NY State Trooper- The Complete Box Set

by Jen Talty

Then Frank gave her a crooked smile. He leaned in, brushing his warm, full lips against her temple. “That’s my girl.”

  In a daze, she watched him take his hat and head out toward the patrol car that had just returned. “Oh, God,” she mumbled. A ring? A ring! Had she completely lost her mind? She was going to marry a man. A cop. Just because she’d gotten caught with her pants down?

  No. This was for Andy. Her sister. It would work.

  Wouldn’t it?

  “Andy?” Lacy tapped on Andy’s door before nudging it with her hip and stepping into his small room. A single bed with a small dresser filled the tiny space. He had a couple of posters of some female singers lining the walls, and a couple of comic strips tossed on the floor. “We need to talk.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Then listen, okay?” She patted his knee and he scooted over to make room for her. She could feel the confusion swirling around him. Nothing was simple. “I’ve been keeping something from you.”

  “What’s that?” he asked with wide eyes.

  “I’ve known Frank for a while.”

  “That’s what Jake says. He said his family has been teasing Frank about some chick he’s been head over heels for. I guess you’re that chick.” Andy toyed with the laces on his beat-up old sneakers.

  “I really like him,” she admitted. And that was the truth. Hell, not much to dislike. The guy was respectful, kind, considerate, and damn good in bed. “When I moved away, I never thought much about having a family.”

  “Sorry.”

  “I’m not. I like the idea. You…me…Frank.” She paused, trying to gauge his reaction, but he didn’t seem to have much of one. He just looked down at his hands as he fiddled with his pocketknife and a frayed shoestring. It scared her how easy it was to lie. “All of us living together.”

  He dropped the lace and snapped his head up. “Huh?”

  “A family. A real family.”

  “You mean like you and Frank getting hitched or something.”

  “Yeah. What do you think?” She studied Andy’s expressionless face. There were times it amazed her that he could be so blank. Where had he learned to do that? Show little to no emotion when his world was once again about to change. He had to think or feel something.

  “Where would we live?” he asked in a monotone voice.

  That wasn’t something she had thought about. “I’m not sure. We’d have to discuss it.” Not that she was attached to the trailer, but it was Andy’s home. However, the thought of staying here through the winter chilled her bones. “I guess we’d have to check out Frank’s place. He says he lives on the water right near his parents’ house.”

  “What about school?”

  “I hadn’t thought about that either,” she admitted feeling a little bit like a shit for even thinking this could work. “All of this will be discussed, and you will be a part of the decision-making process, okay?”

  “I wouldn’t mind going to school with Jake.”

  She sighed with relief. This was the first sign he might be okay with all of this. “So, me and Frank?” She poked his arm.

  He shrugged. “He’s kind of cool.”

  Now it was time to turn the tables. “I told you something that I had been keeping from you. It’s time for you to tell me something.”

  His eyes got wide and his body froze. “Like what?”

  “You don’t want to go live with Taylor, do you?”

  “You’re not supposed to ask me that,” he shot back, pushing himself to the head of the bed and away from her. “I’m supposed to tell if you put ideas in my head.”

  She swallowed the lump in her throat trying to figure out a way around this whole situation because she knew the ideas were already there. “Just talk to me.”

  “About what?” His face was still ghostly. He pulled his knees up to his chin. Slowly, he was closing himself off to her.

  “Anything you want.”

  “I don’t want to talk. What time is it?”

  She glanced at her watch. Only two hours before he’d be getting picked up. “Three. Tell me how you feel.”

  “I hate that.”

  “What?” She’d keep drilling, as long as he didn’t throw a fit or kick her out of the room. She still considered this progress. A couple of weeks ago he’d get all mad, slam the door in her face and take off to find Ricky or one of his cronies.

  “Talking about feelings.”

  “I guess I do, too.” She supposed she couldn’t blame the kid. Everyone asked him how he felt. All the time. “I just hate seeing you like this.”

