Protect and Serve (Rookie K-9 Unit)

by Terri Reed

  “You both came,” Whitney said as they entered the break room. “Thank you so much.” Her gaze went to the puppies. “They are so cute!”

  The curious puppies sniffed the floor at Whitney’s feet where a blob of spit-up had fallen. Gina gently steered the puppies from the mess with the lure of a treat. She gave the hand motion for the pups to sit and was gratified when both obeyed. So smart.

  Bella also sat and strained her nose forward. Gina rewarded all three with a treat. Ricky took it in his mouth then dropped it. His sister swooped in and gobbled it up.

  The baby giggled at the dogs’ antics.

  “I’ll clean that mess up before I head to my meeting.” Whitney stood and handed Shane her baby.

  The surprise on Shane’s face made Gina’s chest constrict. He held the squirming cherub by the torso and at arms’ length as if he didn’t quite know what to do with her. He obviously had little experience with babies. Whitney seemed not to notice his discomfort as she grabbed paper towels.

  Shane’s panicked gaze met Gina’s. He extended the baby toward her. “Here.”

  Laughing, she used her free arm to secure Shelby close to her body while handing him the puppies’ leashes.

  His grateful smile devastated her senses. He gazed at her with tenderness in his eyes. “You’re a natural with her.”

  A blush crept into her cheeks. “Thanks.”

  Whitney tossed the soiled paper towels into the garbage. “I so appreciate you two doing this for me. My regular babysitter, Marilyn, is sick and I want to protect Shelby from catching a bug.”

  “Not a problem,” Gina took the seat Whitney had vacated. Settling Shelby on her lap with her back pressed against her abdomen, Gina felt a contentment she’d rarely experienced before. Motherhood was a concept that seemed so far out of her reach.

  Whitney said to Gina, “I’ll just be down the hall if you need anything.” She kissed Shelby on the forehead before hurrying from the room.

  “Can you check the stroller for a toy or a book?” Gina asked Shane.

  He found a set of plastic keys and several board books. “Here you go.”

  As she took them from him, their fingers brushed. His skin was warm and the contact sent a charge of attraction zipping along her arm. Strange how even such a harmless touch from Shane could set her nerves on high alert. She’d never had that happen with anyone else.

  Shane pulled a chair close and sat while he motioned for Bella to do the same. The puppies wandered within the limits of their leashes, which kept them from getting too far out of reach.

  Taking one of the board books, her own childhood favorite, Goodnight Moon, Gina held it up for Shelby to see.

  Focusing on the book, she began to read. Awareness of Shane watching her intently made her stumble over the words. A flutter of nerves hit her without warning. She had to stop herself from touching her hair to make sure she looked good.

  Giving herself a mental shake, she stared at the page, but she couldn’t remember if she’d read the page already or not.

  As she tried to make sense of the words, her heart beat erratically. She chanced a quick peek at Shane. He raised his eyebrow slightly and smiled encouragingly. She couldn’t stop her own smile. Man, oh, man. She’d never been self-conscious when she’d read to kids in the past. At the library there would be thirty or so children and parents attuned to her every word and not once had she’d lost her focus. But for some reason Shane messed with her ability to concentrate.

  Clearing her throat, she flipped the page and forced Shane from her awareness, though every cell in her body was hypersensitive to his perusal.

  She needed to get a grip. Now. Letting herself get all fluttery over Shane wasn’t a smart idea. But she had a feeling that controlling her response to him was going to be about as easy as finding shade in the desert.

  Nearly impossible.

  * * *

  Shane settled back in the hard plastic chair of the Desert Valley police station’s break room with Bella and the puppies lying at his feet. The puppies fell asleep while Bella kept her alert gaze on Gina and the baby as if she, too, were fascinated with the pair. Shane couldn’t take his eyes off Gina.

  She looked so complete and natural with the baby on her lap. The little girl’s chubby legs kicked in apparent joy as Gina read. Her voice was both alive and yet so soothing.

