Been In Love Before: A Novel Read Online Free Page B

officers. She folded her arms in a sulk, waiting for the officers to do their duty. The senior officer read the court order, folded it, and walked toward the kitchen. Eian sat down at the table to drink his coffee and finish his English muffin while reading the newspaper.
    “I’m sorry to have to do this, Mr. Macgregor. I’m such a big fan of yours, but according to this paperwork, she does have first rights to the property. It doesn’t seem right, making a man move from his own home, but according to this court order, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave, please.”
    Eian wiped his mouth with his napkin and approached the small group assembled in his living room. “I see, Officer. I know you’re just doing your job, but you see, my wife, the late Alice Macgregor, wrote up a life estate trust on this property before she passed away. That means that I can stay here for as long as I live, and no one can make me leave until they carry me out on a stretcher with a sheet over my head.”
    His little grin irritated his stepdaughter, who was fuming at being delayed in her quest to oust him. Eian had never cared for her much. All of Alice’s friends came to visit, but she rarely came to see her failing mother other than call to ask her for money for some project or charity donation she was working on. And, of course, his sweet Alice always obliged.
    “He does have a point, ma’am,” said the older, paunchy cop.
    “That document would allow him to stay here,” continued the younger cop, a short-haired, brown-eyed officer in a heavily starched blue uniform.
    “I don’t believe it. My mother promised me this house before she died. Where is this so-called document, Eian?” she asked defiantly.
    “It’s in my safe-deposit box at the bank, where I keep all of my important papers.” He grinned again.
    “Well, let’s just trot on down there and get it,” she proclaimed with her hands on her hips, now smiling herself, thinking she had called his bluff.
    The older officer interceded. “Ma’am, I’m afraid we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to do that. It’s Sunday, and the banks are closed today.”
    Her face grew redder and redder as she stomped her feet and spun around to leave, her real estate agent running to catch up.
    “I’ll see you tomorrow, Eian. Count on it!” she ranted, and slammed the door shut behind her.
    They all watched her leave until the older cop turned to look at him and smiled. “You don’t have any such paperwork at all, do you?”
    “No, sir, I don’t, but I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of seeing me leave here with my tail between my legs. I’ll be out of here before the morning and then let the lawyers straighten it out; they always do.”
    The younger cop blushed and asked, “Mr. Macgregor, I feel awfully funny asking this . . . but would you mind giving me your autograph?”
    “Sure, I’d be happy to do that.”
    Eian went into his den and pulled out of his desk a promo picture from the local sports radio station he worked for in Boca Raton. In the picture he was wearing his baseball uniform. He signed it for the young cop.
    “Thanks, Mr. Macgregor. Thanks a lot.”
    Eian walked them to the door, and the older cop stopped and asked him, “Why didn’t you ever get your wife to sign something like that? You could have avoided all of this nonsense.”
    “Alice always said she was going to have the lawyers write one up, but I don’t think she ever got around to it . . . and toward the end we had a lot of other more important things to worry about.”
    “I understand, but Mr. Macgregor, as a squatter we can’t force you to leave the property. You have certain legal rights too, you know what I mean?”
    “Yes, I’ll have my attorney deal with her tomorrow.”
    “We won’t have to be coming back here, now will we?”
    “No, Officer, no problems here. Until I talk to my lawyer, I guess I’ll bunk over at my brother Ryan’s house for