Mr. Parsons

  I had called Colby Jones before we left the campsite, and while I expected him to be asleep and grumpy as hell he was actually awake and already working on something. Turns out he was prepping a big case that was starting soon, which meant my interruption of that work to get Jimbo out of lockup was going to cost me dearly. Yet it had to be done, as I didn't want one of my guests spending the rest of the weekend behind bars for something that was clearly self defense. After the whole debacle with Josh and Meagan, I was really hoping for any good news to lighten the mood. That call came while everyone was making something in the kitchen for breakfast, so I excused myself and went out to the back patio. 

  "David," Colby started, "I got your fellow out of jail. Bill took good care of him." 

  "Good to hear," I replied, "I'll make sure you're well compensated for your efforts." 

  "Oh, I intend to be," Colby replied, almost laughing. "You're going to get a bigger bill than usual for this one, David." 

  "Understood," I said, taking a deep breath. "Thanks for the help anyway." 

  "Happy to help," Colby said, as I could hear his smile, "But I need to work on Monday's case, so after I drop Jim off ask your guests to behave for the rest of the damn weekend." 

  "Will do," I said, "See you soon." 

  "We'll be there in a few minutes," Colby confirmed. 

  As I disconnected the line, Meghan just happened to emerge from the kitchen and we locked eyes. I was tempted to yell at here and demand what the hell she was doing here but the last thing I wanted to do was give my wife the impression that I knew here well. Josh was covering for me for a reason and I needed to go along with it. 

  "It's nice this morning," I started, just sticking to idle small talk. 

  "I'm sorry," Meghan whispered, "I thought there would be no one here. At worst I thought it would just be you." 

  "Wrong weekend," I reminded her, "You need to pass it by me whenever you want to visit." 

  "You're not angry?" She asked me. 

  "Oh, I'm pretty angry," I whispered back to her, "But I can't show any emotion in front of the wife." 

  "Fair enough," Meghan agreed, "She seems very nice." 

  "How long do you intend to stay here?" I asked her, hoping to get her out asap. 

  "I'm not sure," Meghan answered, almost teasing me. "Maybe tomorrow I'll hitch a ride back to the city." 

  "I'd pay if you'd find a way back today," I suggested. 

  "Not a good idea," Meghan reminded me, "Paying for anything for me." 

  "What is this bullshit about Josh?" I then asked her. 

  "Just go with it," Meghan insisted, "We're both covering your ass." 

  "And what's Josh's motive to cover me?" I asked her. 

  "I'm sure he'll let you know his terms," Meghan replied, "I'm sure it's going to have something to do with the promotion his girlfriend wants." 

  "Great," I said, as I was finally cluing in. "He's going to blackmail me with it." 

  "I prefer to call it mild persuasion," Meghan corrected, "but you can call it whatever you like." 

  "You and Josh appeared to be getting along well," I reminded her, "What was that about?" 

  "I'm a fan of his work," Meghan said, acting innocent. "Jealous he's getting my attention." 

  "Not at the moment," I answered, but it was clearly a lie. "Try to mind his girlfriend too." 

  As if almost on queue when I needed them most a car started to pull up the drive. It was Cody driving Jimbo back from the station, and I didn't hesitate to use it to end this awkward conversation with the young lady. 

  "That's my lawyer," I informed her, gesturing to the car arriving, "Excuse me."

  Meghan stayed on the porch and watched as I descended down the back stairs and walked into the driveway to greet the new car that arrived. Jimbo was the first to get out and he appeared to be happy to see me. 

  "Hey bossman," Jimbo said, shaking my hand. "Thanks for sending in the cavalry." 

  "Was the least I could do," I said, smiling back. "Didn't seem right so I moved mountains to make it right." 

  "Thanks anyway," Jimbo said, gesturing to the house, "I'm going to make sure Rachel is okay." 

  "Go for it," I said, stepping aside. "I'll talk to you later." 

  As Jimbo walked away, my lawyer had already stepped out of his side of the car and walked over to speak with me. 

  "David," Colby said, also shaking my hand. "Nice to see you're doing well." 

  "Thanks for your help, but I might need more." I said, as I gestured him to look behind me. 

  Colby took a moment to peek over my shoulder and realized I was referring to the young lady that was still standing on the back deck. 

  "David," Colby started, "Is that who I think it is?" 

  "It is," I replied, glad to see he was able to take the hint. 

  "What the hell is she doing here?" Colby asked, "Does your wife know about her?" 

  "She's met her, but not about us," I explained, "She got her weekends mixed up and it's going to be a disaster if she stays any longer." 

  "I have a feeling you'd like me to do something about this," Colby assumed, "Am I right?" 

  "It you can take care of this," I started, "Then you can charge me double for today's work." 

  A small grin slowly appeared on my lawyer's face, something that I rarely saw. 

  "Alright, David," He said, padding my shoulder like a good friend, "I got this."