, and her husband wasn't the man he seemed to the world. She knew it was folly to expect Tucker to be what he appeared, but even when she pushed him away, every minute she wanted him more.

One night spent together to assuage their loneliness and grief, becomes another. An old friend becomes Tucker's greatest need. Libby struggles to let go of her painful past and trust the one man who has never hurt her. Together they fight for Olivia's future and her memories of a father she will never know. Through petty jealousies and startling revelations of his friend's darker side, Tucker swears to protect the woman and child who have captured his heart. But will they make it through it all?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alexa Davis
• Release date: Dec 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386287346

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Chapter One

Tucker James Hargrave

The sunlight streamed in from my new view overlooking the park, and settled on her face. Libby, once the wife of my best friend and hero, was tear-stained and rumpled, and though it was a once-in-a-lifetime look for her, it was the second time that I’d seen her like that. The only other time had been almost exactly four months before, following her ex-husband’s funeral. Suddenly shut out of her own home and shunned by former friends who had stayed with the money in the divorce, she’d found me—and together, we’d told little Olivia stories about her dad, from his time in college as the senior who had shown me the ropes of college life, to the cactus pancakes he’d made Libby the morning he proposed.

Now, Libby sniffed and wiped her nose while I seethed in anger at Andrew’s selfish short-sightedness. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and tell her that I would fix everything, get Olivia’s inheritance back from Andrew’s gold-digging widow, and return my goddaughter to the only home she’d ever known. If only it would’ve been welcome.

You know I wouldn’t have bothered you if it wasn’t for Olivia, she sniffed again. I gripped my pen, bending it until I felt the casing crack, and dropped it on the desk before I could break it.

Libby, I’m happy to help, in any way I can. I’ll go over the paperwork tonight, and we can meet in the morning at Jitters for coffee, and I’ll give you a preliminary prognosis.

No, I can meet you here...

Damn it, Libby! I’m not going to attack you or throw myself at you, I snapped. Stop acting like you’re in danger with me. I’m taking this off the books. Therefore, I need to meet with you outside of work hours, and I figured you’d be averse to dinner. So, Jitters, tomorrow before 8:00 a.m. She nodded stiffly.

I don’t think you’re going to attack me, she argued.

Good, because what happened between us was not wrong, or unhealthy, or disloyal. We both loved Andrew. But we were both single, mourning, and needed comfort. It kills me that you are so ashamed of that night. I tugged at my hair, almost too long, and falling past my collar, now that I didn’t have to keep up appearances to please my senior partners. Libby stood, and I escorted her to the reception desk, nodding to Henry Wilmer, the son of the firm’s cofounder and my new boss. I saw the glint in Libby’s eyes but wasn’t fast enough to get her out the door before she introduced herself to him with a wry smile that almost looked sincere, even to me.

Mr. Wilmer, you don’t know me, but my name is Elizabeth Peele; my husband was Andrew Peele. I have found myself floundering since he died, what with all the upheaval over at... She jerked a thumb toward my old firm, knowing avoiding a non-compete suit depended on never referencing them. Well, anyway, I need representation and I can’t think of a better firm than Snell and Wilmer. Henry raised an eyebrow at me and I shrugged. To him, it was just one more client defecting to me in my split from my old firm.

Well then, I’m sure Mr. Hargrave will take good care of you. I make sure all his old clients go straight to him. It keeps him too busy to think about leaving us and putting out his own shingle, he teased, or rather, half-teased. But no matter how much he worried I’d leave, I had no interest in going solo. I’d been brought up a team player, raised as one of the oldest of five boys on the hardest working ranch in Texas. I knew the formula for success, and I was happy to work for a prestigious firm that had tenacity enough to cling to their morals.

Of course, I wasn’t Mr. Hargrave’s client before, Libby was saying as I turned my attention back to her, I certainly don’t have to be now.

Nonsense. He’s arguably the best we have, and my dear, it seems like you could use the best. He turned to me. Keep me posted, I want to know if they’re going to be replacing my name on the stationary. I shook my head and laughed as he grabbed my hand and clapped me on the back. He shook Libby’s hand as well, and I walked her to the parking garage.

Libby. We’ll do everything we can for you. I don’t know what happened to Andrew, or between the two of you, but Olivia is my priority, just like she’s yours. I would’ve done this pro bono. I wish you had let me.

I already owe you so much. And you’re right, I feel ashamed and embarrassed about the way I... threw myself at you. I opened my mouth to protest, but she cut me off. "I just need to know I can do this on my own. I was eighteen when I married Andrew. I worked and paid for him to go to school and didn’t even get to finish college myself. Then I stopped working, because ‘none of the other wives were working outside the home.’ It took years for us to get Olivia, and then, before she was old enough for kindergarten, he suddenly implodes our marriage, our family, and marries an actual stripper. A stripper!"

