Page 24 of Wild Card
“Well, I don’t know. Sam, do you have any reports to make while we’re out here?”
“Well,” he said slowly, “the dang kids in town were partying out here last weekend. Set a bonfire. That’s not safe.”
“It sure isn’t.” I smirked at Chloe. “What do you think about kids partying in Sam’s field, Deputy Parks?”
“I think we should head into town and remind those kids what’s what,” she said, voice stern. “I’ll head back to the car and make a note so we don’t forget.”
She hurried away.
Sam raised a bushy eyebrow. “She looks like she could be one of those kids. How young are you taking them these days?”
“Too young,” I said, thinking of Shane’s baby face. “Always too damn young.”
“Ain’t that the truth?” Sam said. “Have a good one, Deputy. I’ll call you next time my fence breaks down.”
The saucy fucker winked at me.
I laughed. “If you think that’s the best use of a law officer’s time…”
He grinned, revealing two missing teeth. “Need to make sure my property is safe! I’m just a poor old man.”
I snorted. “Nice try, Sam. We both know if you were that old, you’d have called Ed for some help with that runaway steer.”
When I returned to the patrol car, Chloe was sitting with her head ducked. “Did he remember me?”
“Don’t think so.”
She gave a relieved sigh. “Thank god. What next?”
“We’ll drive along the county’s southern border, then double back to Granville and stop for lunch. If any calls in this area pop up, we’re on them.”
She nodded. “You going to be uptight every time I get out of the car?”
I cast her a look. “Might be.”
“You want to tell me why?”
“You don’t know the job yet. You’ve got no practical experience.”
“That’s not actually the reason, though.” Her eyes bored into me. “We both know Sam was no threat.”
“Maybe,” I said. “But I know it because I’ve worked with him before. My judgment is based on my interactions with him as a deputy. You can’t make assumptions on how people will behave because you lived in Granville and think you know them.”
“Maybe, but we weren’t on a call. If we’d been responding to a report?—”
“It doesn’t matter,” I cut in. “You don’t always choose what you walk into. Just ask Shane.”
“Shane?”
“Never mind.” I hadn’t meant to say that.
Her forehead creased. “Who’s Shane? Is he a deputy? I don’t remem?—”
“No. Forget I mentioned him. I shouldn’t have. He’s got nothing to do with you.”
She eyed me for a long minute. “Seems like he has something to do with you, though.”
My heart twisted. “Put on your seat belt. Until a call comes in, I’ll drive, and you can tell me what an unreasonable hard-ass I am.”