  A strange yearning filled Shane as he drank in Gina. It wasn’t anxiety, which usually brought on the feeling of constriction in his midsection. His inhaler wouldn’t banish what was causing his insides to compress and expand. Affection bloomed within him. She really was a special lady.

  He thought about her fear of becoming like her brother. Shane didn’t know the physiological or the psychological implications of her twin’s mental illness, but he couldn’t see her ever making the choice to hurt another person.

  She wasn’t wired like that. Nurturing was in her nature, a part of her makeup. Despite whatever stray component of DNA that made Tim Perry the man he was, Gina hadn’t been afflicted with it. She was good, kind and compassionate. It hurt Shane to think she didn’t know that or believe it.

  A foul odor filled the break room. Shane’s gaze dropped immediately to the puppies, but both were curled up next to Bella fast asleep.

  “It’s Shelby,” Gina said with a wry twist to her lips. “She’s soiled her diaper. Can you grab her bag for me?”

  “Of course.” He jumped up and fetched the pink bag.

  Gina pushed the baby into his hands so she could dig through the bag for a diaper, wipes and a changing cloth. His eyes watered at the baby’s stench but the happy little girl didn’t seem to notice the smell. She twisted her head to look at him with her bright green eyes. She babbled as her legs kicked. She really was a cutie.

  After spreading out a padded changing cloth, Gina took the baby from him and laid her on her back on the pad.

  “Whew,” he said. “That’s toxic.”

  Gina’s laugh curled around his heart. “Have you never changed a baby’s diaper?”

  “That would be a negative,” he answered with a shudder, but he watched with fascination as Gina made quick work of the task.

  “What a good baby you are,” Gina crooned. “I love your bright green eyes.” She cocked her head. “Hmm. They remind me of someone.”

  “Whitney?” Shane threw out. He couldn’t remember what color the other rookies’ eyes were.

  “No,” Gina said, her voice puzzled.

  “The baby’s daddy?”

  Gina pursed her lips. “Whitney has never named the father as far as I know but...” She shrugged. “It’s none of my business.” She wrapped the soiled diaper in a plastic baggie. “Can you watch her while I dispose of this and wash my hands?”

  “Uh, sure.” His heart raced. “What do I do?”

  “Pick her up and sit with her on your lap, like I was doing. You can do it, I have faith in you.” She walked from the room, taking the dirty diaper with her.

  Good thing someone had faith in him. He stared at the sweet child and shook his head. Taking care of a baby wasn’t what he’d expected to be doing in Desert Valley. Nor had he expected to be assigned to protect such a caring and loving woman as Gina.

  Feeling inept, he lifted the baby and held her at eye level. Shelby cooed little bubbles of spit that made him laugh. “Hello, Miss Shelby.” He sat back in his chair and turned the baby to face outward, setting her on his lap and drawing her up against his chest. Warmth spread through him. This wasn’t so bad. He held out the plastic ring of keys for her tiny hands to grasp. A nursery rhyme his mother used to sing to him and his brothers when they were kids played through his head.

  He softly gave voice to the words.

  He sensed Gina’s gaze and looked up to see her standing in the doorway. Her hazel eyes were sof
t with tenderness and joy. She was so beautiful it made his chest ache. He was happy to see delight on her face rather than the fear he’d seen earlier. He never wanted her to fear again. But that wouldn’t happen until Tim was apprehended. In the meantime, Shane would keep Gina safe. But would his heart stay as safe?

  * * *

  The next morning, Gina awoke to two whining puppies who needed to go outside. She slipped on a pair of sweatpants and a pullover hoodie sweatshirt and opened the bedroom door. The scent of rich coffee permeated the air. Shane was talking in an intense tone. She hesitated, not wanting to interrupt him, but before she could close the door the puppies raced down the hall. She hurried after them.

