Free Brody by Susan Fisher-Davis

slamming the door behind him. Brody took his glasses off, tossed
them on the kitchen counter, and pinched the bridge of his nose. Striding to
the bedroom, he undressed and then headed into the bathroom to take a shower.
He should still be in bed with Madilyn. It had been so good, just as always. He
was getting hard thinking about her again. Damn
it! He punched the wall and then swore again, when he hurt his hand. After
his shower, Brody wrapped a towel around his waist, and entered the bedroom.
After pulling on a pair of sweat pants, he walked to the living room, sat on
the sofa, and watched television. It was going to be a long night.

 
    * * * *

 
      Wilson Delgado sat in the car keeping an
eye on the apartment Madilyn Young lived in. U S Marshal Brody Morgan
apparently wasn’t coming back tonight. Lover’s quarrel? He snorted. It really didn’t matter. He was going to take Madilyn Young away
from Morgan just as Morgan had taken Abby away from him. His fist hit the
steering wheel. Brody Morgan was going to pay for making him kill his wife. His wife who Morgan slept
with. Delgado killed his wife because she’d screwed around with Morgan
and Morgan arrested him, but it was never proven Delgado killed her so he was
let go. He’d hired the best private detective money could buy to find out all
he could about Morgan’s past and where he could’ve gone. Now, here he sat in a
rinky-dink town biding his time. He had no desire to kill Morgan. No, that
would be entirely too easy. He’d take away the one thing Morgan loved more than
his own life. Madilyn Young.

 
    * * *
*

 
    Monday
morning came entirely too early for Madilyn. She had to open the shop. Kaitlyn
would be in later. Madilyn tossed and turned any time she tried to sleep over
the weekend. Damn Brody Morgan. He hadn’t even called. What was that all about?
He should’ve called to apologize again. Sighing, Madilyn left her apartment and
walked to the shop. It was going to be another scorcher and working in the
greenhouse was going to be murder. She unlocked the shop and turned the lights
on. It wouldn’t open for another hour but she wanted to get started on the day.
There were quite a few tourists in town. Madilyn knew they’d eventually head
for the greenhouse since they seemed to go into every store in town. The
proprietors didn’t seem to mind though. It brought in business.
      An hour later, she headed toward the door
to unlock it, and saw Brody standing on the other side. She stopped in her
tracks and glared at him through the glass. He glanced away from her and she
was sure it was to hide a grin. Madilyn unlocked the door but blocked the
doorway.
    “We’re
not open yet.”
    “I
believe the hours on the door show you open at ten.” He glanced at the watch on
his wrist. “And according to my watch. It’s a minute
after.”
    Sighing,
she held the door open for him. He strode in past her. She closed her eyes. He
smelled fantastic. “What do you want Brody? I have a lot to do.”
    “I want
to buy some flowers.”
      Her heart hit her stomach. He was buying
flowers for another woman already. She spun on her heel, moved behind the
counter, and picked up her pen. “What kind?”
    “The
kind that say I was an ass and I’m sorry,” he said
quietly.
    Her
head snapped up. “You’re going to need a lot of flowers for that.”
    “Money
is no object. She’s worth it.”
    Madilyn
moved around the counter and stood in front of him. “Is she?”
    Brody
reached out and took a few strands of her hair between his fingers. “Yes, she
is.”
    “You
had no right asking me such a question.”
    He
huffed. “I know. It just came out.” He shrugged. “Thinking of you with him made
me jealous.”
    “I’ve
never slept with Zach.”
    “What?”
Brody narrowed his eyes at her.
    “You
just assumed it. You know what they say about assuming.” Madilyn bit her lip to
keep from smiling.
    “You
dated him for almost a year.”
      “And not once did he