Page 30 of In the Arms of a Hero

“Yep! And that guy? The one I assume you’ve seen her with? He works for the community college and is the one who connected her with the photography club.” She leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. “And one more piece of information, since you’re such agreatdetective… they’re just friends.” She scooted her chair back, the legs scraping over the floor. Standing, she turned to walk away.

Slumping in his seat, he called out, “Bess!” When she looked back, he confessed, “I screwed up and didn’t fight for us. How do I fix this?”

She didn’t speak but simply held his gaze for so long that he wondered if she would ever give in and talk to him. Finally, she walked back over, placed her hands on the back of the chair she’d just left, and leaned closer. “My sister deserves someone who will take the time to get to know her. You gave up on the possibility of being with her. If you’re really interested… if you really want to fix things… then you need to take the time to show her that you’re in it for the long haul.”

The bell rang over the door again, and this time Brad walked through. Aaron and Sam had been working on a case with Brad and Hunter.

Bess looked over at Brad, then turned and stalked toward the kitchen, calling out to her other employee, “You can gethimhis coffee. I’m busy!”

Brad narrowed his eyes, but Bess had already walked through the kitchen door. Looking over at Aaron, Brad said, “I’m going to grab some coffee for Hunter and me, then we’ll meet up with you and Sam back at the station.”

Aaron finished his éclair, but it sat like a rock in his stomach. Grabbing his half-full cup of coffee, he started for the door with Bess’s words ringing in his ears—take the time to show her that you’re in it for the long haul. That, I can do. That, I will do.

15

Why was Cinderella so hopeful about her photos?

Belinda looked down at the text message and grinned. She quickly responded.I don’t know.

She waited, anxiously staring as the three dots danced on her phone message app.

She knew her prints would come one day.

Snorting, she quickly typed,That’s so punny! Yuk yuk!

When her phone rang, she saw Aaron’s name on the caller ID and quickly hit accept. “Yessss?” she answered with great exaggeration.

“Punny? You made a joke about my joke,” he complained.

“I thought after all the texts you’ve sent me where you’ve obviously spent a great deal of time looking at photography jokes, I could at least be a little bit amusing.”

He chuckled, and the sound reverberated through her. “I admit I have spent time looking at photography jokes. You know, there’s not a lot of them out there, and some of them really aren’t funny at all.”

“Then I commend you for your diligence since the ones you’ve sent me have been good. I assume you are being just asdiligent in serving the citizens of North Heron as a detective, keeping us all safe?”

At that, he sighed heavily. “Oh, don’t you doubt it. Sam and I seem to be doing nothing but working one crime scene after another.”

Her mirth instantly disappeared as she thought of what his career entailed each day. In a much gentler voice, she said, “I’m sorry, Aaron.”

“Hey, don’t apologize. It’s the job that I was trained for and want to do. I guess if there weren’t any criminals, then I wouldn’t have a job. On the other hand, it would be nice to have a slow day every once in a while.”

Just when she was getting ready to say something else, she heard noises in the background.

“Sorry, Belinda. I have to cut this short. We’re getting called out again. I hope you have a good day.”

They said their goodbyes, and for several moments, she just sat, staring at her phone and thinking of the strange new change in their relationship.

For several weeks, he’d come into the shop for his early morning coffee fix and started sending her texts again. Sometimes just wishing her a good day, and other times, like today, sending a silly joke. She had no idea where he found them, but it was endearing.

Ever since he’d come in to apologize for the rude girlfriend and to let her know that she was no longer around, he’d become a constant presence in her life in subtle ways. Texts were exchanged most days, and he’d brought in his new partner, Sam, to meet her.

Belinda jerked out of her musings and looked at her watch, hurrying out to her car. She was meeting Daniel at Easton Historical Courthouse again, this time with the photography club. They had worked on nature photographs and individualportraits, but today, she would give them a lesson in color versus black-and-white photography.

Once there, she couldn’t help but smile at Daniel's wide grin. Climbing from her car, she reached into the back seat and pulled out her camera cases. Greeting the students that she had come to know, they walked over to the historical buildings.

“I realize that Daniel has already taught some of you in his history class, so you’re familiar with this area. If not, I would advise you to walk around and read the information plaques to understand the significance of these buildings. Is that always necessary to capture a perfect image? Not at all. But in this case, understanding the architecture, the time of its building, and what it housed can give you a perspective.”

“But does it really matter?” one of the young men asked. “How will my perspective of this building show up in a photograph I take?”

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