Mr Justice Read online

  “I’d like to hear that story sometime for inspiration. For the love life you’ve invented for me.” I squealed when she smacked my butt. “Hey!”

  “Come early for dinner and I’ll tell you what you want to know. Now I’ve got to get to Betty’s for book club.”

  “Wine club, you mean, don’t you?”

  Her gaze narrowed as she blew me a kiss and rushed out the front door with a lot more noise than she’d entered.

  Crazy woman.

  Walker

  It was Friday night and instead of getting dressed up and dousing myself in expensive cologne to troll for a woman I wouldn’t remember next week, I was at home. Cooking dinner. Okay, not cooking. It was more like broiling. I stopped by the market and picked up a big-ass steak, corn on the cob, and a six pack of beer. The perfect menu for a bachelor, no matter how pathetic it might seem on the outside. But on the inside, I had a well-seasoned steak with some of Betty Kemp’s herbed butter for the corn, which went into the broiler.

  With an ice-cold beer in my hand and the timer set on my phone, I headed for the couch. And froze, ready to throw my beer at the intruder. “Will, what the hell, man?”

  He tossed his head back and laughed. “Your expression alone was worth it. Sorry.” He didn’t sound sorry so I didn’t pretend to accept his apology.

  “What’s up?”

  He shrugged and dropped down in the middle of the sofa, legs crossed at the ankle. On my coffee table. “Thought I’d come by to see if you wanted to go out tonight. Not to Black Thumb either. I want a woman,” he grumbled.

  I laughed and took a seat in my favorite recliner as I cracked open the beer. “Still running like the wind from all Tulip women?”

  “Hell yeah. They all have marriage on the brain and even if there were a few I wouldn’t mind getting naked with, I’d have to marry them or leave town and that ain’t happening.”

  “Sorry to hear that but I’m in for the night.” I sounded like a lame old man even to my ears but the truth was, I was exhausted.

  “Dammit, man, you disappoint me.” His dark brows furrowed, narrowing his gray eyes until they were practically invisible. “Why aren’t you looking for a woman? You in love?”

  I snorted. “Hardly.”

  “Switching teams? I mean, it’s cool and I’ll totally be your wing man but ... it would make sense.”

  I tossed the bottle cap at him with a laugh. “Make sense?”

  “You haven’t been with a woman in a long damn time, man. About a year as far, as I can tell.”

  My brows rose at his accuracy. “Keeping track of my sex life like a woman’s period? No wonder you can’t keep a woman.”

  Will stood and went to snag a beer of his own from the fridge. “The problem is, I can’t find a woman who doesn’t want to be kept. I’m so good, they all want to hang on to me.” He made a lewd gesture and burst out laughing.

  “Whatever you need to tell yourself, Will.” He did seem to attract an unusual number of women looking for happily ever after, but I figured it was karma for his slutty ways.

  “Come on, Walker. I need to go out tonight. Ma roped me into Sunday dinner and now that Audrey’s back, she won’t take any excuses. None.”

  I didn’t let the mention of Audrey sidetrack me even though I was starved for information about her. It was like the universe was conspiring to keep me in the dark—not that I didn’t deserve it. “How does any of that impact me?”

  His smile spread—the mischievous one that had gotten us both into too much trouble as teenagers. “I’m glad you asked. Ma will inevitably ask if I’m seeing anyone and since we’ll go out tonight, and I will meet someone, it won’t be a lie. And you, my best friend, will be my witness.”

  Witness? Hell no. “I’m not coming to Sunday dinner.”

  “Why the hell not? You always come to Sunday dinner and Ma said no excuses, Walker. That means you too.”

  Shit. If Helen demanded it, then I’d have to come. She was an excellent cook and I had no problem stuffing myself silly with her amazing food, but there was a damn good reason why I didn’t want to come to dinner. That reason had long black hair and bewitching purplish-blue eyes. I reached for an excuse, any excuse. “You ever think maybe Helen just wants to spend some time with her kids?”

