He stepped into the station, and Bea and Margot glanced up from behind the desk.
Bea smiled. “Good morning.”
“Hey, Sheriff.” Margot grinned.
He dipped his head at the women. “Morning. Did I miss much last night?”
Bea shook her head. “Nope.”
“I actually have it on good authority that the deputies were bored out of their minds,” Margot added.
Good. It would make for an easy morning. “Thanks.”
Margot cocked her head. “Are you okay?”
Not even close. “Just gearing up for the day.”
In his office, he logged in to his computer and was checking his emails when Luke stepped in. He held up a laptop. “Your girlfriend left this here last night.”
Shit. She was going to need that.
“I’ll text her.” He lifted his phone.
Jesse: Hey. I’ve got your laptop at the station. Want me to drop it off?
Luke dropped into the seat opposite the desk. “Everything okay? You’ve got that ‘I need to kill someone’ look on your face.”
The three dots popped up on his phone, then disappeared. He blew out a breath and set his cell on his desk. “Were you telling Bea the stuff I told you about Karen Davies last night?”
Luke’s eyes widened, his mouth opening and closing before he answered the question. “Uh…yeah. Sorry. Bea and I are friends, and we were just talking—”
“I told you that stuff because it was work related, not so you could gossip about it to our receptionist.”
“I know. I’m sorry, man. It won’t happen again.” He frowned. “How did you even know? Did Bea—”
“Aspen heard.”
Luke cringed. “Jesus. I’m an asshole. I don’t know what I was thinking.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’ll apologize to her next time I see her. Was she angry?”
“Yes, but more angry at me than you.”
His phone beeped, and he picked it up to see Aspen’s response.
Aspen: I don’t need to work today. You can just bring it home tonight.
Great. She was so desperate to avoid him that she was willing to do nothing all day.
Luke leaned forward. “Are you in the doghouse now?”
“Yeah, but that’s not all your doing.” The image of her running out of the bedroom made a vein throb in his temple. If he dropped off the laptop, he wouldn’t be able to leave. Hell, he’d stay and kiss the woman until he knew she was happy, then he’d probably never make it back to work. “Are you able to drop the laptop off at my place for me?”
Luke’s brows lifted. “Me?”
“Yeah. I’m a bit snowed under this morning.” He glanced at his almost empty inbox. A fucking lie if ever he told one.
“Yeah, I can take it to her. It’ll give me a chance to apologize.” Luke rose. “I really am sorry, Jesse. It was unprofessional of me to talk to Bea about Karen. It won’t happen again.”
“I know it won’t.”
