Whispering Rock by Robyn Carr Page B

Yeah, you’re this big-shot guy? What’re you doing up here, poking around? Why not go after a real job?
    A few days later Chief Chuck Andersen called him. “I thought you might want to spend a little time over here,” he said. “Do a ride along, look at a couple of things. See how it’s different in a small city. Maybe give us a perspective…”
    “That would be good, sir. I’d like that,” Mike said.
    “I called a couple of people at LAPD,” Andersen said. “You have a pretty good reputation there.”
    He had an excellent reputation there. “Thanks,” he said. “I was better at some things than others. I did okay in police work.”
    “Seems like,” Andersen said. “Good to have you helping out. Do a ride along with one of our guys. And Valenzuela? Bring a pillow.”
    Mike laughed. “Thanks, sir.”
    The sheriff called, then the Eureka chief. Tom Toopeek, the chief from Grace Valley, weighed in, but there were towns that never got back to him. No matter, the consensus was that he would be welcomed as a constable. By state regulation he was not an official law enforcement officer, butmore or less one of the team as far as most of the local guys were concerned. He’d be happy to help out anyone who asked, but what mattered was that he could go to them if there was a problem in his town. And he’d be happy to have a purpose again.
    He signed the contract. The first person he told about it was Brie.
     
    Tom Booth met a girl in physics who he thought might fill the bill. Brenda. Gorgeous Brenda. Soft, shiny, light brown hair that curled under on her shoulders, blue eyes, drop-dead figure, long legs, a smile that could put him in a trance. She was more beautiful than any girl he’d seen in D.C., which was some kind of miracle—the D.C. girls were pretty awesome. Fortunately, she seemed almost as shy around guys as he was around girls, which could work to his advantage. He struck up a conversation with her in class and learned that she was only a junior, in accelerated math and science programs, and he thought, hot shit. Pretty, smart, nice. Yup, this was a winner.
    They talked about her plans for college, his horses. He asked her if she’d like to go out sometime and she said maybe. “Not right now. I’m kind of just getting over a really bad flu. Had me flat on my back right as school was starting and I’m still on medication, so my mom is a little overprotective.”
    “That’s okay,” he said. “Maybe we could do homework together sometime, when you start feeling better.” Then he smiled his most engaging smile and said, “If you don’t mind me saying so, you sure don’t look sick.”
    “I’m feeling lots better than I did, believe me.”
    “So—maybe I could call you sometime? You feeling well enough for that?”
    “Yeah,” she said with a smile. “That would be okay.”
    “What do you like to do? When you’re not—you know—feeling bad?”
    “I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Games. Dances. Movies.”
    “Great,” he said. “That sounds great. I’ll give you a call one of these days.” And he thought, maybe this isn’t going to be such a boring place after all.
    He called her that night. Why waste time?

Four
    T he fall air was crisp and refreshing and Mel, still troubled by a couple of her cases, wandered over to the bar in the afternoon as David napped in Doc’s care. She found Mike sitting on the porch, feet up on the rail, his hat, his Rio Concho, pushed down on his forehead to shield his eyes from the sun, taking in a relaxing autumn day. She sat in the Adirondack chair next to him, scooted forward on the edge.
    “Looking for your man?” he asked.
    “Actually, I was looking for you,” she said. “What’s going on in there?” she asked, giving her head a toss toward the inside.
    “Preacher and Paige are getting dinner ready.”
    “Are we alone?”
    “Yeah.” He shoved his hat back, took his feet off the rail and put them on the wood planks of the porch,