Page 23 of Now and Then

“Yeah,” I say, “you’re too far away. Get over here.” I know she’s wanting to overthink this whole situation, but that’s half her problem. Sutton thinks too much.

“Are you sure? We’ve never slept together.”

“We’ve never done a lot of the things we did tonight.”

“Oh god,” she groans, burying her head in the crook of my shoulder. “I am so embarrassed.”

“Don’t be. That was hot as hell.” I lean over and press a chaste kiss to her temple. “Now, let’s try to get some sleep.”

I’m just slipping into the clutches of sleep when her arm runs across and up my body, her hand coming to rest in the middle of my chest. She lets out a sigh and presses a gentle kiss to my shoulder.

I could have been dreaming, but I swear I hear her say, “Oh boy.”

Oh boy is right. She’s kept a firm boundary between us forever, but now that she’s weakened it, there’s no going back.

My fingers hover over the conference room table, sweat prickling at my temples from the memory.

“Hunter.” A voice jolts me. “You okay over there?” Chris, my partner, is beaming at me.

Reality hits like a splash of cold water. “Yeah, I’m good.” I shake my head, clearing the lust. I need to get my head on straight because this case isn’t going to solve itself, and Chief sure as hell won’t wait around while I daydream about Sutton.

“You’re looking a little flushed,” Chris says. “Anything you’d like to share with the class?” Chris barks out a laugh.

I roll my eyes. “None of your business, asshole.” Chris should know by now I’m not the kiss-and-tell type.

Chief calls our briefing to an end, and we head out. When Chris and I step outside, I’m pleasantly surprised to find dark, gray clouds have filled the sky. I love summer, but fall in Suncrest Valley is something else. Soon the trees will transform into embers. I step into the chilled air, putting on my hat and sunglasses.

“Where to?” I open the squad car door and slide in.

Chris is one of our rookies and trained with me before I got promoted. With a little sweet talking, I got Chief to allow me to finish Chris’s probationary year. Lucky for him, he’s getting firsthand detective experience.

“You weren’t listening at all, were you?” Chris sets his coffee tumbler into the cupholder and buckles up.

“Not a bit.” I turn on the ignition and let the car warm up.

“What’s on your mind today?” Chris logs in to our laptop.

“Nothing of your concern.”

“Based on the look on your face, my guess is Sutton Bradley?”

I cut him a warning glare.

“C’mon, man, I know you well enough to know when a certain woman is waging war inside that . . .” He taps his head.

“Am I really that obvious?”

“You both are. So, tell me, what’s new in that department? Everyone’s talking about seeing you both at Big Joe’s and leaving together.”

“We’re always together. That’s nothing new.”

“Apparently, Barbara told Rita who told Janet she might have seen you and Sutton headed down the road to your place.”

“You can always count on Barbara to fuel the gossip train.”

“Facts.” He laughs. “But you know there’s been rumors about you two for years, right?”

“I have heard something to that effect a time or twenty.”