Cass snickered. “Mandy Cleary is addicted to weasel Dick. News at eleven.”
Jed chuckled.
They moved on to a corner store robbery to take statements, then a motor vehicle accident, attended by EMTs from Station 44. Not spotting Revere, not that she’d been looking for him, Cass took a few witness statements and waited with Jed to get that Breathalyzer on the drunk driver of the Nissan.
The rest of the shift passed without incident, shockingly enough. By 04:30, she was ready to head home.
“Hey, Cass, hold on.” Jed stopped her by her car.
“Yeah?”
“I really am sorry about Saturday night. I’ll talk to Shannon.” He paused. “Though it was pretty funny watching you deal with Handleman and Newcastle. You scared them, partner. I swear I heard Newcastle whimpering after you left.”
She grinned. “Mean is how I roll.”
They bumped fists.
“I think she’s all over you about dating because she’s afraid you’re going to ditch her.”
“What?”
He shrugged. “It’s something she said last week. I could be wrong, but I think maybe she’s worried you’ll stop coming out with us because you think you’re a third wheel.”
“Ha. I’ll stop coming out with you if you keep spending the night making out when I’m trying to have a conversation.”
“That was her fault, not mine,” he protested. “I’m weak.”
“A weak dick,” she said with a big grin.
He shook his head. “Mrs. Cleary has a potty mouth.” He chuckled. “I can’t wait to tell Shannon.”
They left, and Cass arrived home at five. After entering and locking up behind her, she looked around her empty house. Jed would return home and snuggle with Shannon after checking in on the twins. He’d sleep in, then spend time with his wife before picking up his kids and bonding with the little demons—as he lovingly referred to them—until he went back on shift at 19:30.
Cass would sleep in until noon. Alone. Wake up. Alone. Spend her day at the gym or help at the local community center. Eat dinner. Alone. Then be back on shift with Jed.
What a boring life.
She frowned. That sounded suspiciously like her father in her head, his therapist hat on.
Which made her remember the missed call on her phone. She scrolled through her messages and heard her father’s invitation to lunch. Since she hadn’t seen her parents in over a week, she knew she was due for some family time. And though she didn’t like lectures, she loved her parents, so she texted her father a yes and asked for details, then set her phone aside.
She needed some sleep. Dealing with her parents not at her best would be like going into a gunfight with a rubber chicken. Amusing until the bullets found their target.
Seven hours later, she’d rested, showered, and dressed. After putting everything in its place, her home neat as a pin and just the way she liked it, she met her parents at a popular downtown restaurant that served an amazing Italian-only lunch. They’d gotten lucky, as getting a place to sit was more a matter of timing than planning.
She spotted her mother gesticulating wildly, her normally stern face lit up as she said something to her husband. The pair looked like a matched set. Dr. Jenny Carmichael, cardiologist, had a firm yet pleasant bedside manner reflected in her light-brown eyes. Despite a pale complexion due to spending so much time in the hospital treating patients, Jenny appeared in good health. Slender, of average height, but brimming with vitality, Jenny Carmichael inspired confidence in others.
Just like her husband, Dr. Aaron Carmichael, a psychologist who specialized in child and family therapy. He was handsome and smart, a trim academic with a tall, lean build heading into his sixties. He always listened with intensity. When talking with him, a person felt as if no one and nothing existed but them in that moment. Cass got her looks from him but her drive from her mother. Thank God. Aaron Carmichael drove Cass crazy with his laid-back manner and easy smile. She loved him, but honestly, she had no idea how her mother could handle a man who smiled during a crisis.
Yet the pair fit.
Spotting her, her father must have said something to her mother because Jenny waved and smiled.
Cass gave each of her parents a kiss on the cheek before sitting down with them. The server arrived immediately with a menu, left to get her beverage, and returned posthaste to take her order.
Obviously schooled by her mother to hurry the hell up. Jenny only had so much time before she needed to be back at the hospital.
“Nice job, Mom. You already have our server scurrying to obey your commands.”
