Allison snorted. “Seriously you two, I'm not an invalid and I can do whatever I please."
Jimmy snickered and gave her shoulders a quick squeeze. “I'd say she's recovering nicely. She should be home shortly. Will you stop by the station on your way to airport?"
"If we have time. We're running a little late this morning."
Jimmy flashed Drew a mischievous grin and kissed Allison's cheek, then let her go and started back into his house. “Later, Allison. Go easy on the guy. He's new to all this."
"Deputy, you're lucky I'm not a jealous man."
"Right, Boss. And I'm the pope. See you in four days, Ali. I'll make sure Jeremy takes good care of your baby."
Seeing the cool look in Allison's eyes when she looked over at him, Drew turned to Joseph with a slow burning anger. “Mr. Pretty, exactly what did you say to my Lady while you two were alone?"
"Your Lady?"
The disbelief in the man's voice answered part of the look Allison was glaring at him and started a serious dislike for this man. “You heard me correctly the first time. Now, tell me what you said to her before she walks through that door."
"I mentioned that we'd discussed the report and decided to let you keep your file clerk."
"And?"
"And that you didn't disagree with the notion."
That explained why Allison was so angry with him. “Do you know why Allison insisted that I fire my file clerk and replace her with one or two high school students who are in their graduating year? Students who may wish to enter law enforcement? Students who would cost the station less money?"
"It wasn't in her report."
Joseph's superior attitude was slowly starting to make Drew see red. “Let me educate you—first she asked Bonnie to fetch her a few files. She asked very politely, I might add, yet two hours later, no Bonnie, no files, and no response, so she went after them herself. Jimmy was kind enough to point her toward the file room and explain to her how the system worked. You see, Allison wasn't the only person having trouble getting files from our file clerk. So my deputy was quite well-versed with the inner workings of the file room."
"Where was your clerk during all of this?"
"According to my secretary, she was having a coffee and buffing her nails. When Allison asked for another file, Bonnie was quite rude and informed her that she didn't have to do anything for anyone but the officers she liked."
Joseph nodded and took a few notes. “So far, Allison is justified to report the woman, no more. She's been getting very vindictive against beautiful women of late."
Drew gritted his teeth and counted to ten. “The last straw was when she caught Bonnie in the file room having sex with one of my deputies."
"I can see where Allison might not enjoy that, especially if she had designs..."
That was his last straw. This man wasn't Allison's friend; friends didn't demean or undercut your authority when speaking to a stranger. “She didn't have designs on the deputy. She had a date with Jimmy that night, Mr. Pretty, and for your information, Allison isn't vindictive of beautiful women. She is a beautiful woman."
"She dated—"
"I just told you that Allison is a beautiful woman. Of course she dated."
Joseph narrowed his eyes at him. Jealousy lurked beneath the surface, finally explaining the man's action's to Drew. “Did she date you?"
Drew grinned and sat back against the sofa cushions. “I skipped the whole dating process and asked her to marry me. After seeing how serious Jimmy was about winning her over, I wasn't taking any chances that someone else would steal her away. Allison McKay is officially my fiancee; I asked her to marry me last night and she accepted."
Allison came storming into the living with fire in her eyes and determination in her step. She was furious at him. He realized then that it would take more than a few kisses to calm her down once the pompous ass left their house and he could explain.
"Joseph, if you change so much as a coma in my audit report, I'll quit! And Sheriff, you have a visitor at the back door."
Throwing Joseph a glare he turned love filled eyes on Allison. “Sweetheart, I believe Mr. Pretty has something he wants to tell you."
Turning her deadly glare on him, she narrowed her eyes. “Don't, ‘Sweetheart,’ me, you double-crossing, two-timing fink! I don't care what he has to say; all the proof I need is on the back porch."
"You'd better fix this, Mr. Pretty, or I promise I will make you as miserable as I'll be. Tell her the truth!” Drew hesitated to leave them alone, and was glad of it when Joseph started talking.
