Page 22 of Mistletoe Dreams
"Whenever it happens, don't be afraid to knock on my door, okay?"
"I appreciate it."
"Also," Hannah said as he started to move away.
He stopped and turned. "Yeah?"
"I'm staying on my grandma's old farm. I know you and your dad used to fish there, downstream a bit where the country club is now?"
"Yeah. They posted that about fifteen years ago, and only members are allowed along the banks now."
"Well, the river goes through the farm, and you're welcome to bring Mason and fish if you'd like."
"I'll keep that in mind next spring. Thanks."
"If you want to clear off any trees or anything, you can do that. Make yourself a spot."
He stood and stared at her. What was she saying? It took him a few moments, and then it hit him. She was giving him something to do with his son. Something the two of them could do together. A bonding activity. She wasn't pushing him into it or even making asuggestion. She was just offering, because living with his mom in town the way he was, he had no way of doing that himself.
He found himself nodding. "I think I'll do that. Thank you."
She gave a smile which showed her relief. Apparently, she had been concerned that he would take it the wrong way.
"I appreciate your interest and appreciate your offer."
"It's what I would want someone to do for me if I had a son like Mason. He's a smart kid," she added.
"Thanks."
Interesting. Most people saw the juvenile delinquent. The cop with the bad apple. The sheriff who couldn't control his own son. But not Hannah. She saw Mason's potential. And she reached out, offering what she had in order to help.
Of course, it was going to require time and effort on his part, but he was a dad. He would do anything to help.
"Have a good evening. I apologize again for the interruption."
"No apology necessary. That's what the clinic's for. That's what I went to school for. It was nice to use my degree instead of rooting through dusty old paperwork." She waved as he stepped out of the room, and he jerked his head in response.
Hannah was definitely different.
Chapter Eleven
"We've got an hour before we have to be at the top-secret security clearance meeting for the diplomat who’s going to be making a campaign stop in our town." The police chief, Cade McLean, punched something into the iPad tablet he had in his hand. "You're going to need your badge to get in, so make sure you've got it with you, and be sure to pay attention. We told them that we won't need any help from the state, that our local guys can do it, and I want to make sure that we’re not sloppy with anything."
"Yes, sir," Ben said, already having planned to attend the meeting, although it had been a rushed morning. After their late night getting the stitches in Mason's hand, their morning had been a little late, and Ben had had to shake Mason awake twice before he left for work.
The couple of times that Mason had missed the bus, Mason had called, and thankfully Ben's job was such that he could drive around and pick up his son and drop him off at the school.
Since Mason hadn't called that morning, Ben assumed that he'd made it out.
He felt a little bit guilty, which seemed to be his default emotionlately, that he wasn't there to get his kid on the bus every day. But Mason was certainly old enough to do a few things for himself. Maybe that's part of the reason why he hadn't had him doing too many chores either. After all, the kid got his own breakfast, cleaned up after himself, and got himself off to school. That should count for something, right?
Regardless, Ben continued to listen as the police chief spoke.
"We have some resources we can devote to the Mistletoe Festival. I understand you're in charge of the security committee."
"That's right."
"Well, you can let me know what you need, and I can let you know what we can provide, and hopefully they're pretty close. I think that there will be some officers who are willing to donate their time if we can't afford all the overtime pay."
