Break Away

by Diane Benefiel

  Seeing the blue Prius coming from the other direction when he turned into his driveway was a nice distraction, particularly when it followed him. He parked, then walked to where Zoey stood next to the open door of her little car.

  He had to admire her effort to tame the hot earth-chick look for work. The khaki and green Forest Service uniform camouflaged her curves, the beaded bracelets were absent from her wrist, and she’d tried to subjugate the wild curls into a braid down her back.

  “C’mon, Lucy. Out.”

  Levi dipped his head to peer into the backseat. “Big dog, little car. I’m surprised she fits.” Bear dog sat on a thick mat that covered the seat and wore her doggy backpack. The seatbelt had a strap thing that looked like it attached to the sturdy karabiner ring on the pack. Sitting up, Lucy’s head brushed the headliner of the roof. She ignored him, staring straight forward.

  Zoey bent down, her head next to Levi’s.

  “She doesn’t want to come out?”

  “No, she loves going to work with me, which is what she did today. We did a survey of pika in a talus near Obsidian Dome. She thinks if she stays in the car her excellent day won’t end.” Lucy looked at them, then returned to gaze out the windshield. Levi felt Zoey’s frustrated sigh against his cheek. She moved closer and sniffed. “Did you have a donut with that coffee?”

  “Ha. Do you think I haven’t heard every cop joke out there?”

  “I couldn’t resist, but you do smell like coffee.” She reached in and grabbed Lucy’s collar. “Come on, Lucy. Out.”

  Lucy braced her feet and didn’t move so much as an inch.

  “You need a Slim Jim to bribe her.”

  The minute “Slim Jim” was out of his mouth, Lucy whipped her head around so fast drool splattered the windows.

  He caught the shaming look from Zoey.

  “A Jimmy Dean biscuit sandwich worked this morning. And it’s a good thing I know the magic word.”

  “You’re poisoning my dog.”

  “She looks healthy to me. Want a Slim Jim, big girl? I restocked.”

  Lucy scrambled out of the car, pushing past Zoey. She trotted to the Suburban, going up on her hind legs to place her paws on the driver’s door and shove her wet nose against the window.

  “Levi Gallagher, I don’t want you feeding her junk food.”

  “She’s out, isn’t she?” He laughed at Zoey’s exasperated look. “Okay, okay. She’s your dog, but I have to give her one this time. I can’t lure her out of the car with the promise of a Slim Jim and not deliver.”

  “Fine, but then it’s agreed no more garbage, which includes any made by your friend Jimmy.”

  “Right.” Levi got the Slim Jim, peeled back the wrapper, and tossed a chunk to the expectant Lucy. He glanced at Zoey and, gauging his target, took a bite for himself before directing his comment to the dog. “We’ve got to share, big girl. This is my dinner.”

  Zoey didn’t disappoint. “A processed meat product is your dinner? You’ve got to be kidding. No one can subsist on Slim Jims and potato chips.”

  “I need to pick up potato chips from the mini-mart. Tonight it’s either the Slim Jim or another microwave sandwich.” He paused for effect. “What are you having?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Homemade kale and quinoa burgers.”

  He could feel his face fall.

  “Gotcha,” she said.

  “That’s plain mean. Take out the kale and the quinoa, and the homemade burgers part sounds good.”

  “I’m not making you dinner for the second night running, Levi.”

  “Technically, you didn’t make me dinner last night. You made the appetizers, which were excellent. The dinner part was pizza, and Diego made that. Too bad there’s none left over. But,” he said, holding up a hand to forestall comment, “you did host the dinner, so that counts for something.”

  “Oh, does it?” Her tone was utterly bland.

  “Yeah. Come out with me. We’ll go to the Brew Pub, which has a full menu that includes vegetarian options, plus, and even more importantly, Hangman’s Best Ale on tap.”

  She studied him, and he hadn’t thought it was that big of a deal until she was so obviously weighing her decision, and he found he really wanted her to say yes to spending time with him.

  “Okay, but this isn’t a date. We get separate checks.”