Joseph threw Allison a look of disgust. “In less than two weeks, you agree to marry a complete stranger? Two years, Ali—two years and three proposals, and still you turned me down. What makes him so damned special?"
"He thinks I'm beautiful, doesn't constantly tell me I'm fat, and has never tried to intimidate me into having sex."
"Clearly he didn't have to, now, did he?"
Drew heard the slap ring across the room and cringed; that could very well have been him on the receiving end. No wonder his girl was so skittish; with men like Joseph in her life she'd never had someone love her unconditionally the way Jimmy, Jeremy, or he did.
"I think you should leave my precinct and my town now, Mr. Pretty. You've more than outstayed your welcome. As I informed you earlier, I will be abiding by the agreement I made with Allison concerning her audit."
Joseph sneered at him, revenge written all over his face. “Your final paycheck will be sent—"
"Don't even think about firing her over this Mr. Pretty, because she will fight you and win the unlawful dismissal charges. I'm here as her witness that you insulted her because she hurt your ego."
Allison barely acknowledged Drew's words before she marched out of the room and veered straight into the bedroom, closing the door behind her so he wouldn't follow. Whoever was at the back door had severely upset her, and it was time to find out who his surprise visitor was.
Turning the corner, he groaned. “What are you doing here, Bonnie?"
"I want my job back."
"You should have saved yourself the trip. The answer is no."
"Drew, you will give me back my job, or I will make things very difficult for you and that pretty little thing who let me in."
Drew snorted and crossed his arms. “If I give you your job back, that same pretty little thing will end our relationship, so the answer is still no."
"Relationship. That's rich. You don't even know the meaning of the word."
"I'm learning it, and the answer miraculously remains no."
Bonnie frowned angrily. “I hear Sam's back in town, and that you're still married. Maybe I should tell the new toy about that."
"Bonnie, Bonnie, Bonnie. Allison already knows all about Samantha. You're not very good at this negotiating thing, are you?"
"Then maybe I'll tell Sam about the little one."
He really hated desperate women. “Sam already knows, and you're quickly getting on my last nerve today.” That explained his needy attraction to Allison. She could and would leave him and never look back, given half the chance, yet he knew she needed him as much as, if not more than, he needed her.
"And the little one is still here? Why?"
Walking over to the door, he held it open for her. “The little one, as you seem so fond of calling her, is my fiancee. I proposed to her last night, and she accepted. Allison isn't going anywhere."
Her superior smirk entertained him. Bonnie was anything but superior to anyone. “Did you forget that you're already married?"
"Perhaps, but if I have anything to say about it, I won't be for much longer. Now you need to go; I've left Allison alone too long and need to get back to her."
"Aren't you the obedient little puppy?” Bonnie taunted. “You should have told me you enjoyed being dominated. I would have had loads of fun tying you up."
His pants tightened at the image of his Allison straddling him naked while he was tied
beneath her to the bed posts. “Goodbye, Bonnie."
"This isn't over, Drew."
"Yes, Bonnie, it is."
* * * *
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Eleven
Poking his head into the county court office, Drew was relieved to find the judge still at his desk this close to session. “Excuse me, Judge. Could I have a word?"
Taking his glasses off, Eric rubbed the bridge of his nose and waved him in. “Sheriff, please come in, how can I be of...Allison?"
"Eeeeeeeeeek! Eric!” She screamed, running into the room and throwing her arms around the judge's neck in excitement.
"My god, woman, it's good to see you."
"So this is where you ended up. And a prominent Judge, to boot. I'm impressed."
"Me? What about you? You look amazing; life has been treating you well. The little girl who used to soothe me to sleep when I was sick became a star and an author. I'm the one who's impressed. And yes, I have read everything that you've had published."
Drew bit back the wave of jealousy that hit him. He'd been bound to run into a man she knew sooner or later. “I take it you two know each other?"
