The sink faucet sputtered to life, and Duke Marlowe splashed a handful of cold water over his face, feeling the chill trickle down his chin and onto his collar. He rubbed his eyes with a sigh, then looked at himself in the cracked mirror. “I should have put a stop to that when he got the idea for the present,” he grumbled to himself.

  Duke had known visiting the dragon would take its toll; it always did. Rex never just "stopped by" Katarina’s locations on a whim. He planned for those visits, and he had clearly been planning on the stop. He was very insistent when they linked up at the station. Still, Duke had gone along because Rex was his partner. Rex was his friend, and when Rex was in trouble, Duke stepped up. That was the job.

  That is what friends are for.

  The only problem was that Rex had been in trouble for years.

  Duke took a deep breath, steeling himself as he left the restroom. Out in the main dining area of Dillo’s, he spotted Rex hunched over their booth, idly flipping through the worn menu with a distracted frown. Seated across from him was Carla, a dappled badger in her mid-forties with a hearty build and a perpetual grease smudge on her apron. Her arms were folded, watching him with that no-nonsense look she reserved for regulars who had baggage as heavy as their appetites.

  Carla tilted her head, an expression over her face that encapsulated the same warm familiarity she always wore. There was a certain nonchalance about her that kept Dillo's feeling like home, especially for the police regulars.

  “You sure about that, Rex?” Carla asked, her tone motherly but not without an edge, her pen poised over her notepad.

  “Don’t worry about it, he is hitting the head and will be back soon,” Rex mumbled, handing her the menu.

  Carla arched her brow, “You visited Kat today didn’t you?” she asked, her voice gentle.

  Rex’s lips pressed into a line, “Just… one of those days, Carla.”

  A shadow of sympathy flickered across her face. “Uh-huh,” she murmured, her usual sass softened.

  Rex’s mouth twitched, and his ears flattened as he sighed, “My boy is gonna be four soon. Would prefer not to talk about it.”

  “Sure, hun.” Carla’s voice was softer now, understanding the undercurrent in his response. “I’ll get that order ready.” She patted the table gently, her nails tapping the wood. “I’ll be back with some coffee.”

  Rex responded with an arch of his thumb to where Duke would be seated. “Nothing extra for me. Can’t speak for Duke on that one.”

  Carla beamed a smile at Duke as he approached, “Not a problem, I know what Duke likes.” She pressed the menu to her chest giving Duke space to enter the booth, “Two scoops of sugar as usual, handsome?”

  Duke smiled, “Maybe I would want three this time just to change things up.”

  Carla responded with a toothy smile, “Then you would still get two cause I would know you were joking.”

  Duke held up two fingers as he entered the booth, “Two’s fine. Thank you.”

  The booth creaked as he lowered himself into the seat opposite Rex. “Some of us need breathing room over here, Calder,” he joked, Pushing the table a bit closer toward Rex with an abrupt shrill grind. Rex’s smirk was faint, but Duke could see the gratitude for the attempt at levity.

  Dillo himself, a portly armadillo in a well-worn apron, shuffled by, nodding at them with a smile. “Duke! Rex! Good to see ya both,” he grunted, his leathery voice carrying that gruff warmth familiar to the old regulars.

  “You too, Dillo,” Duke replied with a friendly nod. “Business is good this morning?”

  Dillo chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. “Just the way we like it. Ain’t planning on retiring yet, y’know?”

  Rex smirked, “Carla wouldn’t let you Dillo. You're stuck here.”

  Dillo gestured toward Carla, who was bustling behind the counter. “Carla’s the real boss. I just keep the lights on.”

  Carla gave a snort from the counter as she filled a coffee pot, her sharp gaze sliding over to the two detectives. “If you keep talking, old man, maybe I’ll start billing you by the hour,” she shot back.

  Dillo squinted at her, and pointed two fingers in her direction, then to his eyes, then back. Carla returned the gesture with a smirk, as she poured the coffee into two mugs. Dillo shrugged, and patted his palm on their table. “Again, good to see you two.” As Dillo made his way back to the kitchen, Carla returned to the table, placing a steaming cup of coffee in front of each of them. “Here you go Duke, two scoops. The usual.”

  Duke inhaled the scent of the coffee. “I wish I had this at home.”

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Carla leaned in with a mischievous grin as she prodded his shoulder, “I’ll be sure to let Fiona know when I see her.”

  Duke winced, “Please don’t… I don’t need the stress, and her coffee is perfect.”

  Carla gave a quick contemplative look at Rex as she brushed her apron, her whiskers twitching slightly. “Mm hmm…”

  She tucked her pencil behind her ear and flicked her tail with a practiced air of nonchalance. “I’ll leave you boys to it. Looks like you have some things to pine through, and I have other customers I need to tend to.”

  Rex took hold of his coffee mug, and said “Thanks Carla.” He gave her an amused glare as she moved on toward another table. Duke could see how even this small bit of banter had softened his partner’s brooding.

  The two sat and enjoyed their coffee. The hustle, bustle and conversations of the restaurant filled in the ambiance with plenty of distraction. Duke eyed Rex as he sipped his coffee meditatively. “Rex, I know I come off pretty hard on your relationship decisions. I want you to know that…”

  Rex held up and wagged his finger as he loudly sipped his coffee to interrupt. “Look, no offense Duke; I appreciate the concern, but I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Duke huffed and squinted disapprovingly at Rex, “You should probably find someone to talk to Rex. Pushing this stuff down is clearly not working for you. We have been sitting on this for years and it is not getting better.”

  Carla returned, balancing Duke and Rex’s meals. She set a full salad down in front of Duke, giving him an approving nod. She then slid a plate with a large burger in front of Rex. “Big Horn, extra rare. Just like you wanted, hotshot.”

