Counselor. I donât need advice on how to do my job.â
âMaybe you do. You canât accuse someone of something that hasnât been done yet.â
âLook, this isnât the big city.â Anne would never understand what things were like in a small town. Or why.
âBelieve me, Iâm only too aware of that. You wouldnât get away with this thereânot without someone filing a complaint, anyway.â
He counted to ten. It didnât help. âA cop in a small town is different. People expect us to anticipate trouble, and most times we can. And they expect us to prevent it, not wait around until it happens.â
He had a sudden mental image of himself explaining, talking too much in front of the kid, and knew it was because he wanted Anne to think well of him. And that was probably an impossible goal.
âYou canâtââ she began.
âYes, I can.â
He turned to the still squirming boy. He had to concentrate on his job, not on what Anne thought of him.
âI want to see you and your father at the station tomorrow, right after school.â
âBut my dad might have to work. Or maybeââ
âNo excuses, just be there. Because if youâre not, Iâll come after you. Got it?â
Daveyâs mouth set, and he nodded.
Mitch released his grip. Davey didnât bother trying to act macho. He just ran.
Mitch watched him go, then turned back to Anne, knowing heâd see condemnation in her eyes.
âI suppose youâre proud of yourself, bullying a boy like that.â
âWhat do you know about âa boy like thatâ?â His anger flared again, startling him.
âI know anyone would respond better to kindness than to threats.â
âKindness!â She didnât understand. She never would. âLet me tell you what itâs going to take for Davey Flagler to turn into a decent citizen instead of winding up in big trouble. Heâs going to have to work harder, perform better, be smarter than anyone else, because heâs starting a lot of steps behind. And he wonât do that if people make excuses for him.â
Anne looked at him for a long moment, blue eyesblazing in a white face. âAre you talking about Davey Flagler? Or are you talking about yourself?â
She didnât wait for an answer. She walked away quickly, head high, pushing the stroller toward Kateâs place and leaving Mitch fuming.
Hours later Anne slowed as she approached the front porch of Mitchâs house. She stopped just beyond the pool of light from the street lamp. When sheâd told Kate she needed to talk to Mitch, Kate had been only too eager to watch Emilie for her.
The windows of his small house glowed with a warm yellow light. She shivered, huddling a little deeper into her jacket. The temperature had dropped like a stone the moment the sun went down, and the stars were crystalline in a black sky.
She couldnât stand out here in the dark and the cold. She might as well march right up to the door and get this over with.
Her cheeks went hot in spite of the cold air. She couldnât believe sheâd spoken to Mitch the way she had. Even if she had been right, they didnât have the kind of relationship that allowed her to say something so personal.
Lord, Iâm sorry. I let my temper get the better of me again. I acted as if I knew what was right for everyone.
Confessing her mistake was one step in the right direction. Now she had to tell Mitch. She bit her lip. She had to tell him, because that was the right thingto do. It was also the only way to get things back on an even keel between them. That was all she wanted.
She went quickly up the steps and rang the bell.
Mitch opened the door, a dark bulk against the light behind him in the hallway. She couldnât make out his expression, which might be just as well.
âAnne. Iâm surprised to see you.â
He said the words in such a
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