Page 21 of Better Late Than Never

Big event gets derailed? Paisley’ll fix it.

New job working with the man she hated for reasons none of them knew? Paisley won’t bat an eye.

“I’m ready,” Adam replied to his brother. “Let’s just hope thetownis ready.”

There were a few snickers, but I glared at him again.

“Let’s just hope she doesn’t send me into a trap just to finally get rid of me,” Adam continued, his eyes blazing as they met mine, reminding me hedidknow why I hated him.

And, apparently, he was still mad at me for being mad at him.

Well, too bad.He’d made his bed. Not my fault if he didn’t think it was comfy.

“Hey!” Dakota scolded him. “Don’t joke like that. It’s rude.”

“Rude?”

“Yes, rude. Paisley’s job is to have your back while you’re out there respondin’ to whatever nonsense is goin’ on out there. Teasin’ her about doin’ the opposite is nothin’ but a bad look for you.”

I smiled, lifting my chin. “Thank you, Kota.”

“You’re welcome.”

The moment got even sweeter when Georgie leaned over to swat her son on his massive bicep. “I know I raised you better than to joke about your safety in front of me. Dark humor is one thing, I’ve come to expect that from you boys. But I won’t hear jokes about my baby bein’ in danger. Kota’s right. That’s just ill-mannered.”

Adam’s grumbled apology caused tiny sparks of satisfaction to go through me. Not because the sound of his voice in that husky, low range seemed to call out to me, obviously, but because I loved it when he got scolded by his momma.

“Anyway, how are you feelin’ about tomorrow, Paisley, dear?” Georgie asked, turning to me. “You ready to be in the hot seat on your own again?”

“I am. It’s all comin’ back to me, too. I’ve got the codes memorized so I don’t accidentally put in a 210 instead of a 415 and delay the officers.” I lifted the tablet in my lap. “And I made a fancy digital notebook with all the phone numbers I’ll need for those pesky daytime calls that need transferrin’ to different departments.”

“Well, I don’t know what a 210 or a 415 is, but I’m proud of you for puttin’ just as much effort into this as you put into everythin’ else you do, sweet girl. You’re gonna be a welcome addition to the COPD team.”

I winced.

The Charlotte Oaks Police Department really needed to figure something out about their acronym. I wasn’t sure what it could possibly be changed to—and I wasn’t about to come into this job trying to make changes no one would want me to make. But, come on. If that wasn’t an example of trying to fix something that was, in fact, broken, I didn’t know what was.

“Thanks, Mrs. Wilson,” I replied with a smile.

Georgie frowned, turning to Laney. “When is she gonna stop it with the formalities?”

Laney shrugged, nuzzling the fuzzy head of the baby boy tucked against her chest like a koala in a sling.

She didn’t have an answer, but I did:never.

Georgia Wilson had been trying to get me to call her “Momma” or even Georgie for years now, but even though I’d been calling Momma Cole that for longer than I’d known the Wilson family next door, no part of me wanted to be that familiar with Adam Wilson’s mother.

I went back to my tablet when the conversation shifted. Not that I didn’t care about the logistics and revenue status of the boxing gym Travis had recently opened, but I would only get one shot at a good first impression when it came to communicating on my own, and if I had to cram to make sure I didn’t sound like a newb tomorrow? So be it.

As the evening waned and the fire’s glow seemed to soften, the chatter around me turned to a gentle murmur. Phoebe had arrived a few minutes ago, and Jackson convinced Bailey that they should all head home. Not because Bailey needed some rest, of course, but because Jackson and Phoebe did. I wasn’t sure if she believed him, but the always independent paramedic looked too tired to argue as her husband and daughter heaved her out of her chair.

I watched the scene, startled when my gaze drifted to Adam, and I found him giving me a look I couldn’t quite figure out. It was brief, caught between the shadows and the flickering light, and it had me fighting the urge to get up and run.

Actually, why fight it? I stood, ready to escape Adam’s cryptic expressions. That and the pressure of my first day hung over my shoulders like full potato sacks, and I could practically hear my pillow calling my name.

“I think I’ll call it a night, too, y’all.” There were a few protests, but I shook them off. “Big day tomorrow,” I added, trying to inject a note of cheer into my voice.

The farewells were warm, filled with encouraging smiles and a few playful warnings about not being too hard on Adam. Something he didn’t seem nearly as amused by as I expected him to be.

---