things—have coffee together, dinner, movies. Come on, what do you say?”
Anticipation licked through her, the first positive emotion she’d felt in what had to be forever. “All right.”
“Great. Seven work for you?”
“Seven is perfect.”
He rattled off directions to his home and she recognized the location as what had been a long-abandoned farmhouse. Remembering the fallen-down state of the home before, she couldn’t wait to see what a bachelor’s touch looked like on it.
“Well, I’ve got to go. I still have a lot to do today.” He gazed down at her. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“I can’t wait.”
And she couldn’t. Suddenly, Tick’s ill-temper and all the junk of their past didn’t weigh quite so heavily. She watched Ash walk away toward the battered pea-green Ford that listed to one side a little forlornly.
Her day was definitely looking up.
Tick’s gloomy disposition couldn’t dim her newfound optimism. Somehow, Ash’s easy acceptance loosened the knot in her throat. When she and Tick stopped at a convenience store for something to drink, she didn’t fire the engine immediately. She couldn’t look at him but gazed instead across the dusty gravel parking lot and cleared her throat.
“I’m sorry, about this morning.” Pushing the words out hurt, her pride stinging.
“Yeah.”
She wrapped her fingers around the steering wheel until her knuckles ached. She wouldn’t give in to her normal response to his animosity. No matter how badly her temper itched to be turned loose, she would hold it.
“I think you were right yesterday.” Those words tried to stick in her throat. “For this to work, we’ve got to deal with the past.”
“Really.”
“Tick.” She darted a glance at him. He gazed out the passenger window, a cup of coffee balanced on his knee. “I’m not proud of it, you know. What I did.”
“I imagine not.”
Her anger flared and she swallowed. “Do you have to make this so damn hard?”
He turned his head, a banked irritation burning in his dark eyes. “What do you want me to do, Madeline? Say it’s all right? Let you off the hook as easily as Ash did this morning?”
“I can’t believe you’re still holding a grudge this big. Aren’t you the one in the church pew every Sunday morning? I thought there was this whole thing about forgiveness in the Bible.”
“It’s not a grudge. I forgave what you did a long time ago, Madeline. Forgetting is something else entirely.” He lifted his cup for a cautious sip. “You can damn sure bet after this morning, Ash and I both will be more careful around those alligators. Know why?”
A sick feeling settled in her stomach. “Why?”
“Because if the gator bites one of us once, that’s the gator’s fault. If we let it happen a second time, that one’s on us. Alligator behavior doesn’t change much. Ours should.”
“You’re comparing me to an aggressive reptile with a brain the size of a walnut.”
“No, I’m saying your behavior hasn’t changed in the last eighteen years. You still act and speak without thinking about the consequences. You’re still focused on how everything affects you and the hell with everyone else. You’re dangerous, Madeline, and I’m not going to sit here and lie and say being in this car with you on patrol, having you work in my department doesn’t scare the shit out of me. Because your traits are the ones that get other cops killed.”
He paused a second and the sick churning in her gut worsened. His mouth tight, he met her gaze.
“But you already know that, don’t you?”
The words slammed into her and the nausea threatened to overwhelm her. It was one thing to have the guilt in her head…quite another to have Tick Calvert throwing it in her face. She knew what she’d done, that Jack had paid for her impulsivity, and she sure as hell didn’t need Tick’s reminder. She flexed her hands on the wheel and swallowed hard, her vision blurring. She blinked,
Anticipation licked through her, the first positive emotion she’d felt in what had to be forever. “All right.”
“Great. Seven work for you?”
“Seven is perfect.”
He rattled off directions to his home and she recognized the location as what had been a long-abandoned farmhouse. Remembering the fallen-down state of the home before, she couldn’t wait to see what a bachelor’s touch looked like on it.
“Well, I’ve got to go. I still have a lot to do today.” He gazed down at her. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“I can’t wait.”
And she couldn’t. Suddenly, Tick’s ill-temper and all the junk of their past didn’t weigh quite so heavily. She watched Ash walk away toward the battered pea-green Ford that listed to one side a little forlornly.
Her day was definitely looking up.
Tick’s gloomy disposition couldn’t dim her newfound optimism. Somehow, Ash’s easy acceptance loosened the knot in her throat. When she and Tick stopped at a convenience store for something to drink, she didn’t fire the engine immediately. She couldn’t look at him but gazed instead across the dusty gravel parking lot and cleared her throat.
“I’m sorry, about this morning.” Pushing the words out hurt, her pride stinging.
“Yeah.”
She wrapped her fingers around the steering wheel until her knuckles ached. She wouldn’t give in to her normal response to his animosity. No matter how badly her temper itched to be turned loose, she would hold it.
“I think you were right yesterday.” Those words tried to stick in her throat. “For this to work, we’ve got to deal with the past.”
“Really.”
“Tick.” She darted a glance at him. He gazed out the passenger window, a cup of coffee balanced on his knee. “I’m not proud of it, you know. What I did.”
“I imagine not.”
Her anger flared and she swallowed. “Do you have to make this so damn hard?”
He turned his head, a banked irritation burning in his dark eyes. “What do you want me to do, Madeline? Say it’s all right? Let you off the hook as easily as Ash did this morning?”
“I can’t believe you’re still holding a grudge this big. Aren’t you the one in the church pew every Sunday morning? I thought there was this whole thing about forgiveness in the Bible.”
“It’s not a grudge. I forgave what you did a long time ago, Madeline. Forgetting is something else entirely.” He lifted his cup for a cautious sip. “You can damn sure bet after this morning, Ash and I both will be more careful around those alligators. Know why?”
A sick feeling settled in her stomach. “Why?”
“Because if the gator bites one of us once, that’s the gator’s fault. If we let it happen a second time, that one’s on us. Alligator behavior doesn’t change much. Ours should.”
“You’re comparing me to an aggressive reptile with a brain the size of a walnut.”
“No, I’m saying your behavior hasn’t changed in the last eighteen years. You still act and speak without thinking about the consequences. You’re still focused on how everything affects you and the hell with everyone else. You’re dangerous, Madeline, and I’m not going to sit here and lie and say being in this car with you on patrol, having you work in my department doesn’t scare the shit out of me. Because your traits are the ones that get other cops killed.”
He paused a second and the sick churning in her gut worsened. His mouth tight, he met her gaze.
“But you already know that, don’t you?”
The words slammed into her and the nausea threatened to overwhelm her. It was one thing to have the guilt in her head…quite another to have Tick Calvert throwing it in her face. She knew what she’d done, that Jack had paid for her impulsivity, and she sure as hell didn’t need Tick’s reminder. She flexed her hands on the wheel and swallowed hard, her vision blurring. She blinked,
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