Loving the Lawman

by Ruth Logan Herne

  “Tell her I’d be happy to help with homework or projects. Winter nights are long, and I’m right across the street.”

  Seth moved slightly, making it impossible to avoid eye contact, and that meant a possible drowning in those baby blues despite the frozen lake outside her door. “I’ll tell her. She really enjoyed going shopping with you.”

  “Gianna’s talent for spending money is renowned in our family,” Carmen quipped. “And more fun, of course, when it is someone else’s funds.”

  Seth’s laugh calmed Gianna’s inner turmoil. She was his neighbor, and his tenant. Maybe a new friend.

  Funny, you don’t sit around and dream about your other friends this way. Kind of telling, isn’t it?

  She shushed the internal reminder with a cold dose of realism. She’d already lost the two most important men in her life. No way was she about to stand in line to lose another. Friendship and distance were great equalizers.

  She made quick work of her measurements and jotted them into the computer that sat to the right of her work area. She scanned the calendar from her seat, then turned back to Nikki. “Can I have you back for a fitting on Friday?”

  “That soon? Sure. Is morning okay?”

  “Fine.” Gianna made a note in the online calendar. “Ten o’clock? We can go earlier or later if you need us to.”

  “Ten’s good. Then I can grab some real food at Tina’s place.”

  “Perfect.” Gianna handed her an appointment card with the date and time penciled in. “What made them decide to add women to the undercover force?”

  “In my case, I mouthed off to the wrong sergeant,” Nikki told her.

  Maura laughed. “I did no such thing, and I think the current reasoning is that we can get into places the guys can’t. Ladies’ rooms, little shops like this. The men would be conspicuous. We’ll blend.”

  Gianna wasn’t sure Nikki Peters could ever blend, she was that lovely.

  And slim.

  “Do they expect trouble at this festival?” Carmen wondered.

  “We always expect trouble,” Seth admitted. “And then we pray it doesn’t come our way. Our proximity to the Canadian border raises awareness. The attack in Boston demonstrated that soft targets are becoming more of a lure for terrorism, so it pays to be diligent. When you open the village doors to thousands of tourists for celebratory functions, it’s easy for people who mean us harm to slip in.” He waved a hand to include the two undercover women. “We want to look like we’re part of the scenery but also doing a job. And the local police, deputies and troopers will be out in full measure, so hopefully everything will be fine.”

  “And your homeland security liaisons?”

  Seth faced Carmen directly. “There will be undercover homeland security, yes. But they won’t be in costume.”

  “I think this is a great idea,” Carmen said as she finished up with Maura. “You’ve got the bases covered as best you can. No one can ask for more than that.”

  Gianna stayed quiet. She wanted more than that. She wanted a written guarantee saying her family, her children, her friends would be safe.

  No warranty like that existed, and losing her father, then Michael, reminded her of how quickly life could change.

  So that’s it? You stop living? You build a bubble and hide in it? Is that how it’s going to be? Because I can guarantee you this—toddlers don’t like bubbles. The more you protect, the more they struggle for freedom.

  She sighed, then caught herself, but not before Seth noticed. But then Seth noticed everything, another reason to stay away from the barrel-chested deputy sheriff. He was too aware, too savvy and way too nice.

  He stepped closer to her while Nikki and Maura chatted as they put their coats back on. “You’re feeling all right?”

  “Fine, thank you.”

  He hesitated, and that brief moment showed more than she dared see. He leaned in, as if wanting to touch her. Longing to touch her. But then he squared his shoulders, tipped his cap and smiled. “I’m glad to hear it, Gianna.”

  He moved toward the door, called out a goodbye to Carmen and then swung the door wide briefly for the two women.

  He was gone, just like that. She’d had a few minutes of his time, his presence filling a vacuum she tried to ignore, but when he walked into a room, a yearning gaped within her. An emptiness in her heart, begging to be filled.

