Finding Our Reality (The Reality Duet #2)

Chapter 10

CRUTCH

“So, help me Lulu, if you grunt one more time, I’m gonna flip my shit.”

She scrunches her nose, not even looking at me. “Am I supposed to be blamed because your notes are put together like chicken scratch? No wonder your interviews didn’t get very far.”

This ink pen sucks. I flick it across the room and it bounces off the wall and falls into the trash can below. “That’s not what this attitude is about and we both know it. It’s about last night.”

She shrugs and then straightens her shoulders back into their normal stiff position. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Bullshit. “Go ahead and ask me. I know you want to.”

“What?”

“Don’t beat around the bush, Lulu. I like you when you get to the point.” I had to remind her of that, in case she forgot.

She folds her arms across her ample chest. “Fine. How many times have you slept with Kristie? Is that the real reason you said you never liked her?”

I lean forward, across the table, spreading my hands into her personal space. “I have never slept with Kristie. Never. And it wouldn’t have happened last night, so you can wipe that thought from your mind.” I stand up, and pace back and forth across the conference room. “Kristie’s at Will’s bar. A lot. And she hits on me. A lot. But I would never have sex with her, not in a million years.”

She reaches around, tracing her scar with her fingertips. “Why?”

I stop pacing. Cocking my hand on my hips, I debate how much truth to give her. I might as well lay it out there. “Well, besides the obvious fact that I’m not attracted to her in the least little bit, it would hurt you. And I think I’ve done enough of that to last for a while, don’t you?”

She nods. Just once. But that’s all I need. I know I hurt her. But watching her confirm it tears the heart from my chest.

She clears her throat and goes back to reading the notes from my prior interviews. Around midday, she surprises me, being the first one of us to mention lunch. “I’m getting hungry. It’s warm outside today. Feel like walking over to the park? There should be some food trucks down there.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

Locking the conference room door, I slide the extra key off the key ring and hold it out for her. “There may be some days you wanna come in and work on Carrie’s case and I’ll be tied up on other things or out of the building. Like I said, this conference room is reserved indefinitely, so feel free to use it, even when I’m not available.”

“Thank you.”

We walk down to the park, enjoying the winter sunshine, and settle on the gourmet sandwich food truck. We each get a chicken salad sandwich and some pasta salad. We eat most of the meal in silence. At least it’s a comfortable silence today. Depending on our moods, our silences can either be comforting or completely annoying and disturbing.

She didn’t ask for no tomato on her sandwich. She picked it off and it’s laying on the side of her plate. “Why didn’t you say ‘no tomato’?”

“I guess some old habits die hard.”

A cool breeze blows, warning of the cold front about to come through. Her hair tangles in her mouth, and she giggles, trying to pull it away.

Kill me now.

“I like your hair. When did you decide to start curling it?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t curl it. It does this all by itself.”

I wipe my mouth with my napkin. “Your hair changed from straight to wavy? All on its own?”

She rubs her neck. “That happens with women sometimes. We get older, our hormones change.”

“Huh.” I didn’t know that. But I’m not a hairdresser. Or a woman. She licks some pasta dressing from her fork, drawing attention to her perfectly pink lips. The lips I used to kiss. The lips that used to wrap around me. Needing a distraction, I decide to ask a question that’s been gnawing at me since we started working together. “Tell me somethi—” I quickly rephrase my question. “Tell me about your career? How did you get started in this? I assume you didn’t pursue an architecture degree.”

“I didn’t. You know that’s never what I wanted.”

“Yeah, I know.”

She surprises me by relaxing her shoulders just a little bit. “I did one semester online with the University of Virginia. Then, I attended Michigan State University. I received two Bachelor’s. One in Criminal Justice and one in Journalism. Did my Master’s in Forensic Science with the University of Florida. Moved to Mobile and started my consulting business.”

Pain and anger grip my stomach, making me lose my appetite. “You moved to Michigan?”

Her stare is blank and void of emotion. “Yes, that’s where Hudson was attending college. We moved to Michigan, and I just did my first semester online with UVA before my enrollment at MSU started.”

“Two degrees. That’s impressive. How long did it take?”

“Just the normal four years. I had to complete everything before the move to Florida.”

“Shit, Lulu. Did you even have time for a life?”

“I did twenty-one hours per semester during my sophomore, junior, and senior years. Plus, I took summer classes.”

“That’s a lot of school.” I’m glad we’re sitting at a picnic table so she can’t see my leg shaking uncontrollably underneath the table. “Must have been hard, socially. Especially for a newlywed.”

Her eyes flare and her back arches forward. “I was there for an education. Not for a party. Hudson didn’t suffer. He had his own friends.”

“And Florida?”

