Homecoming and Homicide by Jody Holford

Author:Jody Holford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance
ISBN: 9781958686096
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2022-09-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Friday

Annie waited for her computer to boot up. She’d been making an effort to turn it off every night along with her phone. The little bit of wait time felt like a form of self-care. Every thirty seconds counted, right?

Her phone buzzed as she sipped her coffee. Setting it to her right, she picked up Ben’s call.

“Hey,” she said. “Sorry I missed you last night.” Especially since she hadn’t learned anything helpful.

“I caught up on paperwork. Ryan and I went for a drink. He’s frustrated with the detectives because they won’t tell him anything.”

Not surprising. “They do like to run their own show. You up for dinner tonight?”

“I am. How was your mission?”

She laughed, putting him on speaker so she could pick up her coffee. “It was a bust. They must have ordered ahead or something. He ran into the diner and came out with a bag of food. They sat in the car. When I dropped Margie off, she said she’d be looking up sonar listening devices on Amazon.”

Ben’s laughter warmed her heart the way her coffee cup warmed her hands. She’d had other boyfriends but she couldn’t remember enjoying just chatting with one as much as she liked talking to Ben. He fit into her life seamlessly, as if he was meant to be there. It was a bit scary to think about because how did someone really know but it was also…exciting. To think ahead to dinner tonight or next week. To make plans beyond that. To have someone she wanted to share things with.

“I don’t think she was joking,” Annie said. She took a sip of her coffee.

“Neither do I. Have you been out yet today?”

“No. Working on my own schedule has its perks. Like sleeping in. Which I would have done if Sherlock hadn’t decided to treat my hair like string he wanted to play with.”

“I keep telling you to shut the door.”

He did tell her that. “What if they need a cuddle?”

She could feel his smile through the phone.

“You should check your front porch.”

Curious, Annie got up, startling Watson into running out from under the desk. “Sorry bud.” She took her phone with her to the front door.

When she opened it, shock hit her hard in the gut as tears sprang to her eyes.

“Are they there?” Ben’s voice was animated and so sweet it made Annie’s heart strings tighten into knots.

Her breath hitched even as she nodded despite knowing he couldn’t see her. “They are. You didn’t have to do this. They’re beautiful.” One tear slipped. She swiped it away, doing her best not to give into her emotions.

“I figure we’ve skipped some of the dating steps so you deserved flowers.”

Annie closed her eyes, breathed deeply.

“Annie?” Ben’s voice was soft, tinged with concern. “You okay?”

“I’m great. And so are you. You’re such a good guy. I’m so happy with you.” She hadn’t been unhappy without him, but her life was better with him in it. She better find a way to tell him she was staying and a way to admit that he was a large part of the reason.

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