The Texas Lawman's Woman

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  Shelley tensed. “That was then. This is now.”

  Tully narrowed his gaze. “Then you really have changed, because the Shelley I married never would have come back here.”

  Who was the “Shelley” that Tully Laffer had married? Colt wondered.

  “The Shelley you married no longer exists. She had the stardust stamped out of her eyes a long time ago.”

  Well, that was true, Colt conceded. There was a cold practicality in her now, when it came to romance anyway, that had certainly not been there when she was a teenager.

  Tully scowled. “Look, I tried to get the money to stop the foreclosure. I just couldn’t. Times are tight, you know? So do us both a favor and stop being so damn cynical and acting like I did any of this to hurt you!”

  “I have every right to be cynical!” Shelley countered bitterly, tears shimmering in her pretty eyes. “Because of what you did, Austin and I are about to lose our home!”

  Tully shrugged. “Well, there’s nothing anyone can do about that now.”

  “Actually, there are remedies for this,” Colt interjected. “All Shelley has to do is file a criminal complaint with the sheriff’s department. The district attorney will take it from there.”

  For the first time, Tully began to appear nervous. Although, he had to know he was in big-time trouble, Colt reasoned. Otherwise, why else would the loser have driven all the way out to Laramie to talk to Shelley face-to-face? Unless Tully was hoping to charm and finagle his way out of this?

  “Now, now, there’s no need for that,” Tully huffed.

  Colt clenched his jaw. “I disagree.”

  Tully turned his attention back to Shelley. “Look,” he cajoled, beseeching her with puppy dog eyes, “I know I did wrong and I want to fix it. I just need a little more time.”

  Like hell he did, Colt thought furiously.

  “Yeah, well, I need a hundred and fifty thousand dollars to pay back the bank, Tully, before they evict me out of my home!”

  Tully scoffed. “They’re not really going to do that.”

  “The property is set to be surrendered nine days from now,” Colt pointed out. “It’ll be auctioned seven days after that.”

  “How do you know?” Tully demanded.

  “I served her the eviction papers.”

  Her ex looked affronted. “Well, then, that just shows what kind of friend you are,” he scolded Colt. “You should have misplaced them.”

  Colt shook his head disapprovingly. “That’s not the way the world works, Tully.”

  The other man flashed a smug grin. “It can be.”

  Refusing to be charmed into taking an easier stance, Shelley shot daggers at Tully. “Do whatever you need to do. But I expect repayment, Tully—in full. Or I promise you’re going to be facing more than just me in court.”

  “Okay, okay.” He raised his hands in self-defense. “I’ll track down my parents...and see what I can do.” Then he walked away.

  Shelley leaned back against the brick alley wall. She looked exhausted, which was no surprise, given all she had been through.

  “You’re wasting your time, putting any faith in him,” Colt warned.

  She slanted Colt an unhappy look. “Normally, I would agree with you, but right now I don’t have a choice. I need this resolved and his parents have money. Lots of it.”

  Colt’s parents had lots of money, too. But it didn’t mean they bailed out their children when their offspring should be standing on their own two feet. “Didn’t you say the Laffers had cut Tully off?” Colt leaned a shoulder against the wall, facing her, his back to Main Street.

  “Well, what would you have me do?” Silky auburn hair tumbled across her shoulders as she swiveled to face him. “Actually go to the D.A. and file criminal charges against Tully for fraud?”

  “That is what happened, isn’t it?” Colt challenged.

  Shelley sucked in an indignant breath. “Look, Colt, I wouldn’t expect you to understand...”

  “Oh, I understand,” Colt retorted, bitterness knotting his gut as an onslaught of unwelcome memories assailed him. “Better than you know.”

  Shelley came closer. “What are you talking about?”

  Now that she was living back in Laramie, Colt figured Shelley would hear bits and pieces of the story anyway. “Yvette came close to marrying someone else before we got together. They broke up because he was cheating on her with another woman. I never imagined she would want the guy back.”

  “But she did,” Shelley guessed.

  Colt nodded slowly.

  “How long were the two of you married?” she asked, searching his face.

  “Three years.” The compassion in Shelley’s gaze helped him go on. “And in all that time, they never totally stopped having contact with each other. At first, they were arguing about possessions, and who got what, and who was supposed to pay the final light bill on the place they had rented together. Stuff like that.”

  “But eventually that kind of thing has to end...”

  “You would think,” Colt agreed. “But it didn’t. Her ex would accuse her of anonymously saying something bad about him on Facebook. She was sure she had left a pair of her earrings in the glove compartment of his car and wanted him to look for them.” Colt exhaled wearily. “It was always something. Anything to keep them communicating on one level or another.”

  Shelley watched him with an expectant air. “When did Yvette realize she still loved her ex?”

  Colt grimaced. “About the same time I found them in bed together.”

  “Oh, my God. Colt.” Sympathy radiated in her soft eyes. “What did you do?”

  The only thing he could at that point and keep his self-respect. “I moved out, hired a lawyer and got a divorce.” Colt shook his head in remonstration, recalling, “The irony of it was, once they had their reunion, they decided they weren’t meant to be after all, so Yvette asked me to take her back.”

