Two days later, Chief Jones stood staring out at the whole department. Whitney sat with Hunter curled at her feet, her fellow rookies gathered with their own partners at their sides, too. She’d been cleared for duty yet again after the incident out on the road, but she had one more afternoon of free time after this meeting. That free time had been ordered by the chief.
She’d wounded the man who’d tried to kill her out on the road.
He was still at the medical center, being heavily guarded. And based on the DNA evidence they’d gotten back from the Flagstaff lab, they’d managed to confirm that the red cap belonged to the man who’d attacked David in the clinic, which could prove he was the other man who’d been involved in the train smugglings. They’d also found the young man who’d been with the stalled car—the same teen David had helped stitch up—hiding in the woods, afraid, hungry and covered with bug bites. He’d signed on with Dr. Pennington’s drug ring to earn money for his impoverished family, but soon he’d found out the doctor would never let him leave. Whitney had made sure he got the help he needed from the proper authorities to hopefully turn his life around.
She’d had help with her life from the local church, so she knew this boy could be saved from a life of drugs and crime.
Chief Jones gave her one of his rare smiles. “Let’s give Officer Whitney Godwin a big hand for nabbing a local drug dealer and busting up his ring.”
Everyone clapped, and even stoic Ryder Hayes gave her a nod and a smile. Wishing she could find out who’d murdered his wife, Whitney vowed to keep working toward that goal. But she had to decide what she was going to do about her need to find Brian’s killer. She didn’t want that to come between David and her.
While the chief went over the details of Dr. Pennington’s elaborate drug activities and assured them that the doctor would be tried and put away for his crimes, Whitney’s thoughts went back to David.
“I can’t leave you,” he’d whispered to her when she’d found him at the clinic.
Had he been planning on doing that? It didn’t take much police work to figure out he’d been headed toward the train station because he was planning to buy a ticket. So later that night, when he’d come to her house and held her close, she’d asked him outright.
“But you were going to leave me, right?”
He’d nodded. “Yes, and then I saw the blue car and followed it. Even after all of that, I still thought leaving would be the best thing for you. And maybe for me, since I wasn’t handling things very well. I thought if I stayed I’d be in the way. Hindering you at every turn is not a good way to begin a relationship. And in this case, it was kind of dangerous, too.”
“No, not exactly good but...you are my hero, no matter what.”
“Do you want me to stay, then?”
“Do you think you can learn to live with me being a K9 officer?”
He’d stared down at her, his hands touching her hair, his eyes full of an endearing fear mixed with a dollop of hope. “I don’t think I have any other choice, Whitney. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she’d told him, tears in her eyes, joy in her heart. “But...are we rushing this? Should we step back and see how we do?”
“We’ve been through the worst,” he’d said. “It can only get better from here.”
She wanted better.
Whitney loved him. This feeling far outweighed the feelings she’d had for Brian. Brian had been good-looking and charming but...she could see now what she’d denied before. All of the signs had been there, in the way he flirted with everyone from Carrie to Gina and Sophie and even Veronica. In the way he’d always demanded they stay in at his house rather than taking her out on real dates and showing her the hundreds of different ways he could love her.
And he’d done the flirting right in front of Whitney. He’d chosen her over the others because she’d been the one to cave.
She didn’t want to cave. She wanted to love. Really love a man who’d done nothing but try to protect her. A man who shared her values and who believed in faith and hope and love even though he’d been through war and disaster and death.
If she let David go, she might lose the best man for her. The one man who could match her and allow her to be his equal. Her soul mate.
“I don’t want you to leave,” she’d finally told David. “I don’t want you to go.”
So he was staying here until this case was solved, and then they’d decide where they’d wind up. “I don’t care if we stay here or go to Tucson,” he’d told her. “I want to be with you.” Then he’d kissed her. “And I’m going to learn to trust you and God when it comes to your line of work.”
He also told her he really wanted to take over the Desert Valley Clinic and get it in top shape. “That way, if we leave, it’ll be ready for the next doctor.”
Whitney couldn’t think of a better plan.
And she couldn’t wait to spend the afternoon with David.
After Chief Jones had gone over the particulars of the drug case, he moved to the investigation of Veronica’s death. “We’re hitting roadblocks, but we’re not gonna give up. We’ve canvassed neighborhoods looking for Marco, the missing puppy, and we know someone is breaking into a lot of the homes around the training area. They have to be looking for something. And so are we. Marco. That little puppy might hold the clue to whoever murdered Veronica.”
