Some days being a cop is tougher than others. Today was one of those days where I dealt with the absolute dregs of society. I usually can muster some hope that most people are intrinsically good and can be redeemed, but the criminals I dealt with today are pure evil.
Today was the kind of day that makes me question why I bother to do what I do. I believe in law and order, but some people are beyond help.
I’m the kind of bone-weary tired where everything hurts. If I didn’t know better, I would swear that even my hair hurts. Today, my job absolutely drained me. I can barely summon the energy to walk home.
Knowing I need to shift out of this all-consuming funk, I decide to call my brother, Colt. He’s been through an impossibly tough time with losing his wife, and I haven’t been there for him like I should be. He has tried to connect with me a few times over the past several months, but it seems like I’m always too busy to talk. It’s time for me to make that right.
Hearing Colt’s voice on the other end of the line is an instant pick-me-up. He’s a calm, reassuring presence in the storm of chaos that my work life has turned into.
“I’m sorry I haven’t checked in with you more often,” I tell him, truly meaning it. When he remains quiet, I add, “I just don’t know what to say.”
“No one does,” he assures me. “I went through it and still don’t know what to say.”
He’s letting me off the hook too easily. I should have been there more for my grieving brother, even though we live more than halfway across the country from each other. A better man would have found a way to be more supportive to him when he needed it.
“I hate it that you’re having to deal with this alone,” I tell him, hoping the sincerity rings true in my voice.
“About that,” Colt says, “I’m not exactly alone. Maddie’s sister, Sadie, is here running the ranch with me.”
“Oh, right.” I say in a flat tone, remembering Colt mentioning that his wife inexplicably left half of the sprawling ranch Colt loves so much to her she-devil of a sister. “Sorry about that, too, man. When it rains it pours, huh?”
“You know, it’s actually been wonderful having Sadie here,” Colt says in a tone that conveys true happiness.
Instantly picking up on it, I tease my brother, “Hold on… Do you actually like having Sadie there?”
Colt lets out a delighted chuckle before answering, “Oh, I more than like it. I’m in love with her.”
My step falters at this news. Colt couldn’t have surprised me more if he’d fallen from the sky in front of me wearing polka-dotted pajamas. Shaking my head, I say, “Wait, I thought you hated Sadie.”
“It’s a long story, but it ends with her being the one for me,” my brother says matter-of-factly.
“Well, then, I’m happy for you both,” I tell him, fully meaning it. After pondering it a moment, I ask, “Do Maddie and Sadie happen to have another sister for me?”
As expected, this makes Colt laugh. “Sorry, bro. There aren’t any more sisters.”
“You’re monopolizing them,” I grumble, teasing him. Turning serious, I say, “It’s wonderful to have you back among the living. I was really worried about you.”
“It’s amazing what a difference a phenomenal woman can make in an otherwise miserable life,” Colt tells me.
“I wouldn’t know, since my dating life is practically nonexistent,” I grouch.
“Your time will come,” Colt assures me.
“Yeah, right,” I answer, not believing it for a moment. Since I’m almost to the restaurant where I ordered my takeout dinner, I say, “It’s been great catching up with you, but I’m gonna have to let you––”
My sentence breaks off as I turn the corner and gawk at the shocking sight before me.
“Everything okay, Austin?” Colt asks me, sounding truly concerned.
Not wanting him to worry, I force myself to respond. “Yeah, I’m fine. But do you remember our high school chemistry teacher, Ms. Summers?”
“How could I forget her? I beat-off almost every night of junior year while picturing her in those sexy, short skirts she used to wear.” His voice is faraway as if he’s lost in the memory.
“Eww, man––too much information.” I scrunch up my face in distaste at the mental image he has forced into my mind.
“Oh, like you didn’t do the exact same thing,” he accuses me.
“True,” I admit, thinking back to the vivid daydreams I used to have about the hottest teacher at our school.
“What about her?” Colt asks, yanking me out of my trance.
I blink to clear my vision, but the sight before me remains the same, so I say into the phone’s speaker. “Ms. Summers is standing in the middle of a busy intersection wearing a wedding dress and causing a traffic jam.”
Austin Zimmer is a police officer who thought he’d seen it all. That is, until he spots the hottest teacher from his high school, Ms. Summers, blocking traffic in a wedding gown. Get ‘hot for teacher’ with their story, Connecticut Cop.