“Really? She’s sticking around?”
“Looks that way. She acts like she’s here for the long haul. And she gets stir-crazy staying around the house. My mom’s sick of her running the basement stairs for a workout, says it sounds like they’re being invaded.”
I shrugged, “Tell her to stop by. I’ll talk to her, see if it might work out,” I said.
I wondered to myself if Laura really wanted to downgrade to such a small community when she was on a good career track in Charleston. I knew family was important to her, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to hire somebody who might not stick around. The price and effort of training her only to have her move back if her dad started doing better or if some boyfriend came after her was an expensive risk. My department had a healthy budget thanks to our municipal priorities, but I was pretty conservative with expenditures. So I wasn’t going to splurge on a city cop who was only here for a season. I wasn’t a man who liked to be left empty-handed. It had happened in my personal life one time only, enough to keep me from ever wanting a broken heart like that again. The cost was too high. I always counted the cost. Whether it was professional or personal—and measured what the fallout might be.
So I’d be lying if I said I didn’t cringe a little bit at the thought of having to interview Damon’s little sister for a position. She would damn sure be qualified—that was the problem. She was also a flight risk—and I didn’t look forward to explaining to her or her brother why I had reservations about hiring her. I knew she’d be brash and full of ideas about how they did things in Charleston—I didn’t mind that. What I minded was investing time and capital in a trainee who fled to the city with that price tag trailing behind her. Employee retention—that was the buzzword I’d be using in the interview. I sighed. The administrative part of being chief as well as chief wasn’t without its migraines.
3
Laura
Some of my crap was still in storage down by the convenience store. I didn’t want to pack my parents’ house with everything I owned from my apartment and all my clothes and junk. So I had to go down to the gas station, unlock the padlock on my unit and roll the blue garage door up to go in and find my good clothes. I had packed and worn mostly exercise stuff and sweats here in town. I had a couple of pairs of jeans, but that was about it. So I went over the labeled boxes until I found the one I’d marked ‘fancy shit’. Popping the lid off the plastic container, I picked through the stack of clothes until I found a couple of options for the interview. Black pants, a blouse and blazer—which I called my going-to-court outfit in Charleston—a pencil skirt and a silk blouse—my truly fancy shit, which I’d worn for an interview with local news outlets after I cracked a cold case that made headlines. I grabbed some shoes and locked up.
At my parents’ house, I showered and did the flat iron thing with my hair, making it into glossy wings of auburn curving down over my shoulders. I liked the look of it, but not enough to screw with it every day. I chose the court outfit. I wasn’t trying to show anything but my competence and professionalism. So my toned legs were staying inside straight black dress pants with a narrow belt and a white blouse, a black blazer. I borrowed my mom’s pearls—cool, fake chunky ones I got her at Macy’s a couple years ago. A touch of makeup and I was ready to go, a full hour early. I messed around printing out a resume and flossing my teeth to kill time. I doom scrolled the headlines for a few minutes and then, fidgety and eager, I went ahead to the station.
The small RFPD building wasn’t crowded, with a truck on the lot and a couple cars. Inside, Mrs. Rook was sitting at the receptionist’s desk, her gray hair now an ashy platinum blonde in a sprayed stiff cloud around her head.
“Why, Laura Sue! Pauline told me you were coming back to town. It’s good to see you. Look how you’ve grown. I don’t reckon I’ve seen you since Christmas before last.”
“Hi, Mrs. Rook. How are you doing?” I asked with a smile. I hadn’t gotten any taller since I was twenty-eight, but if she wanted to say I’d grown, she was welcome to. She was a sweet friend of my nana, and I was truly glad to see her.
“I’m doing good, honey. My Harry is taking me on a cruise next month for our anniversary. We’re going to see Puerta Vallarta. That’s why I got my hair dyed—I thought it would make me feel like one of those girls in the Elvis movies,” she laughed.
