Simply Being Belle (5 page)

He strode outside
and Belle heard him talking to the dogs as he cooked.  She smiled when she
heard Cy bark in response.  Dare was back in a flash.  “Are the steaks safe
with the dogs?” he asked with a grin.  “Cy is salivating, and from the look in
Tri’s eyes, I’d say he’s planning a heist.”

“I’d better bring
them onto the porch.”  She hurried outside and called the dogs in.  “To your
rooms,” she told them, and they obediently trotted into their respective dog
houses. 

“Wow,” Dare said
admiringly, “they’re well trained.”

“They didn’t come
that way,” she admitted with a smile.  “They were a couple of rowdy pups when I
took them in.”

He chuckled, and
then surveyed the kitchen.  “Need any help?”

“No, I’ve got it
under control.”

“Then I’ll go mind
the grill,” he said.

After sautéing the
squash, Belle hurriedly cut into a watermelon Dare had brought along.  Next she
spooned the squash onto two plates, and then pulled a pitcher of freshly made
lemonade from the refrigerator.  She was pouring the lemonade into glasses when
Dare sauntered into the kitchen, carrying the steaks, grilled to perfection. 
He dropped one onto each plate.

“Looks good,” he
said, and Belle nodded in agreement.  “Shall we eat outside?  I noticed your
picnic table under the apple tree out back.”

“Oh, sure.”

Dare picked up
both plates, and Belle retrieved the necessary utensils, along with their
beverages, and followed him outside. 

Belle hadn’t
realized how hungry she was until she cut into the steak.  She took a bite, and
her eyes widened appreciatively.  “Excellent!” she declared.

“Glad you like
it,” he said with a smile.  He turned briefly when he heard the dogs whining
from the porch.  “The dogs definitely approve of the aroma.”

Belle nodded, and then
turned her attention to her plate once again.  Suddenly, she felt tongue-tied
and unsure of herself.  She cast a furtive glance around the yard, and was
relieved when Dare spoke.

“This is a great
yard.  What is it?  An acre?”

“Just under,” she
said, glancing around.  “It’s a bit overgrown, but I’m hoping to tame it some
before my vacation ends.  It isn’t as if I don’t have the time,” she muttered
under her breath.

He flashed a quick
grin.  “I understand this is your first vacation in a long time.”

She nodded.  It
had been years since she’d taken a vacation.  She just could never seem to find
the time to get away.  “It has been a while,” she acknowledged.  “If Millicent
hadn’t insisted I take my vacation days, I probably wouldn’t have.”

“Why is that?” he
asked with interest.

“I hate leaving in
the middle of a case.”

“In our line of
work, there’s never a good time to get away, but…  I tend to think it’s
essential to take the time anyway.  The work can be too consuming at times.”

Belle nodded,
though she didn’t necessarily agree with him about the need to get away from
work.  Indeed, it could be consuming, but that’s exactly what she liked about
it. 

“So…” he began,
“tell me about yourself.”

She dropped her
fork and shook her head uncertainly. 

“Go ahead,” he
prompted, smiling encouragingly. 

“I’d rather
discuss the case,” she told him.  “Isn’t that why you’re here?”

He shrugged his
broad shoulders.  “Part of the reason,” he acknowledged, then took a bite of
the steak, seeming to savor the taste while watching her with a sparkle of
humor in his eyes.

She watched him
right back for a few seconds.  What exactly did he have on his mind? she
wondered.  He simply smiled benignly, much as he had the night he’d viewed the
Sweet Sixteen tape along with her and their friends. 

Belle turned away,
but turned back in time to see him take a gulp of the lemonade and return the
glass to the table with a tap.  He snared her gaze with twinkling blue eyes.  “Belle
the Bulldog,” he murmured with a chuckle.  “Now there’s a nickname that doesn’t
fit—certainly not in the looks department.”

She was taken
aback by the remark.  She always felt uncomfortable when people discussed her
looks.  Besides, her nickname, given to her by her former colleagues at Preston
and Dunne, had been pinned upon her as a badge of honor—a recognition of her considerable
litigating skills.  At the time, it was an honor to have been awarded a
nickname at all.  She had been a very young woman who had excelled in a
predominately male workplace, and who had ultimately garnered the respect of
her colleagues during a time many of her peers were just finishing up their
senior year in their respective colleges. 

