“Have a slice of pizza?” Keith asked, passing him a piece on a plate.
“Thanks,” the lieutenant accepted. “What’s on your minds, gang?”
“Well,” Dare said, “Laura had this really great idea.”
The lieutenant glanced at me, eyebrows raised. “Oh?”
“Um,” I said, “it really wasn’t my idea. It was more Dare’s idea.”
“Go on,” the lieutenant urged, and then took a bite of pizza.
“Well,” Dare spoke up, “we were thinking maybe our club could do something for the D.A.R.E. program as our community service project. We think it would be cool to visit area schools and talk to kids about drugs. We’ll have a lot to do to get ready for the upcoming school year but I think we can do it.”
The lieutenant nodded enthusiastically. “I think that’s a great idea,” he declared. “Good thinking, gang. We can discuss it at our meeting...”
The lieutenant’s words trailed off as he received a radio call. “Control to David 14,” the radio voice said.
Lieutenant Hudson laughed with chagrin, before snapping the radio from his belt and talking into it. “David 14, go ahead.”
The voice said, “Ten 19 for an 87 with Deputy Collins at the station.”
“Ten 4,” Lieutenant Hudson responded.
I didn’t understand the police ‘ten code’ used by the dispatcher. In response to my raised eyebrows, Dare said, “He has to meet Deputy Collins at the station.”
“Excellent, Dare,” Lieutenant Hudson said as he scooped up his slice of pizza. “Thanks for the lunch, gang. I’ll take it for the road. See you kids later.”
We watched as he left the restaurant, and then Dare, Courtney, and Keith began to talk about the explorers. I didn’t say much. I really had no point of reference. I’d never been to a meeting, but that would change soon enough.
***
“You’re kidding me!” Jennifer exclaimed as she flopped down on my bed. “You went out for pizza with that hot cop yesterday?”
“His name’s Dare, and he’s not a cop.”
“Dare’s a strange name,” Jennifer said, “but I kind of like it.”
“Me, too,” I admitted.
She laughed. “Well, do you like him?”
I hesitated for a second. “Uh, yeah, I like him.”
“But do you like him, like him?” she persisted.
“Jen, I hardly know him.”
“Well, does he like you?” she asked, bursting with enthusiasm.
“Jen,” I sighed, “I don’t know.”
“He must like you, otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked you to pizza. Oh, you’re so lucky,” she finished dreamily, and then perked up again. “Hey, Laura, I think you’ve hit on something. You’re always complaining that guys are turned off by your dad’s profession, well, obviously not Dare. Maybe the trick is to date guys who are interested in law enforcement.”
“I don’t know, Jen. I guess it’s something to think about.” I moved to stand in front of my bedroom closet. “Help me pick out something to wear.”
She folded her arms and watched me, a wide grin on her face. “You like him,” she said smugly, “otherwise, why would you be here, in front of your closet, picking out an outfit to wear to a meeting ... tomorrow?”
I couldn’t help grinning. “Okay, so I kind of like him. I have to admit he’s pretty cute. And smart. And funny.”
Jennifer laughed, then moved to stand beside me in front of my closet. “Mmmmm, what to wear?” she murmured.
She perused my closet for awhile, and finally turned toward me. “What does one wear to an Explorers’ Meeting?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s why you’re here. I’m relying on your keen fashion sense, Jen.”
She turned back to my closet. “How about this?” She pulled out a denim skirt and a baby blue t-shirt. She dangled them in front of me. “Brings out your eyes and emphasizes your size-three waist. Gosh, I wish I had your figure.”
“Oh, hush up,” I admonished, “you’re gorgeous.” And Jennifer was, with her glossy brown hair and lovely brown eyes. Her lashes were so thick and beautiful that she didn’t even need to wear mascara.
I changed into the outfit. “What do you think?”
“Perfect. What shoes are you wearing?”
Again, I shrugged. “Better wear flats,” she advised. “Who knows what you’ll be doing at the meeting.”
