She was nearing the room when Luke’s voice sounded from inside.
“…and Karen Davies was there.”
Aspen stopped. He was talking about her mother? Why? Andwherehad her mom been?
“Who’s Karen Davies?” Bea asked.
“Aspen’s mother. She was pretty hostile, so I pestered Jesse on the way back to the station about her background, and apparently she’s crazy.”
Aspen’s muscles tightened.
“Crazy how?” Bea asked.
“One minute she’s completely normal and friendly, and the next, she’ll start threatening to kill you.”
Aspen stepped back, hurt slipping through her. It wasn’t a secret that her mother didn’t have the best mental health. But it still hurt that Jesse was sharing the information, and now Luke was gossiping about it at the station.
Someone blew out a breath before Bea spoke. “Wow. Mental illness can be hereditary, right? Do you think Aspen has something going on?”
“Who knows, maybe. I’m pretty sure he went as far as to refer to Karen as insane.”
Aspen spun and headed back to the office, tears stinging her eyes. She hated that she was letting people she didn’t know upset her. She shouldn’t be. But, God, it just threw her straight back to when she was a kid at school and people would say the exact same things, sometimes to her face. No one had ever wanted tohelpher or her mother, they’d just wanted to gossip about them like they were entertainment.
She stepped back into the small room and almost walked straight into Jesse’s broad chest.
He gripped her upper arms to steady her, his brows tugging together. “Hey. What’s wrong?”
“I’m going home now.” She wanted to be angry, but damn those tears building in her eyes.
If possible, his frown deepened. “You’re upset. What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Somethinghappened.” He stepped closer. “Tell me.”
Suddenly, the combination of her mother and Dylan and work and the gossip all hit her like a ton of bricks, and she just felt tired.Reallytired. “I’d just like to go home, Jesse.”
He held her gaze for another beat, almost searching…as if trying to figure her out just by looking at her.
In the end, he just nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”
CHAPTER 18
Aspen leaned her head back against the car seat. She was ready for bed. Past ready. But even with her eyes closed, she felt Jesse’s gaze on her. He’d had his eyes on her since they’d left the station.
When he pulled into his driveway, she unfastened her seat belt and climbed out. Neither said anything as they moved to the door, or when Jesse unlocked and opened it. She made it halfway down the hall before he spoke.
“Aspen. Tell me what upset you. You were fine when I left that room.”
She nibbled her bottom lip before turning, forcing herself to meet his gaze. “Did you get a callout involving my mother?”
His brows flickered. “Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It was the night you saw someone in your window. We were dealing with other stuff, and after that, I just got distracted. I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to hide it.”
“And did you then tell Luke that my mother’s insane?”