  Shelley’s expression turned stormy. “Tell me you didn’t!”

  He hadn’t even been tempted. “You either love someone or you don’t...and I had no interest in going down that road again.” The question was, did Shelley?

  She touched his arm lightly. Her fingers felt gentle and delicate on his skin. “Your situation was horrible.”

  It sure as hell had been.

  “Mine is different.”

  Colt lifted a skeptical brow. “Really?”

  “Tully and I haven’t had any contact with each other in over two years,” Shelley explained. “Since our divorce was finalized, there has been zero communication—and there was very little in the months before that.”

  Colt wanted to trust her on this, but past experience made him wary. “And yet the moment you reach out to Tully, he shows up in Laramie. Even though it was, what? Probably a two-hundred-mile drive for him?”

  “Tully probably thought he’d have better luck charming me in person than on the phone. It did not work.” She glared at Colt. “I meant what I said to him. I’m going to tell the bank the truth about what happened, and I’m going to get my money back.”

  “Then why not go to the district attorney now? Especially since you and I both just heard Tully admit that he knew full well the property was not his to use as collateral and hence was being erroneously foreclosed on?”

  “Because I don’t want Tully to go to jail. I don’t want to have to one day tell my son that I filed the complaint that put his biological father in prison.” She sighed heavily. “My son is too young and innocent to realize it now...but one of these days, he’s going to start asking questions about why he doesn’t have a daddy. And that’s going to be tough enough without me making things even uglier.”

  “So you’ll do what?” Colt asked in frustration. “Just let the two of you be thrown out of your home?�
��

  Shelley folded her arms in front of her. “It’s not going to come to that.”

  “Now who is fooling themselves?”

  Shelley’s jaw set. “With Liz’s help, I’ll make everyone involved understand how unfair all this is.”

  Colt bit down on an oath, then warned, “Fairness and legality are two different things, Shelley.” A fact that was hammered home to him in the course of his job every single day.

  She thrust out her soft, kissable lower lip. “In this case, they are going to have to be the same.” Colt certainly hoped her assertion was correct. Otherwise, she had a world of hurt ahead of her.

  Chapter Five

  “Honestly, Colt McCabe!” Charlene Zellecky fumed as she and Colt walked out of the courtroom, right behind the New York couple whose SUV had been totaled in the wreck. “What in the world has gotten into you?”

  Privately admitting he felt like a heartless bastard at the moment, Colt cut a glance toward Charlene’s elderly father. His head bowed in shame, tears of humiliation still streaming from his eyes at the tongue-lashing he had received from the judge, Mr. Zellecky disappeared into the men’s room to compose himself.

  In contrast, the New York couple who had escaped physical—if not financial—injury, seemed happy with the result. They had insisted to the judge that the instigating driver be taken off the streets. The prosecutor had concurred. Eventually, so had the judge.

  Charlene continued furiously, “There was absolutely no need to haul my father into court and have his driver’s license suspended! You could have just asked my dad to bring his license to the station and surrender it, and he would have done it. And darn it all, Colt, you know that!”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Colt caught internal affairs officer Ilyse Adams watching the exchange. Since the complaint against Colt had been filed, it seemed the investigator had been dogging his every move, including his appearance in traffic court that morning.

  Colt turned his attention back to Mr. Zellecky’s daughter. Although he privately agreed with her, publicly he had a job to do. “The law applies to everyone, no matter what the circumstances,” he stated calmly. “Like the prosecutor said, your dad is lucky he didn’t kill himself or someone else that night...”

  Charlene drew a breath and ran a hand through her short silver-streaked hair. “I’m not disputing what happened was absolutely horrible, Colt. But to bring my father up on criminal charges, when you know how bad he already feels, and that he’s already apologized—in person—to everyone involved in the accident, even if they won’t ever accept his mea culpa.”

  She cast a scathing look at the New York couple leaving the courthouse, then turned back to Colt. Tears glimmered in her eyes. “The fact is, you publicly humiliated my dad, and you didn’t need to. And I can’t forgive you for that! Softest heart in the department, indeed!” Charlene caught up with her dad. Together, they headed for the exit. The older man’s head remained bowed in shame. Watching them depart, Colt felt all the worse.

  Ilyse Adams approached Colt. The staid brunette inclined her head toward the closed courtroom doors. “Good job testifying in there.”

  “I stated the facts.” It didn’t mean he felt good about putting an aging diabetic with a sick wife through the wringer. Especially when Mr. Zellecky was known to be a pillar of the community. So the guy had made an error in judgment by getting behind the wheel when he knew he was having problems regulating his blood sugar and medication. He hadn’t set out to behave in an irresponsible fashion. In fact, it was just the opposite.

  Investigator Adams studied Colt as if he were a specimen under a microscope. “Just so you know. We’ve decided to extend the investigation to every case you’ve handled for the last year.”

  Because they found something, or because they didn’t? Colt wondered.

  There was no clue in Investigator Adams’s expression as she continued, “We’re looking for any other places where you might have skirted procedure to reach a speedy—if ill-gotten—conclusion that unwarrantedly favors local residents.”