  “You sure you don’t want this to be a date? Could be fun.”

  “Absolutely.” Her adamant assurance stung. “I could never date a cop.”

  ***

  Zoey crossed the parking lot beside Levi. He wore a black, button-down shirt tucked into dark khaki pants. He looked good. Date good. But as she’d put on a colorful skirt with a blousy top that sparkled with tiny beads, she had to admit she looked date good, too.

  But it didn’t mean this was a date.

  Levi opened the door and she walked in ahead of him. Despite living in town for over a year, she’d only ever been to the popular Hangman’s Brew Pub a few times. The sound of tuning guitars and the clank of glasses greeted them. A big-screen TV with a baseball game on mute hung over a long bar that dominated the far side of the room. To the right, a band was setting up on a small stage in front of a pocket-size dance floor. Tables were scattered about on both sides and booths lined the walls.

  “There’s a table.” Levi began to lead her to the side opposite from where the band would be playing. She recognized two men leaning against the bar. One of them elbowed the other, and they both straightened and headed across the room to intercept them. Logan Ross, ridiculously handsome and with a fast grin, caught Levi in a hug.

  “Glad you’re back, man.” With a hand still clapped on Levi’s shoulder, he asked, tone serious, “You good?”

  “Yeah. Better,” Levi said. “Zoey, do you know Logan Ross?”

  Zoey wondered at the undercurrents between the two men, and Logan’s question made her speculate if there was more to Levi leaving Oakland than he had revealed. She nodded to Logan. “Sure, I’ve helped Eva babysit the twins a couple of times. Nice to see you again, Logan.”

  Levi turned to the other man and shook hands. Jack Morgan had to be nearly six and a half feet tall and had shoulders that looked wide enough to stop a freight train. When he’d interviewed her following the hit-and-run, he’d been steady and compassionate.

  Jack dipped his head. “Hey there, Zoey. How’s that dog of yours?”

  “Lucy seems to be getting over the puppy stage and finally settling down.”

  “I haven’t met Lucy,” Logan commented. “How old and what breed?”

  “Two, and she’s a Bernese Mountain dog. Levi has been trying to corrupt her with junk food.”

  Logan rolled his eyes. “Sounds about right. Junk food king here.”

  “Hey, I don’t eat only junk food. It just happens to be convenient.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you eat anything that isn’t wrapped in plastic,” Logan responded.

  “See.” Zoey turned to Levi. “That’s exactly what I said. And plastic is bad for the environment. It’s made from oil and is killing the ocean.”

  “Plastic keeps my Slim Jims fresh.”

  She knew he was baiting her but couldn’t keep herself from responding. “I think Slim Jims would survive a nuclear apocalypse.”

  Zoey caught the speculative gleam in Logan’s eyes at the exchange and thought, uh-oh. First Eva, now Logan. She did not want rumors starting about her and Levi.

  “Watch out,” Jack said. “Dory told me I can’t put my sandwich for lunch in a plastic bag anymore, I have to use waxed paper. And now I’m not supposed to use paper towels, either. I can’t keep up.”

  “Good for her, she sounds smart and aware.”

  Jack pulled out his phone and checked the time. “I promised my smart and aware wife I’d be back in time to give the ten-month-old a bath, and this guy has twin terrors to get home to.”

  Logan’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “Here’s a warning for you, Zoey, in case y
ou think Uncle Levi is daddy material: twins run in families.”

  Levi smirked. “Did Maddy ever tell you about our grandmother? She and her sister were one of two sets of twins in that family. That could be you, man. Twins times two.”

  “Good god, don’t even say something like that out loud.” He shook his head as if he were trying to get the thought out of his head. “Anyway, we’re going. Great to see you both.”

  Jack and Logan left the bar, and Levi put his hand to Zoey’s lower back as they walked to a booth.

  After they sat, a waiter approached their table and took their orders, Levi insisting they share onion rings as an appetizer.

  “You won’t regret it, I guarantee it. Best onion rings in the world.” Before she could respond, he changed subject. “So, how did you end up with a Bernese Mountain dog?”