  “Why are you being so weird about this? Don’t you want to come to dinner?” Inky black brows pulled together in confusion, then anger and, finally, amusement flickered—which confused the hell out of me. “Oh, I know what you’re worried about. Audrey. Don’t worry, man. Her little crush on you died a long time ago. Probably around the time you left for law school.” Will continued to laugh like he hadn’t just turned my world on its axis.

  “You’re delusional if you think Audrey ever had a crush on me. I was like a brother to her.” And I’d treated her like a sister until last year when we’d just been a man and woman, drinking, flirting and then making each other moan.

  “You’re kidding, right? She followed us around nonstop and she drew all those pictures of you. As a superhero, a villain, a warrior, an alien ... Jesus—everything!”

  What? “I have no clue what you’re talking about, Will.”

  He laughed even harder. “You can’t be that blind, man. You can’t.” His laughter finally died down with a shrug. “She had a massive crush but the keyword is had. You’re safe to come to dinner, so you’ll be there.” Typical Will to assume his word was law. The timer sounded and I didn’t feel like eating burnt steak for dinner.

  “I’ll be there Sunday but I can’t go out tonight. I have a trial starting Monday morning.” Tulip was mostly crime free but served as the county seat which meant we dealt with about a dozen different towns and their crime problems.

  “Fine. Is there enough food for me?” he asked but seconds later, he was on the phone ordering pizza. “Mushrooms and meat okay with you?” I gave him a look and he grinned. “Large with hot wings,” he said into the phone with a wide grin.

  “Since you bought pizza, I’ll share my steak with you.”

  “Avoiding the matchmakers again?”

  “Hell yeah. Those women are relentless.” They somehow found me wherever I went and tried to foist phone numbers and email addresses of daughters, nieces, daughters and nieces of friends, basically any single woman they knew. It was overwhelming and why I cooked at home most nights. I pulled the tray from the oven just as Will entered the kitchen with a growl.

  “It’s not too late to get dressed to go out and find a woman for the night.” He wiggled his eyebrows, trying to tempt me, but it didn’t work.

  “I’m good, thanks.” I plated up the food and took my plate and another beer to the table.

  Will froze and stared at the wooden bowl in the middle of the kitchen table. “A salad? A goddamn salad, Walker?” He burst out laughing as he sat, nearly turning over his plate. “Audrey does the same thing … thinks putting a salad next to everything balances out her love of crap food. We had lunch last week and she ordered a bacon cheeseburger with a salad. A salad!” He was so outraged, I couldn’t help but laugh about it.

  “Sorry your sister’s healthy-eating habits offend you.” I wasn’t surprised at all because I’d seen her naked. Evidence of her love of junk food was there in the softness of her feminine hips and the swell of her breasts, but the attention to fitness was there too in her strong legs and toned arms. “It’s smart though. Some might even call it balance.”

  “Did Janey tell you about Mr. Spring Fling?” he said before biting into the oversized ear of corn.

  “Yeah, you dick. Thanks for letting me know.”

  Will shrugged, not looking at all bothered by my anger. “You should’ve showed up so we could fight it out. Since you weren’t there, it was pretty easy to do.” He shrugged again. “Who will you take?”

  Good fucking question. “Who knows? I don’t want to take anyone but since Janey dictated it, I need someone who won’t see the date as the start of something. I’m not interested.”

>   “At all?” He looked so stunned, I couldn’t stop the smile playing at the corners of my mouth.

  “Not right now, no.”

  He narrowed his gaze. “Have you heard from Lissa lately?”

  “Why would you bring up my ex-wife?” Lissa was a mistake I’d rather not think about too often. We were all wrong for each other but lust and the rush of first love had blinded us to it.

  “Because things have been quiet and you’re acting weird. Usually that’s a sign that Lissa’s been sniffing around trying to cause you trouble. Again.”

  He wasn’t wrong. She came around to borrow money and to crash on my couch for a few weeks. Sometimes just to turn my life upside down before vanishing for months at a time. “No, I haven’t heard from Lissa. Not in more than six months.”

  Will nodded, happy to hear that. “Do you miss her? I that what this is about?”

  “What? Hell no.” She was as wrong for me as I was for her. Lissa was the reason for my rules. “She’s married to some Australian and she’s his problem now.”

