Free The Marrying Man by Barbara Bretton

sorting through boxes of old comic books, doll clothes, and toys. They even looked like they were enjoying themselves. The radio in the corner was on full blast, the puppies were playing with a pair of old baby blankets and two of Taj's kittens practiced their pouncing on shadows cast against the floor.
    The pile of discards was astonishing. Board games, toy trucks, G.I. Joe, even one of Cat's old Barbie dolls. She made a mental note to retrieve Barbie later that night under cover of darkness. Some things, after all, were sacred. She watched, amazed, as Ben tossed his Spiderman Halloween costume atop the pile, followed quickly by Kevin's outgrown hockey skates. Were these the same kids who swore that even used chewing gum might be a collector's item some day?
    "Hi, mom," said Kevin, looking up from his task. "Gonna have a lot for recycling next week."
    She nodded. Tomorrow she'd care about recycling. Right now she only cared about justice. "Where's Riley?"
    "I dunno," her son said. "I thought he was with you."
    She turned on her heel and marched back upstairs, aware of her children's curious whispers.
    "Where are you, McKendrick?" she muttered, peering into the living room, the kitchen, the dining room. A wonderfully delicious thought occurred to her. Maybe he was sprawled across the bed in the guest room, reading Playboy and drinking beer, while the rest of them sorted, color-coded, and alphabetized.  
    She took the stairs two at a time, heart pounding with anticipation. She'd catch him in the act, that's what she'd do, and she'd throw all of his annoying platitudes about schedules and discipline right back in his smug and gorgeous kisser. The thought filled her with glee as she tore down the hallway toward his room.
    She flung open the door to the guest room, ready, willing, and able to face down her adversary but her adversary was nowhere in sight. She stepped inside and tilted her head, listening for the sound of running water from the bathroom but heard only silence.
    Okay, so he wasn't holed up in the guest room with a can of Coors and the latest Playboy. Maybe he was in one of the kids' rooms, sticking those idiotic colored dots on their toys, the organizing tool that was supposed to make it easy to answer the eternal question, "Which one of you left the roller skate on the staircase?"
    She peeked into Kevin and Michael's room. No sign of McKendrick. Same with the room Jack and Ben shared. Jack was sleeping beneath his favorite T Rex bedspread and she pressed her lips to his forehead then smiled. His skin was cool and dry to the touch and she knew it was only a matter of hours until the little boy was back on his feet. Murmuring a relieved prayer, she glanced quickly into Sarah's tiny room then was about to head downstairs when she heard a sound from the one place she hadn't thought to check.
    Her room.
    Righteous fury turned quickly into shock. McKendrick was not only in her room, he was in her lingerie drawer and she'd caught him with the evidence in his hands.

    ***

    Riley supposed it looked pretty bad, what with him standing there with Cat's underwear drawer wide open and her lacy black bra in his but the evidence was purely circumstantial.
    "It's not what you think."
    "Put my underwear down!" Her tone was lethal. "Now!"
    "You don't understand. I--"
    "I understand, all right. I understand you're a filthy skunk with a big problem."
    "The dog did it."
    "You can do better than that, cowboy."
    "Damn right," he shot back, "but I'm telling you the truth. I caught one of your dogs playing with it in the kitchen."
    "You did not."
    "Remember the hall closet," Riley said. "Does it really seem that impossible to you?"
    Her eyes flashed fire. "I don't care how where you found that but stop doing what you're doing right now!"
    "Stop doing what?"
    "That." She pointed toward his hands. "Do you have to hold it that way?"
    The bra cups rested in the palm of his hand. "What's wrong with the way I'm holding it?"
    Her cheeks reddened