(Dream Man 03) Law Man(139)

Bill leaned into me, eyes narrowed and said slowly, “Not… gonna… happen.”

I nodded. I knew it.

Still, I had to give it a shot.

Then I said, “Fine. But it is going to happen, Bill. It’s just going to take longer. And after it’s done, you get to live the rest of your life knowing your son hates you and coming to the understanding that as time passes, you’ll become just a hazy memory to your daughter and you squandered the love she gave to you. And you can twist that in your head to try to pin that on me too but I know, deep down somewhere inside you, you’ll know that’s not true. You’ll know I gave them what you and I always wanted. And you’ll know when Billy finds someone he loves and wants to spend the rest of his life with, he’ll be dancing with me at his wedding. And you’ll also know when Billie finds someone to give her heart to, she’ll be dancing with Mitch. And you know that’ll be on you too.”

His face twisted and he hissed, “Fuck you, Mara.”

But I shook my head.

“You’re saying fuck me but what you’re doing, you’re fucking Billy and Billie. What you do to me affects your children. So, Bill Winchell, you just proved you are what everyone back home thought you were. You’re an assclown with shit for brains who doesn’t care about anyone but himself. And you have to live with that too.”

He opened his mouth to speak but I didn’t hear what he had to say.

I put the phone back in its cradle, pushed my chair back and didn’t look at him as I turned to Mitch. I caught his hand, his long, strong fingers curled tight and warm around mine and I didn’t look back as we walked out.

We were out of the room and walking down the hall when Mitch muttered, “I’ll call the attorney.”

“Okay,” I whispered.

His fingers squeezed mine. “You all right?”

“Yes,” I answered.

His fingers squeezed mine again but his hand also tugged as he brought us to a stop.

I looked up at him.

“Sure?” he asked softly.

“The only thing I have to worry about is paying the attorney. I spent a lot of years saving for a rainy day.” I gave him a small smile. “So, it’s raining. Whatever. The rain always stops.”

Mitch’s eyes moved over my face. Then he smiled back. Then he lifted his other hand, curled it around the side of my neck and pulled me in and up.

Then he kissed me, fast, hard but closed-mouthed.

Then he whispered against my lips, “Get to work, sweetheart.”

I grinned against his.

Then I moved away, Mitch walked me to my car and I got to work.





Chapter Twenty-Seven

Operation Drunk Sex Later





Two weeks, two days later…

“I’m back, baby!” Mitch called from my living room-slash-kitchen-slash-dining room.

He’d taken the kids to spend the night at Penny’s not so we could have a night out, so I could go out with the girls and he could go to work. He had something happening with a case he was working on and he was doing overtime. I had a new little black dress and new sexy, strappy, high-heeled black sandals and I was meeting “the girls” (“the girls” being Roberta, LaTanya, Elvira, Tess and Elvira’s friends Gwen, Cam and Tracy) for drinks at Club.

The little black dress and sexy new shoes I was currently wearing were purchased because we were in throes of Pierson’s Mattress and Bed’s annual summer madness sale and apparently half of Denver needed a mattress and/or bed. I was run off my feet but my commissions were killer.

Of course, I wanted to bank them to pay attorneys fees but, with Mitch’s overtime on this big case and seeing as he clearly absorbed Elvira’s lesson about little black dresses, he encouraged me to go shopping with her (which I did) and spoil myself (which meant spoiling him).

So now I was wearing my first ever LBD. It was sleeveless. It was black jersey. It was shorter than any dress I’d ever worn. It had no back (at all). It was clingy in a lot of places and tight in all the others.

And the shoes even turned me on they were so hot.

I’d added heavy makeup (something I never did but it looked pretty good even if I did say so myself). I’d also added lots of hair (something else I never did but ditto with it looking good).

And now I was good to go.

And good to go meant Mitch driving me to Club. I had to work that day but the girls had met for dinner at Club and I was meeting them there. I ate a quick turkey sandwich when I got home. Mitch took the kids to Penny’s, was going to take me to Club before he went to do his thing and then I was going to text him when it was time to come home. If he could get me (and LaTanya), he would. If he couldn’t, Elvira promised that Hawk, who was showing to get Gwen and Elvira and anyone else who needed a ride, would give me a ride.