“You’re probably right,” I agreed, and then dashed to my closet and pulled out a pair of brown leather sandals. I eyed them distastefully. “I ought to wear heels for added height. I could sure use help in that department.”
Jennifer laughed. “There are worse things than to be blonde, blue-eyed, petite, and adorable...”
“Stop it,” I said, embarrassed. I decided to change the subject. “You’re coming with me tomorrow. Right, Jen? I need you with me.”
Suddenly, I had a terrific idea. “Jen! Why don’t you join, too. It might be fun.”
She shook her head and made a face. “Nice try. Uh, uh, not me. Besides, Dare will be there,” she told me, grinning.
I shot her a pleading look. “I really do want you to come.”
She gave a sigh. “I’ll go tomorrow,” she said, “but beyond that, I can’t promise anything.”
“Okay, that’s better than nothing.”
I turned back to the mirror then and studied my reflection from all angles. I wondered if Dare would like my outfit. I sure hoped so.
Chapter Five
I had just closed the front door behind Jennifer when the phone rang. I dashed to the end table beside the couch and snatched at the receiver. “Hello,” I said breathlessly.
“Hello, hon.”
“Oh, hi, Dad.”
“Hey, Laura,” he said, “I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you.”
My eyes widened in surprise. “Proud of me?” I repeated. Earlier, he’d been so angry with me he would hardly speak to me, but now ... he was proud of me?
“Yeah, hon. Lieutenant Hudson tells me you had an idea about the D.A.R.E. program that he thought was excellent. I do, too.”
“Uh, Dad, it really wasn’t...”
“Hey, hon,” he interrupted me, “how would you like to come on a ride-along tonight? You can ride with me—get a real feel for police work.”
“Um, well, Dad...”
“Give me fifteen minutes. I’ll be by with the patrol car to pick you up.” Click.
I groaned. I’d been looking forward to a quiet evening at home. My favorite program was playing tonight, and now I would miss it. I glanced at the clock. Five o’clock. Sighing, I headed upstairs to change my clothes. The shorts I was wearing probably weren’t appropriate attire for police work, I decided with a grimace.
In my room, I slipped into a pair of tan pants and a light cotton sweater. I stepped into my white Keds and then hurried into my bathroom and ran a comb through my hair.
I went back downstairs and waited for my dad. Soon, I heard him drive up. I stepped outside, locked the door behind me, and then jogged to his car. Dad leaned across and unlocked the door. I slid into the car and buckled myself in.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Hey, hon,” he said, grinning.
I glanced around the patrol car. I hadn’t been in a patrol car since I was a little kid—in the front of one, that is. It felt very strange, not at all what I remembered.
The dash was bright with lit-up gadgets. I immediately spied the radio, but the other buttons were unfamiliar to me. I turned toward my dad to ask what each was and my knee cracked against the assault rifle mounted low on the center portion of the dash.
“Ouch,” I muttered, and clutched my knee.
“Easy there, hon. Don’t worry, it’ll seem like home soon enough,” he assured me.
I found that hard to believe, but I subsided into the seat and tried to get comfortable. After we’d driven awhile, I asked, “Are you taking calls tonight, Dad?”
“Yep. W
e’re low on coverage. Madson’s out sick. So, I thought I’d pick up the slack and take my daughter with me. I thought it only fitting that your first ride-along be with your old dad.”
I watched my father, who was bursting with enthusiasm. “This will be fun,” he said. “It’s always nice to have a partner.”
“I thought deputies always have partners,” I commented.
“Nope. Our guys ride alone. Some departments have two officers per car, but unfortunately, we just don’t have the funding. Most small towns don’t....”
Dad’s words trailed as he steered the patrol car into the station parking lot. “Come on in for a minute,” he said.
I followed him into the station. He headed for his office. “I’ll be just a minute,” he said. “Why don’t you have a look around?”
I glanced around. Apparently, all the deputies were out on the road so I had the place to myself. I strolled around the main room. Periodically, I stopped to listen to the police radio, curious about the police ten-codes both the officers and dispatch used.
