“Hey, how’d it go?” Corrine asked. She was one of the few people who knew he was still hammering out a change in the custody arrangements.

“It went,” he said and smiled a bit. Corrine, another cop who knew the ropes, had become his rock.

“You okay?”

Never, when dealing with Delilah. He hated to think it, but his shrink seemed to think he was still hung up on her. “I will be.”

“So, you’re coming over later? I’ve got First Blood on DVD. Thought it might help get out some of your aggressions.”

He actually laughed. “I’ll bring the raw meat.”

“I think you need to come up with something…uh, what’s the quote…about what Rambo ate?”

“I think it’s something that would make a billy goat puke.”

“Yeah, that’s right.” She chuckled. “We can barbecue whatever it is…roadkill maybe.”

“I’ll work on it.” He felt a little better as he glanced at the dash board clock. “Look, I have a couple of things I’ve gotta do. I’ll be there in little over an hour.”

“Why do I have the feeling that this is because Rick Bentz is in town?”

He probably shouldn’t have told her that Bentz had called, especially because she and Bentz had “a history.” But the truth would have gotten out sooner or later, and Bentz had dated several women in the department before he met and married Jennifer. Hayes decided it was best if Corrine heard it from him first. If he’d learned anything from his two failed marriages, he now knew it was better to stick to the truth. It was also a whole lot better to be the bearer of bad news than let the woman in his life be blindsided from some other source.

“You figured out the Bentz connection,” he teased. “Proof that you’re a crack detective.”

“Yeah, right. Missing Persons wouldn’t be the same without me.” She played along. “Don’t think that kind of sweet talk will make up for the fact that you’ll be late.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“I’ll fire up the DVD player. At least I can count on Rambo showing up.”

“Ouch! I’ll be there. Soon.”

“Just as long as you know I’m not the kind of woman who sits around and waits forever.”

“What’s wrong with ya?” he joked and she chuckled.

“Jerk!”

“Yeah, but you love me.”

“And that’s the problem. I’ll see you soon.”