  “I’m fine. It’s just weird, that’s all.”

  Bingo! “What’s weird?”

  He dropped his chin to his knees and his eyes filled with tears. “Mom always said it was me and her against the world.”

  “She loved you very much.” Tentatively, she pushed herself closer, but stopped when he pulled his legs tighter. “She wanted what was best for you.”

  “Things were fine until Dad started showing up again.”

  Lacy decided to take a different approach to this conversation. She twisted her body, sitting cross-legged and started picking at her toenail polish not saying a word. Finally, he was starting to open up. She’d have to be patient. Let him do it his way, on his terms.

  “They’d fight,” Andy continued through a sniffle. “They would make me go outside or to my room. I could hear Mom tell him she wouldn’t do it anymore. That he was on his own this time.”

  Taking a chance, she glanced over to Andy. The tears were rolling down his cheeks, but still he managed to keep that blank look about him. “Do you know what he wanted her to do?”

  He shook his head. “He’d just get mad and leave.”

  While she believed everything he said, she also believed that either he was still too scared to tell her what he had really heard during those conversations or had just blocked them out. “What happened after he left?”

  “Mom would cry and say we had to save every penny, so we could go see you.”

  “She talked about coming to Vegas?” This certainly was news to Lacy. For years, Hannah was mad that Lacy had left. Every time they talked, Hannah would beg her to come home. Not so much because of Taylor. Lacy didn’t really know how bad things were with him until a few months before Hannah died. Come to think of it, Hannah hadn’t really talked about it much until a few months before she drowned. “You were planning on visiting me?”

  “She talked about starting over.” He lifted his head and wiped the tears away. His body had relaxed some. “Can I go play video games until Ms. Lazzery gets here?”

  “Sure.” She watched him slip past her and then stop in the doorway. Guess that conversation was over.

  He didn’t turn and look back at her. “You said my actions could help everyone decide where I should live, right?”

  “Sort of.” Her pulse increased. “Anything you say and do will be considered.”

  “I’ll behave,” he said, and then disappeared into the family room.

  For a long moment, she just sat there, staring at the open door and listening to the noise of some shoot-em-up video game. What had Taylor wanted Hannah to do?

  8

  Frank leaned against the sink in the kitchen he’d called home since his senior year, and stared at the blank looks on his parents’ faces. The same look he had received when he told them he wouldn’t be going into the Marines.

  He’d sort of prepared them for this day when he’d mentioned he’d found the girl of his dreams. They chuckled and just told him to bring her around when he was ready. They hadn’t believed he’d fallen in love, yet. Mostly because he hadn’t ever had a girlfriend for more than a month, maybe two, and never brought any of them home. Much less to a family picnic. Now, suddenly, he had a girlfriend and he was going to marry her?

  His mother cleared her throat. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, trying not to show his own fears. Something about Lacy had set him
off the moment he’d laid eyes on her. She’d affected him on every level before she even opened her mouth to ask what he’d wanted to drink. Instant desire. Pure lust. Infatuation. Then she spoke, and it was like listening to an angel. He’d known then he’d get her to go out with him. Probably take her to his bed, but even he could admit he hadn’t seen the marriage thing coming.

  “This is a big decision, son,” his father said in that father-knows-best tone. “And it’s not just you and the young lady involved here.”

  “I know what’s at stake, Dad, but what you all have to understand is that I love her.” The moment the words left his lips his heart sped up, thumping erratically against his chest. He was lying to his parents. And for what? To pay a debt he felt he owed her sister and Andy? That didn’t constitute love.

  Great sex didn’t constitute love either.

  He smiled to himself. They’d be sharing a bed. Suddenly, his heart didn’t rattle anymore. His pulse still ran wild, but visions of her waking up next to him filled his mind. Her hair pooled on his chest. Her head tucked neatly on his shoulder. Her body gloriously naked.

