“Sorry I didn’t give you more warning.” Armie stood in her waiting room.

She picked up her notepad. Professional. That was how she got through this. It was the first time and it would almost certainly be the hardest. It would be easier in a couple of weeks. She would be able to smile at him and not feel sick inside. In a month or two, she wouldn’t feel sick. She would be wistful. In a year, maybe she would question what she ever saw in him. All she had to do was wait and time would work wonders. It always did. “How did he come to be injured, Sheriff?”

He hesitated as though he’d expected something different, but he quickly regained his footing. “I pulled him over on the highway. He was swerving, and it wasn’t all about Otis. He ran his car into a ditch. I think he was trying to get away from me. Didn’t do a good job.”

“So he was in a car accident?” Was it wrong that she was hoping for something complex? Maybe he had internal injuries. That would take her mind off things.

“Not exactly. He was going about twenty miles an hour. I’m pretty sure he thought he was in a high-speed chase. There might be more than alcohol in that kid’s system. He went off the road and slid into the mud. It’s been raining, so that land off the highway is incredibly soft. Herve is going to have to haul that car out.”

She knew the place. She avoided it. If Otis was on the road at that point in the highway, she waited him out. It was precisely why she’d loaded up her phone with audiobooks. It wasn’t because she’d read a couple of old-school bodice rippers she’d found in her now torched house and gotten addicted. “So how did he injure his ankle?”

It was the romances. She could blame them for all the heartfelt icky love stuff. She’d read too many romance books in the last couple of weeks, and they’d affected her brain.

“I tried to give him a field sobriety test,” Armie admitted. “I know. It’s obvious he’s plastered, but I have to follow protocol. He tripped and landed wrong. I knew I needed to bring him in here before I take him to lockup. I don’t think he’s dangerous or I promise I would have brought in Roxie or Major to stay in the room with him.”

“It’s okay.” It wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. “I’ve dealt with plenty worse. The hospital I worked at in Dallas served the county jail system, so it won’t be the first time I’ve treated a prisoner. Is there anything else? I’ll go take a look at him and then we’ll get an X-ray.”

“Are you all right?” Armie asked, his tone going low.

She gave him a smile she hoped didn’t look as fake as it was. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

There was an awkward pause where they stared at each other. She tried to come up with something witty to say, but that had never been her strong point. Perhaps she should turn and go.

“It’s going okay? The clinic, I mean.” His deep voice betrayed his awkwardness.

Only days ago, he’d been comfortable around her. He’d sat in those chairs waiting for her to be done with work so he could drive them both home. “It’s picking up. I’m happy with it. I’ve done a lot of well-baby checkups thanks to Hallie and Seraphina talking to their friends. I’m in good with the young moms club. And I got Gene to do some blood work.”

“Really? How did you manage that?”

It hadn’t been easy. “I talked podcasts with him and I took him on a tour of how the lab destroys samples so they can’t be taken and left at crime scenes so innocent people can be implicated in murders. I then signed a document stating that I would never frame him for a crime he didn’t commit. I then listened to three hours of how the police screwed up a murder in Lafayette. I’m going to admit, it was a lot, but I don’t have to do it again for a whole year.”

His face split in the most heart-stopping grin. “Oh, I wish I’d seen that. I’m glad it’s going well. I told you this town would settle down and accept you.” He sobered and the light left his eyes. “I’ve missed you.”

Damn him. She wasn’t going there. Wasn’t. “I miss you, too.”

Why had she said that? She knew better, but he was standing right in front of her.

“What should we do about that?” His face had softened, and it was almost possible to forget how cold he’d been to her that day.

Almost. “I don’t know that we do anything about it.”

His jaw tightened and she could see the stubborn will in his gaze. “Maybe we should sit down and talk. Maybe I heard things wrong. It has been pointed out to me that perception and point of view are important things and can be misconstrued. Did I not understand?”

Tags: Lexi Blake Butterfly Bayou Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net