Belle had been on
a fast track to finish high school after her return from her trip with her
grandfather.  She’d soon enrolled in college, followed by law school.  She had
passed her bar exam at the tender age of twenty-three.  From there she had
stepped into a position at her grandfather’s firm and had set about proving she
had a right to be there.  Her brilliance had shone immediately.

She sighed, suddenly
wondering why they were discussing her at all.  She endeavored to choose her
words carefully when she spoke.  “I’m hoping the people who call me ‘Belle the
Bulldog’ are referring more to my personality traits than to my…”  Her words
trailed off. 

It seemed arrogant
to her to discuss her looks.  She knew people often described her as beautiful,
but since she knew beauty was simply the luck of the genetic lottery, she put
little stock in outward appearance—hers or anyone else’s.  “Uh, you wanted to
discuss the case,” she reminded him.

“Yes,” he said
with a smile, understanding she was changing the subject.  “Tell me what you
know.”

“Why don’t you
tell me what you already know and I’ll fill in the gaps,” she suggested.

She listened while
he recounted his knowledge of the case.  He had a remarkable grasp of its
complexities after only one day on the job.  One thing bothered her; he seemed
a bit too willing to give the benefit of the doubt to Landlord Jacob Biggs. 

“I understand that
making the changes to the building you’ve prescribed are costly, and may very
well put Biggs out of business,” he noted.

 Her eyes widened
with surprise.  “Had Biggs constructed the building to code in the first place,
he wouldn’t be facing costly changes,” she said, attempting to keep her tone
even. 

“He claims he
wasn’t aware substandard pipes had been used.  And, a truckload of inspectors
signed off on the project at each stage of completion.  Why didn’t they make
issue of the pipes?” he challenged.

Belle watched him
through narrowed eyes.  Was he baiting her?  Surely he understood that Biggs,
who had installed defective pipes in the complex, had done so with full
knowledge that the pipes had been recalled by the manufacturer.  The fact that
crooked inspectors had given him a pass time after time didn’t negate the
seriousness of the situation.  In fact, Belle intended to go after the
unscrupulous inspectors once she’d effectively dealt with Biggs. 

“Regarding the
inspectors, he was probably greasing their palms.  Regarding the pipes, he knew
they were substandard prior to construction,” she said.  “In fact, the pipes
had been recalled, but Biggs purchased them from a shady operator in some back alley
deal.”

“How do you know
that?”

“I know,” she
said, and then took a deep, steadying breath.  Her eyes flashed and he noticed.

He raised his
hands as if in surrender.  “Hey, I don’t mean to offend you, but I do know that
there are always two sides to every story…”

“And Biggs’ side
is he’s a corrupt slumlord who installed cheap pipes.  When the weather turns
cold, the pipes will burst.  And trust me, it’s cold in those units, since he
neglected to insulate the walls.”  Her face contorted in fury.  “Even now,
those substandard pipes are beginning to disintegrate, which means that the
people in that complex are drinking water full of debris.”

As Belle spoke,
her voice rose in anger.  “Biggs has suggested tenants boil their water.  Can
you believe that?” she demanded shrilly.  “Can you imagine how sick they’ll become,
considering the levels of carcinogens that will end up in the water?”

“You actually
spoke to Mr. Biggs?” Dare asked in even tones.  “He told you he suggested the
tenants boil their water?”  He shook his head.  “The building is so new? 
You’re telling me the pipes are already failing?”

“Yes.”

“So you spoke to
Biggs?” he prompted again.

“Well, no.  He
responded in a letter.” 

He paused, deep in
thought.  “Why would the man install substandard materials, knowing full well
they will fail soon enough?” he asked finally.  “It just doesn’t make sense.”

“Probably because
he didn’t plan to hold onto the building long enough to face the inevitable
problems.  I believe his plan was to sell out for a profit within months of the
building’s completion.  He’d planned to leave the next owner holding the bag.”

“Any new owner
could turn around and sue him,” he pointed out reasonably.

