Finding The Road Home (Hearts 0f Oklahoma Book 1)

by Tina Radcliffe

  Points for his new hire. She was early for her day shift.

  He gave a mental nod of approval. Everything about the woman said professional. Although she was dressed in black slacks and a tidy white blouse, with her wild hair pulled back into a twist on the back of her head, he was still unable to avoid noticing how nice she looked. And awake. As if she’d been up for hours. With five kids, one being a baby, he supposed she probably had been.

  “Morning, Officer Anderson.”

  “Good morning,” she said, glancing around the small police department office. “Sorry. I don’t have my security badge yet.” She inhaled deeply. “Smells wonderful.”

  He poured coffee into his favorite mug and nodded toward the pot and a stack of paper cups. “Help yourself to Rebel Roast. We have our own roasters in town. A pop-up shop that’s here from May through September. Oh, and Henna will be here any minute with donuts.”

  “The desk officer?” Daisy’s eye narrowed a fraction as if to ask, Seriously?

  “Yeah. Her parents own the only donut shop in Rebel. Popular enough to be in business year-round. It would be an insult if I refused Eagle Donuts.” Mitch shrugged. “Besides, she only brings them in on Mondays, and they’re the best donuts in the county.”

  “Get ’em while they’re hot.” Henna pushed open the door and caught it with her hip while balancing a small bakery box on top of a large one. Dressed in a departmental gray uniform, her straight, black hair was trimmed to skim her chin. A wide, generous smile graced her face.

  When both Mitch and Daisy stepped forward quickly to catch the door for her, Mitch’s hand covered Daisy’s.

  “Sorry,” he murmured.

  “Thank you. Daisy, right?” Henna said with a welcoming smile. “Henrietta Eagle. But I go by Henna for obvious reasons.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Daisy said. “Thanks for all the help you’ve provided getting my paperwork squared away.”

  “My pleasure. Great to meet you in person. I’ve got your uniforms in the back room, and your security badge and a few other things at my desk.” The boxes wobbled. “Can you grab that top one?”

  “Got it,” Daisy said.

  “That’s for you to take home to your kids,” Henna said.

  Daisy’s eyes rounded. “How did you know? I mean, about the kids.”

  “My sister works at the elementary school. Unlike me, she can’t keep her mouth closed. I heard you registered three of them for school and one for preschool in the fall.”

  “Yes, but it’s not a secret or anything,” Daisy said with a smile. She opened the box and looked inside. “Donut holes. Thank you.”

  “Welcome to Rebel,” Henna said.

  Mitch silently observed the interaction. He’d known from the first interview that Daisy would fit right in. Then again, Henna got along with everyone. The last hurdle would be introducing her to his curmudgeon deputy. He glanced at the clock. Who was running late, per usual.

  A half hour later, the door buzzed and then opened yet again. Roscoe McFarland stepped into the room. A Rebel Police Department ball cap that rested on the back of his bald head completed his uniform. The senior officer who bore a passing resemblance to the cartoon character Popeye nodded in acknowledgement when he spotted Daisy standing just inside the door.

  “Roscoe, meet Officer Daisy Anderson,” Mitch said. “Daisy, this is your partner, Roscoe McFarland.”

  Mitch wasn’t sure whose eyebrows shot up faster—Daisy’s or Roscoe’s. He hadn’t told either that they’d be riding together since the decision had only been made late last night as he mulled the fact that Daisy was the sole guardian to five children. No doubt both would not like the plan, but occasionally there were perks to being the boss.

  “Not today.” Roscoe adjusted his hat and grabbed a donut. He took a bite, chewed and swallowed before he met Mitch’s gaze.

  “Excuse me?” Mitch crossed his arms, looked pointedly at Daisy and then stared Roscoe down.

  The senior officer had the good sense to appear embarrassed. “Beggin’ your pardon, ma’am. Pleased to meet you.” He turned back to Mitch and held up a bandaged thumb. “I’ve got an appointment to get my stitches removed. Then I’m headed to the county office to discuss my retirement portfolio.”

