“Keep on telling yourself that.”
She glared; he shrugged. And finally she just said, “I’m too tired right now to have this conversation.”
“Got it,” he said, “and you don’t ever need to have an excuse. Believe me. I’m all about you taking care of you.”
“I take care of me just fine.” But lately it was hard to do. At his flat stare, she groaned. “Okay, so it’s been a busy day, you know? Some weeks, some lifetimes are like that.”
He nodded. “I get it. I really do because some of my nights are like that too. But it doesn’t change the fact that, if you don’t take care of yourself, nobody else will.”
She nodded and got into his vehicle quietly. He was right, and she knew it. But the last thing she wanted was to be chastised like a child tonight. When he pulled up outside of her apartment, he looked at her and said, “I’d like to come in for a moment.”
“But—” And she hesitated.
“I get it,” he said. “I promise. I just want to come up and have a cup of coffee with you.”
She looked at her watch and nodded. “Fine, but you’re not staying.”
He grinned at her.
“I mean it,” she said. “Last time it happened, and it wasn’t supposed to.”
He shrugged. “I’m not pushing. I already said that.”
“I know yousaidthat,” she replied, “but it seems like that’s not how it ends up.”
“That’s not fair,” he said. “I promise I’ll be good.”
She rolled her eyes at that but let him come up. She said, “You put on the coffee. I’ll go have a shower. Some things just don’t feel right unless you can get clean.”
“Go.”
And, with that, she headed for the shower, enjoying the feel of the hot water sluicing down her back. She stepped out a bit later to find the coffee still dripping but only just started.
“What’s the matter? Did you forget how to make it?” she asked in a teasing voice. Looking around, she found him stretched out on her couch, studying his phone. “Anything interesting?”
He said, “Unfortunately too interesting. You might get another phone call here soon.”
“Why?” she asked, wrapping a towel around her head. Just then her phone rang.
“That’s why.”
Frowning, she looked at him and picked up the phone. “Hello.”
“This is Dispatch. We have a DB. We’re texting you the address and the details we have.”
“Okay,” she said, closing her eyes, wishing she didn’t have to go out tonight, but then someone didn’t want to die tonight, and they didn’t get their wish either. “I’ll head down there now.” She called Rodney.
“Yeah, I just got it too.” He said, “One other thing though, I was talking to somebody else earlier today.”
“Oh, what’s up?”
“There’s been another jumper.”
She stopped and winced. “Damn,” she said, “that bridge is getting heavy use.”
“It was a different bridge, so a different department’s jurisdiction, which is why it didn’t cross our desks,” he said. “Not that it makes any of it easier.”
“No, it doesn’t,” she said. “I wish I knew what was bringing on this rash of jumpers.”