Page 32 of Whispers of Redemption

“So, did you need something or...” she trailed off.

“Oh! I...er...would you...” He appeared uncharacteristically flustered. “Would you like to get a cup of coffee?”

Whatever she’d been expecting him to say, that wasn’t it. “Uh...” now it was her turn.

“Look, if you’re busy or need to get home or whatever, no worries,” he added in a rush, dropping his gaze again.

For some annoying reason, she found this incredibly endearing. This strong, capable cop was suddenly acting unsure of himself. Because of her.

“Okay,” she said, surprising herself. “How about Lakeside Latté? Meet you there in fifteen minutes?”

His face broke into that sunrise smile again. “Great!”

They parked next to each other in the coffee shop parking lot. She got out, feeling a bit surreal that she had willingly parked beside a patrol car and she was about to be seen in public with a uniformed police officer. And at one of her favorite haunts, so she was likely to see people that she knew. What had she been thinking?

She reached for the door of the shop, but he was already there. He grasped the handle from behind her and pulled it open, letting her walk through first.

“Uh...thanks,” she said, surprised by the unexpected gallantry.

They stepped inside and the smell of fresh roasting coffee assailed them. The place was still surprisingly busy for the late hour, with a mix of individuals and small groups either chatting or working on laptops.

They walked over and stood side-by-side in front of the glass case to make their pastry selections. Olivia was working as usual and handed them each a brown paper bag with their treat of choice inside. When Cassie accepted her bag, Olivia gave a sly smile and a quick wink that made her blush. Fortunately, Wade was too busy digging into his bag and didn’t notice. The two of them moved to the end of the counter to wait for their coffees.

“Seriously, no donut?” Cassie teased, pulling out her blueberries-and-cream scone.

“No way,” Wade said. “The cherry turnovers here are da bomb!”

She smiled at the casual way he spoke, so different from his usual stiff formality. He took a big bite, and a bit of white icing stuck to his upper lip. She watched as the pink tip of his tongue snaked out to lick it off and she swallowed, quickly turning her attention back to her scone. She dabbed her fingers at some of the crumbs that were scattering across its white tissue wrapping as she held it in her hand. “So, you know this place, huh? You don’t come often though.” The last part came out as more of a statement than a question. She was a regular and she’d never seen him there before.

“Not as often as I’d like,” he admitted. “If I did, it would be hard to stay in the same kind of shape needed to pass the Police Academy Fitness Test.”

Their coffee orders came up, and they both carried them over to an empty booth at the back of the room.

“Wait a minute,” she said, sliding in across from him. “Are you telling me that you all have to continue taking the fitness exam? Because Hugo...er, doesn’t seem quite as fit as you do.”

Wade laughed, and Cassie felt an unexpected thrill over the fact that she had caused it.

“Well, you’re right about that,” he said. “And no, we don’t have to keep taking the test. I just personally choose to. I think it’s important for police officers to be in the best physical shape possible.”

Well, he’s certainly successful there, Cassie thought to herself, noting his strong forearms and how the definition of his biceps was just visible beneath the short sleeves of his summer uniform shirt. Then she felt annoyed with herself for noticing. She tossed her hair back over one shoulder and said, “Yeah, well, I give you props for that because I doubt fitness is a priority for most cops. It’s clearly more about enjoying the power trip for the vast majority of them.”

Wade nearly choked on his final bite of cherry turnover. Eyes watering, he took a sip of his coffee and looked at her. “Is that really what you think?”

“Totally,” she said after swallowing a bite of her scone. “Most cops don’t really care about the people they supposedly serve.”

Wade didn’t say anything, but his expression grew serious.

She didn’t know why she was doing it, but she knew she was intentionally trying to rile him up, make him angry.

He surprised her, though. Instead of getting defensive, he simply sat back and studied her in that unsettling way of his. After a long moment, he said, “Why do you dislike cops so much?”

The question took her aback and she hesitated, then decided to be honest. “Personal experience.”

“What kind of personal experience?”

“I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Okay.” He didn’t press her, and they sat in silence for several minutes more, just sipping their coffees.

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