“Ann-Margaret was a redhead like me,” I said, “you can always go that route if you change your mind.” She smiled.
“I think the red suits you and your brother just fine. I’ve always wanted to be a blonde bombshell though. Pauline says it’s silly at my age.”
“Nana has her own ideas, always has. Mom says that’s where I get it,” I said fondly. “And don’t forget the time she tried to do box color on her hair to hide the grays and ended up all brassy.”
“That’s why she said it. She doesn’t want me to look ridiculous, she says. I don’t know why she was so traumatized over some glitzy hairdo that happened ten years ago,” Mrs. Rook said. “What brings you in here today?”
“I’m here to see Chief Peters. I have an interview.”
“Oh, how nice! It sure would be good to have that pretty face around here for a change,” she said sweetly. “Your nana told me you were back in town to help with your daddy. Is he getting on any better?”
“We’re getting everything settled to where he’s going to have an easier time and so is my mom. It’s just a lot to take on, and I wanted to be back here to help. Family is family, you know,” I said with a shrug, hoping she wasn’t going to go on about what a good daughter I was or something. I didn’t want attention for this. I was doing what felt right, not doing it for praise.
“That’s so wonderful! You always were the—”
Thankfully, Brody popped his head out the office door and interrupted before Mrs. Rook could clasp her hands and cast her eyes up to heaven while singing my praises. I was a little uncomfortable with how a lot of people around here thought I was a saint to move back.
“I heard y’all talking. Go ahead and send her back,” he said.
“It was really good to see you. I’ll give your love to my nana,” I said, patting her shoulder as I walked by.
I opened the wooden door to his small office. There was Brody Peters sitting behind a messy desk, wearing a short-sleeved button-down and a tie that he was tightening as I entered. He fastened the collar button with a slight grimace. He was obviously a weightlifter, broad shoulders and a thick neck. He looked like he could Hulk right out of that shirt-drawn taut across his chest. I blinked, reminded myself why I was there—and that ogling the widower/brother’s friend/potential boss was off the menu.
He held out his hand, his forearm thick and muscular, dark hair dusting his tanned skin. I reached for his hand. He gave me a perfunctory shake. An electric current seemed to jolt right from his palm to mine and all the way down my spine. A purple sizzle, that’s what it felt like. I swallowed and flexed my fingers to try to dull the sensation that still tingled in my fingers. That was so weird. My hand felt like it was made of pins and needles now, like the limb had fallen asleep, except I felt completely awake. Wildly alive even. I knew I had blushed when he touched me. I hadn’t accounted for feeling girlish around him.
Brody was six feet four, easily, with big broad shoulders, a toned body that seemed to fill the small room we were in. His dark hair was going salt and pepper at the temples and his dark eyes were even more serious than I remembered, with a faint tracing of lines at the corners. He’d had a hard life, and he’d been chief seven years from what Damon told me. Life hadn’t been easy on him, and it looked like that had made him harder, more uncompromising. He watched me looking him over, not sure what to make of me—looking like I was a little bit crazy maybe. The muscle in his jaw ticked and he indicated a chair to me. I squared my shoulders and took a seat across from his desk.
“Glad you could come in on short notice, Ms. Vance,” he said.
“Ms. Vance? Really?” I smirked. “I
used to eat supper in my bathing suit across from you when I was a kid. I think we’re past Mr. and Ms.”
“All right, then no calling me Chief Peters,” he said. “I mean to be professional is all I’m saying. Even though you used to sneak your green beans onto my plate when I stayed for dinner at your folks’ house.”
I grinned at the memory, “You ate them for me,” I remembered, “far as I know you didn’t tell on me for it.”
“Snitches get stitches,” he said with a shake of his head, “besides, your mom’s green beans were good. And you would’ve slashed the tires on my bike if I’d told.”