I know, Libby. You couldn’t make this stuff up. He died so soon after, I just felt like he would’ve snapped out of it. I wish I’d gotten through to him. Libby touched my wrist, sighed, and opened the door of her Cadillac.

I know you did everything you could. That’s why I know you’ll do everything you can now. I’ll call your secretary and set up an appointment. She shut the door, but I called out anyway for her to give Olivia my love. She nodded through the glass, and I backed away to let her out.

As I walked back into the building, Henry was waiting for me. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and nodded him into my office. I sat behind the desk he’d given me as a welcome home gift and watched him take his seat across the desk.

The view was better twenty minutes ago, I quipped, making him chuckle.

I bet. Is she okay? I know Peele had gone through one doozy of a mid-life crisis before he died.

Yeah, you could say that. Right now, it’s a simple contest of the will. I don’t think we’ll get much, but the right judge will get some mementos for their daughter, Olivia, and a trust fund, which is all Libby wants anyway.

Doesn’t seem right, leaving that little girl with nothing, he looked down at his hands. She’d about the same age as my grandkids, isn’t she? I nodded.

I’ll make sure she’s taken care of.

I know you will, Tuck, that’s why you’re here. The influx of clientele was just a happy accident for us. He stood to go, but looked back from the doorway. She was awfully pretty for someone who’d been crying. She must be absolutely stunning when she’s smiling.

One of many reasons no one can understand what Andrew did. I finished his thought. Yes. I know. He shook his head and closed the door behind him, leaving me to the silence I preferred. Once he was gone, I opened the file Libby had left me. It wasn’t Andrew’s work; I’d seen that, and it had been sloppy and disjointed before he died. One of the partners had done this for him, and it was solid. My gut clenched. The last thing I wanted to do was tell Libby that her daughter’s future was hinging on a sympathetic judge. I gathered the folder and a few other cases I was working on and told Sandra, my assistant, that I’d be working from home for the rest of the day.

Kennedy, my best friend and canine housekeeper, bayed at me from her kennel as soon as I hit the foyer of my condo. I grabbed some bacon-smelling dog treats and let her out, whereupon she promptly sat like an angel and waited patiently for me to reward her, her spotted rump twitching with excitement. She caught her treat and munched happily while I changed from my suit to the sweatpants and Marvel t-shirt I favored. My briefcase went at one end of the table, and out came the folder from Libby. With a heavy sigh, I called Caroline, Andrew’s former secretary, and the one person back at Cripke, Cripke, and Stokes that wouldn’t hang up on me or threaten me with a lawsuit—though I didn’t have much hope anymore that she’d help me, either.

Chapter Two

Elizabeth Grace Peele

The preschool was in the middle of recess, Olivia’s favorite time of day. Her bubblegum pink dress swirled as she played ring around the roses with her best friends, Makayla and Britney, while the sun shone down on her hair, turning the auburn ringlets I’d meticulously tamed into a riot of golden fire as she swung around, laughing and singing.

Her hat had been dropped and forgotten the moment she stepped outside, as always, and I hoped the teacher had at least remembered sun screen for the little ones. D’Ante ran up to them with a fistful of flowers he’d picked off the bushes that grew against the chain link, and instantly, the girls chased him back to the bushes, where they started a new game, of restaurant, or house, depending on which of them was talking. The fragile orange blooms were pounded and pressed into plastic dishes used for playing in the dirt, and more flowers were scattered across them before they were served to other little girls in the class who were beginning to wander over, one and two at a time.

D’Ante is the smartest little boy I’ve ever met, said Paul, one of the preschool teachers, as he sat next to me in the shade. None of the other boys understand now, but one day, they’ll hate him for how easy it is for him to talk to girls. I laughed and nodded.

Olivia got all skinned up at the park the other day. They were playing, and Shaunte and I were only half paying attention, and somebody said his skin was too dark to be allowed there. I sighed. Olivia punched the kid, right in the face, and when his mother and I got to shouting at each other, she almost got one, too. Paul started to laugh and covered it by clearing his throat.

They are so young to have to stand for anything, but I’m glad that she is ready to, even though I wish she didn’t have to, he said with a sigh, playing with the small pearl bracelet on his wrist. Libby put an arm around him for a quick hug. How about you, Miss. Libby? You ready for your fight?

Getting there, Paul. I did talk to my new lawyer, and he’s the best—Andrew used to say so all the time. Paul nudged her with his shoulder and she gave him a wry smile. There has to be a better reason than just selfishness in how Andrew left us the way he did. Tucker Hargrave will figure it out. He’s already been thinking about it on his own, so he should be up to speed quickly, don’t you think?

