Guardian of Justice by Carol Steward Page A

quiet house would make it easier.”
    “I’m sorry,” Dallas said, pushing his empty plate away. “I’m not sure where to start.” He looked Kira in the eyes and she felt his pain as well as her own.
    “Maybe some dessert would help. We happen to have a choice tonight—chocolate cake or cheesecake.”
    “A tough choice. How about I think about it while we do dishes,” he said as he stood. “I’ll wash, and since you know where the dishes belong, you can put things away.”
    She really didn’t want to bother with dishes right now, but she also realized how much better an interview with clients went when they were busy and had a distraction. “Okay,” she said, filling the sink with soap and water, while Dallas added the dishes. She glanced at the dishwasher, resisting the temptation to roll her eyes. Doing the few dishes that they had dirtied wasn’t going to buy him much time. “So, I believe you promised to tell me about an experience of yours?”
    He shook the bubbles from his hands and leaned back against the counter. “You’ve got to realize I haven’t talked to anyone about this before,” he said. “Well, no one that I wasn’t required to talk to. None of my friends knew. My fiancée didn’t want to hear it, and when she finally did, she couldn’t deal with it. A couple months later she broke our engagement.”
    Kira wasn’t sure how to respond. “From what I’ve read about post-traumatic stress disorder, that’s fairly common.”
    “Yeah, it is. She gave me a choice, my career or her. Some days I still wonder if this is really what God wanted me to do.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Return to law enforcement. I took a few years off after my incident, tried other jobs. Before I decided to apply for another police position, God and I had some lengthy discussions. I had some serious doubts, and a few stipulations.” He glanced over to Kira. “Lately, it seems the rules of our agreement have changed.”
    She studied him for a minute. “You…negotiated…with God?”
    Dallas gave a small chuckle. “Sounds pretty ridiculous when you say it that way, doesn’t it?”
    Kira shrugged. “I didn’t mean that the way it came out. I’ve just never thought of those frequent prayers I have as ‘negotiations.’ I always sort of felt like whatever God wanted, I needed to do.”
    Dallas smiled. “Well, that explains why I ended up back in law-enforcement then, doesn’t it?”
    “Not necessarily. I’m no expert.”
    “It’s been a lot more difficult to keep in touch lately. With God, I mean.” He paused. “It was so much easier when I worked normal hours. When I went through treatment, I felt so close. I attended church on a fairly regular basis, and, well, when you’re working low-stress jobs, life’s just a little easier to swallow. But I wasn’t happy, and my fiancée insisted I wasn’t the same person anymore.”
    Kira looked away, not wanting to point out to Dallas that it may have been a blessing in disguise. He certainly wouldn’t have been here if God hadn’t meant for him to return to police work. “As you said, after a crisis, you’re never going to be the same person. Why don’t we sit down in the family room.” Maybe Dallas was simply here tonight to satisfy his supervisor. Maybe he had no personal interest in her at all. “Do you mind if I ask about your incident?”
    “That is why I’m here, isn’t it?” he said with a grimace. He paused in the doorway as Kira let the dog outside. “I was a police officer for four years in Phoenix, so there were plenty of opportunities for disaster. What finally did me in was a year and a half working as a school resource officer, or SRO, as we call them here. I had a great time. It was rewarding to feel like I made a difference, which was sometimes the discouraging part of being a patrolman in a big city.”
    Kira edged past Dallas and pointed toward the cozy family room. “I can understand that. It is a huge city.”
    “Yes,