“I was savage, I know,” I said with a smile, but I shifted gears. “But I’m not here to capitalize on the relationship between our families. I want to interview for Ray Shaw’s old position. I have my degree in criminal justice, was top of my class at the academy, and in my four years in Charleston I earned two promotions and several commendations from the mayor. You’ll find all of it here.” I slid my resume to him.
He glanced at it. “I know your impressive qualifications, Laura,” he said. “What I’m concerned about is employee retention.”
“You think I’m going to quit?”
“I don’t know how firm your plans are going forward.”
“I plan to remain in Rockford Falls permanently,” I said. I wasn’t sure I’d said that aloud yet, even to myself, but I knew it was true, like steel in my spine. “Working in the city was a great experience, and I liked it a lot. But it feels right to be home. I missed my family. I’m here because I want to be.”
“I’m not questioning your plans because you’re a woman. I’m questioning them because your dad is sick,” he said.
“You’re asking me if I’m going back to Charleston if my dad doesn’t make it,” I said, the breath whooshing out of me. “The answer is no. I’ve come back home. And I’m a cop. The same way my dad and Damon knew they were firefighters. It’s who I am, and this is an ideal fit for me. It’s home, and I’m invested in this community. I know you have to be looking for a hometown boy to fill the spot Ray’s leaving. So here I am. I’m not a boy, but my roots are in Rockford Falls, no question.”
“I’m not looking for a man specifically. I’m looking for an officer who can deal with everything from shoplifting and property disputes to domestic disturbances without shooting someone in the process.”
“My marksmanship is excellent, but I’m trained in de-escalation techniques for high stress situations, and I’ve had trauma training as well. I don’t spook easily just because some pissed off, drunk husband doesn’t want me on the scene. I’m not going to discharge my weapon needlessly. My record speaks for itself,” I said.
My voice sliding into the detached, matter-of-fact tone I used in my line of work. All traces of warmth had drained from his face, and he had—intentionally or not—let me know that the hiring process wasn’t an easy one for him. It was up to me to convince him that I was the answer to that problem.
“I’ve also found,” I said, my voice softening a little, “that as a woman in a man’s job, men on the force, especially older ones, tend to be easy to deal with for me. They think of me as a daughter or something maybe. Anyway, I had three different partners on the force in Charleston—one of whom landed on desk duty after a traffic stop turned into a shootout—and never had trouble getting along with any of them.”
“Obviously you were good at your job. Your chief sent me an email when I inquired yesterday. It sounded like he’d lost his star, like everyone was heartbroken and everything might go to pieces without you there. He actually mentioned how well you got along with the other officers, how you had a way with messed up kids that they picked up all the time for the same offenses. It was a pretty glowing recommendation.”
“That’s good to hear. Jim was a great boss and a dear friend.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you. I have to accept a character reference from your old boss, and go on what Damon’s told me, I reckon. The fact is, I wonder what happened to your smart mouth. You always had the comebacks, the—if you’ll excuse the language—shit-talking.”
I laughed, “Oh, that’s still me. But I can maintain professional boundaries, and while I joke around with the people I work with, I wouldn’t show disrespect to you or anyone else in a position of authority.”
“Laura—”
“Yes?” I said, lifting an eyebrow. Something in how he looked at me made my whole body go warm, my skin feeling hot and a restless.
“It’s not as much money as you made in the city,” he said.
I wanted to do a victory dance, because I knew that meant I was hired.
“It’s less expensive to live here. Did you know bacon is only five bucks here?”
“Yes, I did. But I didn’t think your daddy could eat those things.”
“He can’t. I didn’t buy any, I just looked at it longingly,” I shrugged. “And if you have a problem with my attitude, all you have to do is say something. We’re adults. I wouldn’t be much of a cop if I couldn’t handle correction from my chief.”
He nodded shortly, not exactly meeting my eye.
“What?” I said.
“I want to ask you something off the record, but it’s not strictly appropriate. You can refuse to answer and it won’t impact the job offer I’m making you. Because I intend to hire you.”
“Fire away,” I said.
“You may kick me in the shins.”
