Page 2 of Sackett
Sackett might not know all the details about what Donna had been through, but he knew he enough to know he wouldn’t have left her to deal with it all on her own either.Though he couldn’t say he would have gone to quite the extent that Savage had.Moving her to Tucson and in with him, on top of taking care of all the details of getting her divorced so she was free to stay with him or move on as she chose, Sackett wasn’t sure he’d do all that.
He helped Donna into the truck, then hurried around to the driver’s side.The sooner he got this done, the sooner he could move on to something he wanted to do.Maybe the hot chick would still be at the bar when he got back.
2
“Brant,canyoubringin my next appointment?”Selena said, then released the intercom button and reached for the packet of papers she’d prepared.Divorce wasn’t an uncommon thing for her, but one for an only possible, common-law marriage in another state?That was a bit different.Still, it was better to file and be told there was no marriage to dissolve than to assume there was nothing and find out later they were wrong.At least that was the position of her client and the man who had brought her in.
“Right this way.”Brant’s voice, as he opened her office door, had her standing to meet the client that was stepping into the room.Donna, she recognized but the man with her wasn’t the one she’d brough with her the last several times they’d met.Still, it wasn’t Selena’s place to judge, so she plastered on her professional smile, met them halfway across the room and shook their hands, Donna first since she was the client.
“This is Sackett, Savage couldn’t make it, so he arranged for a friend to bring me,” Donna introduced the tall man with longer, lighter colored hair than she remembered her client’s partner having, though they wore what appeared to be the same leather vest.“I hope that’s okay?”
“This is your case.Anyone you feel the need to bring is up to you.I just take care of the paperwork and fight for you in the court.”She invited them to have a seat, then went back around her desk and resumed her seat.“I know we went over this once, but I want to make sure you completely understand the plan.We’ve searched the online records and can find no record of your supposed marriage anywhere in the state of Colorado.That’s good, but to make sure all our bases are covered, we’re going to fill out all the paperwork to file, and I’ll take it up to Fort Collins and meet with a judge in person.I’ll explain everything that’s going on and see what he says.If he says file them, I will.If he says there is no marriage, and no need to file, I’ll get that in writing and come back, and we’ll be done.Does that sound like what we discussed before?”She did her best to keep her gaze on Donna, though her escort had a commanding presence and Selena found it difficult to keep from at least glancing at him now and then.
“That sounds right.If he says to file, how long will it take?Until it’s all final?”Donna’s voice was soft, but there was backbone there.
“That’s hard to say.If Mr.Harrison doesn’t contest anything, and there’s nothing in here that he should contest, then Colorado state law says ninety-one days.If he does contest, for whatever reason, longer.He could drag it out indefinitely unless the judge decides enough is enough and just orders the divorce.But let’s not borrow trouble until it gets here.Let’s hope the judge says there is no marriage, hence no need to file for a divorce.”Selena fought to keep her eyes on Donna.She found the man sitting beside her client intriguing, but she had to maintain professionalism.
“All right, so I sign all this, and wait to hear from you?”Donna scooted forward to the edge of her chair, as if she was eager to get this done so she could move on.
“Exactly.I’ve marked each spot for a signature here, so it shouldn’t take long.”
She flipped through the pages, indicating each place her client needed to sign or initial, and waited while she did it before moving on to the next.In under five minutes they’d finished with the signatures.She’d managed to keep her eyes either on the page or on her client.Selena stacked the pages together and hit the end on her desktop to align them before adding the binder clip.
“All set.Any other questions today?”She looked back and forth between Donna and her escort, Sackett, she’d said.Selena wanted to let her gaze linger on him but refused the weakness.
“No.I’m good.Thank you again for taking care of all this for me,” Donna said, standing.
Sackett stood beside her and stepped toward the door, as if waiting for her to be ready before opening it for her.She’d noticed that Savage did the same thing, as if it was second nature for these men do to everything they could to take care of their women.Their women, where had that thought came from?Women weren’t property, she’d been fighting against that concept as long as she could remember.
