Page 41 of Grimm County Wishes (Grimm County Lawmen #4)

“ A l, we’re going to be late!” Jeannie moaned as her body flooded with heat. Her back was against the shower wall, and Al was on his knees in front of her.

He looked up with a devilish gleam in his eyes. “Then we’ll be late. It’s just a watch party, and it’s not as if we don’t know what happens. Now come on, you can give me another one.” He kissed her inner thigh where her leg rested over his shoulder and dove back into her wet heat.

“Fine, fuck it.” Being on time was overrated, especially when it meant stopping Al’s tongue from working its magic. She threaded her fingers through his hair and pushed him into her before finding her second orgasm of the afternoon.

After patting her dry with a fluffy towel, he carried her to his bed. He worshipped her body slowly, kissing every part of her from her ankle up to her breasts .

Jeannie moaned as her body lit up. “Al, you wouldn’t be trying to butter me up before I watch your season as the country’s most eligible deputy, would you?”

He thrust his hard cock inside her, picking up his pace as he peppered her with kisses. “That depends. Is it working?”

Jeannie laughed. “Maybe. Keep going and I’ll let you know.”

His eyes met hers, and the intensity of the love she saw there set her off again. “I’ll never stop. Not as long as I live, Jeannie-girl.”

***

“She threw up on the carriage ride?” Jeannie twisted in Al’s lap to look into his eyes. They’d just finished watching a special preview marathon of the entire season of Law of Attraction .

“Yep.”

“She didn’t give you a blow job?” Her heart clenched.

After the rescue, she’d made a conscious decision to look forward and not think about any of the past dates Al had been on.

By her own design, they weren’t together at the time, and she’d practically forced him onto the show.

It wouldn’t be fair to hold anything he’d done with the other women against him.

But to know he really hadn’t hooked up with anybody else?

“Nope.”

“That bitch.” She grinned, leaning over to give Al a quick kiss. They were surrounded by their friends, all seated at their favorite table at Susie’s Bar. “Jazz, do you think they can add more time to her sentence?”

“For being a lying cow? Unfortunately, no.”

Victor had pleaded guilty and was serving fifty years for holding multiple women against their will.

Iona had been given one year for aiding him with Jeannie’s capture.

She’d also been the one who’d sent anonymous letters to her clients, causing them to drop her and all the other mishaps Jeannie had endured.

“That was amazing!” Marina sighed as she leaned back in her chair.

Al turned to her and smiled. “I’m sure you recognized some of your lines. Your tutoring sessions saved my ass a dozen times. I couldn’t have made it through without you.”

“And don’t forget about me!” Diane cried. “I pulled the fire alarm and saved you from Iona’s evil clutches.”

Marina giggled. “The whole show was amazing. Definitely the best reality dating show I’ve ever watched.”

“Now Marina,” Rose began. “Are you sure you’re not just saying that because you know the star?

” A small cry came from the baby carrier, and Rose reached over to pick up Isabella.

Nick hadn’t attended the preview party, probably helping Axe with something.

Or he stayed home because he hated these parties.

“No!” Marina said sincerely. “This show had all the classic elements of catfights and crying women which is what we expect. But throw in the host screwing half the contestants, the camerawoman stealing the top pick, and the bachelor going home with his publicist?” She flopped back into her chair.

“It’s going to take me weeks to recover! ”

Initially, Lindsey had been horrified by the turn of events. That is until she saw the extra b-roll footage that Diane had shot. Once she reviewed the tape of all the behind-the-scenes drama, Lindsey dug into the subplots and had already cleared shelf space for her fourth Emmy.

“Well, I definitely owe you a drink,” Al said to her, “or fifty since you also saved Jeannie. What do you want? Margarita? Daiquiri?”

“Oh, water is fine,” she said.

“Water?” Rose asked. “Since when do you turn down … no way!”

Marina grinned and took a sip from her glass.

“Eek!” squealed Snow. “This is so exciting! I can’t wait to finish this term so I can be around all these babies all the time!”

“Does someone want to fill me in?” Diane asked.

“We’re expecting,” Christian said as he returned to the table, maneuvering Marina out of her chair so she could sit in his lap.

The table erupted into cheers as everyone congratulated the couple.

“Thanks, we couldn’t be happier. And we have other good news.” He gave Hunter a pointed look. “It’s done, you can tell them now.” He nodded toward Jeannie and Al.

Hunter grinned and rubbed his hands together. “We didn’t want to say anything before and get your hopes up, but guys, Ben was set up.”

“No shit,” Al said, rolling his eyes. “We’ve always known that.”

Hunter sighed and continued. “But it wasn’t some random boyfriend of his mom’s.

It’s deeper than that. The district attorney was up for re-election, and it was going to be close.

Ben’s conviction gave him the win he needed to grab those final votes.

We suspect he paid Deputy Ingall to plant and magically find the evidence.

