Second Time Around Read Free Page A

watched Duncan scoop his clothes off the floor and hang them neatly in the closet.
    “Did you take her to a motel?”
    Duncan nodded. “I offered to take her to the airport, but she refused. What are you drinking?” He pointed toward the glass perched on the edge of the tub.
    “Scotch.”
    “How much have you had?”
    “Only what’s missing from the glass.”
    Duncan eyed the contents, apparently satisfied that he wasn’t half soused. “How about water and a couple of muscle relaxers instead?”
    “Scotch,” Quinn repeated firmly. “You know I hate those damn pills.”
    “Why the hell do you pay me if you aren’t going to listen to a thing I say?” Ignoring Quinn’s words, he went to a small fridge in the corner and took out a bottle of water.
    On his way back, he snagged a bottle of pills. “Take them and stop being stupid. You know the scotch isn’t going to help, and there’s no one here you have to put on an act for.”
    Quinn eyed them warily, but finally held out his hand and let Duncan drop the medication into it. After five years, he knew better than to argue. There may have only been a slight difference in their ages, but Duncan took his job seriously. He could be a real tyrant when he thought Quinn was overdoing it. That Quinn let him get away with it spoke volumes about their relationship. If it hadn’t been for Duncan, he would probably be in a wheelchair now. Or worse. He was the physical therapist who bullied, 1browbeat and forced Quinn into walking when all he’d wanted was to die. He owed Duncan a lot more than the hefty salary he paid him.
    “How long have you been in there?” Duncan gestured at the whirlpool.
    “About twenty minutes.” He swallowed the pills and washed them down with the cold water, letting his head fall back on the tub rim as he waited for the drug-induced floating sensations to begin.
    “Why don’t you climb out and let me massage that leg. It might help.”
    “Help?” Quinn opened his eyes. “I’m afraid the only way you’ll be able to help this time, Dunc, is if you can change the past.”

1Chapter Two
    Quinn swiveled his chair restlessly as the lawyers went over the papers yet again.
    They had been at it for hours now. Even his father was making impatient noises.
    “This is a disaster.” Franklin Delaney, Chief Counsel for McAllister
    Pharmaceuticals, raked a hand through his thick brown hair.
    Light sparked from the gold etched pen Quinn toyed with, casting tiny rainbows across the ceiling. “I don’t see why I can’t hop a plane and get a quick divorce. No muss, no fuss.”
    “Use your head, Quinn. Five years have passed. You’re the CEO and one of the largest stockholders of a major corporation. If Lanie wants to make trouble it’s conceivable she could wind up owning half the business.”
    “How?” He glanced at his father, sitting silent at the other end of the table, gnarled hands curled around the head of his cane.
    “You haven’t cohabited for five years. She can claim abandonment, and that’s not all. There hasn’t been a week your picture hasn’t shown up in the newspaper with some woman or other. How hard do you think it will be for her to prove infidelity? I’m telling you, if she takes this to court, she’ll win, and she’ll win big.”
    “What about her infidelity? She told me she was in love with this guy, for God’s sake.”
    “One man.” The lawyer held up a finger to emphasize his point. “We’d have to prove she’s sleeping with him, and that he’s not the first.”
    “Lanie wants a fast divorce. Why should she fight it?”
    The sound of Franklin grinding his teeth together was audible throughout the room. “You aren’t listening to me, Quinn. There’s just too much of a legal tangle that has to be ironed out before the divorce can even get started.”
    Edward McAllister stirred, his gaze fixed on Franklin. “What about the McAllister Ranch? It was given to her free and clear when the divorce became final.