The Marriage Profile by Metsy Hingle Read Free Book Online Page B

of the baby that had prompted Archy Wainwright to begin making amends with the Carsons, Hawk and even with his ex-wife, Kate. From what he’d seen the previous night, Justin suspected his parents were well on their way to a reconciliation—three decades after their divorce.
    â€œWell, she never said a thing about any baby.”
    â€œAudrey Lou, why don’t we start over? I take it that that’s not my sister Rose waiting in my office.”
    Audrey Lou blinked, her big brown eyes magnified by the wire-rimmed glasses, reminding him of an owl. “Who said anything about Rose?”
    â€œNo one. My mistake. So who—”
    The phone rang and she grabbed it. “Lone Star County Sheriff’s Office. Audrey Lou speaking.”
    Justin strove for patience as he waited for Audrey Lou to finish the call. She’d no sooner hung up when the phone rang again. When she started to reach for it, Justin grabbed the receiver. “Lone Star County Sheriff’s Office. Hold on a minute. Now,” he said after punching the hold button on the phone, “who am I going to find waiting in my office?”
    The woman gave him a look so stern, he felt like an errant schoolboy who needed to apologize for his poor manners and not the county’s sheriff and her boss.
    â€œThought you just said you was expecting her,” Audrey Lou told him with a sniff.
    â€œAudrey Lou…”
    â€œIt’s your wife.”

Three
    â€œE x-wife,” Justin corrected. “We’re divorced.”
    Angela tensed at the sound of Justin’s voice just outside the door. Despite a sleepless night and the lecture she’d given herself this morning, she was every bit as anxious at the prospect of working with Justin now as she had been when she’d agreed to take the assignment. But even if she could convince the FBI and the police chief to release her from her agreement to work the case, her conscience would never allow her to walk away. That meant she had to face Justin now and try to make him see that this wasn’t about them, but about the welfare of a missing little girl.
    Bracing herself, Angela turned away from the window she’d been staring out of and watched Justin saunter into the room with that same purposeful stride she’d noted the first time she’d set eyes on him. His air of self-confidence had always fascinated her. Perhaps because she’d had so little self-confidence growing up and throughout their marriage. It had only been in the past few years that she’d begun to feel more sure of herself.
    She hadn’t been mistaken in her impressions of him last night, she mused. Age hadn’t diminished Justin’s looks in any way. If anything, he was even more handsome in the slate-gray sheriff’s uniform than he had been the previous evening in the expensive suit. The silver badge pinned on his shirt gleamed beneath the office lights. With his service revolver strapped to his waist and the Stetson in his hand,he could have stepped right off the pages of some slick magazine showcasing lawmen hunks of the Southwest. Right down to the forbidding scowl on his face. She wasn’t sure if that grim set of his lips was due to her presence or to Audrey Lou’s reference to her as his wife. Probably both, she decided.
    â€œFor what it’s worth, I did try to explain that I was your ex-wife,” Angela told him. “And the truth is, I was surprised that Mrs. Cox even remembered me, let alone the fact that we were once married.”
    â€œAudrey Lou’s got a memory like a computer chip,” Justin informed her as he made his way over to his desk. “The woman doesn’t forget anything when it comes to the citizens of Lone Star County. And there’s very little that goes on in this town that she doesn’t know about.”
    The mention of how everyone knew everyone’s business made her smile. “I guess I forgot what a small town