Page 4 of First Date: Divorce
“Here in Shakespeare County, we value our history.We also want strong businesses because our business owners are the first line of—”
“Campaign commercial,” Larkin muttered.The lines by his eyes and mouth flashed in a grin for a fraction of a second.
Whoa.
Totally different from his wary, polite expression.
“Re-election’s not for a few more years,” Grainger said.Looking at her, he added.“We have a historic railroad hotel a bit west of here that’s leased by an organization called Marriage-Save as a retreat for couples, sort of a resort.They offer packages of various lengths with counseling, all that.Marriage-Save previously operated in Oregon.They came here and leased the old hotel.They’ve done a nice job fixing it up.Now they want a long-term lease.Because of the hotel’s historic status, the county has a say.”
He paused.She nodded that she followed.
“We were real glad to have them lease the place for a trial period.Not always easy to keep it occupied, with it not right in the center of town.For them, the location’s a plus.Close enough for guests to get to town, not so close it distracts from what they’re workin’ on out there.Seemed like a good fit all-round.But now we have reason to believe Marriage-Save or someone working there might not be on the up-and-up.Before we agree to long-term, we need to know for sure.”
“In what way not on the up-and-up?”she asked.
Eric Larkin shifted like a boxer getting ready to move around the ring.Grainger glanced toward him, then the woman on the couch before saying, “That’s not entirely clear, and that’s one of the things we hope to find out.”
A fishing expedition.
Well, what did she expect?That they’d hand her a plum assignment?
“How do you intend to find out?”
“By sending you and Eric in as a couple posing as clients to watch the operation from the inside and — most important — to serve as bait.See if a certain divorce lawyer snaps you up.”
“That’s where you come in,” said Tal Bennett.“Your sheriff agreed to a short leave of absence to let you do this — if you’re interested.”
What she most wanted — a chance at an investigation, because even a long-shot could lead somewhere.Bennett’s connections were legendary.Grainger was no slouch.
Wrapped in the guise of what she never wanted — being a wife.
Though it would bepretendingto be a wife — temporary and with a stranger.Totally separate from her views on marriage.
She looked at Larkin.
He was assessing her.
She made no effort to mask her reciprocal study, looking directly into his hazel eyes.Beneath the trouble she’d spotted earlier, she recognized a man who planned to run the show.
Just like a husband.
Bennett said, “K.D., before you decide, I want to be clear.Although I got your sheriff to agree to send you with a suitcase packed for a week or more—” He smiled, as if he knew what speculation a suitcase of “business casual” raised in her.And she wondered now if she’d come anywhere close to the wardrobe required.“—I have no official role.Neither does your department.This is Sheriff Grainger’s operation.He asked for my cooperation in finding a capable candidate.”
Capable.
That low bar might be what they expected.She’d deliver more.
“A married couple makes sense,” she said with give-nothing-away calm.
Larkin’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.
Neither did Grainger for a long moment, followed by saying appropriate phrases of pleasure that she’d agreed.
“Which of you do I report to?”She looked from Tal Bennett to the sheriff, leaving Larkin out of it.
“You’ll report to me.Both of you.”Grainger exchanged a look with the man who would play her husband.That look held history.Maybe warning.But who was warning whom … and about what?“Your Marriage-Save retreat begins Friday, so—”
“Friday?That’s too soon.We need prep — a week, two weeks — to get our cover straight and tight.”
