by Gorman, A.
Of course, seeing as how he’s the man that had just arrested her nephew, things were triply complicated.
When the alarm sounded at six-thirty the next morning, Dee was deep in a dream where Brady held the starring role. Her entire body hummed with the memory of his touch, both in the parking lot and her dream as she showered, dressed, and blow-dried her hair. It’s quite possible she may even have taken a little extra care with her black pencil skirt, white blouse, and black heels, knowing she might see Brady at court.
As she parked her car, she had no idea if she had more anxiety over dealing with her nephew or seeing Brady in the light of day. Maybe she’d dreamed everything. What were the chances that all of it—her sister, her career, Michael—was just one big nightmare and Brady was the part she’d written in just to make it less freaky?
Once she got past security, Dee followed the signs to the juvenile and domestic relations courtroom. Pushing through the door, she stepped into the small room and looked around.
Mikey sat at a table near the front of the room with a man she didn’t recognize. He looked official, and that made her a little wary. Walking to the table, she stopped beside the man and looked down at him. “I’m Deanna Loomis, Michael’s aunt and current guardian. And you are?”
The man looked up at her, his expression serious. “My name is Cal Hollandsworth. The court-appointed attorney here to represent your nephew.”
Attorney. Damn it. She’d not even thought of getting Mikey an attorney. “Mr. Hollandsworth, it’s nice to meet you. Michael, are you okay?”
Her nephew glared at her. “How you do you think I am, Aunt Dee?”
“Ms. Loomis,” the attorney said.
She turned her attention back to the man seated beside Michael. “Yes?”
“Today is the arraignment. Michael will be informed of the charges against him. We’ll enter a plea, and his bail will be set. Are you prepared to post his bail?”
Something else she hadn’t thought of. She just nodded, too overwhelmed to respond.
“I’d like to push for a guilty plea. It will make it easier to move him through the system and put this behind you both.”
“What happens if he pleads guilty? I mean, he’ll have a record—”
“Juvenile record,” Mr. Hollandsworth replied. “A juvenile record is sealed once they turn eighteen. Since this is his first offense, I’m going to ask the prosecutor for a deal that includes community service and probation. No time in juvie.”
“I’m not pleading guilty. I didn’t do anything,” Michael mumbled.
Dee just about lost it then. “Excuse me? You didn’t do anything? I was there, remember? I watched Sheriff Collins arrest you.”
“Thanks for throwing me under the bus again, Aunt Dee.”
“It’s hard for me throw you under it when you’ve been playing chicken with that bus since I got here.”
“I hate you.” Michael folded his arms over his chest and slouched in the chair.
“So you’ve said. Hate me or not, I really don’t care. Right now, your only concern is doing what Mr. Hollandsworth says so we can minimize the damage you’ve done to your future.”
The judge entered the room then, and the bailiff requested everyone be seated. Dee took one last look around, hoping to spot Brady, but he wasn’t there, so she sat on the bench behind Michael and his attorney.
The process was quick, a trial date was set for two weeks out, and the bail determined was manageable. Dee didn’t even have to dip into the off-shore savings account she had thankfully kept secret from her manager, the lying, thieving bastard. Good thing too, or he’d have taken off with that also.
As they left the courthouse and headed to her car, Dee caught sight of Brady walking in to the police station across the street. All her nerves began to hum at once, and her blood felt like fire in her veins as the memory of his lips and hands on her the night before flooded her mind.
He met her gaze briefly but made no motion of recognition or being happy to see her.
What the hell? He wanted to pretend like nothing happened? Really? Well, two could play at that game. Tossing her hair over one shoulder, she marched the rest of the way to her car. As she and Michael got inside, she caught sight of Brady once more. This time he watched her intently. At least she thought he did. It was hard to tell with his sunglasses covering his eyes. If her entire body hadn’t started to tingle, she wouldn’t have even suspected it.
