Notice of Appeal by Jennifer Bramseth

Author:Jennifer Bramseth
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Woodford Press

18

Milla had always thought that late summer colds were the worst, but she was wrong.

Having a nasty cold, being alone in the office, and trying to get a bunch of work done before a long holiday weekend was just as bad if not worse.

At least she had the benefit of being sick at home in Littleham. She hated it when she got sick during court week, her bout with a stomach bug last year being one of the absolute worst experiences of her life. It had been mortifying to dash into the justices’ restroom to throw up. But it had either been breach protocol and use a restroom where she shouldn’t be, or toss it up right there on the marble on the second floor of the capitol.

The chief was gone on vacation, a well-deserved one, and their local assistant had taken the week off as well to get ready for the big feed in a few days. It was a strange loneliness in the office since they were in the Van Winkle County Courthouse and the hustle and bustle of legal life was just outside their doors. She could hear a little bit of it, from footsteps in the main hall to distant voices. But no one disturbed her—maybe people knew the chief was away—and Milla was glad for the solitude.

Because she had a lot of work to do. And a lot of thinking to do.

When Leo had suggested going to Old Garnet for Thanksgiving, she thought their problems were solved about what to do for the holiday. He’d hinted he might want to go on a long weekend, something that actually didn’t excite her. Thanksgiving was meant for home, and she would’ve been happy to pass the day with Leo at his home—either the big one or the small one, although the small one would’ve been decidedly more cozy. She’d even entertained ideas of the two of them cooking there together. He’d made a few meals for her, which were quite nice, although the pressure of a big meal like Thanksgiving might have been too much for him—and for her as well. Her cooking skills were decent but not holiday quality.

But as the day approached, Milla found herself getting nervous about dining with the Davenports and their friends.

She recalled her time working at the distillery with great fondness. She had desperately needed a job that summer, just after she had started divorce proceedings against her husband. While a local attorney had been helping her finalize the split by working the case pro bono, and she had her scholarship at UK, she still had struggled to meet her living expenses, despite sharing a dinky little house on the outskirts of Littleham with a friend.

Working at Old Garnet had been like working for family; the atmosphere had been great. Although she had sensed tension between Bo and Hannah when those two were together, she had always chalked it up to simple sibling rivalry. And she had loved working with Emma Davenport, their mother.

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