  “The usual way. My ex-boyfriend brought me flowers, a puppy, and a spa weekend, all as ‘just-because’ gifts. Since I’m smart and aware, it made me suspicious. I dug a little and discovered he’d cheated on me with our neighbor.”

  “Crap. So Lucy was a sorry-I’m-an-asshole gift, huh?”

  “Yep. She was a super-cute puppy, so I kept her, and told him to keep his flowers and spa weekend, and to get out.”

  “He deserved it.”

  “Boy, did he.”

  The waiter placed foam-topped glasses of beer on the table, settling the platter of onion rings between them.

  “Do onion rings qualify as junk food?” Levi asked.

  “Probably, but I’m eating them anyway. They look amazing.”

  Zoey dipped a golden ring into a small bowl of ranch dressing, bit in, and chewed. “Oh my god.” She dipped again. “These are fantastic. I could make a meal of just the onion rings.”

  Levi tried his own. “Better than a Slim Jim. I’d forgotten how good they are.”

  Zoey ate another onion ring, closing her eyes to better savor the flavor. When she opened them, she found Levi looking at her with an intense expression.

  “What? Do I have ranch on my chin or something?”

  “As a matter of fact.” He reached out his thumb to swipe along her chin, then took it to his own mouth. “Yum.”

  Zoey lowered her brows. “Are you flirting with me? That felt like flirting.”

  “Who, me?” His innocent expression wasn’t particularly persuasive. “I can’t flirt. This isn’t a date. Remember? And while we’re on the subject, tell me why you can’t date a cop.”

  “Remember that anti-authority streak I told you about?”

  He scratched his chin. He’d shaved the scruff, and the shadow of his beard made a rasping sound. “I remember that you don’t like authority when it’s heavy-handed. What makes you think I’d be heavy-handed?”

  “Cops in general have a tendency to throw around their authority. It’s not personal.”

  “Cops in general have a tendency to want to keep people safe, and sometimes have to exert their authority to do that. But let’s be personal, since generalizations and stereotypes suck.”

  The lick of temper was there under his words. She studied him. “Maybe you’re right. I’m sure some cops aren’t like that.”

  His expression had her rolling her eyes.

  Levi sipped his beer before choosing another onion ring. He dipped it in a different bowl. “This one is honey mustard sauce, which doesn’t sound like it would be good, but is.” He handed it to her.

  She took it from him and crunched. “Yum, it’s almost as good as the ranch.” She returned her gaze to his. “I can’t help how I feel about cops. It comes from personal experience.”

  “Why don’t we try this? Talk to me about that experience. Maybe it will help.”

  That meant opening up to him, something she wasn’t usually willing to do with anyone but her closest friends, but for some reason she wanted him to understand. She traced a finger through the condensation on her glass, considering her words. “You sure? It’s not pretty.”

  He picked up her hand, turning it over in his to rub a thumb across her palm in a gesture that had the blood singing up her arm. “Yeah, Zoey, I’m sure, ’cause the other thing that sucks is you won’t date cops. Help me to understand.”

  She pulled back, closing her hand in a fist. Then she started telling him. “We were homeless for a while. Charlie’s dad left us. He couldn’t take the stress of being a parent of a child with autism. That wouldn’t have been so bad, but Mom didn’t have a job because taking care of Charlie was a full-time commitment. He was five, and he’d have tantrums. Mom homeschooled him so he wouldn’t get picked on. Ted, that’s Charlie’s dad, had a daughter who came on the weekends, and there were times things were pretty chaotic.”

  His blue gaze didn’t waver as she continued. “Ted decided he couldn’t do it anymore, which apparently included being a dad in any way, at least to Charlie. He stopped paying child support, and didn’t want to see his son. The consequence was that we were evicted from our house within a couple of months.”

  “Shit. I’ve known a couple guys who have done that. Maybe they pay child support, but they totally check out of their kids’ lives. They’re selfish bastards.”

