I pshawed. “I’ve seen smarter buckets of rocks.”
“As far as Hawke knows,” Natalie said, resting her hands on his chest, “I’m still on my sabbatical. I’ll be sure to remind him of that if he tries to make a move on me.”
Cooper stared at her. “Don’t you get it, Nat? Your sabbatical is a challenge.”
“Oh, yeah?” she countered. “Was it for you, too?”
His mouth curved upward. “It wasn’t your sabbatical that challenged me, wildcat.”
I did a double take. “ ‘Wildcat’? Is that some cute pet name?”
“Keep out of this, Parker.”
“Coop.” Natalie pressed against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You’re going to let Violet and me help you take down Hawke.”
Cooper leaned down, aiming for her mouth, but pulling up short. “And if I refuse your help?”
She laughed, low and flirty. “Well, Vi and I will just have to take down Hawke on our own then.”
Chapter Eight
Saturday, January 12th
Morning dawned dark and dreary. The sky spit icy pellets at me as I dashed from my SUV to the back door of Doc’s office. I tried not to take Mother Nature’s ill treatment personally. After all, we both had a lot on our minds these days—her with trying to turn the western half of South Dakota into an ice cube and me with trying to figure out how to catch a damned lidérc.
I slipped on a slushy ice patch halfway across the parking lot, nearly falling on my ass. Lucky for Doc, I managed not to dump the coffee I’d picked up for him on the ground. But I did spill part of mine on my coat sleeve, and that had me cussing the rest of the way to his back door since my coat was the new indigo cashmere trench that Doc had given me for Christmas.
Inside the door, I stomped the slush and snow off of my boots and breathed a sigh of relief. I’d made it with time to spare before I needed to be at work next door. I really needed a bit of “Doc” time to smooth my feathers before their next ruffling.
I’d left the house early while the kids were still asleep. Aunt Zoe had been out in her workshop already, toiling away in front of the glass furnace. I’d watched her through the kitchen window while I scarfed down an English muffin, wondering how things had fared with Reid last night while I was stuck out there with Cooper and Natalie.
Our Mexican standoff had been interrupted by Aunt Zoe needing to get back to work in her shop. When I’d returned to the kitchen, the table was cleared, dishes were drying in the rack, and Reid and Harvey were gone. Cooper and Natalie had said their farewells soon after, both heading their separate ways after a brief hug and kiss inside the front door, during which I’d been ordered to cover my eyes by the bossy loverboy.
He didn’t have to tell me twice not to look. While I could accept my best friend cavorting under the covers with the detective in theory, observing too much of this new warm and fuzzy version of Cooper might give me nightmares, and I had enough of those without his help.
When everyone had gone for the evening, Doc and I had watched television with the kids, turning in shortly after herding them to bed. The poor guy had fallen asleep during our pillow talk about Cooper, Natalie, and Hawke. Several long days of crunching numbers had him counting sheep in his dreams before I even got around to kissing him good night.
He’d been missing in action already when I woke up this morning, his side of the bed long cold. But he’d left a note on the bathroom mirror for me about heading to the Deadwood Rec Center early, requesting a coffee and the good-night kiss he’d missed if I had time before his first appointment.
Being the sucker that I was for Doc’s kisses, his wish was my command. So, here I stood, a moment away from collecting my reward in exchange for brain rocket fuel and sugar—the lip-locking kind.
The subtle scent of Doc’s cologne in the back hallway spurred me to hurry. I’d come to enjoy our little coffee meetings in his office before work, especially when it included enough time to bar the doors and participate in some hands-on gratitude.
I set the coffees on the floor and shucked my coat, noticing the low rumble of voices coming from out front as I hung it on a wall peg.
Crabapples! I must have read his timeline for this morning wrong while corralling my curls into a chignon and trying to cover my big purplish-black shiner with multiple layers of makeup.
Straightening my black, half-zip sweater over my long, red bohemian skirt, I grabbed the coffees from the floor and headed for the front. With any luck, I could drop off Doc’s drink and say “hello” to his client without my black eye being a conversation stopper.
The rumble of voices quieted when I was halfway up the hall, apparently interrupted by the clomping of my boot heels on the creaky wooden floor. I squared my shoulders and pasted on a professional smile, only to stop short at the sight of Cooper sitting in the chair across from Doc. His steely eyes were watchful, but his shoulders had a definite slump under his black police coat.
“What are you doing here so early, Cooper?” I asked as I dropped my purse on Doc’s desk.
I turned to Doc, who’d risen from his chair at the sight of me. He looked good enough to eat in his cream button-up shirt and black pants. I tried not to make a show of licking my chops and just handed his coffee over, winning a flirty smile and a “Thanks, Boots,” in exchange.
“I’m trying to convince your boyfriend that he should lock you up and throw away the key before you stumble into yet another grand fuckup,” Cooper answered, sounding extra gravelly
