Husband by Choice

Nope, he wasn’t going to stop sitting up.

* * *

MERI. MERI. MEERRRIII....

She heard the voice. It was an angel. A man? A woman? Just an angel. She was being called home.

Meredith wanted to go home. She was ready, wasn’t she?

She couldn’t have Max, not with Steve still claiming ownership of her. And Steve wasn’t going to let her go. She was no longer afraid.

Not afraid to die.

Home.

Bed.

A big bed. With soft sheets.

She liked the way it looked.

So she floated some more and let herself go....

* * *

MAX WAS STILL doing sit-ups when the phone rang. Grabbing it out of the breast pocket of the purple scrub shirt he’d pulled on after getting home, he pushed the answer button without breaking his rhythm.

Down. Up. He could do it one-handed.

“We’ve got something, Max.”

Down up. Down up.

“One of the cars...they found the only one sold that didn’t match a name and address on the release forms. The company definitely has shady business practices, but they came through in the end. We have the VIN number and license plate.”

Down up. Down up.

“He paid cash, with the agreement that there’d be no paperwork other than the mandatory release form, which only requires an odometer reading. Fortunately for us, the other green car sales over the past months were legitimate, so...”

“Address?” He pushed the word out as he sat up.

“It’s bogus, unfortunately, but he bragged to that old buddy of his that he had a place on the beach, right? We’ve had someone watching months of tape of cams on the public beaches....”

Up. “You know where he is?”

“We have the vicinity. He’s been caught on camera several times at The Santa Raquel public beach. But there are hundreds of homes in the area....”

“Then you need hundreds of people knocking on doors. I’m in.”

Jumping up, he pulled on the jeans he’d exchanged for old sweat shorts sometime during the day. If she thought he was going to stay home when Meri needed him and there was something he could actually do....

“I know you are, hon,” Chantel said, her tone laced with friendly affection. “I’m just around the corner from you. Bailey’s going to stay at your place and you’re coming with me.”

“Okay. Good. I’m ready.”

He said the words. He was tying up his purple high-tops—because purple was Meri’s favorite color—as they spoke.

But he wasn’t sure if he was ready.