  Mitch took a deep breath, determined not to let the crusty deputy push all his buttons before noon. “We discussed this last week. If your appointments aren’t on the calendar, they don’t exist.”

  “I’m sorry, Chief Rainbolt, but my thumb and my pension are mighty important. I’ve got questions regarding my IRA and my insurance benefits that can only be addressed by a professional.”

  “Gallegos has already headed out to patrol the lake.” Mitch shot a glance at the calendar and then to Henna. “What about—”

  “No, sir,” his desk officer said, reading his mind as usual. “He’s on vacation until next Monday.”

  Nothing like being undermined by his senior officer in front of the new hire on a Monday morning. Mitch turned his gaze to Roscoe, clearly communicating his displeasure. Yeah, it was all downhill from here.

  “Officer Anderson, you and I will monitor traffic in Rebel today,” Mitch said. “We leave in fifteen.”

  “When he says fifteen minutes, he really means ten,” Henna said. She nodded toward the back room, and Daisy followed.

  “Been thirty years without a partner,” Roscoe grumbled once the female officers left the room.

  “I plan to use the wisdom of those years to get Officer Anderson fully acclimated to Rebel. For now, you’re her field training officer.”

  Roscoe gave a slow shake of his head. “FTO? Bad enough you got me handling traffic citations and parking meters ever since that incident last year. Now you’re sticking me with a new recruit,” Roscoe said. He snagged a second donut before he turned and headed to the door. “I don’t like it.”

  “You don’t have to like it,” Mitch said to his retreating form. “And she isn’t new. Just new to us.”

  “Same difference,” Roscoe muttered.

  Mitch downed his coffee and poured another cup, rethinking the decision. He was supposed to be up an officer when he hired Daisy. But with the information about her five children, he had amended his plans and the schedule for now.

  His new officer had inherited a family. What would those kids do if they lost her? Images of his own childhood flashed through his mind.

  Nope. Mitch didn’t want to find out. He had two other day shift officers who could handle the heavy tourist areas around the lake. For the interim, he’d keep Roscoe and Daisy working together and stationed where they were least likely to run into serious offenders.

  Of course, once again that made him the relief officer. It was the only plan that would ease his conscience and let him sleep at night. All he had to do was keep them from figuring out what he was doing.

  When Daisy entered the department lobby in uniform eight minutes later, Mitch offered a pleased nod at her spit-shined appearance. If only all his officers took such care in the details of the uniform.

  “Why do you look like you have a question for me?” she asked as she climbed into the Tahoe’s passenger seat and pulled the seat belt into place.

  “Not at all. I was just noting that a twenty-pound duty belt doesn’t seem to slow you down.” He fastened his own seat belt and looked at her. “Did Henna provide you with the information and password for the online training webinars?”

  “Last week. It’s been reviewed twice and completed.”

  He blinked. “Wait a minute. This is your first day and you’ve already completed the training?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “It took half my department two days to figure out how to access the internet and register.”

  “Maybe they need computer classes.”

  “Yeah. I guess so.” He shook his head. “You took the
exam too?”

  Daisy nodded.

  Mitch looked over his shoulder, signaled and changed lanes. “The county requires an eighty percent pass rate, or a retake is required. After two retakes they’ll recommend a class. It’s free. No cost to the officer.” He adjusted the rearview mirror. “It can be a challenge with the different county and city laws to keep straight, so don’t feel bad if you have to retake.”

  “I got a one hundred percent.”

  “What?” His brows shot up. “I...um. Wow. Nice work.”

  “Is there something else?” she asked when he was silent for several moments.

  “The firing range. You’ll need to qualify yearly.”

  “Completed.”

  He looked at her.

  “I passed. No worries.”

  “I wasn’t exactly worried, though you did take me by surprise. I spend a good amount of my time around here herding cats. I hadn’t realized that I’ve unconsciously lowered my expectations.”