I made a mental note to ask Dad about them when we got back into the patrol car. I moved to study a ‘wanted’ poster on the wall, and I was surprised to hear my name from behind me.
“Laura, what are you doing here?”
I spun around. Dare grinned at me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him.
“I asked you first,” he reminded me.
I smiled. “Oh, yeah. I’m on a ride-along with my dad.”
“That’s great. What do you think so far?”
“It’s kind of cool. It’s been a long time since I’ve ridden in a patrol car with my dad.”
“It hasn’t been long since you rode in the back of one with Dare and Lieutenant Hudson,” a voice said from behind Dare.
I glanced up and met Courtney’s cold, emerald eyes. I wondered what she and Dare were doing at the station—together.
Courtney moved to stand beside Dare. She linked her arm possessively through his. “Dare and I are doing a little research,” she told me smugly. “I spoke with Lieutenant Hudson this evening about the D.A.R.E. program, and he said we could find plenty of information about it here at the station. So....” She smiled widely. “Dare and I decided to get started right away. Didn’t we, Dare?”
“Uh, yeah, right. Hey, Laura,” he said, “if you have some time, you could help us....”
My dad stepped into the room at that instant. Relief washed over me. It had been a surprise to see Dare at the station, but it had been downright shocking to see him and Courtney together. Just the sight of Courtney, touching Dare, caused my heart to lurch.
Silently, I scolded myself for my reaction. I mean, I hardly knew him. I certainly held no claim to him. And I suspected now that Courtney and Dare were dating. If that was the case, I had no right falling for him.
“Come on, hon,” Dad called to me, interrupting my thoughts. “We’d better get moving.”
I did my best to smile at Dare and Courtney, but I could only manage a tight, little, sad smile. As I walked away from them, almost of their own volition, my eyes turned back toward the pair for a split second.
It was long enough to note that they made a beautiful couple. Both were tall and gorgeous. And both were interested in law enforcement.
“See you tomorrow night, Laura,” Dare called to me just as the door shut behind me.
“See you,” I muttered, as I followed my dad to the patrol car.
I slid into the seat and fastened the seat belt. My dad climbed in and did the same. He picked up the radio and indicated to dispatch that he was back in service. “Tom-3, 10-8,” he said.
I watched him as he replaced the radio. “Dad, why do you use ten-codes? What are they exactly?”
“Well, they’re sort of our very own police language. Most departments have their own unique dispatching systems. For example, if one of my deputies is taking a lunch break, he’ll radio to dispatch that he’s ‘Code-7.’ If control needs an officer to return to the station, they’ll request a ‘10-19.’ The ten codes are effective in keeping talk on the radio to a minimum.”
“Why do you need to keep talk to a minimum?”
“We need to keep the channels open in case of an emergency. If an officer needs to radio dispatch, we always want him to be able to do so. We just can’t have the channels jammed up.”
I nodded. That made sense.
I turned to stare out the window. Suddenly, a picture of Dare and Courtney popped into my mind. I didn’t know why it bothered me so much to see them together. I mean, I knew I was being ridiculous. I’d only just met Dare anyway. And we hadn’t gotten off to a very good start either.
I shuddered as I recalled our initial meeting. He’d arrested me! And then, our next meeting was at the river, where I’d foolishly gone by myself. He had made it abundantly clear that he thought I was downright reckless, just as my dad and Jennifer did.
But then I felt a glimmer of hope. He had asked me to pizza, and we had gotten along pretty well, all things considered.
I wondered where Courtney fit into the picture. I shuddered at the memory of her linking her arm possessively around Dare’s muscular arm. They had to be more than friends. Didn’t they?
“Control to Tom-3.”
The voice from the radio startled me. I turned back to my father, who was reaching for the radio. “Tom-3. Go ahead,” he said.
The voice from the radio said, “Injury accident at the corner of Bridge Creek Road and Claxton.”
“Ten-4.”
Dad glanced at me and grimaced. “I think you’re about to see one of the more disturbing aspects of police work.”
