Page 60 of Shattered Sanctuary

Erin took off her coat and hung it up. “No, he just seemed interested but not really upset.”

“Probably an animal or something.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“While you were gone, Adrian called,” Kaely said.

“More dead bodies?”

Kaely shook her head. “No, thankfully. He was just checking on us again.”

“That’s nice.”

Kaely went over and put several pieces of wood into the fireplace. “I think he was a little disappointed that I answered the phone.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

She laughed. “Why is that ridiculous? You’re single, he’s single, you’re cute, and he’s a hunk.”

Erin burst out laughing. “Did you just call Adrian ahunk?”

“I might be older than you, but I think that term is still used.” Kaely frowned. “Right?”

“Yeah, I guess. It just sounded funny coming from you.”

Kaely raised an eyebrow and gave Erin a crooked smile. “Hey, I may be married, but I’m not dead. I notice handsome men.”

“Okay, he’s handsome. But he’s not interested in me.” She plopped down into the chair next to the couch.

“And why do you say that?”

“I’m weird looking. My nose is too small, my mouth too big, and my hair?” Erin ran her hand through her short blonde hair. “It’s all over the place—like it doesn’t quite know what to do with itself.”

“Don’t be silly. Themessylook is all the rage. I wish I could wear it, but this super curly hair doesn’t allow for anything like that.”

“You’re gorgeous. I’ll bet Noah is a real... hunk too.” Erin laughed.

Kaely got up and went over to the kitchen island where she grabbed her phone. She scrolled through it and brought it over to the couch.

“Here’s a picture.”

“Wow. He really is a hunk,” Erin said. She handed it back to Kaely. “So, you two really love each other?”

Kaely looked at her with a rather odd expression. “Yeah, we really do.” She frowned. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you and Scott.”

Erin shook her head. “Yeah, me too. I realized after you said something about all this guilt that I seem to enjoy dumping on myself that I also felt guilty for asking for another partner. It was... strained, working with him. He apologized over and over. He was drunk when... when it happened, and he said the girl didn’t mean anything to him. Actually, that made it worse, you know? Destroying a relationship you claim to care about for someone that doesn’t mean anything to you? It not only didn’t make sense to me, it made me angry for the girl. No one should be treated like that. I lost all respect for him.” She shook her head. “But sadly, I still loved him.”

“I get it. I really do.” Kaely picked up their coffee cups and went back to the kitchen. “Refill?” she asked.

“Sure.”

Erin looked down to find Chester sitting next to her, watching her. She reached over to pet him. She really hoped nothing would keep her from taking Chester back to St. Louis with her. She wasn’t worried about keeping him in her apartment. The landlord allowed pets. She would make sure he got to go for walks. She had nothing else to do... except write. Last night, she’d decided she really wanted to write another book. Maybe it wasn’t what she would do for the rest of her life, but for now, it would keep her busy—and would use her law enforcement background. She’d calledher agent, who was beside herself with joy. She promised to contact the publisher and start working on a contract. She told Kaely about it when she came back with the coffees.

“That’s great news,” she said. “If it’s really what you want to do.”

“For now. I enjoyed writingDark Matters, I just hated all the promotion.”

“Some of that might have been because of the wall you built around yourself. Someday you might actually enjoy some of that.”

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