  “After nine years in uniform, I’m accustomed to being underestimated.”

  Mitch jerked back. He’d insulted her when the truth was she was the most competent hire to come along in years. “Is that how it sounded?” he asked. “No offense was intended. It has nothing to do with you being a woman.”

  “None taken.” She met his gaze, her eyes revealing nothing. “Tell me about Officer McFarland.”

  Mitch took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Thirty years on the job next summer. He tried retiring at twenty, but got so bored he asked for his job back. Now he’s going to try again in a year.”

  “He has an issue with being my partner?”

  “Roscoe has an issue with being anyone’s partner. He’s always flown solo,” Mitch said.

  “A partner after nearly thirty years. No wonder he’s got his feathers ruffled.”

  “Roscoe always has his feathers ruffled. But think positive,” Mitch said. “You’ve got the day shift. Come fall, you’ll be home in time to pick up the kids from school and have dinner with them. Most new hires work graveyard for the first year.”

  “You’re giving me preferential treatment?”

  “No, ma’am. Think of it as a trade-off. You don’t have the night shift, but you do have Roscoe.”

  “Which is more challenging, Officer McFarland or the night shift?”

  Mitch’s lips twitched at the question. “I can’t make that call.”

  “And what about Henna?”

  “Definitely not challenging.”

  Daisy stifled a laugh. “No. I meant, what is her role at the department?”

  “Henna pretty much runs the place. She does a bit of dispatching, handles the administrative duties, including handling the chief of police. If you need something, she knows where to point you. During the school year, she also manages our school liaison program at the elementary and high school.”

  “That’s a lot multitasking.”

  “Oh, she’s good.”

  Daisy’s gaze remained out the window, taking in the town as they drove up and down Rebel’s patchwork of streets. “How long have you been in Rebel?” she asked.

  “Me? I was born here.”

  “You’ve been in the department how long?”

  “Too long.” Mitch shook his head at the understatement. “Elected chief four years ago.”

  “You’ve never wanted to leave Rebel?”

  “Sure. Lots of times. However, I’m known for my terrible timing.” He released a short laugh. “I always figured it was the Lord’s way of telling me that I belong in Rebel.” Though being police chief hadn’t been in his long-term plans when he’d started down this path.

  Mitch’s dash began to buzz. He pressed a button on his steering wheel to receive the call. “Rainbolt.”

  “Chief.” Henna’s voice filled the vehicle. “Reece called. Asked if you could stop by the ranch when you have time. He said to tell you that it’s definitely not an emergency.”

  “Thanks. Officer Anderson and I will head over there.”

  “Roger that, Chief.”

  Mitch turned to Daisy. “Since I’m showing you around town, this is as good a time as any for you to see Rebel Ranch.”

  “Rebel Ranch?”

  He nodded. “Owned and operated by the Rainbolt family. I’m pleased to say it’s an integral part of the Rebel community.”

  “Your family owns a ranch?”

  “The largest guest ranch in the county. My brother Reece runs the place.” He was unable to keep the pride out of his voice. After a rocky start, Rebel Ranch was now a thriving business.

  “You mentioned a couple of brothers and a sister.”

  “Tucker and Reece live here in Rebel. My sister, Kate, spends a lot of time on the road with the rodeo circuit.”

  “The rodeo. That’s fascinating. I’ve been to the rodeo in Denver quite a few times during the stock show, but I don’t recall seeing her name on the programs.”

  “You probably have and didn’t know it. She’s a rodeo clown.”

  Daisy’s mouth rounded with surprise. “There are female rodeo clowns?”

  “The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association sanctions over six hundred rodeos a year. But there are only a handful of female rodeo clowns. That explains why you’ve never heard of her.” He smiled as once again his pride took over. “My sister is one of the best.”

  “Good for her.”

  He nodded. Not adding that while he was proud of Kate, he worried about her safety too.

