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“Hey, you good?” Deputy Grimes asked, as Ray walked into the station a few days later.
“Yep, why?”
“I hadn’t ever seen you take a vacation away from town,” he said, with a worried expression.
“A friend of mine lost her mom, so I went to pay my respects,” he answered.
“Sorry to hear that. Wait, a female friend,” he asked, with a cheeky grin.
“Yes, a friend from high school,” he emphasized every word.
“Well, I hope all is well,” he said, turning to walk away.
Ray sat down at the desk and mulled that question over in his mind as he readied for the day. After the first night, he and Amy had dinner two more times while he was in town. Once the day before, with Stormi, Grayson, Phoebe, and Emma and again with Jake, Belle, Margaret, Noah, and Matthew at the ranch the following day. It was such a rowdy, fun evening as he found himself smiling when he recalled it.
The twin girls Phoebe and Emma were a handful, but he appreciated how Matthew had kept them both entertained. Margaret had extended him an invitation to the big double wedding coming up on the ranch on Christmas Eve. He had worked the last four years on Christmas Eve, as the only deputy without family. He had told her he would try to see what could be arranged but was worried at this late notice of getting it off. He would need to remember to talk to the staffing clerk on his way out.
He did a minor computer work, trying to keep his mind from the last few days, and especially Amy. Her beautiful face had aged perfectly, and where she had that perfect cheerleader perkiness in high school, a serene grace had settled upon her in adulthood. Nothing rattled her, and she loved just being in the mix of activity with kids, animals, and friends. She wasn’t the one to be the center of attention, but took it all in and lent a hand to detail when called upon. He adored her easygoing, steady presence. She still was beautiful with her light brown hair that fell in waves down her back, big expressive green eyes and tiny stature that barely reached his shoulder. Ray knew that the little bit of time they had spent together had made an impact. He just wasn’t sure there was anything to be done about it. He lived and worked a couple of counties away, and she adored her job at the ranch.
As he headed to his vehicle, his brain kept circling back to Amy. He gave himself a pep talk to steady himself and focus on the job. Finally, during break, he couldn’t stop himself any longer as he picked up his phone and texted her a joke one of the guys had sent this morning. It was silly, but he hoped it reminded her he was thinking of her today in some small way.
A moment later, he chuckled out loud at the silly faced emoticon she sent back.
He chastised himself as the goofy grin crossed his face. A call came in, finally distracting him from thinking about her, and he set to work driving to the site. After that assistance, a few hours of highway duty followed, nothing major today until a blue Kia whizzed by doing fifteen over the speed limit. Siren on, he was in pursuit.
He pulled the car over, and did the routine check-ins, running the plate and heading out to see the driver. The lady was about Amy’s age. He surmised when he got to within sight of her, and she looked to be agitated.
“Ma’am, do you know how fast you were going?” he asked, seeing that the question unnerved her even more.
“I’m sorry, I don’t,” she sniffed, turning to him. “I was on the way to get my son who decided to bite a classmate today,” she said, looking on the verge of losing her wits.
“I’m sorry,” he said gently. “Were you speeding because you were concerned for him or the other kid?” he asked, trying to distract her from the tension radiating from her face.
The question obviously disarmed her because she turned and looked at his face. Finally, she laughed and sighed. “I’m sorry, officer, he is six and trying to kill me with his behavior. His father moved out a few months ago out of the clear blue, and Heston has been acting out ever since. As you can see, I’m not exactly handling it well.”
“I would say, take a few breaths, be there for him, and it sounds like he will settle soon,” he said. “And keep the foot off the gas. He doesn’t deserve to lose you due to the stress right now, as this too shall pass.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I think I just needed someone to give me a pep talk,” she extended her paperwork out the window.
He glanced at it and back at her frazzled face. “Just slow down. Next time I will have to ticket you.”
“Thank you. You are a lifesaver.”
“Nope, just human,” he said, with a nod of his head as he went back to his squad car.
He finished calling it in and thought about how frazzled that lady had been. Amy was always calm, and in control, he wouldn’t know how to handle her in that condition he acknowledged. That thought was followed by the need to hit himself on the head. Why couldn’t he stop thinking about her?
He picked up the cellphone from the console and texted, “Friday night–dinner? 7 p.m.?”
Seeing her had done him in, and he wasn’t above admitting it. This time though, he was a grown man and willing to do something about it. If she said no now, he could finally put a proper close to that chapter. Not knowing made his heart continue to hold on.
The phone buzzed, and he found himself swallowing hard before he tapped to open the message.
“Love to.”
The smile split his face; maybe some things just had a time and a place. Perhaps this could be the time and place for them; he was willing to make the long trip after his shift Friday to find out.
