Hannah bites her lip and shakes her head. “Well, no. I – I’ve wanted to call you a thousand times. I found your number. But I’ve always backed out.”

“I’m flattered.” And, weirdly, she is. Hannah’s met hundreds of lawyers through Michael of the last decade, but here they are.

Gray eyes lock onto brown and she’s helpless to look away from the mixture of determination and desperation. “Since I know what Michael makes, I know around what you charge. And I can’t afford it. At all.” Hannah admits, regret all over her tone. “But I’ve been doing research and your fees can come out of –”

Caroline holds up her hand to stop her. “No.”

“No?” Hannah’s crestfallen look is heartbreaking so she pushes on quickly.

“I’ll do it, pro bono.” It’s going to be a long battle, she can already sense it. Michael is going to be pissed when he finds out. In all truthfulness, it’s a mix of that…

And the way Hannah’s face absolutely lights up at the words, relief and sheer joy combining to give her a luminous glow. This is why she does what she does.

***

Michael’s face – the vein that pops out of his forehead, in particular – is well worth it, though. She tips her courier even more than she normally does for the photographic evidence of him being served.

ii

ii

As with all of her cases, they hit the ground running. By Martin Luthor King Jr. Day, she meets up with Hannah, prepared to get a full background.

The Christmas decorations in the café are taken down, leaving a much more casual atmosphere, which Caroline is more than grateful for.

“Thank you, for agreeing to have meetings here.” Hannah swipes her forearm over her forehead and knocks the visor askew, as she places a cup – caramel macchiato, she notices – in front of her. Before she slides in across from her. “I pick up doubles as much as I can while Abbie’s in school, which gives me an hour break in between. And Jo, my boss, she’s really great about me needing some time.”

Caroline reaches across the table and places her hand on Hannah’s, feeling the warm, soft skin flex under her palm. “Hey, you don’t have to thank me.”

She hopes the reassurance she very much wants to convey is on her face. She’s good at this – calming people during what is usually one of the worst experiences of their life – and it’s what’s helped her get a leg up at work in the last decade.

Hannah keeps up with giving her free coffee every time she comes, refusing to accept money because, “Caroline. You’re doing so much for me. The least I can do is buy your drinks.”