Page 63 of The Cowboy Comes Home

“Kinda my job,” she said to him in a quite audible whisper that made the boy laugh.

“I gotta say hi to Lobo,” he said.

“Absolutely. He’s about to come through that glass, wanting to see you.”

Jeremy grinned, and when Emily opened the back door to the vehicle, he scrambled up to greet the big black dog who yipped in obvious delight to see his friend.

Tucker found himself blinking rapidly, and he looked away so Jeremy wouldn’t see him.

“It must feel good to see him happy again,” Emily said softly.

Somehow he wasn’t surprised that she so quickly understood. But he was thankful she’d saved him from having to explain.

“Hey!” Jeremy yelped from inside as he stroked the dog’s head. “He’s got a badge on!”

Emily laughed. “Yes, he does. And a custom-made one at that, courtesy of Logan Fox.”

“Logan made it for him?” Tucker asked, leaning in to see the carefully crafted metal badge with the Last Stand city logo.

She nodded. “The chief talked to him about it at the survival party, and he delivered it yesterday. See how nicely it fits over his collar?”

“Leave it to Logan,” he said.

“He and Aunt Tris are probably gonna get married,” Jeremy announced casually. “But after Dad and Nic do.”

Tucker shifted his gaze from the cleverly wrought metal to Jeremy. “Did Tris tell you that?”

The boy shrugged. “Nope. I’m just hoping.”

Tucker smiled, reached out and tousled his hair. “Me, too, buddy. I’ve never seen her so happy.”

“Does Lobo like ice cream?” Jeremy asked, one of his usual quick changes.

“Don’t know about that,” Emily said, “but I do know he loves whipped cream. Even though it gets all over his nose.”

Jeremy laughed delightedly. “Let’s go!” He looked at Tucker. “Can we go in this car, since it’s already nice ’n’ cool?”

“I…don’t know,” Tucker said, feeling a bit awkward at the boy’s assumption that of course they would all be going. Together. “Emily is working—”

“She’s also overdue for a lunch break. Pile in, everyone.”

And so they were off, in the indeed much cooler car. “Truck’s A/C needs some work,” he muttered as he shut the passenger door.

It was barely two minutes later that they were pulling into the small parking area outside the new shop. Emily picked up the microphone on the police radio, keyed it and said, “K9 One, code seven at Hickory and Yellow Rose.”

“K9 One, ten-four,” came the answer back through the radio.

“Who’s that talking?” Jeremy asked.

“The dispatcher,” Emily said. “Who has to not only keep track of everything going on in town, but all the officers, too. And everything they might need, from backup to an ambulance.”

“Wow, that sounds hard.”

“It’s a tough job. Tougher than mine, in a lot of ways. But the chief hires good people.”

“Yes, he does,” Tucker said, and when she glanced at him he held her gaze, letting her see how much he meant it. It was crazy, it went against everything he’d vowed to never, ever do, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

He really liked Emily Stratton. No, he more than just liked her.

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