I looked around. Surely there couldn’t be that much work for a city attorney in Snow Creek. Why was he looking for an assistant? The money would probably not be much, but as long as I could get a small apartment and move off the ranch, it would be enough for me.

“Go ahead and have a seat.” The receptionist gestured to the sofa and a few chairs in a sitting area. “He’ll be down in a minute.”

A few seconds later, a balding blond man of medium height, wearing khakis and a button-down shirt, walked toward me, his hand outstretched. “I’m Larry Wade. Are you the attorney?”

I stood and nodded. “I’m Jade Roberts.” I took his hand. “It’s great to meet you. I really appreciate you seeing me.”

“Not at all. I’m thrilled you’re here, to be honest. My workload is getting heavy, but as Carol likely told you, we don’t get a lot of attorneys settling here in Snow Creek.” He led me back to a small conference room and gestured for me to have a seat. He sat down across from me. “So what brings you to Snow Creek, Ms. Roberts?”

“Please, Jade. Actually, friends. Marjorie Steel is my best friend.”

His eyebrows shot up. “The Steels?”

“Yes.” Was that a problem?

“Good people, the Steels.”

Okay, maybe not a problem. “Yes, they are.”

“So how long have you been practicing law?”

Warmth spread over my cheeks. “I haven’t, actually. I just got my bar results this morning.” I tugged the paper out of the small briefcase I was carrying and slid it across the table to Mr. Wade.

“Well, congratulations, then.” He smiled. “And welcome to the club.” He took a look at my resume, scanning it. “So you clerked for Davis and Stubbs. Good, very good. You have any experience doing city work?”

I shook my head. “I’m afraid I don’t, but I do know my way around a courtroom. I sat with Sherry Malone on several of her medical malpractice cases, did most of her legwork.”

“As you can imagine, we don’t have a lot of high-profile cases here in Snow Creek.” He chuckled. “Anything big gets sent up to the County DA in Grand Junction. But we do have a lot of traffic tickets, curfew violations, drunk driving, assault and batteries, a little domestic violence sometimes. Nothing too exciting, but we make do.”

“With all due respect, Mr. Wad—”

“Please, Larry.”

I cleared my throat. “Larry. I guess I’m not sure why you need an assistant.”

“I don’t have an investigator on staff,” Larry said. “At the city council meeting last month, I mentioned that I needed one, but the council suggested, and I agreed, that I hire an assistant city attorney instead, someone who could do investigation work but could also take over for me if necessary.”

“I see.” So I was to be a glorified law clerk. Great.

“Don’t get me wrong. This will be a great starting job for you. You’ll learn the inside out of municipal law and working for the city. And yes, you’ll have to do some investigating, but most attorneys do that anyway.”

I nodded, biting my lip. I wanted to ask how much the job paid, but I wasn’t sure how to broach the subject.

“If you’re interested, Jade, I’d love to have you start tomorrow.”

“I’m definitely interested. And starting tomorrow probably wouldn’t be any problem. But could I ask about benefits?”

Damn it, why had I asked like that? I had every right to know what kind of benefits and compensation I’d be receiving.

“Of course, of course. The city has an HMO for healthcare, paid in full for the employee. If you have a spouse or dependents, the excess will be taken out of your check.”

“Well that’s not a problem. I’m not married.”

“Good, good. We also cover dental and vision. We’re in the state system for retirement, so instead of paying Social Security, you’ll pay into the state coffers.”

I nodded. Get to the money.

“And the job starts at $65,000 a year.”

Less than I wanted, but for a small town, probably pretty comparable.

“It may interest you to know that the median salary for city attorneys in the United States is about $90,000. But we’re a small town, and you’re a first-year attorney. I’ve been authorized to offer that same salary to any attorney with ten years or less experience, so you’re getting a pretty good deal.”

I couldn’t really argue with his logic, and I wasn’t really in a position to either.

“I don’t know how serious you are about staying here in Snow Creek, but the only private law firm in town is not currently hiring as far as I know. There’s also Newt Davis, a solo practitioner who hung his shingle on the other side of town a few months ago. But I hear he’s having a hard time finding enough work just for himself.”

Wow. He really wanted me to take this job. I wasn’t exactly sure why, but I also didn’t care all that much, at least not at this point.

“So are you offering me the job?”

He smiled. “I am.”

I stood. “Then I’d be happy to accept. Thank you very much…Larry.”

He stood, walked around the table to me, and held out his hand. “Then welcome aboard, Jade. I’m very happy to have you join us here. Let me give you a tour around our office. You can meet the rest of the staff, and then I’ll give you your first case.”

“That’s great. Just let me go tell my friend that that I’ll be tied up for a little while, and I’ll be right back.”

“Not a problem. Come on back in when you’re ready.”

I quickly told Marj that I got the job and that she could go ahead and go. Then I headed back to the office. Larry handed me a legal-size manila folder.

“Here’s your first case, counselor,” he said. “You can take it home tonight and then come back first thing in the morning to start work. We begin at nine around here.”

“Sounds great to me.” I placed the file in my small briefcase.

Larry showed me to a small office, but at least it had a window. It was sparsely decorated with a metal desk, computer table, desktop computer, and a couple filing cabinets and bookshelves.

“It’s not much,” he said, “but works.”