Bourbon & Branch Water Read Online Free Page B

Ella to Russ and back again. “But the civic harm claim is one you can’t
win. Alcohol is legal in this county. Anyone twenty-one or older is allowed to
drink, so long as the alcohol is legally obtained.”
    Ella bristled and turned to her
husband. “You see, Russ? I told you we should get a lawyer from Las Vegas and
not Fire Gorge. If we had to use a Fire Gorge attorney, at least Holyfield
would have done better than this young woman. Experience is what we need.” Her
gaze went to Stormy, “and some spine.”
    “Now, now, Ella,” Russ said. “I
know temperance is important to you, honey. But if there’s no legal way we can
pursue it, you’ll just have to handle it through your women’s group and the
church civic society.”
    Once more Ella snorted. It was an
unbecoming sound. “You would try to
weasel out of it, Russell Porterman . You know how
strongly I feel about this.” She stood. “I think this conversation is over.”
    Her husband got a little testy. “Sit
down, Ella. Miss Stillwater didn’t come all the way out here to disappoint us.”
He turned to Stormy , “right?”
    “No, sir, I’m confident that your
water rights claim is your best mechanism for halting the approval for the bourbon
distillery. A win is a win, Mr. Porterman . It really
doesn’t matter what the particulars are.”
    He smiled. “You see, Ella? We’ll do
fine.”
    Mrs. Porterman was still standing, shoulders straight and nose in the air. “Ha! With all due
respect to Mr. Holyfield, I think his judgment is way off on this.” She turned
toward Stormy, her eyes cold. “I’m sorry, Miss Stillwater, but you don’t inspire
confidence in me.”
    Her heart sinking but her back
straight, Stormy put her pen and pad away. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Mrs. Porterman .”
    “Now, wait a minute,” Russell said.
“If Holyfield has confidence in Miss Stillwater, we should too.”
    “You do as you like, Russ. I wash
my hands of it. I’m going to go to Las Vegas tomorrow to find us a proper
attorney.”
    Proper attorney, yeah, right, as if
those years in law school and clerking only qualified Stormy to sell burritos
at the Gas N Gulp! But she wasn’t going to argue. What was the point? It was
obvious that Ella Porterman wore the pants in the
family. It was hard to respect Russell when he let his wife walk all over him
that way, but so be it. She stood and offered her business card. Ella turned up
her nose, but Russell rose and took it. “If you change your mind, you can call
me anytime.”
    “Miss Stillwater,” Russell said. “We
paid a retainer to Mr. Holyfield.”
    “Oh.” Stormy hadn’t considered
that. “Well, I’m sure that can be worked out.”
    He looked to his wife. “Ella, I
think we should stick with it here. Come on, honey. Do it for me?”
    Stormy’s stomach roiled. He was a total wimp. Or maybe he loved his wife so much that he
wanted to make her happy no matter how much he had to grovel. Her gaze shifted
to Ella.
    Ella relented, faced with her husband’s
plea. “Fine, It’s completely stupid, Russ. You mark my words.”
    “I’m sure it’ll be okay, honey.” He
gestured toward a chair. “Please sit down again, Miss Stillwater,” he said. “We
have more to discuss.”
    Smiling, feeling a little guilty
that she was so elated to have Ella Porterman back
down, Stormy sat and got out her pad again.
    * * *
    Tanya’s hair was messy-chic, her
nails were long and fuchsia and her lipstick was perfect, leaving only the
lightest print on her wine glass. Stormy wondered how her friend could always
be so well put together when they met at The Lounge Bar and Grill after work. Stormy was tired by six o’clock , her shoulders drooped and
her clothing was rumpled. She’d re-braided her long hair, but the French braid
was uninspired, practical, and she knew she wasn’t nearly as attractive as
Tanya, even if she was a bit more slender than her extra-curvy friend.
    It didn’t matter, though. Stormy
was high on