Allison grinned. “High School. Eric was big man on campus and I was his statistics tutor."
Drew frowned, feeling that oh-so-familiar jealousy that seemed to accompany seeing this woman in another man's arms. “Am I supposed to believe that?"
"She's telling the truth, Sheriff. She always does, whether you want to hear it or not. The girl was a veritable genius at statistics. I was a credit short to graduate and decided to take a course based on the ratio of cute girls to guys in the class."
Narrowing his eyes at the judge, Drew's frown deepened. He saw through that flimsy excuse immediately; he'd done the same thing to meet Sam. “You chose the class because Allison was in it, and you wanted to meet her."
Laughing, the Judge squeezed Allison's shoulder and flashed him a wolfish grin. “Wouldn't you, given the chance?"
"Point made...uhm, Judge I'm a pretty easy going guy but...would you mind letting Allison go now?” It had taken him nearly thirty minutes to convince her to open the bedroom door once he'd rid himself of their unwanted guests, and now he was expected to allow another man—one more accomplished than he was—to lure her away from him? He thought not.
"Sorry, Allison, dear; I forgot I was still holding you,” Eric chuckled, embarrassed.
Like hell he did. Schooling his features to hide this jealousy, Drew pulled Allison back into his arms where she belonged. “We really do have limited time left before the plane leaves, Judge."
"Of course, Sheriff. How may I help you?"
He saw the curiosity on the judge's face, mixed with the disapproval the man felt that Allison had chosen someone like him, and he chose to ignore it. They'd never been friends, but they had always respected each other, and Drew was counting on that respect to get the judge to look past whatever issues he had now.
"My ex-wife came back and informed me that our divorce was never finalized. Her lawyer never filed the paperwork, and he says he no longer has it. Added to that fiasco, the papers that my lawyer filed seem to be missing."
Allison turned in his arms and tugged on his collar to get his attention. “You didn't tell me that part, Mr. Perry!"
Grinning, he gave in to his desire and kissed her to hush her. The judge didn't need to know that part. “We'll discuss it later, I promise."
"We'd better..."
"Sorry to interrupt, but that sounds like an easy fix, Sheriff. I'll just draw up the divorce paperwork and have you both sign."
Drew wished it were only that easy. “Sam's decided she doesn't want the divorce anymore."
"Why not give her another chance?” Eric asked innocently.
Allison snorted—the most adorable, unladylike sound. Her fingers tightened around Drew's arm possessively. “Eric, Sam is the type of woman who upon learning that her ex now has money, wants to reconcile, and then once she's back in the house, will suddenly realize it won't work and leave...taking half of everything he owns with her. Drew doesn't deserve that...no matter how much of a womanizer he's been in the past six years."
"Unfortunately there isn't much I can do about gold-diggers, Allison."
Drew pulled her closer to his chest. “Sam left me after seven months of marriage without a word—no note, and no explanation. She hasn't been back in six years. I don't want to give her another chance, I want Allison."
Eric narrowed his eyes in thought. “I see, in that case your only choice is to sue her for divorce."
Drew curbed his rude comment; he needed this man's help. “I understand that. I'd like for you to start the proceedings."
Looking from Drew to Allison, Eric's posture relaxed. Leaning a hip against the desk, he reached over to grab his legal pad and a pen. “Of course. Now about the money?"
"I'd pay you for your time, of course.” Drew responded quickly, not wanting the judge to think him cheap.
Laughing, Eric waved him quiet. “I meant the division of property."
Even with Allison's giggling into his jacket, he wasn't distracted from getting his point across. “She gets nothing. If not for the incompetence of the lawyer she chose and the misfiled paperwork by the courts, we would have been divorced, while I was still a rookie. I refuse to give her a dime more than she would have gotten then, bearing in mind that she abandoned me, not the other way around."
"I can work with that...” Eric tapped his pen against his bottom lip, lost in thought. “This shouldn't..."
