Page 59 of Now and Then

Am I okay?

In the grand scheme, I’m fine. Just stretched thin.

Two days ago, we had a break-in at one of the lake houses. Could have been squatters. Could have been something else. At this point, I’m not leaving anything up to coincidence, not with the narcotics case this close to cracking.

It’s not just work occupying my mind though. A certain redhead commands most of my thoughts. Although, she’s always done that.

Through the corner of my eye, I spy movement at the edge of the meadow, just at the tree line. With how the early morning shadows drape over the landscape, it’s hard to tell if it’s a deer or elk, even through the binoculars. I nudge Luke’s foot and signal to where I’ve spotted the animal.

He looks through his binoculars. “Deer,” he says. He steps away to refill his coffee. “Would you like me to repeat the question?”

“I’m okay,” I tell him.

“Bullshit.”

I pin him with a glare, but his all-knowing grin tells me it’s pointless to resist his prodding. That’s the thing about best friends—they often know you better than you know yourself.

“It’s not bullshit,” I say. “Just got a lot on my mind.”

“Like?” He steps back up to his binoculars and continues glassing the hillside.

“A lot going on with work, Sutton, the house.”

I don’t have to see his face to know he’s grinning again. “Nothing like getting promoted and being thrown right into the flames, huh?” he says.

“Tell me about it.”

“And the house, how’s that coming along?” He shifts his feet side to side, lowering the binoculars and shoving his hands in his pockets.

I roll my eyes. Bastard will never admit he’s freezing too.

“The house is going,” I say. “Sutton swore it’d be simple. But somehow, ripping out the old cabinets turned into refinishing all the wood floors.”

“Remind me never to buy a fixer-upper,” he says.

“I swear to god, though, if I don’t get some decent sleep—”

“You’re staying in the house?”

“For now, yes. It all happened so fast; I haven’t had time to find a temporary place.”

“Wait,” Luke says, “why don’t you stay at my house? There’s plenty of space, and it’s close to your station.”

“I’ll think about it.” There’s no way in hell I’m doing that. Not with him and Greer being up all hours of the night. I’m going to give them their privacy.

“Good.” He steps back and sits in the chair next to me, crossing his ankle over his thigh.

“You know”—he clears his throat—“I meant what I said the other night. Thank you for being there for Sutton. Means a lot.”

“Of course. We’re family.”

“Any new developments in the saga of Sutton and Hunter?” His question feels like he’s jamming a hot poker between my ribs to get to my heart.

“I heard from Chris that she joined a dating app.”

“Oh.” His brow creases. “That’s very un-Sutton.”

“Turns out it was Navy, but I didn’t know that, so I—”