The recess bell rang and Paul herded children toward the door, and I called Olivia over to me. She was pink and breathless, her eyes glowing, and happily, she still smelled of the sunscreen I sent with her daily. I brushed her off and she ran away, then came back with her hat, before I had a chance to chastise her for not wearing it.

You burn easier than other children, Olivia. You need to wear your hat, okay?

D’Ante doesn’t need a hat.

He should wear one, to prevent heat stroke.

I wish I looked like D’Ante. Her pout was so sincere and disappointed, I bit my lip to keep a straight face for her.

Well, D’Ante is very handsome, but I like you looking like you. You have your daddy’s eyes, and your Aunt Lisa’s hair, and Mommy’s nose. I like that you look like your family. Those eyes turned up to me, pale green as sea glass, and she scowled at me.

I still wish I looked like D’Ante’s family. D’Ante looks like chocolate. I look like milk. I hate milk. I hid my chuckle with a cough and stared into those defiant sea green eyes.

Fair enough. But since you are you, maybe we can find a name that isn’t something you don’t like? Hmmm, how about vanilla ice cream, or marshmallow, or sugar cookie?

"I love sugar cookies!" The corners of her little rosebud mouth turned up, and her eyes widened.

Sugar cookie it is. I think we should go get some lunch, just us girls. What do you think? In answer, Olivia scampered to the cubbies along the stucco wall outside the school house, straight to the one with her name printed in large rainbow letters. She pulled out her Minnie Mouse backpack and her drawings from morning art class, and carried them over, stopping to pick up papers as they scattered from her little dimpled fingers.

I helped her get all her art into her bag, and we walked together to the car, holding hands. I strapped her in as she sang a song about safety in the car, and we headed toward this month’s Olivia-favorite: a salad buffet called Sweet Tomato, where she could pile all her favorite fruits on a plate with some yogurt and feel like a grown-up as we talked about our days.

Olivia, can you guess who I saw today? She looked up at me with her cheeks full of strawberry, juice dribbling from the corner of her mouth as she tried to answer. She gave up and, chewing solemnly, shook her head. I saw Uncle Tuck. You remember him, right? She nodded and smiled so big more juice slid down her chin. I wiped her face and waited for her to finish her mouthful. Would you like to see him and say ‘hello’ sometime?

Of course, Mom. He’s my favorite outside-the-family uncle. I had to smile. The name godfather had seemed too weighty for a little one, so Tucker had insisted on just being uncle—but with two uncles on her father’s side, and one on her mother’s, she seemed confused by where he belonged. Andrew had defined him to her as our outside-of-the-family, special uncle, and it had stuck.

I have to meet with him tomorrow. Maybe I should ask him over to dinner with us sometime. I knew he was right, that two consenting adults spending a night in the refuge of each other’s arms wasn’t noteworthy in the annals of most relationships. But I had felt something so strong when he touched me, that I was still coming to terms with it. What was I supposed to do, when my husband’s best friend made me feel loved and cherished in a way my husband never had?

Mommy, where did you go? Olivia’s voice broke through and I smiled. I’d said that to her when she was daydreaming since before she could talk. She was such a little mimic; it made me careful what I said in front of her.

Sorry, honey. I was thinking about Uncle Tucker, and if he thought I was being rude for not having him eat at our new house. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, an unfortunate habit she’d picked up from me.

I don’t think so. Remember, he’s very busy, like Daddy. He can’t always eat dinner, or even breakfast. Her four-year-old lisp made breakfast into ‘brask-fucst,’ and I hid a smile behind my cheat-day glass of Dr. Pepper, an instant before my heart clenched tightly, thinking again of all that her father was missing of his sweet, brave, audacious daughter. She felt my mood change, and I felt her watching me. I looked back at her, chewing slowly, her eyes glued to my face.

You were thinking about Daddy. She made it a statement, and I nodded my agreement.

I miss him, too. But you miss him more. I bet Uncle Tuck misses him, too. Maybe he can come tell me stories like before! She exulted in her own brilliance and, kicking her little legs under the table, happily resumed eating. That was enough for me to look past my own misgivings. There would come a time when memories and stories of her father wouldn’t stanch the tears or ease the heartache as much. If that was what she needed now, I would have to keep my feelings to myself and welcome Tucker back into our lives.

Once lunch was finished, and my soda craving had been assuaged, we drove to the townhouse we now called home, and changed into our swimsuits before heading down to the pool. I started to pack my laptop, hoping to squeeze some work in, but accepted that probably wouldn’t happen, not unless Shaunte was out sunning. I glanced at my phone. Preschool was over, so into the bag went the computer, and with sunscreen and computer bag in hand, we headed down to enjoy the sun from the clubhouse just across the playground from our home.