  The uniform put a stop to silly heart wanderings. And the tall, curvy, gorgeous partner by his side made her see her folly more clearly. Slim waisted and clear skinned versus beached whale and blotchy?

  She bit back a sigh and stabbed pins into a pattern piece with more velocity than necessary, knowing the answer.

  And hating it.

  Chapter Nine

  “I can come straight home today, right, Dad?”

  Tori’s tone said more than the words, which meant she still didn’t like the “wraparound” care he’d signed her up for at the junior high. “Yes.”

  “You know I’m about the only kid my age that needs a babysitter. It’s beyond embarrassing.”

  Seth acknowledged her comment in typical straightforward fashion. “Yup.”

  “So why not let me just come home?” Tori crossed the room and stood in front of him, imploring. He didn’t dare look down and meet her gaze head-on because he’d cave on the spot. “Think of the money you’ll save.”

  “Money’s not a big issue, Tor.”

  “A penny saved is a penny earned.”

  “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” he returned. “Coming home to an empty house day after day is tempting fate. And Grandma’s out of our district, so you can’t be bussed over there, and she’s got Aiden most days, so she can’t pick you up.”

  “I hate it.”

  He didn’t doubt that for a minute. The emotion dripped from her voice and shadowed her face. And it wasn’t as if he’d had a lot of time to examine options, but he’d have to make it a priority, because seeing her dread school and then dread the after-school program on top of it was driving him crazy. Choices like this hadn’t been difficult when she was younger. Back then she was one of the crowd, a shining jewel in the class. Now she was struggling to learn new concepts without a strong basis in middle-school education. The principal was keeping an eye on her to see if they should make things easier for Tori by downgrading her back to sixth grade.

  She’d cried, hearing that option, and that put him between a rock and a hard place, neither of which made his kid happy.

  If he could ream Jasmine out right now, he would, but that wouldn’t do anyone any good, so he handed Tori her insulated lunch bag, grabbed his travel mug and aimed for the door. “Gotta go. And don’t think I’m not hearing what you’re saying, but I’m working most of the weekend and the first three days of next week. Once that’s done I’ll check around and see if there’s anyone nearby who takes kids after school.”

  “Another babysitter.”

  He opened her car door and waited until she dropped into the seat, arms crossed, her face set like a farmyard mule. He leaned in to kiss her cheek, loving her no matter what frustrated expression she sent him. “No. Just a friend to make sure you don’t get stolen, killed, attacked or burned up in a fire.”

  “I’m twelve.”

  He knew how old she was. But he also understood how easy it was to target latchkey kids, and unsavory characters watched for a chance to find a kid alone. Uh-uh. Not his kid. Not on his watch. He climbed into the driver’s seat, put the car in gear and did a K-turn to access the road. “Safety, Tori. That’s my main objective, even if I don’t win a popularity contest with you. I want you safe. I need you safe.” He turned to face her directly before he made the turn onto Lower Lake Road. “I’ve prayed for you to be safe these past two years, honey. And I expect there were times y
ou weren’t.”

  Her pinched face told him more than he wanted to know, and her lost-little-girl expression broke his heart. “But now you’re safe and sound, and if I go a little overboard to keep you that way, it’s because I love you.” He reached over and hugged her shoulders. “You’re my little girl, even if you’re not so little anymore.”

  “I haven’t been anyone’s little girl in a long time,” she whispered, and the way she said the words, as if confessing them, made his chest ache.

  “Well, you are now.” He kissed her cheek and smiled right into her hazel eyes. “And you’re home. So bear with me if I work a little harder than most to keep you protected, okay?”

  Her quick nod said she was fighting tears, and seeing her cry filled him with mixed emotions. Was she desperately unhappy? Hormonal? Lonely? Depressed?

