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LJ scrubbed a hand down his face. He had to get rolling if he wanted to make it to church on time. “I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable even giving it a shot unless I’d been nightmare free for at least three months.” Never before had he gone that long. Never had he gone longer than thirty days, and even that amount of time had only happened once or twice.
“I think setting a goal like that is a solid idea. Gives you something to strive for, a measurable count of success. So, let’s go with that. You go nightmare free for ninety days, then you give yourself to your girl for the entire night. Sound good?”
LJ grunted. “Gotta get the girl back first, don’t I?”
Another laugh. This guy was having too much fun on LJ’s dime. “Yeah, guess that’s kind of an integral part of the plan.”
“Ninety days, Jesus. Think she’ll go for it?”
“Brother, if you can manage to get her back, I know she will.”
Right. Get back the woman he wasn’t a hundred percent certain still wanted him.
Nothing to it.
First step in Operation Get Holly Back involved pulling his head out of his ass as Copper unsubtly suggested. He searched his contacts for someone he’d been ignoring almost as much as he’d shunned Holly the past few days.
“LJ?” Jazz answered, sounding shocked by his call.
“Hey, Jazzy. Can you do me a favor?”
“Maybe.” The surprise was gone, and all that remained was sass and attitude. Another time it would have pissed him off, but his lips quirked. Holly had herself some good and loyal girlfriends.
“Need you to tell me, Jazz.”
“Ahh,” she said. “You mean you want to know what really happened last week? Not what your stupid man brain turned it into?”
“Something like that.”
“Glad you finally woke the fuck up.”
Leave it to Jazz to hand him his ass worse than Copper. “I’m wide awake, Jazzy.”
“All right, then.”
As she filled him in on what happened when Holly returned, LJ realized he didn’t need anyone to hand him his ass. He’d kick his own ass halfway across the country for being such a dumb shit.
“Thanks, Jazz,” he said when she finished her tale.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m gonna get my fucking woman back,” he said.
Then I’m gonna tell her I love her and make it so she never wants to leave.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
HOLLY SHOULDN’T HAVE eaten that scone.
Or had the double shot of espresso.
For sure, she should have skipped the muffin she hadn’t been remotely hungry for. Stress eating only worked if severe nausea wasn’t likely to occur from said stress.
And Holly was so nauseated, she might never eat again.
As she stood outside the brick sheriff’s station, she had to fight the urge to flee. Instead, she forced herself to pull the door open and step inside the quiet lobby.
“Oh, Holly, dear, how wonderful to see you! It’s been a while,” Marjorie said, all smiles and blissful ignorance as to the shambles of the father-daughter relationship between her boss and Holly.
“Hi, Mrs. B, uh, Marjorie. Great to see you too.”
“There you go, dear, I knew you’d get it at some point.” With a wink, she grabbed her oversize handbag and shuffled from behind her desk. “I’m running out to grab a late lunch. Been quiet around here today. Your father is in the conference room with a few of his deputies. Some hush-hush stuff going on in there. You can knock, though. He told me he’d always make time for you no matter what.”
No matter what. Ha. What a joke.
“Thanks, Marjorie. Enjoy your lunch.”
“Why, thank you, dear.” Marjorie patted the side of Holly’s arm as she passed. “Let your daddy know I’ll be back in an hour.”
“Will do.”
Once she was alone in the front lobby, Holly let out a breath. Whether or not this was a mistake would be revealed shortly, but the pit in Holly’s stomach didn’t seem a positive way to begin. She hadn’t spoken a word to either of her parents since the day her father raided diner.
She hadn’t spoken to LJ either.
Difference was, she’d reached out to LJ a number of times where she’d been ignoring all communication from her family. Even her brother’s calls weren’t given an answer. She loved Daniel, but he was a cop like her father, and if he planned to try to soften her attitude toward her parents, she wanted no part of it.
Today was her Hail Mary pass. The one move she’d make to repair the damage before she accepted the fact that, yes, her parents planned to write her out of their lives. Over and over she’d rehearsed what she planned to say.
She loved them, respected them, and wanted to remain a part of their life. But she also loved LJ. And after she walked out of this office, she was tracking his tight ass down and getting him to hear her out. Then, if he still rejected her, she’d have to accept it, but at least she’d be able to say she’d given it her all. Her all and then some because she was prepared to get down and dirty to win this battle.
