Page 6 of First Date: Divorce
“Yes, but—”
“Good idea, Ellyn.”Grainger stood and picked up his cowboy hat.“K.D.rides with Eric.Tal, can you bring me back here if I ride along with Ellyn to be sure we’re straight on the general background?”
Larkin tensed.Before he could say anything, Bennett confirmed with, “Sure thing,” and stood.
“I’ll drive myself,” K.D.said.
“No, you won’t,” Bennett said.“Montana plates.Your cover story needs to be that you flew in from Illinois — Eric moved here from Illinois and it makes sense it was to get away from a woman.”
She caught a flicker of a wince from Eric, immediately stifled.
“So, you’ll be the estranged wife flying in for this time at Marriage-Save to see if you two can make a go of it,” Grainger said.“After we’re finished at Far Hills, K.D.and I will meet one of Tal’s associates who’s picked up a rental from the Billings airport and we’ll stash your vehicle for the duration.”
“But if people see me in his vehicle on the way out of town, the timeline—”
“Nah.They’re interested in other people’s lives, but nobody keeps a spreadsheet.If someone does happen to spot you together now, that’ll be to the good.They’ll see you as a couple.Word’ll spread like wildfire.”Amusement flickered across Grainger’s eyes.“Folks’ve been wondering about this guy since he hit town.Plus, the drive’ll give you a chance to start your crash course of getting to know each other.”
*
He did not want to get to know K.D.Hamilton.
What Eric Larkin wanted was a racquet in one hand, a ball suited to being pounded to bits in the other, and an opponent he didn’t much like.
Say, Cully Grainger.
His serve could damage sensitive body parts.
He wasn’t real happy with K.D.Hamilton, either.
If Deputy Hamilton had said no, Grainger would have had to withdraw his objections to Eric’s plan.Hiring an actress to play the role of his soon-to-be divorced wife made a hell of a lot more sense thanthis.He needed a woman as window-dressing to get him inside Marriage-Save.That’s all.
When Ellyn brought this effort up at Jessa’s store it seemed straightforward.Something he could get in, fix, get out.
Initially, he’d been relieved when Ellyn said Cully was leading this effort and Grif — Ellyn’s husband — was in the loop.He counted them as good friends.If he hadn’t, they wouldn’t have known his circumstances, much less have persuaded him to move to Wyoming.
After Ellyn took the lead at Jessa’s store in explaining the situation, they’d gone to Cully’s office, joined by Grif.
Ellyn presented concerns about Marriage-Save clearly and concisely.They thought someone there fed information to a local divorce lawyer, who used it to ensure the couple divorced and she represented — for a fat fee — the party who got the jump on the settlement.
If those concerns bore out, it was bad for the people who sought help, for Bardville, for Shakespeare County, or for the wider area.
“It’s too risky for any of us to try undercover nosing around because we’re too well known,” Ellyn said.“Specifically, we need someone whose marital status isn’t well known.”
“Since you’ve been a hermit most of the time you’ve been here,” Grif said to Eric, getting in a dig he’d made before, “you fit.”
That’s when Eric suggested an actress.
And then Cully went all stern law enforcement officer, insisting if Eric didn’t accept a professional, he’d pull the plug.
Had Cully been this pigheaded when they met?
Yeah, probably.
But Eric could have gotten around it.If K.D.Hamilton hadn’t backed Cully’s plan.
Eric glanced toward the woman in the passenger seat of his practical four-wheel drive.
Why did she have to look like this?
