Page 17 of No Man Left Behind

Playing with the animals was a great way to start the day. Or the date.

He set the kitten on the floor beside Finch. The pup sniffed the little guy all over and then licked him from head to tail.

Grinning, Marcus stood and looked at Elina. “I thought we could go to the No Fail Diner if you haven’t already eaten.”

Her face lit up again, and Marcus felt his chest puff up. He was ridiculous but Elina did that to him. He wanted to be a better man and wanted her to feel safe and appreciated. Wanted to be the one eliciting smiles from her.

Jim and Carl hustled them out the door, and Marcus worked to ignore the knowing smiles. The two men took credit for Piper and Troy becoming a couple, and he knew they were now conspiring how they could help Marcus. He wouldn’t mind their assistance.

Something deep inside him had clicked when he’d met Elina overseas. And it clicked again when he’d seen her here in Phail. Whatever the click was, he wanted to keep the feeling.

The fall morning had a bit of a chill, and Marcus eyed her jean jacket. “Are you warm enough?” He only wore his uniform, and didn’t have a coat to offer her but they could easily walk to his home or office to grab one.

She smiled. “I’m good. I’ll be warm enough if we’re walking. It took a while to acclimate to the temperatures in Seattle, but I’m used to it now.”

He nodded. “Vermont is very different from the desert countries we often worked in. That first winter nearly had me running for the south.”

“What made you stay?”

He raised an eyebrow. “One guess.”

She laughed. “Epic. Troy. He can be very persuasive.”

“Very true. It was also a good town. They’d struggled to find a police officer who was willing to live in such a small place.”

“It’s notthatsmall.”

He shrugged. “Not compared to some places. But Phail has at least doubled in size since I moved here. The changes Piper and Troy are implementing are attracting more people and businesses too, so it’s growing.”

“What wasn’t here when you first arrived?”

“The Saloon is new. Doc’s too. We didn’t have access to any health professionals. Same with the Firehall. Mitch is a paramedic, but he hasn’t been here for much more than a year either. Fiona had just opened Phail Phoods when I arrived. There hadn’t been a grocery store, and she was determined to make it work. She’s Troy’s cousin and makes lots of homemade items. Falcon’s construction business, the combo tattoo parlor and hair salon are new as well.”

“That’s a lot. I met a boy named Owen climbing the rock wall yesterday morning. That’s new, too?”

He nodded and stopped at the corner of Phail Way Park to point as he spoke. “In the spring, everyone helped out to create the park. We tore down a few empty buildings that sat on the front part of the block. We added the gazebo and the movie screen, which doubles as the rock-climbing wall. Actually, Owen and his mom, Rachel, are new as well. She runs the Yoganna Love It studio.”

Elina grinned. “That’s a great name for a yoga studio. I’ll have to try out a class.”

Marcus wondered if he might do that as well. He did plenty of stretching and exercises to keep his body fit. Doing it in a group had never appealed to him, but doing yoga with Elina?

Yeah, that appealed to him. A lot.

Elina loved hearing about the town’s history as they strolled along Phail Way. “It’s a vibrant, friendly place. Hard to believe it hasn’t always been this way.”

Marcus touched her lower back again and gestured to Phail General. “This is Troy’s store. If you need anything, he probably has it in stock. If not, he can get it for you. My current office is in the back.”

“May I see?” She wanted to see where he worked and what that side of his personality was like. But she wasn’t sure what the rules for police stations were like. “I understand if that’s not okay.”

He grinned at her. “It’s more than okay. I’d love to show you. Come around back, and we can go straight in.”

He led the way to the back, and unlocked the door, then ushered her inside with a hand on her back. She liked that way more than she would have thought.

The room was large but not large enough. One desk was arranged so that anyone working there could keep his eye on the entire space. Aside from the computer, there were neat stacks of paper and binders. Another desk, obviously not the one Marcus used, was more barren, ready for another officer to make if their own.

There was a small couch and a couple of chairs grouped in one corner around a table. Filing cabinets lined the wall under the back window with file boxes on top.

Her eyes skittered away from the cell in the corner, but she forced herself to take a brief glance. When her hands trembled, she shoved them in her pockets. The cell wasn’t anything like the cave where she’d been held. This was clean and neat.

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