“I’m a hot-tempered woman with a family of insane relatives, a best friend who feeds raccoons, a big brother who pisses me off daily, and another best friend who is a chronic on-off dater. What do you think?”

I bit back a laugh. “I think I’ve learned more about you in the last five seconds than I have since I first texted you.”

Reagan didn’t bother to hide her laugh. “That’s because you have. That’s the most any stranger knows about me.”

“I don’t think you can call me a stranger anymore. I know way more about your TV preferences than I ever wanted to know. Plus, you shattered my dreams. You can’t shatter a stranger’s dreams.”

“Yeah, well, you’ve never seen me be hit on in a bar. Dreams get shattered all over the place.”

“You’re a fucking delight, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am. Thank you for noticing.”

That was one laugh I couldn’t hide.

“Anyway,” she said, clearly bringing the conversation to a close as some kind of knocking sound came from her end of the line. “Thank you for the late chat. It was fun, but there’s a crazy old lady banging on my door and demanding I adhere to a curfew I haven’t followed since I was seventeen.”

That explained the banging. “You’re welcome. Thanks for giving me more company than my weirdo dog.”

“Watch it. If I ever meet that dog and you’re being unnecessarily mean, I’ll steal her.”

“I’ll give her to you,” I replied dryly. “’Night, Reagan.”

“’Night, Superman.”

I opened my mouth to demand she never call me that again, but her giggle right before the line cut off distracted me just long enough.

Now, the line was dead.

I could text her, but I knew she wouldn’t listen.

Damn it.

Poosh knocked into my ankle and yipped.

“Bedtime. C’mon, Poosh.”

***

“Will you get your fucking nose out of your phone?” Joel, our chief, whacked Liam around the back of the head.

“Tell that to my mother.” Liam cricked his neck. “My sister is in labor and she’s texting me every single thing.”

I winced.

“Well, don’t tell us,” Joel demanded. “That’s too graphic for this early in the morning.”

He wasn’t wrong. It was only just getting light out.

Liam shot him a dark look and glanced at me. “Why aren’t you telling Noah to get his nose out of his phone? It’s been there all week.”

“What are you, five?” Joel rubbed his salt-and-pepper beard. “He’s new. He’s probably making friends, right, Noah?”

I jerked my head up. “No. I was, uh, buying shit paper on Amazon.”

Liam snorted.

“You can do that?” Joel leaned over to look at my phone. “Well, I’ll be damned. And it’s cheaper. Gotta tell that to the wife.”

“Earning brownie points for the next time you shoot a hole in the garage door?” I grinned. Three weeks ago, he’d accidentally discharged one of his hunting rifles and sent the bullet flying into the garage door where it’d embedded itself in a thick piece of metal.