  “You say that now but we’ll see how you respond next time she calls.”

  He was right, only now I had my carefully cultivated list of characteristics my future potential wife had to have. “Live and learn. I’ve lived through Lissa one too many times, Will, and learned my lesson.”

  “Not those damn rules again,” he groaned and shook his head.

  “Hey, it’s a smart way to weed out the wrong women. This way there are no surprises down the road.”

  “What if she loses her job? Doesn’t lose all the baby weight or gets taken by a Ponzi schemer?” He shrugged. “Shit happens. It’s how you deal with it that matters.”

  “Is my best friend turning into a romantic?”

  “Fuck no.” He winced like he smelled something awful. “But Ma taught me a lot about being there when shit gets rough. That’s love.”

  “Maybe so, but if a woman doesn’t meet those basic criteria, there’s no hope of love.”

  He laughed again. This time it was loud and raucous, and even included some mocking pointing gestures. “I love you like a brother, man, but holy hell are you stupid?” He shook his head and kept on laughing between bites. “It’s a good thing you’re a good cook. That still makes you a catch.”

  “Thanks.” I grinned.

  “Until they hear about your stupid damn list.”

  My grin faded and I stole the last bite of steak from his plate.

  “Hey!” He frowned and reached for the steak a moment too late. “Prick.”

  I laughed. “Wait until I tell Helen about that dirty mouth of yours.” She hadn’t just threatened to wash our mouths out with soap when she caught us both cursing up a storm—she’d actually gone through with it.

  Will’s skin was too dark to actually pale but the look on his face said it all. “You wouldn’t.”

  I smiled.

  Audrey

  “I’m so glad you were free for lunch today.” Hope smiled at me over a platter of fresh salsa and hot tortilla chips while we shared a pitcher of margaritas. “Grandma keeps me so busy at the diner and when I finally get a day off, there’s no one around to hang out with.”

  Hope and I had known each other most of our lives, or at least as long as I’ve lived in Tulip, but we’d never been friends. Not really. Then a few months ago, I sat in her section at the diner near the end of her shift and we started talking.

  “Will you take over for Mabel eventually?” The older woman had run the place for as long as anyone in town could recall—surely she would be retiring soon.

  “No. Maybe. I don’t know.” She sighed and took a long swig of icy margarita. “I’m tired of being on my feet all day. Tired of smelling like grease and stale coffee. Just plain tired, honestly. How can I tell her that?”

  Just like that. But even I knew it wasn’t that easy. “I don’t know Mabel well, but she doesn’t strike me as the type to want you to sacrifice your dream for hers.” If there had been an art school close enough to Tulip, and if I hadn’t gotten a scholarship, I would have happily stayed here with Mom and Will.

  “That’s the other problem, Aud. I don’t think I have a dream. I’ve never really had to think about it because I was always helping out at the diner, making life easier for my brothers and sisters.” She shook her head and groaned, taking another much healthier sip from her glass. “Enough about me. What’s new with you?”

  It was my least favorite question on the planet. Vague enough that you could unintentionally tell more than the asker really wanted to know. “Not much. Just work.” I was toying with an idea and figured Hope was a good person to test it out on. “I have this story I’ve been working on and I’m thinking of turning it into a graphic novel.” Saying it out loud was terrifying, like once it was out there, the universe would hold me accountable and judge me harshly if I failed.

  “Really? That’s amazing, Audrey. Seriously. What’s it about?”

  “A young woman’s village was raided and she, along with most of her friends and family, were sold into slavery. The woman escapes and eventually reunites with her friends as they make their way across the country searching for their fellow villagers.” I held my breath and waited, unsure what Hope’s expression meant.

  “Holy crap. That sounds good!” She leaned forward, snagging another chip with a mound of salsa. “You should definitely do that, Audrey. You have to!”

  Her effusiveness made me smile but I still wasn’t sure. “I only thought of it as a way to supplement my income, in case work slows down.”

  “See that?” Hope sat back, pulling her glass with her after refilling both. “You have passion. Major fucking passion for illustrating. So much so that you’re creating even more work! I want that.”

