Page 28 of Island Homecoming

Burrell whistled. “Bet all the folks coming and going down there keep law enforcement hopping.”

He was right about that. “I enjoyed being part of a busy precinct. Rarely a dull moment.”

“And you came back here because?”

An innocent question. One she should’ve answered easily. Casually. She was confident that neither the chief nor Lt. Frasier would’ve shared her issues, but she hesitated to open up with Burrell. She didn’t really know him.

Of course, like her, he’d been vetted and cleared. Caldwell took background checks seriously. Yet something about sharing what happened felt a little too close to exposing her weaknesses. “Everyone needs a change of pace,” she finally replied. “I’m sure the island is a complete one-eighty compared to Detroit.”

“Chicago,” he clarified with a tight smile. His gaze roamed for a moment. “This slice of the Atlantic is much more appealing than the shore of Lake Michigan.”

Jess reached back and tightened her ponytail. “Cold weather.” She gave an exaggerated shiver. “That was one thing I knew for sure I didn’t want to deal with when I moved away.”

“Beach girl to the core?” Burrell asked as they walked back toward their designated stations.

“That’s right.” She smiled. There was no point pretending to be someone she wasn’t. “And proud of it.”

It dawned on her that shewasproud of where she’d grown up. She wasn’t exactly proud of how abruptly she’d left or how broken things had been between her and Nash at the time, but she did love everything about coastal life. Despite the typical crimes and weather events that went along with life near the ocean.

The awareness settled her, as if her heart had been waiting for her to recognize the obvious and start behaving accordingly. She also, deeply and completely, believed in protecting these towns, big and small, from the people who wanted to use the coastline for criminal purposes.

Near the door she spotted Bobbie Adams, her patrol partner tonight. The other woman was in her mid-twenties and, from what Jess had heard and seen, she was a great young cop.

“We’d better get back out there and make sure nobody tries anything stupid.”

“Couldn’t agree with you more,” Burrell said. “I’ve got your backs.” He exchanged a friendly nod with Adams. “Be safe.”

“Every day,” Jess called back over her shoulder.

Outside, Adams raised her eyebrows and lowered her voice. “You sure caught his eye.”

“Burrell?” Jess must have misheard the younger officer. “What are you talking about?”

Adams grinned and elbowed her lightly. “I think he has a thing for you.”

Jess shook her head. That wasn’t the vibe she’d felt. Not at all. And she didn’t want to get involved in any kind of department rumor or drama. “No way.” She waved it off. “He’s being friendly, that’s all. We all know what it’s like to be the new kid in town.”

“Exceptyouare a Brookwell resident,” Adams pointed out.

“Hardly.” Jess shook her head. “I’ve been gone for more than a decade. Let’s get moving. We need to focus on the work.”

“Be safe.” Adams mimicked Burrell’s deeper voice before turning away to walk her designated route.

Jess ignored the teasing and moved along the prescribed path. She didn’t expect trouble tonight. The weather was clear and the moon glowed brightly overhead. Tonight would prove challenging for anyone attempting to sneak up on them.

That didn’t mean she could relax. Not entirely. If someone was watching in an effort to gather intel on numbers and attentiveness, she wanted to make it clear this warehouse was guarded by professionals. Any attempt to break in and reclaim the drugs or boat would be met with serious, determined resistance.

It was the only way she knew to do her job. The only way she knew to fulfill her commitment to her lawyers, her community, and herself.

Chapter 9

Nashdiscoveredhehadto be strategic and creative to make the most of the time he could squeeze in with Jess. It was worth the effort, as they reconnected and established a new friendship one conversation or outing at a time.

He thought about her constantly, especially on days like today when their schedules kept them apart. He could only be thankful it wasn’t payroll day. All the crew had on the agenda was this major installation.

He wouldn’t see her tonight, which seemed to make it harder to focus on anything else. She was as funny and irreverent as he remembered. And watching her interact with people she’d known as well as the new faces around town only convinced him this was where she belonged.

He just wasn’t sure if she recognized it or not.

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