Page 13 of Protect My Heart

“Step-cousin.” Liz leaned in to his half hug.

Jim got the picture. He and CJ were tight, but family was thicker.

Jim’s head bobbed in a nod, but he wasn’t sure how to react to the news. It shouldn’t matter that the pain-in-his-ass child advocate was his partner’s cuz...but it did. He still wanted to knock CJ’s hand off her shoulder.

Doc stood and stepped forward, out of CJ’s grasp. “I came to apologize for my unprofessional behavior earlier.”

Jim’s brow quirked up. “Are you saying I was right?”

“Um, well, not exactly.” She fiddled with the edge of her scarf.

“Good, because I have it on good authority that I wasn’t. While I would love an ironclad case, if it is a determent to the child, we can skip the lineup.”

Her smile beamed so bright it blinded Jim to the dim surroundings of the police station. “I will do an evaluation and see if Luis is strong enough to handle the stress of a face to face. I know there is a two-way mirror but in a trauma victim, it might not matter. He may feel exposed.”

“Well now that you two have that solved, we can get to the business of putting criminals behind bars.” CJ turned to Liz. “Will I see you at dinner tonight?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t not show up and disappoint Titi.”

“You’re a smart girl. See you at six.”

“Sharp.” CJ and she both laughed as she gave him a quick hug. She turned to Jim. “I’ll talk to Luis and his mother tomorrow and see if I can get a good feel for his emotional state.”

“Thanks.” Jim waited. When she didn’t say anything else, he added. “I’ll wait to hear from you.”

Liz looked as if she wanted to add more but gave a slow nod and turned to leave. She waved over her shoulder. “Catch you later, Cuz.”

“I should have guessed.” Jim muttered but not soft enough.

“Guessed what?”

“That you two were related. You mentioned your cousin was a psychologist, and when I met her, it was obvious she was from money.”

“Hey,” CJ bristled.

“You know what I mean. You’re cool but look at her... she smells of private college and good breeding.”

“I know you had issues in the past but don’t jump to conclusions.” CJ rubbed his chin as he assessed Jim.

Jim shook off the chill that skated down his spine. His partner had a wicked cop-stare and when he focused on him, it made his palms sweat.

“What are you doing for dinner tonight?”

“Huh?” Of all the things he expected to hear out of CJ’s mouth, that wasn’t even in the top fifty. “Nothing. Why?”

“Here.” CJ tapped on his phone a second before Jim’s pinged. “That’s my parents’ address. Six sharp or you will feel the wrath of Joy Whittier. I’m letting her know to expect you.”

“Wait, what?”

“You heard me. Now, about the Delie case.”

No use arguing. When his partner made up his mind, Jim knew better than to argue. He learned how stubborn CJ could be when he investigated Lorna in the disappearance of her ex-husband. A dog with a bone.

Literally. Jim smirked at the inside joke.

“Hey, are you ready to work or do you need a minute alone with your hand?”

“Very funny, but a beautiful redhead took care of that for me already.” Jim didn’t need to tell his partner how long it had been since he had picked up a warm, willing woman to handle such things. And, he definitely wouldn’t be telling his partner about the dreams he had last night about CJ’s little cousin after he got an armful of the curvy Doc.