Page 64 of Need You
Carrie Jo came in his office, carrying a large cup of coffee. “Rachel Johnson was soooooo disappointed that it was me instead of you. Why don’t you ask that lovely woman out on a date? Oh yeah, I forgot. You’re too busy not dating Delaney Scott.”
“Thanks for the coffee, Carrie Jo. Now go away.”
She sat in the chair next to his desk and peeked at his computer. “What are you doing?”
“Police work. What are you doing, besides bothering me?” He looked up from his computer and she stuck her tongue out at him. “Real mature.”
“What’s got you in such a foul mood today? Could it be that you haven’t gotten laid since Lisa left?”
“Boundaries, Carrie Jo. Boundaries.”
“Oh my God, you haven’t, have you?”
“What do you think?” He cocked his brows as if daring her to argue with him. Of course he’d gotten laid, just not as often as he would have liked given his self-imposed twenty-mile rule or the fact that he liked his sex to be more meaningful than a quick roll in the hay. “TJ coerced me into taking a group of senior citizens on a sunrise hike in the state park before coming to work. As if I don’t have enough to do.”
“At least it was good exercise, right?”
He shot her a look. “If you consider a forty-minute mile in the hot sun exercise. Two of the participants had walkers.”
She giggled. “Oops. Well, it must’ve been nice getting out in nature.”
“No, it robbed me of my morning run, which you and I should be doing together.”
“Uh-uh. You’re too hard on me. I have to do it at my own pace.”
Colt didn’t want to push it, otherwise she would accuse him of thinking she was fat. Which he didn’t. He thought she was great the way she was.
Jack knocked and let himself in. “Heard about the bar brawl. Those yahoos planning to pay Boden restitution?”
“Sounds like it,” Colt said. “I was hoping for a quiet summer.”
“Good thing summer’s almost over.” Not really. In northern California summer bled into September—and sometimes even October—weather-wise. The tourists would at least go home and Glory Junction wouldn’t get its next wave of them until the first snow. “Speaking of, you think we should take the new kayak out for a test run, see if the thing even holds water. Get it? Holds water?”
Jack was the only one who laughed at his own stupid pun. Colt didn’t miss the fact that Jack seemed to ham it up around Carrie Jo. He didn’t think Miss Former Homecoming Queen would look twice at Jack, which was a shame. Jack might not be the slickest or the handsomest, but he was one of the best men Colt knew. Steady and solid. The kind of guy you’d want at your side in a bad situation. Besides, they’d both been burned by love. Carrie Jo’s husband had been catting around on her for years, and Jack’s longtime girlfriend had dumped him right around the time Lisa had left town.
The police station had not been a fun place during those dark days.
“Yup,” Colt responded. “Let’s try for lunch if all stays quiet.”
“You want to come, Carrie Jo?” Jack asked.
“Nope, I’m going to CrossFit with Foster.”
Colt doubted that would last but wanted to stay supportive.
“I’ll do CrossFit with you guys,” Jack said. “Is it every Thursday?”
“And Tuesday. But don’t try to show me up, Jack.” Carrie Jo smiled at him and Jack turned red.
“I won’t.”
Colt wanted to tell him to get a grip. “Are you going to CrossFit or are we taking the kayak out?”
“We’ll take the kayak out and I’ll go to CrossFit on Tuesday,” Jack said.
“All right. Let’s hope the next few hours are noneventful.”
Jack and Carrie Jo left his office and Colt tried to get some work done. At around ten, he figured it was late enough to call Delaney. He got her voice mail and left a message.
