The Deputies: 3 Novella Box Set (2 page)

“We already had breakfast but I could fix you something,” Alyssa offered. “You’re probably hungry.”

Hank bit back a scathing reply. He and Alyssa had thrown off the veneer of civilization the last few months they’d lived together and the habit to be nasty ran deep. They’d said some pretty awful things to one another during those late night arguments. For the sake of their child, Hank needed to keep things on a friendly footing.

Alyssa had never been much of a cook and here she was making herself at home in a place she hadn’t slept in for months. But he was hungry. And tired.

“I could eat,” he admitted grudgingly. “But I can do it myself.”

“Play out here with Luke and Hershey.” She handed the puppy to Hank and headed for the back door. “I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

Determined not to watch the gentle sway of her hips as she walked away, he looked into the squirming dog’s brown eyes. “Hershey, huh?”

“You know, like the chocolate, Dad. Isn’t he great?” his son enthused. “Mom said we can all train him together. Sometimes he has accidents. But he can fetch. Watch!”

Luke threw a tennis ball and Hershey flew after it, barking happily. It was good that the floors in Hank’s house were all wood and tile if the dog wasn’t completely housebroken. Although he wasn’t sure what “together” meant to Alyssa. She’d probably be getting on the road soon once she felt Luke was settled.

Once Hershey had lifted his leg on every tree and bush and wore himself out chasing the now sodden with spit tennis ball, Hank hefted Luke up in his arms and opened the back door. Stomach growling, Hank set Luke back on the kitchen floor and breathed in the heavenly scent of pancakes and sausage.

Since when did his wife make pancakes?

“Luke, give Hershey his breakfast, please,” Alyssa directed. She handed over a bowl filled with kibble and Luke set it next to a large water dish by the back door. The obviously ravenous puppy tore into the food, crunching happily. “Now go wash your hands, please and then go play. You may watch cartoons if you like. Daddy and I need to talk for a few minutes.”

Even though she wasn’t talking to him, Hank headed to the kitchen sink. Both he and his son were covered in canine slobber. He assumed she was sending Luke into the living room so they could talk. About the divorce.

“Sit down and relax.”

Hank was doing the exact opposite. He unbuckled his gun belt and set it up on a high shelf out of Luke’s reach. He’d put it in the gun case after he ate. His wife was acting strangely. She had rarely ever cooked for him and even when she did, she didn’t wait on him. What was going on? Did she want the divorce quickly so she could marry another guy?

Emotions he couldn’t name made his chest painfully tight. He didn’t want his son raised by another man, goddammit.

Settling into a chair, she placed a plate with a stack of pancakes and some link sausages in front of him along with some maple syrup and a fresh cup of coffee. He didn’t ponder her motivations too closely but dug into his meal. The pancakes were light and fluffy and practically melted in his mouth.

A smile he hadn’t seen in a very long time played around the corners of her mouth. “I bet you didn’t think I could make a decent meal.”

He swallowed another mouthful before answering, still unsure as to what was going on. “I didn’t think cooking was something you enjoyed.”

“I’m starting to. Luke has simple tastes, luckily. He doesn’t expect anything gourmet.”

“I’m surprised Louise allows you in her kitchen.” Louise was the Wentworth family cook and had been in their employ approximately two hundred years, give or take, or perhaps she had come with the house. Either way, she’d had definite ideas about who was allowed in her domain and the cosseted Wentworth daughters hadn’t made the grade.

“I don’t live at the estate anymore.”

The simple statement brought Hank up short, almost dropping his fork. He carefully set it on the edge of his plate, the air between them suddenly growing tense.

“That’s a surprise.”

An understatement. He felt like he’d been sucker punched right in the solar plexus.

“You were right, Hank. I needed to separate from Mom and Dad. They were trying to take over raising Luke, interfering with my decisions. I had a small apartment that I sublet for the last six months. Luke didn’t tell you we moved?”

Hank had been careful to always steer the conversations away from anything going on with Alyssa or her family.

“Luke never mentioned it. How does he like it?”

Alyssa leaned forward in her chair, her hands flat on top of the table. It was a habit of hers he knew well. It meant she was about to tell him something she was excited about. “He loves it. There are lots of kids his age to play with and it’s walking distance from the school. But I’m sure he’ll love being here just as much.”

Hank was still trying to get over the fact that Alyssa had moved out of her parents’ home. It was completely out of character.

“Babs and Jim must have been upset when you left.” He couldn’t leave it alone, poking at his festering wounds. Alyssa had never once put Hank’s wishes before her parents’. If they were unhappy about something, she would move heaven and earth to smooth everything over.

She studied her coffee cup. “They were livid, actually. Swore they would cut me off and all that stuff.” She looked up and he could see the determined tilt of her chin. “Mom was acting like Luke was her son and Dad, well, you know Dad. He started making plans for Luke to go to Harvard. I had to do something.”

James Wentworth the fucking Third could go pound sand. If Luke wanted to go to Harvard, Hank would support him in every way. But no one, especially not his pompous father-in-law, was going to railroad Hank’s son into doing anything.

“You should have called me. I would have taken care of that. I know your dad well, remember? He made it clear I wasn’t good enough for his daughter since I didn’t go to Harvard. Or Yale, or even Princeton. The day I met him he told me that only people who couldn’t get into college went into the military. As for being a deputy, he asked why I couldn’t be the sheriff,” Hank said, the bitterness coming through loud and clear. His father-in-law hadn’t thought much of the working men and women who had made him rich.