Chief Jones stopped and glanced around. “I also want everyone to be aware about the upcoming Canyon County Police Dance and Fundraiser in May. We’ve established that for the past two years on the night of the dance, a rookie has died. Both deaths occurred at their homes and right before the dance. I’ve had some of you investigating these incidents, and these mysterious deaths are a matter of concern for all of us.”
He looked at James Harrison, who sat near Whitney. “Especially you, Harrison. You’ve got the markings—blond hair and good looks. That seems to be the pattern.” He winked, but his tone was serious. “I suggest all of you be alert on that day and be careful about being alone. Get dressed with the doors locked and the lights on and your partners on guard.”
“I could try to draw out the killer, Chief,” James said with a shrug. As if it was no big deal at all.
Whitney breathed a sigh of relief when the chief disagreed with that idea. “Harrison, you’re already a target. Don’t push your luck. All of you, be aware. We’ve got enough to deal with, and I don’t want to lose another good officer.”
After the meeting broke up, James leaned over to Whitney. “I want to do something, but I don’t know what else can be done.”
“I know what you mean,” Whitney said. “I feel the same way.” They headed out toward the parking lot. “I’ll be watching out for you, Harrison.”
“Thanks,” James said.
Whitney glanced around and spotted David waiting for her by Miss Rosa’s bright yellow truck. Hunter’s ears perked up.
“Let’s go,” she said to Hunter, her smile meant for David.
He kissed her hello as the others filed out.
Whitney didn’t care what the others saw now. She was done with secrets and hiding. She planned to tell her friends the truth about Brian being Shelby’s father. But right now she only wanted to spend a nice afternoon with David.
“How’d it go?” he asked, his expression free of the weariness she’d first seen in him. And he looked great in his faded blue T-shirt and old jeans.
“Okay. We haven’t made a lot of progress on Veronica’s murder, but at least we got a drug ring off the streets.”
“You did that,” he reminded her with pride.
“You helped,” she shot back.
“Right.” They both laughed, and he pulled her close. “Wanna get out of here?”
“Yes.”
“You two are so cute together,” Carrie said as she walked by with a container of leftover cookies she’d brought to roll call. “Whitney, enjoy your last afternoon off before you get back out there.”
Whitney nabbed two oatmeal cookies. “I will, Carrie. Thanks.” She sure appreciated what a great baker the department secretary was.
David nibbled on his cookie, and then he nibbled at her ear. “How about a long hike along the river?”
“I’d love that.”
They got into the old truck, and he turned to kiss her again. “And...later we can pick up Shelby, and I’ll make dinner for you.”
Words that made her swoon.
Later, as they sat on some boulders near the gurgling water, Whitney turned to David. “I won’t quit trying to figure out these deaths, but I want you to know I’m going to back off a little regarding what happened to Brian. I need to work with the team, and I’ll talk to the chief about that, too. I can’t do it alone, and you can’t help me. You have a lot to do while we’re still here.”
He took her hand in his. “I’ll rest easier knowing you’re not setting yourself up as a target. I like the team concept.”
“I like the you-and-me concept,” she said.
He kissed her again. He seemed to like doing that, and she sure liked his kisses. Then his brown eyes went to dark chocolate. “I know we’re not supposed to rush this but...one day soon... I’m going to ask you to marry me.”
Whitney’s heart was already rushing. “You are?”
“Yes, and after that I’m going to go about adopting Shelby so...so that...I can be her father. If that’s okay with you, I mean?”
Whitney wasn’t a crier. She never cried. She hated crying and she pushed tears away. Far away.
But now she couldn’t hold them back. Tears poured down her face, and all the angst and fear and despair she’d held back for the past year came tumbling down in a flood of emotion, only to be replaced with a flood of joy. She’d lost everything...but here in David’s arms, she’d found herself.
“Do you want that?” he asked, his fingers catching her tears.
“I do,” she said, bobbing her head. “I do want that.”
“Okay, then,” he replied, his hands moving over her face. “Okay. We’ll make it happen, and when I ask you, we’ll have dinner at the Rose, and Miss Rosa will make us something decadent and I’ll get down on one knee—”
“And I’ll say yes. I’ll say yes, David.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
They sat and talked about the future while the sun turned the desert and woods shades of pink and burned orange. Then they held each other and watched the sun set over the river—with the promise of rising again tomorrow.
* * * * *