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attached.
    “We’re going to get some muscles on that scrawny ass of yours yet.” Mike teased as he stood at the head of the bench spotting his friend.
    Through gritted teeth, Jack huffed. When he had the bar fully extended, he gasped for a breath. “Kiss. My. Ass. Sterling.”
    Mike appreciated the other man’s request to start working out with him. Jack didn’t show up every day, but he tried to fit as many in as he could with his wife and young daughter at home waiting. The skinny genes were in Jack’s family, but he had bulked up a little bit at least. And they had a good time giving each other shit during the sweat sessions. Watching Jack’s face turn redder with each rep, Mike raised his eyebrow. “While I appreciate the offer buddy, you’re still not my type.”
    Jack blew out another breath. “Fuck you, Mike.”
    “You’re just not pretty enough, dude, and you don’t have boobs.” Mike chuckled out loud.
    The familiar retorts relaxed him. A part of him wanted to confide in Jack, both as a friend and a fellow officer. Fear stopped him. Instead, he accepted Jack’s banter. The teasing routine he knew all too well. As soon as Jack left, he’d tape up his wrists again, pound the innocent punching bag until he was barely able to drag himself to bed, and then pray like hell, the nightmares would skip a night.
     
    ~~~
     
    Taryn returned to her hotel room, setup her laptop, spread her drawings and notes out over the small dining table meant for two, and scribbled furiously for an hour, praying she didn’t forget any ideas sparked by her tour with Mike.
    A sharp pain in her neck told her she’d been sitting in one position bent over her work for way too long and needed to stretch. Or at the very least, she needed to stand up.
    She walked over to the hotel window.  It was a small room, not many amenities, but it was clean and comfortable.  Mike mentioned a bed-n-breakfast that was off the town square in the opposite direction.  She would have to look into that for her trip back to Renlend.
    Leaning against the cool glass, Taryn took in the small town then glanced at her watch. She wasn’t ready to sleep, so she grabbed her purse and keys. It was dark, and she wouldn’t see nearly as much as she would in the daylight, but still something about the quaint, homey feel of the town pulled at her. Taryn also wanted to incorporate that feeling into the project she was currently sketching designs for.  At least that way when Andrew was finally able to make it to town, they’d be three steps ahead.
    The town wasn’t big enough to get lost in, so she didn’t even bother to plug in her well-traveled GPS. The fact she’d been taught at an early age to navigate by sense of direction came in handy, although, she’d never admit that to her father.
    Taryn chuckled to herself remembering, as a child then a teen, those lessons while trapped in a car with her father. It was that or talk radio . Kids today had no idea how lucky they were to have iPods with headphones. But then again, she never got lost.
    Driving down one of the few main streets in town had her almost drooling. And thinking. The old homes were astounding with the architecture, size, and the love put into every detail. Judging by the period detailing, some had to be over one hundred years old. History claimed quite a few were given by husbands to their wives as wedding gifts, and some were just a plain ostentatious display of stature in a time long past.
    However, thoughts of the man she’d met at Jenny’s kept sneaking in as she slowly crept along the sleepy streets, falling in more and more in love with the peaceful small town.
    After Mike and Taryn successfully walked the entire square, drifting in and out of little shops, he walked her to her rental car. The sun retired—the pinks, oranges and purples painting the sky, but it was Mike who made the tour enjoyable.
    The time she spent with Mike had been surprisingly relaxed. The easy flowing