The water was warm in the afternoon sun, and soon, Olivia was splashing around as she floated in her pint-sized life vest, shooting a water gun that D’Ante and his sister were sharing with her. I still hadn’t taken out my computer, letting the sunshine and the sounds of the children playing together lull my anxiety for a little while.

I had been too young to know better when I was swept off my feet by a decent, though controlling man. I’d worked my fingers raw cleaning offices at night, and sold lady’s underthings at a boutique during the day, all so my pre-law husband could finish school and be a corporate attorney. Once he was established, he promised, I’d get my turn. So, I’d drawn designs for my friends’ businesses, and done it for free, because Andrew had thought it would reflect badly on him for me to beg our friends for work.

Now, I was almost a decade behind in the game, trying to make up for lost time with no education, a daughter to raise alone, and my younger, sleazier replacement doing her best to prevent me access to the money that could make it all easier.

Sleepless nights were taking their toll, I told myself as much after I’d broken down in front of Tucker. But it only ever seemed to happen with him—and then I couldn’t stop it from happening. I shuddered to think of how he must have seen me, broken and weak. I ignored the hitch in my chest and promised myself: never again. I had let a man make me too weak to be the mother I needed to be, because I trusted him and catered to his ego and his whims. Never would I let a man come between me and my priorities, ever again.

Chapter Three

Tucker

Iwent over the file almost a dozen times, looking for loopholes or clauses that the new will hadn’t locked out of the older versions. Piper had been thorough. He’d done a good job making the will as airtight as possible. Which left me two tasks. First, to pray for a judge who would give a rat’s ass about a little girl who had just lost her father, and her future. Second, to ask Steve Piper what the hell he’d been thinking, writing a will to deny a four-year-old even pictures of her dead father, without blinking.

I picked up my phone to check the time, and realized I’d never taken it off silent mode. Not only had Caroline called me back, I had missed a call from Steve as well. His message was short. He knew I was going to represent Libby, and he wanted to meet with me to talk about the will, and what he thought I might be able to do to help Olivia. I breathed a sigh of relief and kicked back in my seat, waiting for Kennedy to notice, and jump up, which she did with a little doggy grunt and the sudden addition of almost eighteen pounds to my lap.

I think you’re putting on weight, little sister, I groused, while she inched up my belly to lick my face. My stomach rumbled, she jumped and stared at me like I’d bit her. All right, all right. Let’s get your food bowl filled, then I’ll take a chance on whatever I’ve got in the fridge. I sat up and she slid down my legs, landing with a thump, and stared up at me with her tongue lolling out. After I mashed a can of dog food into her bowl, I looked in the fridge, expecting the worst. Sure enough, it was a food desert. I pulled out one of the last two beers, and shut the door. It would be take out for the third time in a row.

I ordered enough Chinese to feed me for a couple of days, and sat back down at the table. It had been hard enough not thinking about Libby over the past couple of months, without being thrust headlong into the mess Andrew had made of his life before he had the bad form to die and leave the people who loved him behind. I sighed heavily, rubbing my eyes. I’d call Steve first thing; an early riser, he was always in the office before anyone. I hadn’t been away from my former colleagues long enough to be comfortable with my intimate knowledge of their habits, and I felt a twinge of guilt that I had walked away. But with Andrew gone, there had been no reason to keep banging my head against the brick wall that had been the senior partners of Cripke, Cripke, and Stokes.

It burned me to know that I’d had such a reputation for my successes, and I’d wasted so much time on loyalty to people who didn’t deserve it. There had to have been more to Andrew’s choices than simply trading in his young, beautiful wife for someone even younger. He’d been closed off, guarded, and even secretive in the months before his marriage ended. I hadn’t seen him happy in so long before he died, I hardly remembered the man who had once been the first to make a joke, who had believed that the sun had risen and set in his daughter’s sweet face.

I made notes in the margins, unable to concentrate long enough on the paperwork to get anywhere with the memories of Libby’s smooth skin chasing my more intelligent thought processes out the window. I could still feel her soft fingers as she’d run them over my chest and stomach, her mouth following hungry and wet, everywhere she’d touched. My pants pulled tight across my stomach and I stood up to shake it off.

Glad it’s just you and me right now, Kennedy, I scoffed as she glanced up from her cushion and thumped her tail on the floor. I stretched and paced the floor, trying to reconcile the things I’d felt for my best friend’s ex-wife with the loyalty I’d had for Andrew. No matter how hard I tried to forgive him, I was still angry at him. Mad that he’d left the woman of my dreams for a pale shadow of her grace and beauty. Furious that he’d let down that little girl. The sun dipped further down, and the shadows grew longer across the condominium. I grabbed my phone and texted the nearest Hargrave, my younger brother George.

George was married and getting used to life with