LITMIR.BIZ

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you know how old I am?”

      “Yes—and what’s that got to do with anything?”

      “Plenty. I’ve had children, Jack, and my body is far from perfect.”

      “Hey, if I wanted to date a twenty-year-old model—” He gave a quick laugh. “Hell, a twenty-year-old model wouldn’t be seen dead with an old fart like me.”

      Olivia smiled, too. “We make a good couple, don’t we?” She rested her head against his shoulder.

      “Yeah,” Jack agreed. “We do, Judge O. Especially when we’re practically naked in a hot tub together.”

      “Jack!” She giggled. She was enjoying herself but refused to give him credit; if she did, she’d never hear the end of it.

      “Come on,” he said, “tell me I was right.”

      “Would you mind gloating silently?” she muttered, letting her eyes drift shut.

      “How’s Grace doing?” Jack suddenly asked.

      Olivia groaned. She’d been deeply concerned for her friend. “Better, I think.” Grace had come to Olivia last Saturday afternoon, as upset as Olivia had ever seen her. Despite several attempts, Olivia wasn’t able to pry the entire story out of her, but apparently Grace had done something to offend Cliff and he’d decided it would be best if they no longer saw each other.

      “Have you talked to her recently?” Jack said.

      “I saw her Wednesday night. Why?”

      Jack rested his chin on top of Olivia’s head. “I think she might be volunteering for the Humane Society.”

      “Oh, yes, she did say something about that.” Olivia approved; Grace seemed to have a lot of time on her hands all at once. She’d always been fond of animals. Buttercup had brought her comfort and companionship when Grace had most needed it. This volunteer position was something she could do to help animals, and perhaps a human or two. Olivia also suspected that Grace saw it as a way of making up for not getting Buttercup to the vet more quickly, not noticing the symptoms sooner. She tried to reassure her friend, but Grace persisted in blaming herself, which Olivia thought unreasonable.

      “How’d you know about Grace volunteering?” she asked.

      “The way I know about everything. The paper’s doing an article about the shelter. When I showed up to talk to the director, Grace was there filling out the paperwork. The shelter does a background check before they accept any volunteers.”

      “I think it’ll be good for her.”

      “I do, too,” Jack said.

      Olivia opened her eyes and gazed up at the sky. The clouds had parted and the stars were coming out; it was turning into a spectacular night. Most of her friends were at a fund-raising dinner she’d gladly skipped. She could only imagine what her co-workers would say if they could see the very prim and proper Judge Lockhart soaking in a hot tub. And with a man, yet.

      “I wouldn’t do this for anyone else, you know,” she told him. She didn’t need to elaborate on what she meant; Jack knew.

      “I’m glad to hear it.” He kissed the top of her head.

      Olivia felt his chest expand and then softly he said, “I love you, Olivia.”

      This wasn’t the first time he’d admitted his feelings, but something about the way he’d said it felt different. She leaned away from him and looked into his eyes. “I love you, too, Jack.”

      “Do you mean that, Olivia? Really mean it?”

      She nodded. “I do.”

      A sigh rumbled inside his chest. “I know you don’t like to talk about Stan, and frankly, I don’t blame you, but I think we should. For the last time.”

      “All right.” This sounded ominous.

      Jack didn’t speak for a moment, and she gave him a nudge with her elbow. “Your ex-husband made it plain from the day we met that he wanted you back.”

      Olivia kissed Jack’s chin. “I know, but he can’t have me.”

      “He’s got a whole lot more to offer you than I do.”

      “Such as?”

      Jack chuckled. “You don’t really want me to get into that, do you?”

      “Yes,” she challenged. “What you don’t seem to understand is that my ex-husband doesn’t hold a candle to you in a hundred different ways. Okay, he probably brings home a bigger paycheck.”

      Jack snorted. “Probably? No one gets rich in the newspaper business, at least not these days.”

      “Are you suggesting money’s important to me?”

      “No.”

      “Then why worry about it?”

      Again she felt Jack expel a deep sigh. “Because I’m attempting to be noble here and you’re making it damn hard.”

      “Noble?” Olivia wasn’t sure she liked the sound of this.

      “All right, if you must know, I’m asking you to put me out of my misery and marry me.”

      For a wild moment Olivia was too stunned to react. “Jack, are you proposing?”

      “That’s exactly what I’m doing. I want us to be together, Olivia. I love you. The way things stand now, all we get are the leftovers of each other’s lives—and I want more. I want you to be in my life and I want to be in yours.”

      She stared at him, eyes wide.

      “I want to be there when you wake up in the morning and at your side when you get into bed at night, and all the in-between times, too.”

      This was romantic, and romance was the last thing she expected from Jack Griffin.

      “I don’t know how to say it any plainer than that,” he concluded.

      “Then what was all this business about Stan?” If he told her he’d willingly step aside for her ex-husband, she was going to shove his head underwater, dammit!

      “Yes, well, I was going to tell you—” He hesitated. “No, I won’t.”

      “Won’t what?”

      “Won’t let Stan have you. I thought I could do it, but as far as I’m concerned, the hell with him.”

      Olivia leaned back and rewarded him with a long, breath-stealing kiss followed by a series of short kisses down the side of his neck. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you. Go on,” she urged.

      Jack’s arms tightened around her. “I’m never letting you go again, Olivia. I’m only half alive without you.”

      She felt a burst of happiness, and her body seemed so light, so buoyant, she thought she could soar straight up to the stars.

      Jack took her by the shoulders and turned her sideways so he could look her full in the face. “Will you marry me, Olivia?”

      She blinked back tears and nodded. “Oh, yes, Jack.” Then she was in his arms again and he was kissing her with an abandon that sent the blood surging through her veins. This was the beginning for them, a beginning that would last the rest of their lives.

      A small piece of information had been niggling at the back of Roy McAfee’s mind ever since he’d met Hannah Russell. It took him ten days to figure out what it was. Patience almost always paid off; the facts hidden in his memory usually emerged if he gave them time. But now he’d glimpsed the elusive detail and he needed to talk to someone.

      Consequently, he showed up at the sheriff’s office first thing Monday morning. Davis was sitting at his desk and seemed unsurprised when Roy walked into his office.

      “You’re

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