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She paused at his hesitation. “You’re sure?”

“Well…”

“Yes?”

“Maybe you could talk to me for a while. I’d really like that.”

She smiled. “Tell ya what. Go do whatever you need to do. I’m going to change and brush my teeth. Then we can chat a little bit before we both need to get some sleep.”

“Sounds good. I’ll be back in a second.” A clunk sounded on the phone. Most likely David placing the phone on a table.

Jennie tossed her phone on her bed. Grabbing her clothes, she rushed to the bathroom, changed, washed her face, and brushed her teeth. She took a deep relaxing breath. Flicking the light switch off, she padded into her bedroom.

She scooped up her cell. “Are you still there?”

“Yup.” David mumbled and paused. “Sorry for chewing in your ear, I grabbed a sandwich.”

“Hope it came without the insects this time,” she razzed him.

“Not funny. That thing was disgusting.” He tossed back, taking the joke as she’d intended.

“I’ll let Aunt Emily know you’d love cookies with extra protein next time.”

He groaned. “Oh stop. That’s just gross. I’m trying to eat here.”

“I’ll quit. But it’s so much fun to tease you.” Not in a thousand years would she have ever dreamed of enjoying a man’s company. But she was coming to like and trust the kind detective on the other end of the phone.

“Okay, so if insects are off the table.” She cringed. “Sorry. Bad pun.”

“You’re killing me here.”

She laughed. “What I was trying to ask…besides the icky delivery, how was your day?”

“Same old, same old. Working on warrants, contacting creeps, you know, all the glorious police work.”

“Sounds like fun.” She curled into bed and rested against the headboard. “Well, I hope nothing exciting happens tomorrow.”

“In police work, boring is good.”

She bit her lip. She needed to apologize to the man for Emily’s attempt at bringing them together. “Listen, I’m really sorry for…” Prickles skittered up the back of her neck. She straightened and scanned the room.

“Jennie? Jennie, what’s wrong?”

“I-I…um…something’s off.” Her gaze shifted to the window. The closed blinds gave her a bit of comfort, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched.

“Where are Tina and Zoey?”

“Tina went home today, and Zoey’s in bed.”

Keys jingled through the phone line. “Keep talking. I’m on my way.”

“No, I’m fine. Just an odd sensation.”

“Are you sure?” The man didn’t sound convinced.

“Positive. I’m just tired.” She slid down beneath the comforter and pulled it to her chin. As if the cloth would protect her. She shook her head at the ridiculous thought. “Tell me something funny to get my mind off of the weird happenings from the past few days.”

David sighed. “As long as you promise to call day or night if you need help.”