He reached for a switch on the console, between the two front seats. He flipped the switch and immediately, I saw the reflection of the blue dash light on the windshield. Dad then turned a knob beside the light switch and the wail of the siren sounded in my ears. Oddly, my heart began to pound faster, and I felt myself inching forward in my seat.
I watched as my dad expertly steered the patrol car northbound along the roadway, careful to avoid both north and southbound traffic. I watched as cars fanned out, to the edge of the road, to allow us to pass.
Soon, Dad rounded a corner. I knew we were nearing the intersection of Bridgecreek and Claxton. “Here we are,” Dad told me, slowing the car to a crawl.
He steered the patrol car past several cars, then eased to a stop. I was surprised that rescue personnel were already at the scene. Quickly, Dad unbuckled his seat belt, then glanced at me. “Wait here, hon.”
Dad left the car. My eyes followed him as he walked briskly toward the scene. I gasped when I saw a tiny car plied against a tree not far from where we were parked. I watched as my dad moved to take a look at the car. Then he walked over to a fire truck. Paramedics were tending to an injured boy nearby.
The boy was lying on a stretcher. He couldn’t have been more than sixteen or seventeen. Even from my vantage point in the car, I could see the nasty, red gash on his forehead. The paramedics had put a collar around his neck to immobilize it.
I swallowed over a lump in my throat, and silently hoped that he was okay. Nervously, I watched the paramedics work on him. I felt so helpless just sitting in the car.
I made a quick decision to get out. I intended to stay right by the patrol car, but I felt as if I needed to be closer to the scene. My eyes sought my father again. I spotted him as he spoke to the paramedics. Then he hurried to talk to a man who was standing alongside the roadway.
I watched as my father pulled a notepad from his pocket. He began writing on the pad. I figured that the man must have witnessed the accident. Soon, a paramedic approached my father, said a few words, and my dad practically ran back over to the injured boy.
It was then that I saw the little boy, no older than three or four, carried by a paramedic. The paramedic sat him on the bumper of the fire truck. My father approached him, and said something to him. Next thing I knew, Dad was jogging toward me. Wh
en he reached me, he didn’t seem upset to find me out of the car.
“Hon,” he said, passing me his car keys, “would you mind getting a Teddy Bear out of the back of my car?”
“Teddy Bear?” I repeated.
He nodded. “It’s probably under a blanket. Bring it over, okay?” He ran back to the little boy then.
I nodded and hurried to the back of the car. I opened the trunk. I quickly found the blanket and moved it aside. Sure enough, there was a large, brown Teddy Bear beneath it. I scooped it up, slammed the trunk closed, then dashed over to my father. “Here, Dad.”
I passed Dad his keys first, and then the Teddy Bear. He handed it to the little boy. “Joey, I’d like you to meet Mr. Bear,” he said.
The little boy took the bear, but didn’t say anything. Hesitantly, he watched my father, then turned to look at me. His dark eyes were wide and frightened.
Joey hugged the bear tightly to his chest. He watched me warily. “Are you a policeman?” he asked.
I almost smiled, but stopped myself. “Nope.” I nodded at my father. “But my dad is. I’m Laura.”
“I was wearin’ my seatbelt,” he said suddenly. “Ben wasn’t. Is Ben hurt real bad?”
“I’m glad you were wearing your seatbelt, Joey. And try not to worry about Ben. The paramedics are taking really good care of him.”
“Sheriff!”
Another deputy had arrived at the scene, and was calling to my father from across the roadway.
“Laura, will you stay with Joey?” my father asked me.
“Sure, Dad.”
“Is this bear for me, for keeps?” Joey asked softly.
I glanced at my father, and raised my eyebrows questioningly.
“You bet, Joey. Mr. Bear belongs to you now,” Dad assured him.
Dad stepped a few feet away and motioned for me to follow. “See if you can find out his last name. He either can’t or won’t tell.” Dad shook his head. “We can’t find the registration for the car, and apparently his brother doesn’t have his driver’s license with him.”
“Can’t you run the plate to find out the owner’s name?”
Dare to Love (Young Adult Romance) Page 4