“Your desk will protect you. Go ahead and ask. I’m not shy, Brody. You must remember that much at least.”
“Is there a boyfriend who’s going to come to town to take you back to the city?”
I scoffed, “Are you asking all the applicants if they’re involved in a long-distance or recently separated hetero-normative sexual relationship that might result in their leaving town unexpectedly? Or just me?”
“Just you. And by your question I know that you know you could sue my ass for asking. I’m proud of this department and what I’ve made of it in my time here, Laura. I’m not going to bring you on and go through integrating you into the team only to have some asshole with a diamond ring show up and take you away.”
“I’ve never seen a diamond ring I couldn’t turn down, Brody. If I had intentions of returning to Charleston for anything other than a weekend with friends sometime, I wouldn’t be applying for a full-time job on the force. I’m a career cop. I want to make a place for myself on this force and stay here, move up in the department. “
“So you want my job,” he said wryly, “all you have to do is sue me for what I asked you.”
“If I want your job, I can wait till you retire, old man,” I said, my voice a little teasing. I saw a spark in his dark eyes, something like mischief. “I’m not gonna sue you, and you know it. You also know that was a crappy thing to ask anybody but especially a woman. You might as well ask if I plan to go nuts if some guy winks at me and decide to quit so I can stay home and have babies and bake pies,” I said. “Did Harold ask you when he hired you? Did he think you were gonna settle down with some little girl who couldn’t handle your dangerous job?”
A shadow crossed his face. I bit my lip, “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry for your loss. You know that.” Shit. Way to joke about that, I thought ruefully. “I’ll watch my mouth,” I offered. “I let my familiarity with you –”
“Laura, for God’s sake, you didn’t overstep anything. I grew up with Damon. I used to pay you a quarter to dig worms and catch crickets when we were going fishing. I’m not going to clutch my pearls and faint because you mentioned my wife. No, Harold didn’t say anything except did I think it was a good idea to leave a pretty little thing like that alone at night if I was working. I told him he was a jackass to suggest it. So this office has a long history of new hires mouthing off to the chief,” he said, but his eyes were far away. I knew I’d upset him more than he was letting on. It was nice of him not to make me feel bad about my slip-up.
“Tha
nks,” I said, “it won’t happen again.”
“It better happen again. If you’re on the force, you better not tiptoe around any of us. If we’re too delicate to take a little bullshit from our friends, we’re too damn fragile to do this job. Don’t apologize. Do your job, follow the rules, and it’ll work out. You’ll be the first female officer this town’s ever had.”
“You’d be lucky to have me, chief,” I said archly. Then I felt a twinge of embarrassment because that wasn’t how I’d meant for it to sound. I didn’t back down from it though. He’d told me not to apologize, so I wasn’t about to. It would help if I didn’t flub my words like that—it would help if he wasn’t even hotter than he’d been when I left for college twelve years ago.
“Well, now that’s a different topic, and not one I will pursue,” he said. “Because my mother raised me to be a gentleman.”
“So all the crap I heard you talking about with my brother growing up was supposed to be gentlemanly?” I teased.
“No. I have no defense for my behavior as a teenager. But I’m far past that age now and know enough not to say something unwanted when a woman makes a remark that could read as accidentally provocative.”
I wanted so badly to ask what made him think it was an accident. But, one, it was an accident, and two, that was not a path I could afford to travel with him. He was the absolute last man I could flirt with.
4
Brody
There were times I had risen above my baser nature as a man to give laser-like focus to a crucial topic or situation at hand. Like the time I managed to talk Billy Jessup down from cutting his girlfriend’s throat in the parking lot of the Taco Tub when I was off duty but still had my sidearm. My baser nature wanted to shoot the miserable bastard in the knees and kick him as I walked off to take his victim to safety. But I had utilized my training, acted as cool and efficient as a silver screen action hero in the moment.
Hot Cop: A Brother's Best Friend Romance Page 3