  Shane stood in the kitchen, talking on his cell phone. He had on drawstring cotton pants and a white T-shirt. His hair was a spiky mess and he needed a shave, but she thought he’d never looked better. Her pulse sped up and she quickly smoothed a hand over her own hair, wishing she’d taken a moment to run a brush through the thick strands.

  Still on the phone, Shane reached the sliding door before she could and opened it. The puppies ran outside to the fenced yard. Bella, who’d been lying on the carpet in the living room, rose and followed the puppies into the backyard. He left the slider open so the dogs could enter when they wanted.

  “Dad, I gotta go,” Shane said into the phone. “Give Mom my love.” He hung up and laid the phone on the counter. He closed his eyes for a moment as if in pain.

  Concern lanced through her. “Everything okay?”

  Shane opened his eyes and met her gaze. “Yes. That was my dad. He’s not happy about my extended service here in Desert Valley. He’s trying to pull strings to bring me to Flagstaff.”

  “Which is what you want, right?”

  “I did.” He frowned. “I do.” He ran his hand through his tousled hair. “I don’t know.”

  He’d been so sure during the training sessions. All he could talk about was joining the Flagstaff PD to serve under his father. What had changed? A little flutter of hope wanted to think maybe he didn’t want to leave her. But she quickly shot that thought down. But they’d kissed. Twice. That had to mean he had feelings beyond obligation for her, right?

  “I need coffee,” he said, distracting her from her wayward thoughts. “Would you care for some?”

  “Yes, please.” She filled the dogs’ bowls with food and set them out on the patio.

  “Did you sleep okay?” he asked as she returned to the kitchen.

  “I did, surprisingly,” she answered. Though it had taken her a bit to fall asleep, once she had, she’d slept hard without dreaming. She took a seat on one of the bar stools. “Thank you again for helping me with Shelby yesterday. I think she was taken with you and Bella.”

  “And the puppies,” Shane said with a smile as he grabbed two mugs from a cupboard.

  “Yes, they were a hit.”

  “It was fun,” he said in a tone that suggested he was surprised.

  “You were good with her,” she remarked.

  One side of his mouth lifted in a self-effacing smile. “That was the most time I’ve ever spent with a baby.”

  “Really?” She wouldn’t have guessed that. “You did a great job.”

  “Thanks. You were magnificent with her. A natural. I, on the other hand, felt very afraid I’d drop her.”

  “That’s not unusual the first time you hold a baby, but you get used to it. Don’t sell yourself short,” she said. “You handled Shelby beautifully. You’ll make a great father one day.” Her heart spasmed. But who would be his children’s mother?

  “Yeah, I don’t think so.”

  She frowned. “You don’t want a family?”

  He paused. “Normally, that would be an automatic no. But now after taking care of Bella...” He shrugged. “Maybe.” He poured coffee into a mug. “After watching you with the puppies and little Shelby, I know you’ll make a great mother.”

  His words brought a pang to her heart. She wanted children, a family to call her own. But the risk of passing on the faulty DNA that afflicted her brother would prevent her from ever fulfilling that dream. Shane’s words reverberated through her mind. Stop being a martyr.

  She wasn’t. She was being realistic.

  “Remember that day last week at the training center when you and Whitney were talking about children? You want five kids, right?”

  He’d overheard their conversation. Embarrassment rushed up her neck in a wave of heat. “Doesn’t hurt to want.” She slipped off the bar stool to grab the loaf of bread. “Toast?”

  “So do you?”

  “Want toast? Yes.” She popped two slices into the toaster. “You?”

  His look said he knew what she was doing and wasn’t going to let her get away with distracting him. “I mean do you want five kids?”

  She settled back on the bar stool and set her elbow on the counter. Resting her chin in her hand, she sighed. “I don’t think it’s realistic of me to want kids of my own.”

  “Excuse me? Why would you say that?”

  “Bad genes, remember?”

  The toaster popped and he moved to retrieve the toast. As he buttered the slices, he said, “That sounds like a convenient excuse to me.”

