Page 34 of Home Town Knight

Owen nodded. “I read the case you laid out in your article. It was powerful.”

I dipped my chin. “Then you know it was also complicated. My dad had known about the dirty cops in his department, even before the accusations, and he was too afraid to speak up.”

“A lot of people wouldn’t. But the real culprits were convicted, right?”

“Yes, but not of the most serious charges I thought they deserved. And you should’ve heard the things my dad’s former friends said about me. That I was a traitor. A liar. A snitch. That I’d made it all up, and my dad was really to blame.”

“I saw the comments on the article,” he said softly.

“It got ugly. My reputation was battered and bruised. That’s how I ended up at theDenver Daily. They were willing to take a chance. Nobody else would hire me.”

“But you’d proven your claims were true.”

I laughed ruefully. “The truth isn’t enough for some. But it was all I had.” I dug into my pocket, and my hand closed around a metallic circle. I pulled it out to show him. “My dad gave me this challenge coin when I graduated college.” It had the emblem of my dad’s police department and the words,For Exemplary Heroism. “He had a lot of them, but this was his favorite. It was awarded to him after he saved a woman’s life. He’d wanted me to have it, so I carry it with me wherever I go.”

Owen touched a finger to the edge of the coin, nodding. I’d seen the sheriff’s collection of challenge coins in a display on his wall. He would know how much this meant to me.

“I’mproudthat my dad was a cop and gave so much to hiscommunity,” I said. “If I’m biased, it’s only against anyone who abuses the system and uses it to hurt people instead of helping.”

“I feel the same way.”

I closed my fist around the coin and shrugged. “So now you know who I am.”

He tilted his head, his dark indigo eyes regarding me intently. “I’m starting to.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Owen

Genevieve was so much morethan I’d expected. I’d known she was funny and beautiful. But she was also courageous as hell.

She held onto her father’s challenge coin as a server came over to check on us. Now that dinner service was underway, it looked like Jessi had returned to her regular duties. The server took Gen’s empty glass, and Gen switched to seltzer with lime.

“I can’t claim to know what your dad went through,” I said. “But I’ve had deputies I trusted betray me in the past. I’mnottrying to make this about me though. I’d love to hear more about your dad if you want to share it.”

In fact, I was honored she had told me as much as she had. I’d read the article, so I’d known a lot of the details. But not the gut-wrenching emotion underneath, which had been clear as Genevieve told the story.

She slid the challenge coin back into her pocket, shaking her head. “No, I think it’s your turn to spill.”

“Off the record?”

She rolled her eyes. “Just tell me something, Tex. Andmake it interesting. I’m way too close to crying, and I only had two glasses of wine, so I can’t even blame the alcohol.”

I didn’t have my hand over hers anymore, because she’d pulled away. But I missed the contact. I stretched my leg beneath the table and brushed hers again. She arched an eyebrow, like she knew that had been no accident. But she didn’t move to separate us.

“I mentioned yesterday that I was on my way back from my grandparents’ ranch. That’s my dad’s side of the family. My dad never wanted to be a rancher. He was on the rodeo circuit, and that’s how he met my mom when he came through Hartley. Cue the whirlwind romance.” I pointed at my own chest. “And the unexpected pregnancy. I promise I’m getting to the interesting part.”

“It’s already interesting. I’m a fan of love stories.”

I rested my arm on the tabletop, making our fingers connect. “Both sides of the family were pissed. My parents were young with no money whatsoever. But my mom’s family, the Rigsbys, were important here in Hartley. They gave my dad a job. One of her brothers was a good man. Air Force, like your father. The others…they weren’t so upstanding. We were the family outcasts, always on the outside. But that made the three of us close. My parents were my best friends.”

She smiled. Then her expression grew sympathetic as I told her how my parents had died when I was nineteen. First my mom to cancer, then my dad, probably from a broken heart. The same thing that had happened to Gen’s father, in a way.

“You said something yesterday about your dad being a hunter, and I noticed you used the past tense,” she said. “But losing them both that way… I’m sorry.”

“It was hard. I joined the Marines after that, and by the time I finished out my contract and was ready to come home,the Rigsbys had even more of a stranglehold on Hartley. I decided to put my skills to use in the sheriff’s department, and I got close to the former sheriff. Funny enough, my uncles encouraged me to run to replace him when he retired. They assumed they’d have me in their pocket.”

“And why would they assume that?”

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