“Yes, but, he
could claim ignorance about the pipes.”

Dare seemed to
consider her explanation.  “I didn’t see any ‘for sale’ signs anywhere.”

“The bottom
dropped out of the commercial real estate market about the time the complex was
completed a year ago.  Too bad for Biggs,” she said snidely.  “Besides, there wouldn’t
be any point putting signs up now.  He’s already had enough bad publicity, no
one will touch the place with a ten foot pole.”

“I take it Biggs
has you to thank for that,” he said, and she was unable gauge his reaction when
she nodded.

“They don’t call
me Belle the Bulldog for nothing,” she said.

***

As Dare drove the
few blocks from Belle’s place to his home, he couldn’t help smiling as he
remembered how riled up she had become as they discussed the case.  She was
definitely passionate about her work. 

Admittedly, she had
frustrated him.  She had seemed unwilling to concede there were two sides to any
story, and was quick to indict J. Biggs.  Perhaps she had good reason, but as
yet, he couldn’t be sure, being new to the case.

He chuckled when
he thought about her menagerie of pets.  He nearly groaned aloud, remembering
how he’d asked her what was wrong with the kitten.  He could tell she’d been
disgusted with him then, and he couldn’t really blame her.  Clearly she adored
her animals.

Suddenly, his
thoughts turned to Gwen, his former fiancée.  He shuddered when he recalled her
poodle, Prissy, and how the animal had a penchant for peeing on his shoes. 
Like her poodle, Gwen was high maintenance, with a capital “H.”

He and Gwen had
called off their engagement a year before, primarily because the two had
realized their future goals weren’t nearly as in sync as they had once thought. 
He wondered suddenly, was Belle dating anyone?  Did she have a boyfriend?

Like Belle,
Gwen had drive, but unlike Belle, Gwen seemed to lack heart
. 

The thought caught
Dare by surprise, and he wondered why it had occurred to him in the first place. 
Perhaps because Gwen would no more take on a low-income client than she would
forgo her weekly manicure.  She was a win-at-all-costs lawyer, whereas he had
different ideas about what constituted a victory. 

While career
success was important to him, he longed for home and hearth—yearned for a
family of his own—and had decided that in order to achieve those goals, he
would need to prioritize his world.  Perhaps it was losing his
fifty-nine-year-old father two years before that had prompted him to realize
what was important in life.  He envisioned himself a father, and a hands-on one
at that.  While he would give his all during work hours, family time would be
family time.  Evenings and weekends would belong to his wife and children.

When he had
broached the subject of children with Gwen soon before their breakup, she had
seemed uncertain as to whether or not she even wanted them.  That had come as a
shock to him, since they’d discussed children on several occasions before. 
While she had never seemed as enthusiastic about having them as he was, she’d
seemed fairly agreeable until that final conversation. 

Dare knew Gwen’s
impending partner status at a prestigious law firm had altered her thoughts on
the subject of family.  He had also been on the verge of making partner at an
equally prestigious firm, but had ultimately walked away from both Gwen and the
job. 

Losing his father
to a heart attack had shaken him to the core.  His father had given his all to
his job, hadn’t managed to attend a single one of his childrens’ ball games or
school plays—and for what?  To die before he had a chance to enjoy a single day
of retirement, before he’d even had a chance to meet any grandchildren.

Dare had taken the
loss of his dad hard.  It had gotten him thinking about a lot of things, and
ultimately, had prompted him to move home.  He liked the idea of living in a
smaller town and raising his future kids in a tight-knit community.    

No.  He refused to
succumb to the same fate as his father.  He resolved to never put work above
family.  And interestingly, Belle Preston had him thinking about family.

He wondered, was she
like Gwen, intent on giving her all to a job, with little left over for
anything or anyone else? 

The woman was drop
dead gorgeous, but clearly not the high-maintenance types he was accustomed
to.  He found Belle intriguing. 

Indeed.

As Belle puttered
around her home and tidied up, she relived the conversation she had had with
Dare during their picnic in her backyard.  She’d remembered that conversation countless
times over the past week, wishing each time that she had managed to reign in
her…