  “I guess that smile says it all,” his mother said.

  “Huh?” He shook his head, forcing his thoughts back to his parents. “Yeah. I’m going to ask her tonight.”

  “I don’t think this is something you should do in front of her nephew.” His mother started to move about the kitchen, pulling down plates and mugs. “I’ll cook something special for him, and he can spend the night here.”

  “He’s got to go visit his father tonight.”

  “I got the impression he was kind of out of the picture,” his father said. “I know you said something about a pending custody issue, but I guess I just thought that was all a legality.”

  “It’s a little more than that,” Frank admitted, but didn’t elaborate. His parents were smart people and if they knew what was really going on, they’d try to put a stop to the nuptials. “I know the whole thing has been really hard on Andy.” Over the course of the last few months, Frank had given his parents a lot to worry about. If they knew how Lacy fit into the picture, all hell would break loose.

  “He’s still welcome here any time.” His mother patted him on the shoulder. “I just want you to be happy.”

  “I know.” He leaned over and kissed his mother’s cheek. “I’ll call, and we can figure out a good night for all of us to have dinner and do something official.” Like have a backyard wedding next weekend? Hell, telling his parents was hard enough, but they certainly wouldn’t like their eldest son having some quickie wedding, allowing the world to speculate. They’d all probably think Lacy was pregnant. At least that would be easily explained.

  “Call us later either way, okay?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Frank left his parents’ house with too many emotions swirling inside his head. Emotions clouded judgment. He couldn’t afford that. The department shrink had told him his reactions to Hannah’s death had been because he couldn’t control the outcome of the situation or the decision he had made. His gut had told him she was in trouble, that her reason for calling the cops had not been a misunderstanding that night.

  He’d given Hannah ample time to change her mind. In his heart of hearts, he knew he’d done everything he was supposed to do in the eyes of his job. But that hadn’t been enough. And now he couldn’t even do a dive. Every time he put the gear on and got in, he’d panic the moment his head went under. He’d been born to do two things: be a cop serving his community, and dive. Today, he was lucky he was still a cop.

  About halfway between his parents’ house and Lacy’s, his cell phone buzzed. He snagged it from his belt loop and flipped open the phone. “Harmon here.”

  “It’s Brad. You got a minute?”

  “Give me some good news.”

  “Becky Carlton just had a visit from her dear brother. Had a nice fight.”

  “You know about what?” Frank felt his foot twitch as he lifted it off the gas pedal in hope of settling down.

  “Something about how she better not fuck things up and just go along.”

  “Fuck what up? Go along with what?” Frank didn’t really expect Brad to have the answers just yet. He was more or less thinking out loud, organizing his thoughts. “Where were they?”

  “Did you know she works for Taylor?”

  “Yep. Now give me the specifics.”

  “Conversation took place in the parking lot of their office. He was waiting for her at her car and she didn’t look too happy to see him. She basically told him she was done doing his dirty work and if he had problems with that, she’d nail his ass to the wall.”

  “Interesting,” Frank said, not being able to make sense of anything. He slowed as he turned into the trailer park. “What was his response?”

  “Told her to fuck off and if she knew what was good for her she’d do as she was told. She tossed a few more obscenities back at him. He laughed. She got in her car and burned rubber.”

  Frank rolled his truck to a stop next to Lacy’s car and shut down the engine. “And what did Paul do next?”

  “Went into the office, and then about an hour later both he and Taylor emerged and took off separately. I followed Taylor home.”

  “Is he alone?” The first visit with Andy was supposed to be just Taylor. If all went well, they could introduce Becky. Frank hoped nothing went well. That thought scared him because he didn’t want Andy to get hurt, but in this case, it seemed inevitable. He planned on being there to help Andy through it all.

  And that thought scared him even more.

  “Yep.”

  “Can you hang there while Andy is visiting?”

  “Haven’t got anywhere else to be right now. I’ll give you a full report tomorrow.”