  “Find it. Try new things and see what fires you up.”

  She smiled and leaned forward. “Is that what drawing does—fire you up?”

  “In a way. I mean, sometimes my fingers itch to create something. Yeah, I love it. Even when I hate it.”

  “You know, Audrey, when we were in school, I was so sure you were writing down beautifully tortured lyrics that you gave to your wannabe rock-star boyfriend. Until the ninth-grade art show.” She groaned. “I was so disappointed.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at the exciting dream life she’d created for me. “I wish. I was at home, in my room, sulking and drawing.” And mooning over Will’s best friend: gorgeous golden boy Walker Reid. “Sorry to disappoint.”

  Hope shrugged and got busy gathering the empty salsa platter just as the waitress arrived with our food—nachos to share and barbecue pork tacos. “That’s okay. Just tell me you had a wannabe rocker boyfriend.”

  “I did. But he was a lazy jerk.” He figured I’d be so happy to have him that I’d happily pay his way forever. “Better?”

  “Is what better?” a familiar deep voice asked. I looked up to see my brother and his best friend staring eagerly, anxiously, down at us. Or more accurately, our food.

  “None of your business, Will. Get your own table.” He flashed his best puppy dog eyes that never failed to work on Mom, and never worked on me.

  “You mean you’d kick me out, your favorite brother, and make me wait thirty whole minutes for a table?” He looked around the restaurant, which was busy even for a Saturday night, with a barely concealed frown.

  “You’re my only brother and yes, absolutely, I would make you wait. It’s a perk of being your sister.” We stared each other down, the way we used to do as kids. If I looked away, Will won. Worse, I’d have to sit through dinner with Walker.

  “For crying out loud! Sit the hell down,” Hope groaned and slid over. Will, of course, took advantage and dropped down beside her without breaking the stare. Damn him.

  “You’re buying,” I told his smiling, smug face.

  “Deal.” He motioned for Walker to sit, which he did. Right beside me, which forced me to slide against the wall to put some distance between us. “How’s work, Au
drey?”

  I shrugged. “Great.”

  “Great?” Hope asked, incredulous. “She’s totally working on a graphic—”

  “Work is going great, Will. What about you? Saving lives?”

  Hope gave me a confused look for cutting her off and I gave a subtle shake of my head, knowing Will’s ego wouldn’t allow him to pass up a chance to talk about himself.

  “I’m always saving lives, sis. That’s why I’m a Hometown Hero.” He leaned back in the booth and clasped his hands behind his head. “A hometown friggin’ hero.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Like your ego needs more stroking.”

  “More stroking is always a good thing, isn’t that right, Hope?” He flashed that smile that made women go stupid. Poor Hope was no exception; her face flamed red.

  “Stop that.” I splashed him with water and pelted him with a piece of ice. “We don’t need to see your wild mating moves.” He frowned and I averted my gaze, knowing I was being a jerk but not caring. While they talked and ordered more food, I dug into the nachos and ate my tacos like I was being timed. Walker was too close and he smelled too good.

  “Another pitcher?” Hope asked, and I nodded because, why not? Alcohol couldn’t make this meal any worse.

  “How much have you ladies had to drink?” Walker’s light brown eyes, flecked with little ribbons of amber, bounced between us with a tiny frown.

  “Not nearly enough,” I mumbled and finished off my glass, letting the warmth hit me until my shoulders relaxed. I wasn’t drunk at all—barely tipsy. Sober enough to be aware of how close he was. Too close.

  “You girls going to the dance?” Will kept his gaze on Hope who suddenly found her plate fascinating.

  “Nope. I have to work that night.” It was an easy enough answer that was, technically, always true.

  “Not even to see Walker as Mr. Spring Fling?”

  Especially not to see that. It was the last thing I wanted to see. Walker looking as handsome as any male model in a tux or maybe one of his exquisitely tailored suits that showed off just how dedicated he was to physical fitness? Or the way his eyes sparkled when he engaged with the town? Nope, none of that was essential to my life. “Not even for that.” I could feel his gaze on me but I refused to look, afraid of how my body would respond. What my face might give away.