Page 63 of Family Jewels

“Wow,” Dr. Romano said. “That’s very generous of you.”

Neely Kate shook her head in mock sympathy. “We keep trying to get him to go to the New Living Hope Revival Church, but he always turns us down. Still, we keep hoping.”

Brett came in from the back door. “The alley’s clear, so we can move him out back.” He stopped short when he saw Dr. Romano. “Oh. Hey.”

“The alley?” Dr. Romano asked.

“Well,” Neely Kate drawled, “We’re getting ready to lock up. Sometimes we set him up with a little place out back so he can keep comfortable.”

“I had no idea Henryetta had such a homeless problem,” Dr. Romano said.

Neely Kate shrugged. “I guess no place is perfect. Now you two need to get goin’.”

Dr. Romano looked at me and lifted his eyebrows. “Are you ready?”

I wasn’t, but I couldn’t let him stay here a moment longer than necessary. Still, I hated to leave Homer with Neely Kate. What if he woke up and hurt her?

But she must have read my mind. “Brett and I have everything under control. We’ll make sure Homer gets taken care of. Once we do, I’ll take Muffy home and we’ll see you there later.”

Homer was going to wake up at some point, and when he did, he was going to be good and ticked. It couldn’t be that hard for him to figure out where we lived. Sure, we had guns and an alarm system I mostly forgot to set, but I didn’t like the thought of living on guard.

I squatted in front of the crate, opened the door, and rubbed Muffy’s head. “I’ll be home in a little bit. You be a good girl.” Then I stood and grabbed my purse. “Neely Kate, you call me if you need . . . to chat.”

She gave me a forced grin. “If I need to chat, I have Brett here.”

I quickly hurried out the front door, so fast that Dr. Romano didn’t have a chance to open it for me. He gestured to a pickup truck, and I walked to the passenger door. He grinned as he opened it for me. “I had no idea our date would start out with a foot race.”

I grimaced. “Sorry.”

He shut the door behind me, then got behind the wheel and started the engine. “I made reservations at Jaspers.”

“Oh,” I said, trying not to sound worried. I’d had several bad dates there, but that didn’t meanourdate wouldn’t go well. Still, I couldn’t help thinking the odds weren’t in my favor.

As he drove to the restaurant, he told me several incidents from his day, which involved a parrot, a cat, and a dog who’d swallowed a plastic hot dog. It felt nice to listen to stories that had nothing to do with the whole mess involving the necklace, the Wagner brothers, and the Dyer family. Even so, I couldn’t help thinking that I should be back at the office, helping Neely Kate with the Homer situation.

Jarring me out of my thoughts, Dr. Romano asked, “How did you know about the woman with the crystal-covered bra?”

“Lucky guess,” I said, thankful he was pulling into the parking lot at the restaurant.

He let it drop, and I climbed out when he turned off the engine. He met me at the back of the truck and snagged my hand in his. “You look beautiful tonight, Rose.”

“Thank you, Dr. Romano,” I said, resisting the urge to pull my hand free.

He chuckled. “I told you to call me Levi. Do you know how awkward it will be when we’re married and have kids and you’re still calling me Dr. Romano?”

I gaped at him. Married? Kids?

He burst into laughter. “I’m kidding. But Idowant you to call me Levi.”

“Okay,” I said, giving in to the urge to pull my hand out of his. “Levi,” I said, testing it out.

He grinned and put his hand on the small of my back, steering me toward the entrance to the restaurant.

Maybe I wasn’t ready for this after all.

But Dr. Romano—no, Levi—was nice, and he was cute, and he was interested in me. And he had absolutely nothing to do with either criminals or law enforcement. Neely Kate was right. I should at least get to know him.

He’d made reservations, so the hostess led us right to our table, which, ironically enough, was the same one I’d sat at for that failed blind date almost a year ago.