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father, he was switching to swing shift for the next week, so she doubted she d see much of him
until the following weekend, since her schedule wouldn t change.
So she d had bunny-rabbit sex with Zach Shannon. Did that mean they were they a
couple? She wasn t sure. Certainly, he hadn t cared who d seen them together at the movie, or
Sunday night for a quick dinner at the Dine-n-Dash, where he d held her hand whenever she
wasn t using it to eat. They hadn t talked about exclusivity, though. Laney had sort of taken that
for granted, but she realized now that men didn t always think the same way as women.
The ringing of her cell phone startled her out of her reverie. She had a separate ringtone
set for Parker, so she was smiling by the time she flipped open the phone and curled up on the
couch. Hey, there. How s Minnesota?
It s great, so far. Jake and I have a room with bunk beds that used to belong to Jenna s
husband and his brother. His voice was full of enthusiasm, letting Laney know he wasn t
homesick, at least not yet. The critters are kind of cool, though I m not sure about milking the
goats. She wants to show us how to do that tomorrow.
Yeah, not sure I d want to do that either, but I sure do love goat cheese, so I guess
somebody has to do it. Laney knew Jenna would make sure the boys worked hard for their pay.
So how d it go with Zach s parents at dinner? Parker managed to sound almost parental
himself when he asked. If you re sleeping with him, I hope you were careful.
Parker, I am not going to talk to a fifteen-year-old about my hypothetical love life. But
just to put your mind at ease, I have never in my life had unprotected sex, and don t plan to
anytime in the future not unless I m married and trying to have kids. I hope you re smart
enough to follow that rule, too. This was what she got for always being open with him about
sex, drugs and any of the threats she hoped he d avoid. He felt the freedom to give her the same
advice.
Hey, what can I say? I worry about you, all by yourself.
She fought the lump back out of her throat. I m too busy to be lonely, kiddo. Don t
worry about me. Zach had kept her too busy all weekend to miss Parker too much, but this week
was likely to be a long one. In her entire life, Laney had never spent more than a few nights
completely alone. She d gone straight from home to the college dorms then back home again.
You ll let me know if Zach catches the guys setting the fires?
Of course. Parker s faith in Zach was impressive. The boy didn t trust easily, and he d
learned to be wary of anyone in law enforcement. That he d taken so well to Zach was a big
mark in the deputy s favor. Are you freezing to death up there in the great white north?
Parker laughed, as she d intended. In June? I m not that big a wuss. Actually the
weather s not too bad. Jenna even has a pool. Jake and I went swimming this afternoon.
Well, I m glad you re having a good time. Stay in touch, okay? Love you.
Love you, too, Aunt Laney. Bye.
Well, Parker appeared to be having a grand time on his adventure. She couldn t help
grinning to herself. And so was she. A guy like Zach well, he probably wouldn t stick with a
woman from the wrong side of town forever, but she wasn t an idiot. She intended to enjoy every
moment while it lasted.
* * * *
Zach didn t like working swing shift at the best of times, but right now, it was driving
him plumb crazy. With Laney s eight-to-four schedule, he didn t get to see her all week, except
for brief stops at the library, and one quick lunch at the Dine-n-Dash. After just one night with
her, he missed having her in his bed. Oddly enough, he found missed Parker, too. In such a short
time, he d gotten used to having the kid around.
Swing shift was a whole different world from the Sheriff s Department by day.
Supervisor Lynn Jackson was a micromanager. For all that she was a competent cop and decent
at administrative work, it chafed to have somebody staring over his shoulder all the time. At
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