Lilah sat back. “I love you, sis,” she said. “And I promise I’ll be as safe as possible.”
“Love you too, sis.” I laid my head on her shoulder. “When are we going to find a guy for you?”
“Well, DDAF, you know that. And so far I haven’t met a guy here in Bozeman who exceeds that bar set in hell.”
Dumb dick ain’t fuckable.
I don’t remember when we came up with that acronym but it quickly stuck and yeah, it was a bar set in hell that a surprising number of men weren’t able to hurdle.
“Maybe you’ll meet another officer to fall in love with.”
“Ha!” She grinned. “Hey, I’m a masochist but I’m notthatkind of masochist.”
Chapter Two
Now
Emmy
“Milk and bread,” Lilah called from her bedroom while I typed the list into my phone.
It was my turn to pick up groceries on my way home after my shift.
“Anything else?” I called back.
“Nope.”
I added a few things I thought of to the list and heard her walk down the hall to join me in the kitchen. She was ready to head out, just needing her jacket and hat, which hung in the front entry.
It always felt weird hugging her goodbye with her body armor on, but at least she was wearing it.
I always freaked out on the days she didn’t, like if she was going to the station to work, or to testifying in court and really didn’t need it. She’d take it with her in case a situation arose, which helped settle my nerves.
Barely.
But closing in on thirty-one she hadn’t got herself shot yet, thankfully.
I don’t know if she’d had calls closer than the ones she admitted, but she was well-liked among her co-workers, had been promoted twice, and frequently traveled to law enforcement seminars in other parts of the country to learn more techniques.
Then there was the fact that, yes, she seemed happier since starting the job than she ever had since I’d known her. She got to help people, which wasn’t just something she did but something that seemed ingrained in her DNA. Just like me, but in a different way.
“Are you going out with Joe tonight or is he coming over?” she asked on her way to the front door.
I snorted. “No. Joe’s gone.”
She stopped in the kitchen doorway and turned, scowling. “Since when?”
“Since dinner the night before last.”
“And I’m justnowfinding out about it?”
I stuck my tongue out at her. “We haven’t had a chance to really talk since then.”
She returned to the kitchen. “That was fast. What happened?”
“Well, he planned on a houseful of kids. According to him, considering I’m almost thirty it means we needed to get started with that sooner rather than later. Also, that I should forget about my career once he knocked me up, because he wanted me to be a stay-at-home mom. Oh, and I should add apparently that was his version of a proposal. I told him it was a vagina not a clown car, paid my half of the check, wished him a good life, and walked out. Thank god I drove myself.”
Lilah brayed with laughter. “The boot?”
