Page 44 of Outplayed

The love we’d felt.

Damn him.

I didn’t know what to do about this, what to feel. What I did know was that I still wasn’t ready to see or talk to him.

I was probably holding a grudge, protecting myself from more hurt, but I couldn’t stop. I wasn’t ready.

Maybe with time, I would be.

Only, would Travis still be around then?

I jolted when my phone rang. At first, I didn’t want to look to see if it was Travis, but Chuck was out with Butch on a case, and I had to make sure it wasn’t either of them.

That was what I told myself when I reached for it.

It wasn’t anyone I thought it would be. “Jim,” I said when answering.

“Violet. Long time no talk.”

It had been. Jim and I used to date before he left to see what city life was like in the police force instead of the country. Sometimes when I took cases out of town, Jim and I would catch up for a quick fix. We weren’t serious, but we liked each other enough to sleep with one another. “How are you?” I asked.

“Good, honey. Coming to town in a few weeks, would love to catch up. Want to do dinner?”

Did I?

Jim was great to talk to. I had always enjoyed his company. “Sure. I’d like that.”

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