  Getting to the bottom of her mood swings meant time, but she’d lost so much school time already that he opted for the sensible solution his mother embraced: keep her busy. If Tori was busy enough, she wouldn’t have time to feel sorry for herself, or wish she’d been blessed with a normal, loving mother, or lament a past she couldn’t change. But as he pulled up in front of the junior high to drop her off, he felt as if he was sending her to meet a firing squad. And her face when she turned to wave goodbye?

  Said she felt exactly the same way.

  * * *

  “Gianna, would you like some tea?”

  Not in this lifetime.

  Gianna choked back the words and shook her head. “Nope, I’m good, Gram.”

  “Well, what about a movie? Would you like a night on the town?”

  Kirkwood Lake had one movie theater, halfway around the lake, and it was featuring a you’ll-never-sleep-again thriller, which made that a no-go. There were several movie theaters in Clearwater, but Friday nights in the small southern-shore city were filled with high school and college kids. “I’m good, thanks.”

  “Did Nikki mention what she and Seth were doing tonight?”

  Gram had cut straight to the chase, and Gianna worked to keep her face serene. Her grandmother’s quirked smile said she hadn’t worked hard enough. “I didn’t ask, but I heard something about a ski lodge.”

  “The fitting went well on both those girls,” Carmen continued. “But I can’t pretend it doesn’t concern me when the departments go to these lengths to coordinate efforts and plant undercover officers all over a summer festival season.”

  “I know.” Gianna studied the gathered shoulder of Nikki’s right sleeve and decided to set it aside rather than shred it. “Is it overkill? Or wizened caution?”

  “Caution, I think.” Carmen poured boiling water into her ceramic teapot and watched it steep. “But it seems wrong to have to think like that. Every night I thank God for valiant people like Seth and his brother Luke. Nikki and Maura. And Zach, the trooper.”

  Gianna made a noise of protest as realization dawned. “Oh, Gram. It’s your anniversary and I forgot! I’m so sorry. Yes, if you’d like to go out, we still can. It’s not too late.”

  Carmen’s face clouded, then softened. “No, we don’t need to go anywhere. I wasn’t really melancholy. It’s just hard to see such change. But in the face of danger, it feels good to have a combined police force here that works well together. That’s not always the case.”

  Gianna knew that. Her grandfather’s troop had had some rough times with a few local forces in the Adirondack region years ago. By the time she met Michael, law enforcement was less territorial. The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon had brought forces together across the nation. “Do you want to play a game? I haven’t beaten you at Scrabble in over a week.”

  Carmen pondered the offer, then shrugged. “I don’t think so. I’m going to take my tea into my room and curl up with a book. I’ll see you in the morning, darling.”

  She crossed the room and kissed Gianna’s cheek, then disappeared into her first-floor bedroom with her cup, as promised.

  Gianna looked around the room and sighed.

  Their grand opening wasn’t far off now. They were on target for goods and supplies. She’d expended a lot of energy to bring this dream to fruition.

  Both dreams, she realized, as one of the twins gave her a swift reminder with a well-placed knee or elbow.

  Her own shop. Her own family. Pieces of the past interwoven in a quilt for the future.

  The thought gave her peace until she crossed the room to see what Gram had recorded on the DVR. Seth’s yard lights shone on the late-day snow across the street. The fresh layer glittered beneath the glow, sparkling like diamond dust. Twin tracks snaked a disappearing path down Seth’s driveway, marking his Friday-night date with a beautiful woman.

  Not your business.

  She repeated the reminder as she used both hands to draw the curtains tightly together, covering the window.

  Out of sight, out of mind.

  But as she curled into the corner of the comfy sectional to lose herself in mindless TV, images of Seth’s Friday-night fun invaded her brain. And that meant TV alone wouldn’t do the trick. TV and freshly made carrot cake?

  Maybe.

  With a candy bar on the side.

  * * *

  The school bus ground to a stop on Tuesday afternoon as Gianna stepped outside to survey her window display from the sidewalk view. The bus paused, the door squeaked open, then shut before it continued on its path around the upper lake neighborhoods.