  Still sure he’d done nothing wrong, Colt nodded tersely. “Let me know if you have any questions.”

  “I’m sure I will.”

  That was the hell of it. Colt was sure Investigator Adams would, too. Especially since her job also seemed to be on the line. With more people questioning her worth to the department by the day.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Colt saw Shelley and attorney Liz Cartwright-Anderson walk through the metal detectors near the entrance. Colt dismissed the investigator with a glance. He’d seen little of Shelley the past five days and wanted to catch up. “Excuse me. I have to talk to a friend.”

  Colt intercepted Shelley before she could go inside the courtroom.

  Before he could ask her about her hearing with the judge—slated for that very morning—Shelley regarded him with a mixture of sympathy and wary surprise. “I just ran into the Zelleckys. Is it true Mr. Zellecky was charged with vehicular assault? A felony?”

  Colt nodded. That had been, as Shelley seemed to realize, the district attorney’s call. “It was pleaded down to reckless driving, a misdemeanor.”

  “With a one year loss of license, a two hundred dollar fine and fifty hours of community service!” Shelley looked distraught.

  Colt knew how she felt. It did seem harsh under the circumstances. He had no doubt others would think so, too.

  Luckily, with the exception of Charlene, people weren’t blaming him for the situation’s outcome.

  Before he could comment, however, three teenagers walked out of traffic court. Colt had dealings with the high school seniors before, earlier in the spring.

  “It wasn’t your fault you blew through that stop sign.” Hector patted his friend Jasper on the back. “You just didn’t see it.”

  “Good thing you’re eighteen and had the money to pay the fine on your own,” their friend Ryan continued. “Otherwise, your parents would have found out, because they would have had to go to court with you.”

  Hector frowned. “Won’t they still know when Jasper’s insurance goes up?”

  “Yeah, but by then I’ll be off at college. Oh, hi there, Deputy McCabe.” His troubles momentarily forgotten, Jasper winked, amending, “I mean Officer Cool.”

  Shelley shot Colt a curious look.

  He shrugged, not wanting to get into it.

  Still grinning, the boys mock-saluted Colt and sauntered off, still talking about their recent misadventure.

  Liz tugged on Shelley’s arm. “Our case is up next. Let’s go.”

  Hating to see Shelley face such an ordeal alone, Colt offered, “I was officially off duty as soon as my appearance ended. So...I’m here if you want moral support.”

  Shelley shot him a grateful glance. Friendship was so much safer than what they had been heading toward. Still, she felt a jolt of electricity course through her when she reached over and squeezed his hand. “Thanks, Colt. At this point, I’ll take all I can get.”

  Together, the three of them walked into the courtroom. Liz and Shelley settled at the plaintiff’s table. Colt took a seat in the back.

  Judge Atticus Warfield listened intently as Liz presented the petition that the foreclosure of 903 Spring Street be vacated. “As you can see, Your Honor, according to the divorce settlement, my client owns the Meyerson home she inherited from her parents, free and clear. The title should have been changed to her name only at the time of the divorce. Unfortunately, it wasn’t, and that legal snafu allowed Tully Laffer to improperly use the property as collateral for a one hundred and fifty thousand dollar business loan he took out, and later defaulted on.”

  “Please continue,” the judge directed when the lawyer took a moment too long to catch her breath.

  “Certainly, Your Honor.” Liz delicately cleared her throat.
“Subsequent notifications went to my client’s former marital address, and were signed for by her ex-husband on their mutual behalf. She had no knowledge of any of this until the eviction notice was served at the property where she and her two-year-old son are currently residing. Had she known about any of this, she would have taken steps to rectify the situation immediately.”

  The judge removed his glasses. “That’s really the point, isn’t it, Counselor?” Judge Warfield turned to Shelley. “That you didn’t perform your own due diligence.”

  Uh-oh, Colt thought. The tough as nails jurist was at it again.

  “From what I can discern here in the documents you and your attorney have presented to me, your ex-husband’s financial shenanigans have been going on for some time. Hence, you should have checked to make sure all the paperwork was in order at the time your marriage ended. Certainly, it was your duty to know what was happening with your property at all times, whether you were living in Laramie or not.”

  Shelley blanched. She, too, could see the way this was going, Colt thought, his heart going out to her.

  “I know that, Your Honor,” Shelley stammered.

  “But you did not act as a conscientious property owner. So, now you have to take responsibility.” Judge Warfield put his glasses back on. “Your argument is with your ex-husband, Ms. Meyerson. Not the bank that foreclosed on the property to collect on the substantial debt he racked up. So I suggest you take the matter up with Tully Laffer.” The judge banged his gavel. “Case dismissed!”

  Shelley walked out into the hallway, and Colt was right behind her. She looked white as a ghost. “I thought for sure Judge Warfield would order an injunction and stop the eviction!” she lamented to her attorney.

  Liz shook her head, clearly disappointed, too, although she had made it clear from the get-go that stopping anything at this late stage of the game was not likely to happen.

  “What can we do now?” Shelley asked as they walked out into the marble floored hallway. She sank down on a bench and then gestured to Colt, indicating he should be privy to this conversation, too.