Dee took Michael home to shower then drove him to school to finish the rest of the day.
“I can’t believe you’re making me go to school for three classes,” Michael grumbled from his slouched position in the passenger seat.
“You don’t get arrested then get a vacation.”
“I spent the night in jail, Aunt Dee. Doesn’t that count for something?”
“Yeah, it counts for you being a dumbass. We go back to court in two weeks. You stay out of trouble until then.” That was not a request, and the glare she gave her nephew coated the statement in plenty of emphasis.
“Whatever.”
Dee pulled up in front of the school, and Michael jumped from the car without another word. He did, however, slam the door so hard it actually hurt her ears.
The next two weeks passed quietly. Every day after school, Michael locked himself in his room, only stepping out to eat. At first, it made Dee angry, then she resigned herself to the fact that if he was in his room, at least he couldn’t be out getting arrested again.
The night before they had to return to court, Dee left Michael alone for a bit and ran out to get a coffee. It had been weeks since she’d allowed herself the indulgence of a coffee shop, but her nerves were so frazzled about court, she gave in to the need. There was only one to choose from, and it sure wasn’t the one she was used to, but at this point, Dee would take anything that reminded her of actual civilization.
As soon as she saw him, she almost turned the car around.
Parked about half a block from the coffee shop, Brady sat in his police car and watched her pull into a spot along the curb. When their gazes met, Dee swore she felt electricity jolt through her entire body. Secretly glad that she had checked her makeup before leaving the house, Dee smoothed her hair away from her face and did a quick check of her reflection in the rearview mirror. Brady watched her as she stepped from her car and walked into the small corner shop. She kept waiting for him to follow her in, but he never did. By the time she got her coffee and walked out the door, Dee was pretty pissed off at Brady Collins. It’s probably why she never noticed him as he stepped in front of her on the sidewalk, causing her to drop her cup of coffee. The hot liquid splashed all over her feet and legs. Thank goodness she’d worn tennis shoes with her jeans instead of her favorite high heels she’d had on earlier in the day.
“What the hell, Brady!” Dee kicked at the cup and missed, throwing off her balance. Strong hands clasped her by the upper arms and led her away from the sidewalk into a dark area between the coffee shop and a laundromat.
When they were out of sight of the street, he stopped walking and let her go. “Are you okay?”
“Am I okay? I just burnt the crap out of myself with a brand-new cup of hot coffee I haven’t even had the chance to enjoy yet, and you ask me if I’m okay?”
Brady shifted his weight so he leaned against the brick wall across from her and folded his arms over his chest. “Well, yeah. I mean, it seems like the right question. Am I missing something here?”
“Are you missing something? Wow. Forget it. I need to get home.”
“What about your coffee?”
“It’s all over the sidewalk, remember?” She started to walk away, but Brady grabbed hold of her elbow. The fire he set there with that simple touch spread quickly through her body, causing a tingle in long-neglected places and amped up her anger even more.
“Can you hold on a minute?” he asked.
Dee shook her head. “I don’t think I have anything to say to you. You were suppo
sed to be at Mikey’s arraignment, and you never showed.”
“I said I’d try to make it. Something came up.”
“Yeah, sure. If you say so. I saw you, but you pretended you didn’t even know me. I’m pretty sure we don’t have anything to talk about.”
“I think you’re wrong.” Brady turned her to face him, then backed her up against the bricks he’d been leaning on. “What about this?”
His hands settled on the wall beside her head, effectively caging her in. There was no way to escape his mouth as his lips pressed against hers in a less-than-gentle kiss. In fact, the emotion he put into it felt like downright hunger. She pushed him away.
“You don’t get to do that.”
“Do what?”
“This.” She motioned to the two of them and the alley they stood in.
