Page 24 of Forged By Fire

He was just placing the last plate in the dish drainer when Cindy walked in. She hitched an eyebrow. “A man in uniform, and he knows how to do the dishes. It’s a wonder you’re still single, especially here in Destiny.”

“Cindy! Really?” Leslie entered the kitchen then and gave her sister a withering look.

Cindy only shrugged and left the room, saying she needed to check on the girls.

Leslie’s gaze shifted to him. The adorable blush was back. “You’ll have to excuse my sister. Sometimes she doesn’t know when to hold her tongue.”

“I don’t mind. She’s nice. So are your nieces. I’m glad I had the chance to meet them.” He folded a towel lengthwise and draped it over the top of the cabinet door below the sink. “It looks like you guys are pretty close.”

“We are more now than we used to be.” Leslie lowered her voice. “We haven’t always gotten along. Sometimes we still don’t. But once the girls were born and Peter was gone all the time… Well, I guess we figured out how to work around that. Necessity and all.” She pointed to the clock on the microwave. “It’s after seven. We should go so Cindy can get the girls ready for bed.”

“Yeah. Of course.”

They found the trio in the living room where Izzy wasbusy building with oversized Lego bricks and Cindy was rocking Bree.

“I think we’re going to head out,” Leslie announced. “Thanks for letting us stop by.”

Cindy reached one arm up and gave her a hug as Leslie leaned down. “Thank you for bringing dinner. It was delicious.”

Izzy skipped over and gave Clint a hug. “Youaremy auntie’s boyfriend, right?”

Cindy and Leslie both audibly sighed. Leslie knelt to her niece’s level.

“Honey, Officer Clint is my friend. And now he’s your friend, too.”

Izzy’s eyes narrowed as though she were trying to figure something out. “And he’s a boy. So he’s your boyfriend.”

“Hard to argue with that logic,” Clint muttered under his breath. It was all he could do not to laugh.

The sun had gone down by the time they left Cindy’s house. They’d barely gotten to the car when Detective Paris sent a message saying Dr. Gerard was on his way to the station to consult with them about Ortiz and kleptomania. They were buckled up and headed straight over.

Clint glanced over at Leslie in the passenger seat. He could see her profile against the light coming in from outside.

“Izzy is a hoot.”

“She’s something, all right.” Humor laced Leslie’s voice. “She gives Cindy a run for her money. What about your brother? Does he have a family?”

“Drew. Yeah, he and Emma have been married for fiveyears now. No kids, though. There have been several miscarriages. I think they’re considering adoption, although I don’t think they’ve begun the process yet.”

“I’m sorry to hear about their losses. I can only imagine how heartbreaking that must be.”

“Thank you.” The last miscarriage earlier in the year had happened in the second trimester. It’d been devastating. Clint hated seeing his brother and sister-in-law hurting so deeply.

Even through it all, their relationship had remained strong. It reminded Clint of the one their parents had. That kind of connection was what Clint desperately wanted to experience himself. To find someone he could share his life with, no matter what the world threw their way.

The problem was, even though he’d been on his fair share of dates over the years, he’d never met the one woman who both challenged and intrigued him—someone he could imagine growing old with.

Until now.

He wasn’t naïve. He didn’t know Leslie well enough to be in love with her. But he’d seen enough about her character and the way she tackled challenges in life to want to get to know her better.

The parking lot in front of the precinct was nearly empty as they parked and walked in. While Clint didn’t particularly enjoy working late, it was usually easier to get work done when the bullpen wasn’t as busy.

Clint escorted Leslie through part of the building and intercepted Detective Paris just outside the breakroom.

“You have perfect timing. Dr. Gerard just got here.” He gave Leslie a welcoming smile. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to wait outside. This shouldn’t take long.”

“I understand. No worries.”

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