The First Wife by Erica Spindler Read Free Book Online Page B

“Are you going to write me a ticket?”
    “I’ll let you off with a warning. This time.” He leaned down so close she saw her
     reflection in his mirrored sunglasses. “But I suggest you get that license changed.
     That is, if you plan to be around awhile.”
    “I do, Officer. Thank you.” If he heard the acid in her tone, he didn’t let on.
    He held out her documents. She went to grab them, but he didn’t let them go. “Did
     he tell you about True?”
    “Excuse me?”
    “I bet he only told you what he wanted you to hear.”
    Angry heat stung her cheeks. “If there’s nothing else, Officer—”
    “Or maybe only what you wanted to hear. Him being such a catch and all.”
    She caught her breath, shocked. “You’re out of line, Officer.”
    “You look like her.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “She and I were friends. Does that surprise you?”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    He released his grip on the documents and she snatched her hand away. “You figure
     it out, Mrs. Abbott. And while you’re at it, grab yourself a copy of our local paper
     up at Faye’s. I think you’ll find it interesting.”
    Any vestige of the easygoing, Southern good ole boy was gone. He was a cop on a mission,
     with a gun and badge and every threat that went along with it.
    But was that threat directed at her? Or Logan?
    “What’s your name, Officer?”
    He straightened. “I suggest you be careful, ma’am. Real careful.”
    He was a bully, she decided. One of those cops who liked to push people around. Use
     his badge to intimidate. Make himself feel powerful.
    She wasn’t about to be intimidated by this small-minded, small-town cop. The chip
     on his shoulder was his problem, not hers.
    She leaned her head out the open window. “I asked your name, Officer.”
    He stopped, looked back. “Billy Ray Williams. Chief of police.” He smiled and tipped
     his hat again. “Have a good day, Bailey Abbott.”

 
    CHAPTER EIGHT
    Bailey watched the lawman stroll back to his cruiser and climb in. A moment later,
     he was going around her, lifting his hand in a wave. As if they were old friends.
    Her hands were shaking. She sucked in a deep breath, working to calm herself. He hadn’t
     overtly threatened her or Logan. Yet the encounter had unnerved her.
    She shifted into drive, and eased back onto the road. It hadn’t been the badge and
     gun, nor the way he’d gotten in her face, that bothered her. It was the animosity
     he felt toward her husband. And his innuendos. That Logan was keeping secrets from
     her. That she didn’t know the whole story about True.
    He and True had been friends, he’d said. Almost defiantly. In challenge. But not a
     challenge to her. To Logan.
    “And while you’re at it, grab yourself a copy of our local paper at Faye’s. I think
     you’ll find it interesting.”
    Faye’s. One of two restaurants in Wholesome, a diner Logan had said served the best
     biscuits and sausage gravy anywhere. Up ahead Bailey saw the sign announcing the Village
     of Wholesome. She smiled to herself. Okay, Big-Chief Billy Ray. Challenge accepted.
    Bailey didn’t have far to go; Faye’s was located on the main drag, just past the town’s
     only traffic light. The building—a low-slung, beige brick box, picture window dotted
     with flyers—had nothing outstanding to commend it. Except the food, which the sign
     in the window assured was Real Good . As did the nearly full parking lot, with its collection of dusty pickup trucks and
     SUVs.
    Bailey entered the restaurant. The bell above the door jingled her arrival and conversation
     paused as every head swiveled in her direction.
    Apparently, she had found the place to see and be seen in Wholesome.
    “Seat yourself wherever there’s room!” the waitress called. “I’ll be with you in a
     shake.”
    Bailey picked her way to a small table in a far corner. Once seated, she took in the
     surroundings. Homespun. Basic. Formica tabletops matched the scarred Formica