Page 63 of Every Little Kiss
“She’s in the driver’s seat—trust me.” And it didn’t take a genius to figure out that, after last night, she was considering dropping it into a lower gear. He’d seen the look on her face, knew they’d gone too far.
“I bet that drives you nuts.”
Ford rolled his head to the side until he met his friend’s gaze. “Why do you think I took the search in Shasta?”
“I thought it was to piss me off,” Harris joked, then went serious. Dead serious. “Remember, you have the ability to pull the emergency brake—”
“Which you think I should do because you’re worried about her getting hurt.”
“Sam and I played baseball growing up,” Harris said. “So, yeah, when Liv came to town I made a point to get to know her, and since then she’s become a good friend. So I will always worry about her.” Harris rested his hands on the roof of the truck and leaned in. “Right now, I’m more worried about you.”
“Me?” Ford laughed. “I have three more weeks in Mayberry, then I’ll take my cert test, be back on the travel squad, and everything will be back to normal.”
“Right in time for avalanche season,” Harris said. “I guess you have it all worked out, then. Which explains why you tried to get a permit for a kids’ zip line approved.”
Ford straightened. “What do you mean, tried? Wait. Are you rejecting it?”
“You proposed a zip line and ropes course in Poppy Alley. For kids. To impress a girl.” Harris snorted. “Of course I’m rejecting it.”
“This isn’t about impressing Liv. This is about finishing strong here, and my department does these kinds of kids’ courses every year. A lot of departments do,” Ford pointed out.
“We’re small town, city boy.” Harris laughed, and Ford wanted to punch him. “We don’t have the kind of crew to work that kind of event right now.”
“I only need six guys.”
“You do realize you’re asking for half of the local division?” Harris asked.
Ford hadn’t considered that. He was used to Reno, where, between the outlying counties, he had access to more than a hundred deputies at any given time. And the ranking to pull guys as needed.
But he wasn’t in Reno, and unless he got recertified, he’d be one of the guys getting pulled around. “I can call in some favors, bring some guys in from my department up north.”
“Are you going to cover the overtime as well?” Harris asked. “With Wagon Days, our budget is already thin.”
Right.
“What about department-approved volunteers?” Ford asked. “The way I laid out the course, I’d only need two extra officers to help with the zip line. The rest can be local guys who want to get involved with the event.”
“So two guys are standing between you and—”
“Liv losing that promotion. That’s all.”
Harris thunked his head against the side of the truck. “Glad this isn’t about a woman.”
It wasn’t about a woman. It was about a particular woman with melt-your-soul eyes and a rusty laugh who made Ford want to play hero. And he hadn’t felt that urge in a while.
That was the problem with playing, he reminded himself. At some point real life levels the playing field, and all you’re left with is a badge.
“I can cover two guys, but that’s it. The rest will have to be volunteers. I’ll take another look at the volunteer applications, and maybe we can get a few recruits to help with the simpler stuff to free up some deputies.”
“Thanks. I owe you.”
“And I will collect. But in the meantime, think long and hard about what you’re doing,” Harris said, and then with a smack to the roof of the car, he headed back to his Jeep, his beads glittering in the sunlight.
Appetite gone, Ford stuck his lunch back in the bag and started up the engine. Only instead of looking over to find his partner asleep on the passenger seat, he was met with nubby fur, two plastic eyes, and an opened passenger door.
“Bullseye,” Ford called out, wondering what toddler his AWOL partner was mugging now.
Shutting off the engine, Ford hopped out and scanned the parking lot, the nearby stores, even going into Pins and Needles, because for all Ford knew, Bullseye was taking a crafting class on stuffed dolls.