  Irritated by his comment, she straightened. “It’s a valid consideration.”

  “Maybe, maybe not.”

  “I told you, mental illness runs in my mother’s family. I don’t want to perpetuate it.”

  “You can’t be sure you would.”

  “My mother’s sister was also diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. She was institutionalized when she was twenty-five. She killed herself on her thirtieth birthday.”

  “That’s rough.” Sympathy tinged the green in his eyes. “But your mother wasn’t afflicted. Right? Heredity may be a factor, but fearing that something might happen when you really have no control over if something will happen is no way to live your life. I think this is where faith comes in. You need to believe God is in control.”

  She wanted to trust God, to let Him be in control of her life, but it was hard to do. The fear seemed too big, too overwhelming. How could faith banish the fear? A memory surfaced, long buried beneath the anguish and grief of losing her family. “‘God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, of a sound mind.’” She repeated the words she’d once heard her father recite to her mother.

  “Exactly,” Shane said with a pleased smile. “Second Timothy, chapter one, verse seven.”

  “You know your Bible.”

  He nodded. “Mom took us to church every Sunday, and summers there was vacation Bible school, then day camps and eventually overnight camps. Some far away. The best were the weeklong camps in the milder climate of South Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.”

  They’d had such different upbringings. “I volunteered at the animal shelter during school breaks, though we attended church on Sunday mornings as a family. I would have liked to go to the mountains. We didn’t travel or even get out of the city much.” She sighed. “I keep meaning to explore around here. Just haven’t made time.” Or felt like going alone. But she couldn’t admit that to him.

  He reached across the bar to take her hand. The warmth of his skin shot through her, making her overly hot.

  “Once this is all over we can plan a day hike,” he said. “We can take the dogs.”

  She blinked back sudden tears. She longed to take him up on the offer. “That would be nice, if you’re still in Desert Valley...”

  “Good.” Shane withdrew his hand, taking his warmth with him. She wrapped her hands around the full mug of coffee he’d set in front of her. He moved to the refrigerator and took out a carton of eggs. “Do you like your eggs scrambled or fried?”

  “Whatever is easiest.” She was unused to having so
meone cater to her needs. It felt strange to sit idle while he cooked.

  Wanting to take the focus off her, she said, “You mentioned you have brothers. I didn’t think to ask, are they younger than you?”

  “No. They’re older. Mitchell is thirty-five and Jeremiah is thirty-one. Both are single and both are on the job in Flagstaff.”

  “So you’re the baby of the family.”

  “Yep. And a disappointment to my dad.”

  That was out of the blue. “What do you mean?”

  He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Whoa, I can’t believe I said that out loud.”

  “Why do you believe you’re a disappointment?”

  “Unlike the other men in my family, I didn’t make it in the military.”

  That was surprising. “What happened?”

  “Asthma.”

  “You have asthma?” She’d seen no indication of a breathing problem while working with him and Bella.

  “I do. It flares up occasionally. Stress can trigger an attack and so can allergens. But the military won’t take someone who’s had an asthma diagnosis after the age of 13.”

  “I didn’t know that. But asthma didn’t prevent you from completing the police academy.”

  “No, it didn’t. Thankfully.” He set a plate of fluffy scrambled eggs in front of her.

  “Your dad has to be proud of you for becoming a police officer like him,” she reasoned.

  He shrugged. “I suppose. Though he’d rather I went the traditional route of patrol, then detective. Being a K-9 officer wasn’t what he had in mind.”

  “Did you always want to be in law enforcement?”

  He shook his head. “No. When I was a kid I wanted to be a veterinarian.”

  “Really? Why didn’t you become one?”

  “Because I went the way of expectations. I wanted my family’s approval. And their respect.”

  Her heart hurt to realize he wasn’t living the life he wanted. “If you don’t want to be a police officer then you shouldn’t be. You need to find what makes you happy and not worry about what your family wants. They’ll respect you for being your own person.”