Marrying Mike...Again Read Online Free PDF Page B

she could trust.
    “Yeah,” he said abruptly. “What the hell. We’ll track the kid down and do a full background report. If he’s in the system, we could have it to you by the end of the day. Then you can approach him to your heart’s content. Outreach away.”
    “Thank you.”
    He shrugged. “It’s the job.”
    “Sure it is.”
    “No, honey, it’s the job.”
    “Mike, it’s been four years. We’re divorced. I know you don’t owe me anything, okay. I got it.”
    The outburst was too defensive, and shamed them both into silence. Mike’s gaze dropped to the floor. Sandra felt simply humiliated. Fifteen minutes into her first conversation with Mike, and she already sounded angry and hurt. She had to bite her bottom lip to keep from sighing heavily.
    Mike said abruptly, “Nice meeting this morning.”
    “Yeah? You think I alienated everyone? I was trying very hard to.”
    “I think you can consider yourself a success.” His gaze came up; he wore a reluctant grin. “You always did have style, ma chère. ”
    “Thanks.” She bounced her pen against the desk. “So what’s the pool at?”
    “The pool?”
    “You know, the ‘how many weeks until I run screaming from the office’ pool.”
    “Oh ma chère, we’re not counting weeks.”
    “Days?”
    “Hours, honey. Hours.”
    “Ah, hence the new nameplate.” While she’d been meeting with the lieutenants, someone had thoughtfully taken down the Bitch plate. Someone else had thoughtfully replaced it with a new four-letter word. One that was far worse.
    Mike looked troubled again. “I’ll take that down on my way out.”
    “Don’t bother. They’ll just put up another.”
    “Well, maybe I could pass the word around—”
    “Not your war to fight.”
    Mike’s jaw clenched. “No,” he said after a second. “I suppose it isn’t. You know, Chief, maybe it shouldn’t be war. Maybe going head to head only guarantees that you’ll lose. So some of these boys are rough around the edges. So Rusty likes to mouth off. He’s still a good cop. Give him a little ground now, maybe you’ll get it back later.”
    “You’re blind to Rusty, Mike. He doesn’t just mouth off. He believes what he says.”
    “He’s a good cop—”
    “He’s a racist, sexist, egotistical pig, and I’m not just speaking from past experience. For God’s sake, he’s carrying a gun in the name of the law, not selling life insurance.”
    “Is that really why you hate him, Sandy, or is it simply ’cause he’s my partner?”
    She drew up short. So did Mike. He exhaled first. “Sorry,” he acknowledged. “Shouldn’t have gone there.”
    “I think we have to agree to disagree on that subject,” she said stiffly.
    “Yeah. Maybe we should make a list, all the things we aren’t allowed to talk about during these meetings.”
    “Then the meeting would be too short.”
    “Yeah, yeah.” His lips twisted. “Ah, hell.”
    He drifted into silence, and Sandra understood how he felt. She was trying her best, too, and it was still hard not to hit old buttons. Or escape old memories and emotions. Everything had always been so tangled between them. Love and war, passion and pain. So unbelievably good inside the bedroom. So completely incapable of carrying on a simple conversation outside of it.
    Sandra had hoped four years would be enough time to put things behind them. She’d been wrong.
    “Sandy, how are you? I mean, how are you? ”
    “I’m—I’m okay. And you?”
    “Fine.” He shrugged, smiled wryly. “You know me. Always fine.”
    She smiled. Yes, fine was definitely Mike’s favorite word. “And your family?”
    “Good. Chris is getting married. The last Rawlins to go. He found himself a naval pilot if you can believe that. The woman can not only out throw him on the football field, but she can also fly rings around him. So far we’re threatening to accept her into the family and kick him out.”
    “I can imagine.” Mike’s family had threatened to kick her