  Gianna turned, curious, and saw Tori walking quickly up the driveway. The cloudless late-February day had melted any remnants of snow on the asphalt and the sun’s higher path bathed her face with a new warmth, hinting spring.

  Was Seth home?

  She didn’t think so.

  But she also knew that Tori didn’t usually come home on the bus, so why had she taken the bus to an empty house today?

  Not your business.

  It wasn’t. She knew that. But she also understood the need within this particular child, as if life had dealt too many blows.

  She went back inside, mulling. Should she cross the street and check on the girl, or assume everything was fine? Would she appear nosy and invasive if she walked over? Or caring and neighborly?

  How about love struck?

  Ridiculous, she fumed as she tugged her heavy sweater into place. Her coat had refused to button nearly a week ago, so her heavy sweater had been pressed into service over layered maternity tops.

  Gram was across the docking inlet having coffee with Tina at the bistro, and if she showed up at Seth’s door looking foolish, well, there would be no one there but him and Tori to know it. Although that would be bad enough.

  She strode up the driveway and realized that his view came at the cost of a total-body workout to access the house. Either that, or she’d been spending way too much time sitting lately. As she rounded the corner, she stopped, screeched and put a hand to her chest. “Tori, hey! You scared me!”

  Red-rimmed eyes, cold hands, a runny nose and tear-streaked cheeks said Tori was in some kind of trouble. Gianna put an arm around the half-frozen girl, lifted the damp backpack that had been sitting on the back step and led the way down the drive, across the street and into the welcoming warmth of the vintage kitchen. “First things first,” she ordered as she helped Tori peel off her jacket and hang it near the living room fireplace. “What’s wet, what’s not and what do you want to eat?”

  Tori’s face said she’d asked all the right questions. As Gianna set about finding clothing to fit the almost-teenage girl, she thanked God she’d taken the chance to intrude. Whatever had pushed Tori to come home unexpectedly got firmly nudged into second place behind food, clothing and homework. She’d tackle the rest later, once Seth knew what was going on.

  * * *

  “We’re losing daylig
ht.” Grim, Seth folded his arms as combined rescue teams tried to navigate ice-strewn waters to rescue half a dozen fishermen stranded on a floe that broke free from the western shoreline. “One more pass before it’s too dark?”

  “If things go perfectly.” The fire chief motioned above. “If we don’t get them this time, we might not have visibility enough to venture into the water safely until first light.” He scowled as the crew reconnoitered. The helicopter buzzed overhead, the loud sound minimizing conversation. The chopper pilot kept the spotlight aimed at the churning waters, but a brisk west wind and the bobbing action of the now-loose ice made centering the light nearly impossible. “The National Weather Service issued warnings about ice fishing today, that the combination of increased sun time and water movement could start breaking up the ice. But nobody listens. Everybody thinks they’re invincible.”

  Seth couldn’t disagree. Warnings had been issued and ignored. Ambulances lined the point’s main road. Rescue vehicles clogged the entire end of Warrentown. Barricades had been set up to prevent locals from streaming in to see the action because the narrow point couldn’t handle a huge influx of vehicles. If they rescued these men, and right now that seemed to be a major “if,” they’d need clean streets to rush them to medical care in Clearwater.

  He’d texted his mother about picking up Tori and keeping her until he got home. At this moment he had no clue when that might be.

  Zach Harrison came up on Seth’s right. “Clearwater Fire and Rescue reports one man in the water as of seventeen hundred hours.”

  The Warrentown fire chief’s face went taut. Ice-cold water-induced hypothermia didn’t take long to set in. Their time frame had suddenly shrunk to minutes, not hours. As the sun tipped further west, the wind softened. The airboat captain and the helicopter pilot made use of the narrow window of time and daylight to dare getting the stranded fishermen to shore. While they focused on the men still clinging to the mobile ice, another small watercraft aimed for the man in the water.