The city boy rookie was an idiot. Scared shitless by one of Mel Bailey's cows loose in the road, he'd swerved and managed to drive halfway up a tree. Got a broken shoulder for his trouble and likely totaled the squad car. Judd was still waiting on the estimate from the garage. The City Council was gonna love that.
As if that hadn't been enough, he'd been called in to deal with a bar fight at the Mudcat Tavern. Harley Forbes was drunk off his ass and had gotten in a sucker punch while Judd was trying to talk him down. That was almost a relief because it gave Judd somewhere to funnel his filthy mood. Not that dropping the asshole with one punch had exactly been standard police protocol, but Jesus Christ. The world was conspiring to keep him from getting back home to talk to Autumn. What was she thinking? What was she doing? Packing, probably, despite her promise. He only hoped he could get back to the house before she'd finished.