“I put the calls through to Brody’s cell phone,” she said. “It’s past my time to go home and get dinner started. You should get out of here too. Nobody’s going to find the poor girl tonight.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Rook. What’s for dinner?”
“Whatever I dumped in the slow cooker this morning. Down at the meat department, Harry packages up some real good combinations for the old Crock Pot. Some kind of meat already cut up and vegetables or rice or whatever. Just dump in some water and the seasoning packet and voila! Dinner’s done when you get home. You should try it. I bet your mama would be on board.”
“She would, but with Dad’s dietary restrictions, he probably couldn’t have most of the stuff. Thanks though. I hope your dinner’s good.”
“I think it was something Mexican that I put in there. It was early, I don’t know. The Chinese one was real good.”
“You have a good evening,” I said. She nodded and took off.
As Mrs. Rook walked out, she held the door for Rachel who had her arms full of greasy, delicious smelling bags of food. I sat up straight, mouth-watering.
“How in the psychic hell did you know to bring food? I’m dying of hunger. Tell me there’s a bacon cheeseburger in there with extra cheese and pickle. I will love you forever. I’ll give you a lap dance right here for one of those,” I said, springing up to help her with the bags. Rachel had a shit-eating grin on her face.
“What?” I said.
“I called her,” Brody said from behind me, coming out of his office.
I shrugged, “She still gets the lap dance, because she hauled it over here in my hour of need. But you’re a lifesaver, Chief,” I said.
“Hope you still like extra pickle on your burger,” he said. I barely kept my mouth from falling open. He remembered a little detail like that after all these years? It was also all I could do not to kick Rachel in the shin because she kept waggling her eyebrows at me suggestively and grinning like a moron.
I grabbed my purse from under the desk, “What do I owe you?” I said, straight-faced to my traitorous best friend.
Brody reached past me and handed Rachel money, “I got this,” he said.
“Thanks,” I replied. “Next meal’s on me.”
Rachel winked at me broadly and flounced out. I was going to set her straight as soon as I got a chance, the aggravating little tart. I grimaced after her. First, I had a cheeseburger to attack, though.
“If you wanna come into my office, we can eat there. I even cleared off part of my desk.”
I nodded, not knowing what to say. We were alone in the police station at night. My boss had ordered my favorite food in the world to surprise me after a long day. And despite my irritation that Rachel was teasing me about something going on between us, I felt it. I would never admit it, especially to Brody himself, but I felt the electricity along every inch of my skin and sparking along every nerve ending.
“Vance, you coming?” he asked. I looked up, registered that I was standing beside my desk holding my purse. I hadn’t moved. I had just checked out mentally. I shook myself and decided to cut the crap and act normal. As if that were a thing I knew how to do.
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m gonna wash my hands.”
My sudden concern about hand hygiene was actually a desire to look in the mirror. I took my hair down, brushed it, then pulled it back in a ponytail. It wasn’t sexy but at least it was neater. I may have dabbed concealer under tired eyes and put on more mascara. It was only considerate. I was trying to look presentable. There was no reason to look wilted and sweaty when I sat across from him to eat, even though it had been a long, hot day. I would have brushed my hair to go hang out with Rachel, I rationalized. Common courtesy dictated that I be tidy and pleasant. I was raised to do be a gracious guest. Not that I’d ever listened very well. I had manners when I chose to act like it.
In his office, Brody was seated behind the desk. He had laid out the food and drinks like you’d set a table, even doling out ketchup packets and salt. I couldn’t help but smile because it was sweet. He looked almost boyish when he grinned at me, just a flash of a smile, there and gone in an instant. I sat down across from him.
“This looks great. It’s exactly what I needed.”
“Me, too. You’ve been working too hard, and I know you haven’t eaten much today. So dig in.”
He said dig in, but I noticed the whole time he’d been waiting on me, he hadn’t taken so much as a bite. I felt that, took it hard for some reason. That this was a man courteous enough to wait for me before he began eating. Like it was a date or something. Not that I’d ever dated anyone like that.