“That’s where Hudson attended law school. I moved to Mobile before he finished. His father’s law firm was opening an office there to service the Alabama and Florida Panhandle. I moved there early to establish my business. His father helped set me up with some initial clients. My work spoke for itself. I was fortunate enough to be filling a void right when it was needed.” She piles her trash on her plate. “That’s how the business started.”

She’s absolutely perfect.

Except for the fact she married that tool, Hudson.

“Those are fascinating accomplishments. Achievement looks really good on you.” I clear my throat, rubbing my hand over my face. I’m afraid to say what I’m thinking, so I whisper my words instead. “That’s all I ever wanted for you.”

The color drains from her face. I didn’t mean to upset her. I guess no matter what I say or do, I will always upset her. It must be my destiny.

She nods. Just once. “And what about you? After the service? Marcum said you discharged early?”

I don’t have a chance to answer her questions. My cell phone rings, abruptly ending our conversation. I guess she can tell by my one-sided responses that it’s time to go. She grabs both of our plates and tosses them in the trash. “I’m sorry about that. I have to run out on a call. I need to head back.”

She walks away, not waiting on me. “That’s fine. We were done anyway.”

I don’t know if I’ll ever be done when it comes to Lulu.

Tired of crossing the enemy line to the neutral zone, she doesn’t elaborate when I try to ask her more questions on our walk back to the station. So, instead, I make small talk about another case I have going on—a robbery. She’s making some intriguing comments, giving me cause to think, when she immediately stops walking. Clenching her jaw, her palms curl into fists. I follow her line of sight to an older woman who just stepped outside one of the expensive downtown boutiques with bags in hand. She looks familiar.

The woman suddenly notices Lulu. “Ella! Darling.” She trots over to us, clicking her heels on the sidewalk. Bending forward, she brushes an air kiss in the direction of Lulu’s cheek. She’s shorter than Lulu so she has to bounce on her toes to even come close to her cheek. “It’s wonderful to see you. We didn’t get a chance to chat after the funeral services. I wanted to tell you how sorry I am that your parents are gone. Susan was such an amazing woman and an amazing best friend. I cry every day just thinking about her and Robert.”

Lulu plants a saccharine smile on her face. “Thank you, Noreen.”

The woman turns her sights on me. Now I know who she is. And after all these years, she still looks at me like I’m some kind of boy toy. She takes a deep breath, trying to minimize her waist and maximize her chest. I wonder how many times over the years that has worked. How many times she’s cheated on her husband? “And who is your dashing friend? A member of law enforcement?”

Lulu doesn’t speak. Her eyes grow wide as saucers. She actually looks scared to talk. It’s freaking weird. Lulu is many things, but scared speechless isn’t typically one of them. She may not talk at times, but that’s her choice, her choice to usually piss people off and act like a bitch. But that’s not what’s happening now. Now, she actually looks afraid.

I hold out my hand. “Sergeant Ryland Crutchfield, ma’am.”

The smile disappears from the woman’s face. It’s quickly replaced with a look of utter disgust. Well, that didn’t take long. I guess she does remember me from twelve years ago. I guess the badge and gun don’t hide the trashy DNA roaming around inside my body.

She slowly turns to Lulu. “ Him ? That didn’t take long, did it?”

My Lulu finds her voice. “Be careful what you say, Noreen. I wouldn’t want you to say something you’d regret.”

Hudson’s mother spits words of hate in Lulu’s direction. “You’re the one who should have regrets. Not me. You have a life full of poor decisions.” Her eyes dart back to me. “And it looks like you haven’t even learned from your past mistakes.”

Screw that. I slice my way between their bodies, blocking their standoff. My back rubs against Lulu’s shoulder. “That’s enough.”

Taking a step back, Noreen rearranges the bags in her hand. “Quite right. Some of us are too sophisticated for petty arguments.” She turns, walking away. Before she rounds the corner, she peeks over her shoulder. “Oh, and Hudson sends his regards. He couldn’t attend the funeral. He’s on a major trial right now, couldn’t break away. Plus, Celeste is due any day. He wants her to avoid all possible stress. Meeting her was the best thing that ever happened to him. A healthy birth is his number one focus.”

As soon as the nasty woman is out of sight and earshot, I turn around. Lulu has completely locked herself away, deep inside of her own mind. My fingers ache to shake her, break her, bring her back to life. That last sentence tells me all I need to know. Hudson is with someone new, and they are about to have a baby. Is that why Lulu is so upset? Does she miss Hudson? Miss their life? That thought makes me want to lock myself away in my own mind, but I won’t give her that satisfaction so I say the only thing I can think of saying to neutralize the situation, “So, Hudson’s mom is just as pleasurable as I remember.”

“Yeah, she’s a fucking bitch.”