To Protect & Serve by Staci Stallings

every kind of carpet you’ve ever even thought about putting down’ angle just came to me.”
    “Just came to you. Like that?” Lisa looked up, feeling defeat right behind her. “At 70 miles an hour, do you know how many words people can read?”
    Kurt shifted in the chair. “No.”
    “I’ll give you a hint.” She looked down and quickly counted the words. “It’s less than 13 plus all this address and the phone number and the website information. You can’t put all of this on there. It doesn’t work like that.”
    “Well, I just thought they needed contact information…”
    “No, this is information overload.” She pushed the board back to him. “Tighten it up. I don’t want more than ten words, and address or whatever is part of that—period.”
    “Ten? But…”
    She cut him off by looking at her watch. “I don’t have time to hold your hand right now. I’ve got a meeting.” Even as she talked, she stood and straightened her navy suit jacket. “I want the new one on my desk before you leave tonight.” Fixing the knot of her hair, she stood in front of the tiny mirror off to the side of her desk before she ran a finger across the edge of her deep red lipstick.
    “But this one took me…”
    On her heel she turned. “By the time you leave.” With that she grabbed her black leather notepad, her purse, and her keys and left Kurt still standing in her office. Quickly she strode past Sherie’s desk. “I’ll be back.”
    “Good luck,” Sherie called after her, and Lisa threw a hand in the air in answer.
    Once in the car she checked her watch again, fluffed the bangs on her upsweep and twisted the starter. She needed this one. This one was her ace, around Hayes she was sure she could build the rest of the program.
     
     
    The first two tasks were learning people’s names and getting acquainted with the equipment. This truck was far and away better than the model they had trained on, and Jeff was relieved to note that although he was new, the others had all been together for awhile. At least it wouldn’t be a spin the dial to see who shows up kind of program.
    Already he felt right at home. Dante and Hunter kept him entertained with their non-stop Abbot and Costello routine, and the best part was that to participate, he really didn’t have to say so much as a single word. They were in the middle of refilling air tanks, listening to Dante explain why Levi’s come in so many different styles when Jeff saw the flash of the window of the front door swing across the wall behind him.
    At first when he looked over to the threshold, he thought it was just his brain creating some kind of mirage in the sunshine. Then the fact that clearly this was all a dream he was having flashed across his consciousness, but not one rational thought was able to erase his heart magnetizing his gaze to that door. To her. The dark hair upswept, the curve of her suit at the slim waist, the heels. It was, and yet it couldn’t be. In shock, he ducked behind the truck, busying himself with the first tank that attached itself to his hand.
    “Hmm, excuse me,” she said, and there wasn’t a part of him that still believed he was wrong about who was standing in that doorway.
    “Hi,” Dante said smoothly as Jeff cowered behind the truck imagining the scene because he couldn’t see it. “Something we could help you with?”
    “I’m looking for Captain Hayes,” she said, and the lilt of her voice tap-danced across Jeff’s heart. He closed his eyes feeling every wisp of it.
    “Oh, he’s up in his office. Come on, I’ll show you,” Dante said.
    Jeff heard the pings of her heels as she climbed the meshed-wire metal stairs across the station from where he stood. Lisa. It was Lisa. She was here. Why was she here? And what on earth should he do next? Dustin would know what to do, but Dustin wasn’t here. Thank goodness . Jeff peeked out from behind the truck to see the polished navy weave of her skirt back high above him