He shook his head slowly. “I’m confused. I thought—”
“You thought since your dating profile says you like to be in charge that it’s okay to kiss me whenever you want then not talk to me for two weeks?” Brady responded by kissing her once more, and when she tried to say something, he slipped his tongue past her parted lips. After he’d thoroughly explored every inch of her mouth, he kissed a trail along the line of her jaw and nipped at her earlobe. “You can’t tell me you don’t feel it.”
“I feel it all right. That’s the problem. You seem to have the issues, not me.”
“The only issue I have is how it makes me want to rip your clothes off right here in this alley.”
“What makes you think I’m not okay with that?” Dee tilted her head to the side and let out a low moan as Brady made his way from her earlobe down to the place where her shoulder and neck met.
“You’re playing with fire, lady, saying things like that.” His mouth now sat at the edge of the low v neckline of her top. He flicked his tongue out a couple of times, tracing a line along the fabric while he slid his hands back down below her ass.
“I’ve been burned enough times, I know what that means.”
“Sheriff Collins? Is that you? Everything okay back there?”
Brady stepped away from the wall and put her back on the ground, stepping in front of her. The old man waved with his cane. “It’s me, Jonah. I’m good. Thanks for asking.”
“Okay. It looked like you were in a bit of a struggle. Didn’t know if you needed me to kick a little ass for you.”
Brady chuckled. “Not this time, but I’ll be sure to call you if I need back up. I’m sure you remember a thing or two from your days on the street.”
“Got it, Sheriff. I kicked more than a few asses in my day, you know.”
“I bet you did, Jonah. You have a good night now, ya hear?”
“Will do. You too, Sheriff. Good night, Ms. Loomis!”
“Oh my God.” Dee sagged against the wall and let out a long sigh of frustration. “That old man is half blind. How the heck did he know it was me?”
Brady shook his head and laughed. “I don’t know how he does it, but he was quite a cop when he was on the force. Or so I’ve heard.”
Suddenly remembering her nephew at home alone, Dee pushed past him and headed back toward her car. Brady fell into step beside her. “Where are you going?”
“Home. Mikey’s got court in the morning. Not that you’d know, since you didn’t show at the last one.”
“Yeah. I really am sorry about that.”
Dee stopped walking and turned to face him. “You’re sorry? Oh, okay. That makes things better. A few kisses won’t change the fact that you arrested my nephew and couldn’t even be there to support us when I don’t know anyone in this rinky dink little town.”
His expression changed back to the familiar hard stare of Brady Collins on duty. “You don’t understand.”
“What’s there to understand? I know exactly how men like you think. Did you have your body camera rolling just now? So you could show all your buddies how you got a little from the pathetic former movie star? Is it on now?” She leaned in close to the small camera attached to his uniform. “Hi! Yup! You just witnessed the second installment of Deanna Loomis is a moron! Hope you enjoyed the show, because this is the grand finale!”
Brady grabbed her by both elbows and held her in place. “What the hell are you talking about, woman? Have you lost your mind?”
“That’s what this is, right? You feeling a little horny? Or maybe you just get off on humiliating pathetic ex-actresses? So, as soon as you see me alone in a dark place—I’m not sure, but that has to be some kind of crime?”
“You’re ridiculous. And you have no idea what you are talking about. Can’t a man just be attracted to a woman?”
People had stopped to watch them, but she didn’t care. Dee Loomis was tired of letting people take advantage of her. Starting with the incredibly sexy, super annoying Sheriff Brady Collins. “As sexy as you are, with those talented lips of yours, you could get any woman in this town. Any woman but me. Stay away from me.”
A couple of random cheers went up from somewhere in the dark, but Dee ignored it all. Sliding into her car, she slammed the door, turned the key, and drove off.
Brady
As he watched Dee’s taillights disappear into the night, he tried to figure out what had just happened. One minute they were making out like a couple of teenagers, and the next Dee turned into a mad woman accusing him of all sorts of wild things. That right there—that explained why he’d avoided relationships. He didn’t need that kind of crazy in his life.