  Rex flashed her a half-smile. “Thanks, Carla.”

  “Anytime, Hun. Just remember, therapy’s cheaper and the chef likes you, cause that is not normally open for breakfast.” Carla could see Duke’s expression as a mix of disgust and surprise. She put her hand on his shoulder, and leaned in to whisper apologetically, “Just give this one to him, Duke.” She pat Duke on the shoulder, and gave a wink to Rex before she walked away, her calls back to the kitchen blending with the clinking dishes and low murmur of the diner.

  Duke eyed the burger. Rex lifted it to his maw with a kind of single-minded dedication he usually reserved for closing cases. Duke cleared his throat. “Seriously? A burger. Right here. Right now?”

  Rex’s brows knitted. “One of those days, and I am hungry,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  “Really? Just like that?” Duke countered, watching as Rex took a hefty bite, a hint of juice dribbling down his muzzle. “I mean, come on, have a little respect. I’m sitting right here.”

  Rex barely paused, as he chewed and spoke with his mouth full, “I’m not eating your *cousin*, Duke.” He swallowed, “It's just beef.”

  Duke rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and maybe the folks here don’t need to see me reliving some distant ancestral trauma. Kind of a big ask.”

  “You're not a feral cow, Duke.” Rex went in for another bite. “You’ll survive.”

  Duke leaned back, crossing his arms with a sigh. “Sure, go ahead. Maybe when we leave, we can stop by the tanner and I can get a nice wolf fur lining for the steering wheel in the cruiser.”

  Rex arched an eyebrow. His head tilted slightly as his ears perked with a slight angle toward Duke. “Now that would be insulting,” Rex said as he wiped grease from his muzzle with his thumb. “At least I am doing an honor to this feral by nourishing my body with it.”

  Duke took in a large mouthful of his salad, and chewed with a smirk, “You disgust me.”

  Rex chuckled, but his eyes quickly drifted back to his food, his gaze going distant again. Duke could see the shadow hanging over him, and the silence stretched a bit longer than he wanted it to.

  Duke kept his voice gentle, “Rex… maybe it’s time to let go. You don’t want to talk, I get that, but you cannot keep doing this to yourself. You need to let her go.”

  “It’s not just her, Duke,” Rex said, voice low. “It’s my son. He doesn’t even know me.”

  Duke nodded, “I can guarantee you are going to see less of him if you keep stalking her and him at the school of all places.”

  Rex let out a bitter chuckle, running his fingers through his fur. “Yeah, she noticed that…”

  Duke sowled, “So did Sgt. Braddock when he noticed the surveillance equipment went “missing”.

  Rex took another bite of his burger, and swallowed, “It is easy for you to lecture me as an ‘outside looking in’, Duke. You’ve got the family, the kids. Fiona won’t even let me near yours.”

  Duke shrugged, smiling softly. “You're a bad influence, Rex. A unhinged, maverick, lone wolf that gets her husband hurt.”

  Rex looked confused as he chewed another bite from his burger, “Does she really think that?”

  Duke shrugged as he scooped up another bite of his salad, “I embellished a little.” Duke scowled, “Seriously though, you're sitting here eating a burger infront of me, and you look confused asking me that question.” Rex took a moment to deliberately, and exageratedly take another bite of his burger and chew. Duke let him finish and swallow before continuing, “She doesn’t know how to cook for you, and she cooks for our guests. You tend to be intense, and predatory. It’s in your genes. When the kids are older, it won’t be as much of a problem.” Duke pointed his fork at Rex, “To my original point.”

  Rex deflected, as expected. “How’s Fiona doing anyway? And the kids?”

  Duke huffed, and then sighed, “Busy wrangling the two we’ve got, and the new calf is 6 months along and growing,” Duke replied, a flash of pride showing on his face. “Gonna be a full house soon enough.”

  Rex offered a faint grin, the first real smile Duke had seen all day. “You ready for another round of sleepless nights when the new one is born?”

  Duke chuckled, leaning forward. “Rex, life is messy for all of us. What matters is where you go from here. You’ve got a choice. Stop deflecting every time I bring this up, and stop letting this guilt eat you. You need to get out there. Plenty of other animals out there that are not dragons. Katarina is a lesson, learn from it, move on.”

  For a long moment, Rex just stared at his plate, his face unreadable. Finally, he took the last bite of his burger. Duke could tell his partner was still wrestling with his thoughts, but at least it appeared he was listening.

  Carla sauntered over as they finished, her striped tail swishing lazily behind her, hands on her hips. She raised a brow, her small ears angling forward in curiosity. “You boys done?” she teased, leaning in conspiratorially, her nose twitching as if sniffing out a secret. “I should be charging extra for the therapy sessions in this place.”

  Duke chuckled. “Some of us chew things over a bit longer, that’s all.”

  Rex fished out his wallet, giving her a mock glare. “You’ll have to put it on my tab, Carla.”

  She raised a brow, the corners of her mouth pulling back in a toothy smirk as she slipped the check onto the table. Her claws clicked faintly on the surface as she tapped it with a chuckle. “You wish, Calder. ‘Carla’s Booth Confessions’ only accepts cash upfront,” she chided, her tail flicking sharply behind her as she walked away, still chuckling to herself.

  Duke checked his watch, nodding toward the door. “We’ve got a scene to hit. Ready to move?”

  The booth creaked in relief as Duke pulled himself out of it.

  Rex used a napkin to wipe his mouth, and left the waste on his plate, “Yeah, lets go.”

  Rex rose, and Duke glanced back to see Carla waving. Both men placed their respective payment on the table, and Duke followed Rex out. Together, they stepped back into the busy streets, setting aside the morning’s troubles as they braced for whatever the day had in store.