Selena had to wonder for a moment how it would feel to be able to let someone do small things like that for you.Not that she could.No.She couldn’t afford to let anyone, especially not anyone she dated, feel like she was anything less than the strong, take-charge woman she put out there.Softness would be seen as weakness and that was something she couldn’t afford, not if she wanted to be one of the premier divorce attorneys in the state.And that was her goal.To work for the downtrodden and suppressed and get them what they deserved out of lopsided, oppressive marriages when they were ready to escape.
That was part of what had attracted her to Donna’s case.The woman had been victim to an abusive boyfriend who claimed after she’d gotten the courage to leave, that they were legally married, and he would get her back one way or another.Hearing the other woman’s story had lit a fire deep in Selena that made her even more determined to make sure that Donna was freed from this man.
And Selena didn’t accept losing.One way or another she would make sure Donna didn’t have to worry about him coming after her again.
3
SacketthelpedDonnabackinto his truck, determined to take her home and be done with this.He hoped Savage didn’t need last minute help again.Though he wouldn’t turn him down if he did.
Especially if it meant seeing that hot attorney again.He wasn’t sure which appealed to him more, the thick rimmed glasses or her almost uptight skirt suit.
He’d always been intrigued by the idea of the uptight librarian turned sexy seductress by the right guy, but never thought he would ever encounter one.And while she might be an attorney instead of a librarian, the way she kept her hair pulled back in a severe updo made him ache to be the reason it fell loose.He wanted to know how long it was.He needed to see if it was curly or straight.Something in him wanted to see how it framed her face.He’d done his best to keep from staring, but he’d been able to watch her as she’d explained to Donna what she was signing.He would swear her makeup was designed to make her look less attractive instead of more.What woman would do that?
He didn’t think he had ever known a single woman who would make herself less attractive, especially on purpose and for work.Though now that he thought about it, he knew being an attorney could be a cutthroat business, and not the easiest career choice for a women, much less an attractive woman.Society had such a habit of portraying beautiful women as idiots.Maybe that had something to do with it.Did she feel like she had to make herself less attractive to be taken seriously?The idea made him want to break a few faces, and hers was definitely not one of them.
Sackett took Donna home, making sure she made it inside safe, and that she didn’t need anything else before he left.A glance at his watch told him it was still early, barely four thirty, he could go back to Drifters and see if the chick he’d been hitting on was still there.But the idea didn’t appeal to him anymore.Yes, she’d been hot, and he was always willing to get laid any time he could, he didn’t think she would be worth the work.Oddly, he had the idea of stripping a certain hot lawyer down and finding out what she kept hidden by that dark pencil skirt and those glasses.
He suspected that if he could get past the layers of protection she’d put up, he would find she burned hotter than most.Turning the truck back to the clubhouse, he found himself wondering if Ms.Leighty knew how she’d intrigued him.
How would she have reacted if he’d said the same thing to her that he’d said to the chick in the bar?Somehow, he didn’t think she would slap him, and he’d been slapped more than a few times for saying something before he thought better of it.
No, somehow, he thought the proper little attorney would put him in his place just as efficiently, but she would use her words to cut him down and tell him what she thought of his mouth.The idea made him shift in his seat as his jeans grew tight at just the thought of her tearing a strip off him for proposition her.
Sackett pulled the truck into his usual spot in the clubhouse parking lot and sat there a moment, despite the heat, as he imagined burying his hand in her hair, knocking that prim little style loose until her hair fell loose around her face and knotted around his fingers.He could picture the way her eyes would dilate and those plump lips parting.Silently begging for his kiss.
What the hell was he doing?This was not someone he could screw with and not someone who would likely screw with him.If he decided he really wanted to see if she could be all he imagined, then he at least needed to wait until Donna’s court trouble was over.The last thing he wanted was to have her refuse to continue the case because she was pissed at him.No, he owed his brother better than that.But after it was all final, he might see what he could talk her into.The idea had made him quirk one side of his mouth and shake his head as he made his way inside.
“Thought you were spending the day away from here,” Maverick said as Sackett stepped in out of the sun.