  Frank tossed his cell phone onto the passenger seat. There would be no interruptions. Not tonight, even though she knew what was going to happen, he was going to do it right. She deserved a nice dinner and…shit, the flowers. He forgot the damn flowers. They were sitting on his kitchen table. So much for this being perfect.

  The sun had started to creep toward the mountaintops. There was crispness in the air, but it felt good going into his lungs as he made his way toward the door. He knocked twice before Andy appeared at the doorway.

  “Oh, it’s you.”

  “I’m sorry about earlier,” Frank said.

  “Is Lacy in trouble?” Andy let him pass, but his demeanor hadn’t changed much.

  Frank wished things could be more like when they had gone fishing. Andy had laughed and giggled and wrestled with his brothers. With him. He hadn’t been like that punk kid he’d pulled over the first time he’d met him. “No,” he said, knowing that wasn’t entirely true. “Reese was just doing his job. I think he’s figured out Lacy didn’t do anything wrong. No worries. Sometimes cops like to pound their chests and get all testy with each other.”

  “That’s stupid.” Andy shut off his game. “Want to watch the football game?”

  “Sure.” He sat down next to Andy on the couch. He could hear the water running, so he assumed Lacy was in the shower. That was good. He needed a few minutes with Andy. He didn’t want him to be totally shocked when he came back from his dad’s house. “Did your aunt talk to you at all about me?”

  Andy tossed him a puzzled look. “You mean, like, love stuff?”

  Frank cleared his throat. “Something like that.”

  Andy seemed to ponder the situation since he didn’t say anything and just stared at the television and nodded.

  “You okay with me and your aunt?”

  “Like I have a choice,” Andy said, rolling his eyes.

  “You have the right to tell me how you feel. What you think.”

  “Maybe, but it won’t change what you plan on doing.” Andy kept his gaze locked with the television. His body wasn’t tense, but he wasn’t relaxed and comfortable either.

  Frank wondered if this was Andy’s way of dealing with things. Everyone had defense mechani
sms. “It’s not going to change that I want to marry her, but you do have a voice with me.”

  Andy slowly turned. Nothing about his expression gave away his real feelings, and that scared Frank. The fact that an eleven-year-old boy could hide things so well wasn’t a good sign for the future. “You might let me talk, but it won’t change what you’re going to do. Will it?”

  “Probably not, but I’d still like to hear what you have to say about it.” Frank chose not to argue with the kid. Besides, he was right. Unless Taylor was arrested for murder, there would be a wedding.

  “Truth?”

  “Always,” Frank said, with a sick feeling in the pit of his gut.

  “I think you’re nuts, but if you think it will help, I’m all for it.”

  Not the answer he was expecting, and it took him a moment to collect his thoughts. “Help with what?”

  “Just…things.” The first flicker of emotion flashed from Andy’s brown eyes as they glossed over.

  “I want to help.” Frank wasn’t sure what to say because he just couldn’t get a good feel for Andy, other than he was scared. More like terrified. Frank’s little brothers were all easy reads. Then again, the worst thing they’d ever gone through was two months without cable because they lived in some weird places over the years. “You can trust me.”

  “Whatever.”

  “I’m here if you want to talk.” Frank decided this wasn’t the time to push. It was painfully obvious that Andy needed to keep all emotions at bay in order to get through his visit with his father. The less upset the kid got, the easier it would be for him in the long run. Andy was what was important. Nothing else. “What’s taking her so long?”

  “She probably wants to look nice for you or something.”

  “She always looks nice.”

  “You should see her the morning.” Andy still just sat on the couch, eyes fixated on the television screen, and he barely breathed, or so it would seem. He didn’t even crack a smile when he made the obvious joke.

  “That bad, huh?” Might as well play into things. Maybe he could get Andy to lighten up a bit. But nothing. Not even a half-smile. “You’re going to be okay.”