Page 41 of Shelter for Sharla

Carter thought about it. Would it bother Cruz for Sharla to be there? Probably not. They were all adults. What did he need to do before she got there? Nothing. There were coffee cups in the sink and his sheets needed to be changed, but other than that, the house was in good shape. He paid AngieProctor to clean once a week, and she’d always done a good job. It was almost time to go home, and he wrote up notes for the guys leaving and those coming in. Everything was almost done when the door opened and he looked up.

PennyTadlock.Well, fuck me, Carter thought. “There you are, SheriffMelton! I haven’t seen you in forever!” she cooed as she waved to him.

Carter got up from the big common desk and went to the counter. “How are you, Penny?”

“I’m fine! Thank you for asking! And how are you?”

“Quite well, thanks. What can I help you with?”

“I was wondering what you were doing next Tuesday. I’m having a little get-together at my house, and thought you might want to come.”

“I doubt I’d be able to, but thanks for inviting me.”

“Oh, but I’d love for you to be there! Could you please think about it?”

Hit it,Carter thought. “Well, I’d have to talk to my girlfriend and see what she’s got planned.”

Penny’s face paled and her jaw dropped before she finally sputtered, “Your, your, yourgirlfriend?”

“Yep. I mean, I can’t go to a party unaccompanied and leave her behind.”

“Well, uh, I only have spots for, um, for so many people, and I, um, hadn’t planned?”

“Oh, that’s all right. Thanks for inviting me though. Maybe next time you can plan it so I can bring her.” It was all Carter could do to keep a straight face. He was dying from laughter on the inside, and he hoped she couldn’t see it in his eyes.

“Uh, yeah, okay. That’s, um, I can do that. So, uh, have a good evening and I’ll be seeing you, SheriffMelton. You take care now.” He didn’t get a chance to say another word before she hustled herself out the front door and down the block.

“Well, fiddle-dee-dee. Invited and uninvited in under five minutes. Good work, Melton,” he told himself with glee. Now maybe that trouble on feet would stay away from him!

He hadn’t been home ten minutes when he heard a car in the drive. When he snapped the door open, Sharla stood there, her fist raised to rap on the door. Carter let out a laugh. “Gonna punch me in the nose?”

“No, silly.” She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. “If I were going to do that, you wouldn’t still be upright.” Then she gave him a quick peck on the lips.

“Oh, is that right?” Before she could answer, Carter grabbed her and locked his lips to hers. Their tongues had been thrashing around for a full minute when he pulled back. “As you can see, I’m terrified of you.”

“Absolutely terrified, and you should be. So how was your day?”

“Got a lecture from Cruz on playing well with others,” Carter said and pulled a beer out of the refrigerator. “Want one?”

“Please.” He popped the top on the one he was holding, handed it to her, and retrieved another for himself. Following her back into the living room, he waited until she’d dropped onto the sofa, and he followed her lead and plopped down beside her. “What was this lecture about?”

“Telling the other agencies that he’s here and working with us. I didn’t want to, but I will.”

She gave him a stern glare from under her brows. “You know that’s the right thing to do.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t want to. Guess that’s kinda childish, huh?”

“A little bit.”

“But he’s in Murray talking to the professor. I about halfway expect him to call at any minute. We’re also going to O’Fallon to look at the records of the two guys who were involved in the robbery with Taliq.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“And I called the prison to make sure we could visit if we think we need to.”

“Also a good idea.”

“And your day?”

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