Unfortunately, we can’t ask Ingall because he died a few years ago, but the five-thousand-dollar payment to his bank account is suspicious. ”

Christian cleared his throat. “Dad must not have realized what was going on. There’s no way he would have been part of that.”

Jeannie let out a deep breath. “I never realized it was this complicated.”

Christian nodded. “That D.A. is no longer in Grimm County, but he is still practicing. For now. The attorney general plans to bring him up on charges of conspiracy and manufacturing evidence. I’m sure he’ll be disbarred soon, too.

Jeannie squealed. “Al, we have to call the attorney. She needs to know this ASAP.”

“Actually, we’ve been in touch for a while. And,” Hunter grinned, looking at Snow, “you seem to have forgotten, but you have a United States senator on speed dial.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Al asked, looking at Snow.

“Do you want to, like, expedite Ben’s passport or something? That’s sweet, I guess.” Jeannie’s brows furrowed and she twirled a lock from her ponytail. It was a nice idea. He probably would want to travel once he got out.

Snow giggled. “Y’all are such a breath of fresh air. As a senator, I can open doors more quickly than you can and put pressure on people, like the governor, AKA my godfather, to turn the wheels of justice faster.”

“Ohhhh,” Jeannie and Al said together. Jeannie had always thought of Snow as a good friend, and it never occurred to her to ask Snow to use her influence to help her brother.

“After Hunter told me what he suspected, I also reached out to your lawyer. Then I made a few more calls, and long story short, Ben’s record will be expunged, and he’ll likely be getting a nice settlement from the county’s insurance company.”

Jeannie’s mouth dropped, and Al’s eyes filled with tears. Could this really be over? After all this time?

The bar door swung open with a bang and Nick walked in. “Delivery!”

He stepped to the side, revealing a man standing behind him. His beard was scruffy, and his blonde hair was longer than she’d last seen it. There was a haunted look in his eyes that hadn’t been there before, but even still, Jeannie would recognize her brother anywhere.

“Ben!” She jumped from the table and ran into his arms with Al following close behind her.

“Hey, careful guys!” Ben chuckled as he stumbled backward a few steps. The three of them stood there for several minutes, embraced in a group hug that was years overdue.

“And for the record,” Snow called out, “Next time you need help, call me first before doing something crazy like … I don’t know, going on a reality dating show when you’re hopelessly in love with each other.”

Jeannie stepped back, wiping the tears from her eyes. “We’ve got to go home. Like right this second. I need to clean out a path in my spare room so Ben can find the bed.”

“Or,” Al grinned, “you could let him have your room. It’s not like you’ve been sleeping there lately.”

“I do not need to hear that, Al,” Ben said, scrunching his nose. “Don’t you know you aren’t supposed to antagonize the newly released?”

Jeannie rolled her eyes and turned back to Al. “I guess that would work for tonight. But long term we’ll still need to clear out that room.”

“Not if you lived on my side of the duplex.”

“On your side?” Her breath caught. She sort of already did live on his side, but they hadn’t talked about it. Not out loud.

“My tub is bigger.” Al reached for her hand and pulled her close.

“True. But my couches are nicer.”

“But my bed is a king. ”

Jeannie cocked her head to the side. “And you did get that brand new mattress.”

“That’s not all I got.” Al lowered to one knee.

Jeannie gasped and raised her free hand over her mouth.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the diamond ring he’d picked out while in New York, knowing the second he saw it that it’d look perfect on Jeannie’s finger.

“Jeannie, I loved you before I knew what love was. You’ve been my best friend, but more than that, you’ve been the other half of my soul.

When I think of my future, it only works with you in it. Be my forever. Marry me.”

The tears fell from her face. “Are you sure? You want forever with me?”

His eyes glistened as he looked up at her. “I want everything with you.”

“I want that too.”

“Then say yes.”

Jeannie bit her lip, her eyes darting around the room and landing on her brother. Maybe this was bad timing. Maybe they needed to get him settled in first. Maybe—

Ben smiled and nodded, giving her the silent approval she needed.

Relief flooded through her, and she broke into a huge smile. “Yes. Let’s do it. Let’s get married! ”

Al slid the ring over her finger and stood up to spin her in his arms.

Al laughed. “And so you’ll move over to my side now?”

“Well, I mean, you did put a ring on it, so I might as well.”

Jeannie’s phone buzzed in her pocket, and she heard Diane snicker in the background.

She pulled out her phone and groaned. “Damnit Diane!”

“What’s wrong?” Al asked.

Jeannie rolled her eyes. “Lindsey heard about our engagement and offered $30,000 to film the wedding.”

Al grabbed her phone and tossed it into onto the table “Absolutely not, Jeannie-girl. From here on out, other than Grimm County Lawmen , the only filming I want to do is with you, me, and my king sized—“

“My ears!” Ben shouted.

Jeannie laughed. “Agreed. And no more selfies and promos either. Just you and me, Aloysius.”

“Just you and me, Jeanine.” Al grabbed Jeannie and dipped her into a deep kiss.

THE END