If only his dick would accept that and stop making him do crazy things like kiss Dee every time he saw her. Ignoring the few bystanders that had gathered, Brady got into his police car and headed back to the station. There wasn’t much left to his evening shift, and he needed a cup of coffee. Or a cold shower. Maybe both.
Unfortunately, a cold shower did nothing to help him sleep that night. Every time he closed his eyes, he could feel the perfect curves of Dee’s body pressed up against his. Any bit of sleep he managed brought on wild, sexy dreams that left him hard and painfully wanting. By the time the sun rose, he was on his third cold shower of the night and he’d made absolutely no sense of Dee’s outburst or the ridiculous amount of desire he harbored for her. Maybe it had been a lot longer than he’d thought since he’d been with a woman.
Brady didn’t think too hard about why he dressed in a suit or headed to the courthouse that morning. He knew there was no way he’d actually show up at Michael’s court case, knowing Dee would be there. He just didn’t need that hassle. Yet, there he now stood, in the back of Courtroom A, listening to the judge give Michael a sentence of probation and community service.
Because he had no intention of being there at all, it took him completely by surprise when the judge addressed him. “Ah, Sheriff Collins. I’m glad you’re here. I want this young man to do his community service in your Clean Up the Streets program.”
Brady looked from the judge to a very pissed-off Dee and back again. “Um, yes sir, Your Honor. We meet on Saturday mornings at six-thirty in the park.”
“Six-thirty! On a Saturday?”
“Shhh, Michael! You’ll do whatever the judge says, you hear me?”
“But Aunt Dee—”
“Quiet!” he heard Dee whisper and watched as she pinched her nephew’s arm. The boy scowled and rubbed at the spot but didn’t say another word. She looked so damned sexy in her tight skirt and navy-blue blouse he didn’t hear another word anyone said over the rush of blood in his veins.
“Michael will be there, Your Honor,” Dee said.
“Good. Case is continued for six months, at which time, if the conditions of the sentence have been met, I will vacate the conviction and throw out the case.”
“Thank you, Your Honor. Michael will do exactly as you’ve said, won’t you?”
“Yes,” the boy mumbled without looking up.
Once the bailiff dismissed everyone, Dee led Michael from the courtroom without even acknowledging his presence. He let her go. Sat
urday wasn’t that far away. Maybe by the weekend, she’d have cooled off some.
Of course, he wasn’t that lucky. Dee showed up with Michael bright and early Saturday morning and signed him in without giving a single sign that she recognized Brady. Her attitude was cooler than the fall air. The project for the day was trash clean up and graffiti removal at the city park. Dee sat at a picnic table several hundred feet away and watched as her nephew angrily met the requirements of his probation. She never even noticed when Brady walked up to the table until he sat on the bench next to her.
“You were right about him. He’s really a good kid, you know.”
She turned to look at him long enough to give him a good, hard glare before returning her attention to the boy. “What makes you an expert on my nephew?”
“Damn, woman, can you give it a rest? I’m trying to make some conversation here.”
“Don’t waste your precious breath. I told you to stay away from me.”
“I’m trying, okay? Relationships are not my strong suit.”
Dee didn’t reply, just kept her eye on her nephew.
Brady reached over and grabbed her hand under the table. She tried for a moment to pull out of his grasp, but the effort was half-hearted at best. That gave him a little hope. “He reminds me of someone I once knew. I don’t want him to end up like that boy.”
She turned her head to look at him, her expression a little less annoyed. “You’ve said something like that before.”
“I had a brother. He was about six years younger than me. Got himself in trouble when our mom died. I was halfway around the world in Iraq. All he needed was someone to care. My father was so wrapped up in his grief, he had no idea what was happening. If I’d have been here, I could have saved him. But I wasn’t. And now he will spend the better part of his life behind bars for a series of really stupid choices. A series that started with skipping class and spray painting the Catholic church with swastikas and ended in armed robbery and murder.”