  “Ted certainly was. There was a lot more that went into it, but in the end, Mom decided we’d live in our van. We had one of those VW Vanagon campers. Mom got the night shift waiting tables at Denny’s. She’d park the van in the back, and Charlie and I would sleep there while she worked. The manager was cool with it, and she’d feed us breakfast in the morning. But we’d have to take off during the day.” Zoey realized she was gripping the edge of the table and forced herself to relax her hold.

  “That had to be tough.”

  “Yep. We had a lot of sponge baths and washed our hair in the sink. Charlie had to go to regular school. I was in middle school. Mom would drop us off, then find a place to park so she could sleep.”

  “What happened to change things?”

  “There was this cop, Officer Barille, who was one of Mom’s regulars at Denny’s. One morning he hung around until she got off shift and followed her to the van. He’d figured out it was her vehicle and thought it was a perfect setup so they could hook up. They’d have a quickie, and he’d be on his way. He didn’t like ‘no,’ so he started to get grabby, Mom was fighting him off, and then Charlie was screaming and I was coming out of the van to help my mom. It wasn’t quite how that asshole thought things would turn out.”

  “Fucking bastard should never have been a cop.”

  “No, he shouldn’t. He called for backup, and soon there were cops all over. The end result was that child services were called. They came pretty close to putting Charlie and me into foster care, but we ended up at a shelter instead.”

  “Other cops at the scene must have known Barille was up to something with your mom.”

  “They did. I heard another cop say something like he needed to stop messing with women. So they knew what he was there for. Luckily, Mom wasn’t arrested. She filed a complaint, but nothing came of it. Don’t cross the blue line, right? Cops don’t rat on cops.”

  “That’s true sometimes. But like I said, there are a lot of cops who believe their job is to serve and protect, even if that means protecting citizens from bad cops.”

  The waiter brought the burgers they’d ordered, and Zoey was glad for the reprieve from the conversation. She bit into her veggie burger, washing it down with a sip of beer.

  “How long did you stay in a shelter?”

  “Four months. Mom got a lawyer who agreed to take the case pro bono, and went after Ted for child support. She got an office job, and things were better. Then a friend of hers who’d moved to Hangman’s Loss and opened a business offered her a job, so we moved up here.”

  “What about your dad? Did he support you?”

  “Somewhat. My bio father was the local pastor’s son. They met when Mom was seventeen and he was home from college for the summer. She got pregnant and he acted like she’d managed that all by herself.

/>   “His parents freaked. How could their good Christian son get a girl from the poor side of town pregnant? They wanted her to get an abortion.” She laughed at Levi’s surprised expression. “Ironic, right? They were hypocrites, through and through. Mom refused and told anyone that’d listen who the father was. His family fought child support until they could get a DNA test, which proved he was the daddy. After that, he paid, or at least his parents did. I never met him.”

  Levi leaned back against the seat. “You’ve had it rough. People have let you down your entire life. What about your grandparents, your mom’s parents? Did they support her?”

  “The best they could. Grampa was a long-haul trucker and money was tight. Mom was the oldest of six kids, so she dealt with a lot on her own.” Zoey cleared her throat. “And that’s more than I’ve shared with anyone in forever. Enough about me. Why don’t you tell me what made you leave Oakland?”

  He hitched a shoulder in a shrug and his gaze traveled around the room. “I told you, I missed my family. My nieces and nephews are growing up and I want them to know me.”

  “Good reasons, to be sure. That’s what pulled you back home, but my guess is there was something that pushed you out of your previous job.”

  There was that shrug again. “Sure there was, but it’s behind me.” He paused. “How are the pika doing?”

  Chapter Seven

  Zoey steered her Prius through the dark, Levi sitting beside her in the passenger seat. She took her eyes from the road to glance at him. The hollowed-out look he’d worn when she’d first seen him standing in her driveway his first day home had eased a bit. He’d been friendly, but she had the feeling that underneath all that affability something had made him seriously unhappy. Who’d have thought he’d be such a good listener?

  “You know all that stuff I told you? Despite what it might look like from the outside, my childhood was mostly good. Mom, Charlie, me, we persevered.”

  “Perseverance is good. I hope there was some fun and laughter in there as well.”