Allison groaned when they heard Sam's grating voice echoing through the halls of the courthouse. Sam never did have any tact.
"There you are. And I see you brought the home-wrecker."
"Sam!” Drew reprimanded with fury in his voice.
Eric looked the woman over, disgust plainly written all over his face. “This would be the wife, I presume?"
"Yes, Eric, that's Samantha."
"Mrs. Perry, in my office no one calls Allison a home-wrecker."
"That woman spent the night with my husband in my house. What should I call her?” Sam's nasally voice nearly pierced their eardrums with its shrillness.
Drew narrowed his eyes at Sam, forcing her to take a step backward. “She's my fiancee. I informed you of that last night. You will show her some respect."
"She can't be your fiancee; you, my dear man, are still married to me!"
Allison stepped between them, throwing Drew a dirty look that snapped his lips shut on his next comment. “Enough, both of you! You, Drew, will stop antagonizing her, and you, Sam, will stop trying to get back what you threw away."
"Why, you little bitch..."
Eric grabbed Sam's hand, stopping it mid-flight from slapping Allison. “Don't even think about laying a hand on Allison, Mrs. Perry. She's entirely right in this. Give the man his divorce, or I will."
"Never. He's mine, and she can't have him!"
"Then you leave me no choice but to do it for you. Sheriff, first, I highly suggest you hire a private investigator to find out exactly what your wife was doing from the time she ran away up to the point you were supposed to be divorced. Second, have the man look into this lawyer of hers and find out why he didn't file the papers as was his legal responsibility, and lastly, you may file charges against him to have him disbarred for the unprofessional behavior he's displayed. I will look into the disappearance of the copy from the courthouse myself."
"You can't do that!” Sam screeched, her face beet red in anger.
Eric eyed Sam suspiciously; he suspected something and wasn't talking. Drew wished he'd just tell them and get it over with.
"I would also check with your own attorney for a copy of the original divorce proceedings and see if he has a signed copy of the documents in his office. It's possible the papers were filed here and not in the city where your wife has been living for the past few years."
Sam gaped at them like a fish out of water. “He's..
.he's having an affair."
"Seriously, Sam, that's low even for you.” Drew growled. “I checked with the courthouse this morning, judge. They can't find the papers, but I'll check with my attorney to see if he might have a copy.
Sam wasn't about to be denied her victory. “It's the truth. Since learning that we are still married, you've had sex with that little home w... woman!"
"Not with me, he's not. I don't have sex with married men."
Drew grinned down at Allison, pulling a hot red blush from her cheeks. She didn't have sex with any man...yet.
"Did you or did you not spend the night with him in his house?"
"Yes..."
Sam shot Eric a victorious look. “There's proof. He's committed adultery since finding out he was married."
"Eric, I can prove he hasn't, if my spending the night there will harm him in any way during this divorce."
Drew wondered how she planned on doing that since he'd definitely had lustful tendencies last night. “You bring up a very interesting point, Sam. Where did you spend the night last night? And don't bother lying to me; I will learn the truth."
"With a friend.” she answered, quickly looking away.
"Which friend?” In all the years that he'd known her, Sam had never had any friends. Men willing to give her anything she wanted in the hopes of getting a piece of ass, yes, but friends, no.
Eric cleared his throat to get their attention. “Mrs. Perry, Allison has just announced that she is willing to prove the Sheriff didn't break his marital vows last night....are you?"
"How is she planning on doing that? They could have used a condom. Drew was always terrified of getting me pregnant; he hates kids. That wouldn't have changed over the years."
"We can have a doctor do an internal exam to verify if you've had sex in the past twenty-four hours."
"Twenty-four? But I've only been back for twelve.” Sam's eyes darted around the room looking for anyone to help her.
Eric laughed and sat on the corner of his desk. “If I know Ms. McKay, the time frame won't make a difference to her results. Can you say the same, Mrs. Perry? You've known for at least that long that you were still married."
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