Page 97 of This Feeling

Reaching down, I grabbed both Gavin and James, pulling them up. “Are you out of your minds? That’sgambling, and you’re playing it right here on Main Street? In your uniforms?!”

“You can play it without gambling, sir,” Wes said, as he picked up the dice. “But it’s more fun with money. Don’t forget, Officer Quinn, you owe me ten dollars.”

I shook my head and held up my hands. “Wes, let me give you a piece of advice.”

He smiled again. “Yes, sir?”

“Don’t play a gambling game with two police officers. Number one, are you even eighteen? Number two, they’re cops. And number three, that’s just plain stupid.”

Wes looked at James and Gavin. “Well,theywere the ones who wanted to play.”

I stared at him, then closed my eyes. God help this kid.

When I opened my eyes, Gavin and James were fighting smiles…and I knew they were fucking with me.

“I’m heading back to my patrol car.”

“Oh, come on, Declan!” James called out. “It was just some harmless fun! We told Wes to play along just to get you worked up. I don’t really owe him ten bucks.”

“You said you’d give me ten dollars to pretend to play dice,” Wes corrected.

I turned and pointed at them. “You’re both assholes.”

Laughing, they quickly caught up to me. Gavin knocked against my arm. “Think of it as a fraternity initiation.”

“First, we’re not in a fraternity. Second, you’re a grown-ass man.”

“Who likes to have fun. Come on, Declan, we…”

His words faded, and I glanced over at him. He was frowning. “What’s wrong?”

“Is that smoke?” Gavin asked, and James and I both whipped our heads in the direction he pointed.

“Fuck. It is!” James shouted, as he took off running, Gavin and I hot on his heels.

“It’s in the historical district, it looks like!” Gavin shouted, as we each ran to our cars. James called it in, and a sinking feeling came over me as we pulled out and headed toward the smoke.

“Please don’t be Liam and Hope’s house.”

Harper

The flash of people running by in my peripheral vision caused me to turn, glancing down the sidewalk. It was Declan, Gavin, and James, all running as fast as they could toward their patrol cars.

“What’s going on?” Cadie asked as she walked toward me from the direction of the bakery.

“I’m not sure. They all just started running.” Turning to look at her, I smiled. “Please tell me that’s some of your banana bread.”

“It is,” she replied, handing me a basket holding loaves of the delicious bread. “I made a special batch just for you.”

I wanted to kiss her. Cadie’s banana nut bread was sought after by everyone in town.

“Is it three already?” I asked as I wound up my hose and turned off the water.

“Yep, three-thirty, to be exact.” Cadie glanced around, then started to sniff the air. “Do you smell smoke?”

I breathed in deeply through my nose. “Smoke?”

“Yeah…I smell smoke.”

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