Cady sat at the Red Pony bar, her favorite bartender and godfather keeping her company from the other side. He intermittently left to attend the needs of tables. She had a pile of papers to her right and a plate of fries and a beer to her left. She was going over papers from the legal aid center, trying to get caught up.
Jacob Nighthorse, the reservation's wealthiest man and biggest advocate, hired her to provide legal help to the underserved people of the reservation. This happened to be most people, so it came as quite a challenge.
She came to The Red Pony hoping to seek advice from Henry. During different times, she might have gone to her dad for advice, but he had been less than supportive of her job under Jacob since he learned of her position. Walt had a deep-seated hatred for Jacob Nighthorse that Cady no longer had the energy to try to fight. That left Henry as her last person to turn to for venting.
Despite her dad's feelings about Jacob, she never really bought that he was such a bad guy. He was mysterious, sure. Maybe he even had a darker side. But she didn't believe he was a criminal. No evil person could try to build his tribe up the way Jacob did. The man was dedicated to his people and their betterment, as was Cady herself now.
"This case has been tough for me to figure out. It's a jurisdictional nightmare." Cady sighed and stuffed a couple fries in her mouth. She mumbled, "I don't know what to do."
Her case was frustrating her beyond belief. A woman on the res named Clara Black Hawk was seeking her help. She was stuck in an abusive relationship with a white man. Trying to operate within the limits of reservation law was proving difficult, considering there wasn't much to use against white people. This whole case was giving her flashbacks to J.P. Wright and Asha. Her sleep had been plagued with nightmares all week long, and she was beginning to feel the effects of her exhaustion.
"Nighthorse will be here soon, why not just ask him?"
She was still chewing a mouthful of fries as she raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean he'll be here soon?" She wasn't prepared to run into him today. Cady didn't want to admit to herself let alone to Jacob that she'd been struggling with the caseload. Jacob handpicked her for the job and the last thing she wanted was to fall short in his eyes.
Henry nodded towards the door. "Ah, perfect timing," Henry said. "He has just arrived."
Cady turned to see Jacob strolling in confidently, headed straight for her and Henry. He was wearing his usual business attire, a sleek black suit and a light blue dress shirt beneath. In his hand was a folder. Cady turned back to Henry with wide eyes and tried to signal she didn't want to bring up her case, but Henry was already looking to Jacob.
"Henry," Jacob greeted.
"Hello, Jacob. Do you have what we discussed?" Henry asked.
"Right here." Jacob handed over the folder to Henry, who nodded his thanks. Henry casually threw his towel over his shoulder and walked away to set the folder on his office desk. Cady quietly watched this exchange, and now she was alone with Jacob. His eyes were on her, observing her.
"Hi, Jacob. How are you doing?" She smiled politely.
"Very well, thank you for asking." He eyed her with a hint of masked curiosity. "And yourself?"
"Fine, thanks." She paused before taking a sip of her beer.
Henry walked back with a carry out bag of food from the kitchen. He handed over the bag to Jacob. "Here is food for your trouble, Jacob, and thank you for the information. It's your usual."
Jacob took the bag of food from Henry with a nod of gratitude and gestured to the papers in front of her. "Are those papers from the legal aid?" he inquired. He leaned against the bar next to Cady, calmly waiting for her response. Just as Cady was opening her mouth to respond, Henry jumped in.
"Yes, a particular case has been giving her headaches," he stated. He walked back around the bar to go take the order of a new table of guests.
She watched Henry walk away and turned back to Jacob. Trying to change the subject before it came back to the legal aid work, Cady asked, "Are you and Henry doing business together?"
Jacob gave a half smile. "No, that was just information for a fundraiser Henry would like to hold at the casino for the tribe. I was simply helping him with a few details," he explained. "Is everything okay at the legal center?"
"Um... yeah things are good, great." She placed her hand on the stack of papers.
Jacob raised his chin a little and peered at her. She internally cringed, knowing that he could tell she was sugar-coating things. "Well, I'll leave you to it. You let me know if there's anything I can do to help with those… headaches." He turned to walk around and leave but planted his foot to stop himself. He turned around and looked at her, as if contemplating, before saying, "If you have time, I need to you stop my office tomorrow."
She was caught off guard. "Oh – sure, what time?"
"Five o'clock would be best."
Cady nodded. "Okay, I'll see you then."
"Good night, Cady."
"Good night, Jacob," she almost whispered. He held her eyes for just a moment more before turning and leaving.