  When Mitch turned onto the ranch drive, he caught Daisy staring at the elaborate metalwork that comprised the archway and gate to Rebel Ranch.

  The sight of the ranch entrance against the clear blue, cloudless summer sky really was awesome. Seeing Daisy’s reaction reminded Mitch that Rebel Ranch had come a long way from their humble but heartfelt beginnings. His brother Tucker often said that Mitch needed to stop focusing on the pain of the past and remember the good things from their childhood.

  Trouble was, Mitch was the oldest, and he remembered things differently from Tucker. It was as though they had different childhoods. In a very real way, that was the truth. Mitch had been raised by their mother. The rest of the siblings were raised by Mitch.

  “That’s some view.”

  His gaze followed hers up ahead and farther down the tree-lined drive to a pond surrounded by a canopy of weeping willows. Ducks glided across the sun-dappled surface of the water. Beyond the pond, two barns rose up on the left.

  “They have ranches in Colorado, of course. Lots of them,” Daisy said. “But I have to admit, I’ve been a city girl all my life. This is my first visit to any ranch.”

  Mitch sneaked a look at the woman next to him. Her eyes sparkled and a smile lit up her face as she took in her surroundings.

  “I guess I’ve sort of taken all of this for granted,” he mused. “Though Rebel Ranch has grown since I was a kid. Evolved, you could say. All thanks to Reece. He’s the businessman in the family.”

  “What was it like when you were a kid?”

  “This was my grandfather’s land. He ran a successful horse ranch.”

  “You were raised here?”

  Mitch nearly laughed out loud. He grew up in a trailer on the other side of Rebel. “No. We visited my grandfather on the weekends. This wasn’t even called Rebel Ranch growing up. This was my mother’s daddy’s ranch.”

  “Your mother inherited the ranch?”

  “Not exactly. It’s a long boring story. The local gossips would be happy to fill you in at the barbershop or the beauty parlor.”

  Yeah, pretty much anyone in town would be happy to talk about how his grandfather refused to let Mitch’s father on his land, and the Rainbolt kids didn’t inherit the ranch until both their parents passed.

  Daisy swiveled in her seat, her att
ention now focused out his side window. “What’s that?” she asked.

  Mitch turned to see what had caught her attention. In the middle of the pasture yard, ranch hands were setting up tents. “They’re getting ready for the first big ranch event of the summer.” Mitch parked the vehicle and unstrapped his seat belt. “And now I know why my brother asked me to come out here.”

  Daisy opened her door and took a deep breath. “That smell. Horses and hay.” The words were spoken with the wonder and awe of a child at Christmas.

  Mitch smiled, trying to see the world from her eyes. Didn’t work. He’d lived in Rebel for far too long. The next thing he heard was a plaintive cry of surprise as she stepped down from the other side of the vehicle.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “I am, but my shoes will never be the same.” She groaned. “These are new duty shoes too.”

  Mitch held back a chuckle as he realized exactly what just happened. “You stepped in something, I take it.”

  “Yes.” Disgust laced her voice.

  “My fault. I should have given you a heads-up. When you’re on the ranch, always look before you step.”

  Daisy laughed and gave him a sidelong glance from across the hood of the vehicle. “That information would have been handy five minutes ago.” She shook her head and wiped her feet back and forth on the gravel.

  “Come on. There’s a hose on the side of the house.” Mitch waved a greeting to a few of the ranch hands while he and Daisy crossed the yard.

  “What a lovely house. Is this yours?” she asked as they approached a sprawling stone ranch home.

  “No. It’s the main building for the guest ranch. Reece built the place. They’ve got a billiards table and a giant flat-screen television and such. The smaller ranch events are held there.”

  “Where do you and the rest of the Rainbolts live?” Daisy asked.

  “I live in town. My brothers have built homes on the property.”

  “The guests? Where do they stay?”

  “There’s a half dozen guest cabins with first-class amenities down that path.” He pointed to the right. “Occasionally Reece uses the second floor of the main house for VIP visitors.”