Alyssa’s lips turned down and her cheeks flushed pink. “I’m sorry about that, Hank. I’m sorry about a lot of things that I didn’t see before. I want to make things right. I want to make them better.”

Hank’s throat was tight and he had to swallow hard to speak. If only she’d said those words a year ago. “Well, it’s water under the bridge now. I’m glad you’ve moved out of the estate.” Hank stood up and put his plate on the counter, his appetite suddenly gone. “Are you okay? Do you need any money?”

It was slightly ridiculous to ask her but Babs and Jim might have actually made good on their threat to cut her off. Instead of a sob story, Alyssa’s face lit up with amusement.

“I got a job. I sold my car and bought a less expensive model.” That explained the modest sedan in his driveway. “I also sold a lot of clothes and jewelry. Added to your monthly checks for Luke and I did okay. I found that I didn’t really need all that much money to live. We don’t go out much or anything.”

“A job? A job?” Hank repeated, sure he must have heard her incorrectly. Alyssa had never worked a day in her entire life. At least not at a paid job. She’d done countless volunteer things for charity but a real live job?

No way.

“I can see I’ve shocked you. Good.” She was smiling now and showing off those dimples in her cheeks he used to trace with his tongue. Maybe it was better when she was frowning and mad at him. “I used my degree in business and got a job in the office at Luke’s school. I worked while he was in class and then he came and hung out with me until quitting time.”

He had forgotten she had an unused college degree that was obtained before they met. She’d graduated Magna Cum Laude so he knew she was smart.

“I guess I am pretty shocked. You never wanted a career before.”

What else had she wanted and never discussed? He was beginning to feel like this woman in his kitchen was an impostor.

Alyssa stood and came to stand in front of him, taking his hands in hers. He felt a shock of electricity run through him as her skin touched his. It had been over a year since he had felt his wife this closely and he didn’t like the way he was reacting.

He wouldn’t go through it all again. After all this time, he felt nothing for her. Nothing at all.

“I didn’t have a clue what I wanted before. I let Mom and Dad orchestrate my life, and you got run over in the process. But I’ve finally figured things out, Hank. I know what I’ve done wrong and what I need to make me happy. Being Luke’s mother has changed everything for me. Things are going to be different from now on.”

She was smiling like everything was okay and it was far from it. Hank stepped back jerking his hands away. He needed to get her out of this house. Now.

“I’m happy for you, Alyssa,” he rasped before turning back to watch Luke playing with Hershey in the living room, cartoons blaring from the television. “It’s about time.”

“Long past time,” she replied dryly before glancing at her watch. “I checked your pantry and fridge and there isn’t a lot there. I probably need to make a trip to the store before the day gets away from me.”

Hank frowned and started rinsing the dishes. “Luke and I will just eat at the diner tonight. I’ve got cereal for breakfast and he’ll eat lunch at my mom’s while I’m at work.”

She simply smiled and gently pushed him away from the sink so she could start loading the dishwasher. “There won’t be any need to put Alice out watching Luke. As for dinner, I’m making a pot roast with carrots and potatoes. Little boys have a hard time sitting still in restaurants.”

“You’re going to be here for dinner?” His voice came out a little strangled and he tried to hide his horror at the thought of her staying all day. They needed to discuss the divorce but shit…all day?

She nodded, her expression completely serene. “Of course I’ll be here for dinner. I’m home, Hank. Home to stay.”

Chapter Two

T
he last several hours hadn’t exactly been a cake walk.

After Alyssa had delivered her bombshell, she’d grabbed her purse and keys and headed for the grocery store. She didn’t want to get into a long and contentious conversation with Hank at that moment.

Of course the discussion was inevitable. She would have to explain everything when Luke went to sleep. And she wanted to do just that. She wanted to explain how everything had gone wrong, and how desperately she wanted to put things right.

How much she loved him.

And she did love Hank Dixon. She might have forgotten it for awhile, and maybe briefly thought her life would be better without him, but it hadn’t been in the least. She’d missed him from the moment she driven away from this house vowing to never return. Being apart from him had been like missing a part of herself and a hundred times as painful.

She had come back older, wiser, and determined to give their marriage a second chance. Now all she had to do was convince Hank she was serious. That she had truly changed.

They had made innocuous small talk during the day and through dinner, but it was Luke’s bedtime now. Their discussion couldn’t be put off much longer.

“Put on your pajamas. Don’t you dare run around naked, young man.” Her son had that adorable yet mischievous expression she had come to know so well. Just looking at his dark hair and eyes, his little chin a smaller version of Hank’s, made her heart ache with love. She’d never really been away from her husband. She’d had his mini-me with her at all times. The two of them were her whole world.

Luke’s eyes lit up with the challenge, his smile wide. Alyssa pushed herself from the floor ready to take after him but the door to the bathroom swung open and Hank swung the wriggling little boy into his arms.

“You weren’t going to streak through the house, were you? I thought you’d outgrown that habit.” The deep timbre of Hank’s voice sent a shiver through her body. It had been so long since she’d been this close to him, and she wished she looked better. More attractive, and less like, well…a mom. She loved being Luke’s mother and wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world, but she looked different than the woman Hank had married. Hell, she felt different too.