Page 3 of Resolution

I frowned, thinking back before it occurred to me. “Hot dogs?”

“Hot dogs!” he said with waytoomuch emphasis. “And they weren’t even chicken,” he said, sounding way too disgusted.

I blanked my expression, remembering the conversation we’d had about hot dogs a few weeks ago. He’d been going on and on about having the guys over for a barbeque once this case was over, which had led to a discussion about the menu. When I’d suggested barbequing hamburgers and hot dogs, he’d practically thrown a fit before listing all the ingredients found in hot dogs…in great detail.

“Wait…in my defense, I wasn’t thinking about the ingredients in them, just that I sometimes liked them in place of bacon in my omelets.”

“At which point I explained to you that they’re primarily made of pig anuses and nipples.”

“They are not.”

“They are too!” His voice rose. “And then two nights ago, when we were watchingThe Incredible Dr. Pol,you almost threw up when you saw what an actual pig’s nipple looked like!”

I shuddered, remembering the horrifying show. “It was…long.”

Raven snorted. “Can wepleaseget off that subject? Just thinking about the way poor Dr. Pol’s whole arm disappeared up the sow’s ass makes me feel like I’ve just spent an evening watching dangerous porn.”

I laughed. “You’re the one who brought it up!”

He ignored me. “But seriously,” he went on. “When we meet Cassidy and Mike, I’m going to have no appetite at all.”

I set my travel mug in the cup holder and pointed at it. “Well, that mushroom shit can just fuck right off.”

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “You really don’t like it?”

“It tastes like Old MacDonald’s barnyard…after a rain.”

He snorted again. “It’s not that bad, and it’s incredibly good for you.”

“If you like dirt,” I shot back. “There’s a word for that.”

“What?”

“Pica. It’s where kids eat dirt just to get the minerals,” I said. “I could never understand why their mothers didn’t just give them a pill.”

“My mother used to give me Flintstones vitamins,” he said.

I turned to find him looking at me with a gleam in his eye and a smile on his lips. “As interesting as that is, it’s probably a good thing. It would have come as a great surprise to find you out in the yard, grazing on the soil.”

He barked a laugh. “The coffee’s not that bad.”

“It’s not that good! In fact, it’s horrible.” I shuddered. “Don’t drink that stuff and expect me to kiss you ever again.”

He dragged his gaze away from the road again as we stopped at a red light. “You wound me, Miguel.”

“If you weren’t driving, I would,” I muttered under my breath.

He cupped his ear, eyes dancing. “What’s that you say?”

“You heard what I said.”

“I did,” he said, giving me a sharp nod as he smiled. “You know…I could tongue kiss you right now, you smooth talker.”

“Right after I find something to wash the taste of this out of my mouth.”

“Fine. If you want to withhold your affection, I suppose I’ll have to accept it.”

I ignored him. “I’m tossing that shit in the trash when we get home. God forbid Dolly drinks any. We’d never hear the end of it.”

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