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Shot to the Heart – Chapter 1
Bo Buchanan sat at his desk lost in case reviews which he’d been putting off for the last three days.
“Don’t you have something better to do than standing out in the hall chatting?” echoed loudly through the hall of the station outside his office.
The volume of the snarky comment pulled Bo from his task at hand, but the source of the comment had him rising to see what was going on.
He opened his door and called out, “Counselor, could I see you in my office for a moment please?”
With an overt roll of her eyes, Nora Buchanan stomped in to the Commissioner’s office, threw her bag on the floor, and let herself drop down onto the nearby sofa.
Bo studied his ex-wife and did his best not to start laughing. He knew this woman so well, but with their divorce had lost the right to do more than watch from a distance. However, when his own staff was in the line of fire, it was time to step in.
“Is everything okay there, Nora? You seem a little short tempered this morning.”
“I really don’t need your help, Bo. I’m fine, really.”
“You didn’t sound fine out there yelling at Cavanaugh.”
“I wasn’t yelling,” she tried. “Okay, maybe I was. It’s just been a tough couple of days.”
“I took Matthew for pizza last night, he didn’t say anything was wrong.”
“That’s something, I guess. I’ve been trying to save the little amount of good mood I have for him.”
“So this is what, stress?”
“I guess so, I don’t know. Maybe I need to take some time off.”
“While you figure it out, can I offer a hug?” He offered his hand and when she placed hers in it, with a warm smile, he helped pull her up off the sofa and into her arms.
“Mmmmmm, I can’t believe how great that feels,” she said as she let herself relax into his embrace, intentionally blocking any thoughts of how surreal it was to be getting this kind of comfort from Bo. They had both worked hard at being civil to one another for the last several years during various relationships and did a good job at co-parenting their son. But, neither had dated anyone for a while, which they found made friendship a little easier.
“I have another idea, though it’s a bit unorthodox,” Bo offered, enjoying the feel of her in his arms, but pulling back so he could talk.
“What’s that?”
“Let’s call it a surprise, are you free now? Unless you want to harass a detective, or verbally abuse the desk officer?”
“You’re funny. I’m free for a few hours, but have to be at a deposition at two. Is that enough time?”
“More than enough. Leave your stuff here, we’ll be back in a little while feeling more focused and relaxed.”
To be continued…
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