Chapter Three #2
“I was trying to save money on the gas bill,” she says. “The fireplace does a great job of heating the house.” She winces. “But getting enough firewood inside to last the whole day and night is always the problem.”
Liam joins us, crouching beside me. “The paramedics are on the way, along with an ambulance.”
“Oh, I hate causing such a fuss,” she mutters, giving her twisted ankle a dirty look.
“Don’t worry about that,” I say. “All that matters is getting you all fixed up.”
She meets my gaze and she frowns. “Just occurred to me I’ve never seen you before, and here I am holding your hand.”
“No worries.” I smile, gently squeezing her fingers. “And yeah, this is my first day with GPPD.”
“I hope you get more exciting calls than this one. What could be more boring than helping a clumsy old lady?” She shakes her head. “Can’t believe I fell. I’m always so careful.”
In the distance I hear a siren. We keep Helen talking, hoping to distract her from the pain.
The paramedics roll up first, followed by the ambulance.
The paramedics are gentle with her, but she complains the whole time they load her onto the stretcher.
She seems to think we should just take her into her house and put her in her bed. That’s not going to happen.
Once she’s loaded up, we watch the ambulance and paramedics drive away. We get back in our SUV and Liam starts the car.
“They’ll stabilize her at the clinic in town,” he says. “But given her age, I’d be surprised if they don’t transport her to the hospital down the mountain. If it’s a break, she’ll probably need surgery.”
“Damn. That’s rough at her age.”
“Yeah, but she’s tough. She’ll be back on her feet in no time.
” He rubs his chin. “Although, she’s going to need help once she’s home for a little while.
I think I’ll reach out to the local Women’s Club and see if they can send someone over to take care of her for a few weeks. Just until she’s back on her feet.”
“That’s nice of you.”
“Well, duh.” He smirks. “I’m a nice guy.”
“You certainly seem to be,” I mutter.
He laughs at my tone and starts the car. “I think I’m also going to come over here on my day off and stack a bunch of wood on her porch. That way, whoever Helen has helping her out won’t have to go all the way out to that wood pile at the back of her property.”
I glance over, surprised at his plan. “You’re going to do that on your day off?”
“Sure. Why not?” He shrugs. “We need to look out for the folks in our community, right?”
“I suppose so.” I hesitate. “Do you… want help stacking the wood?”
Liam looks over in surprise. “You offering to help me?”
“Well, I don’t know anyone in town, so it’s not like I’ll have much to do on my days off. Might as well help you stack some wood for Helen.”
“That’s mighty nice of you, Jude.”
My stomach does a little flip-flop at his warm smile and the use of my name.
“No problem.” I pull my gaze from his, disconcerted by how much I like his smile.
Instead of fixating on that inconvenient truth, I instead stare out the window at the snow-covered pines. “Helping others is why I became a cop.”
“Oh, yeah? You like helping people?”
“Yes.”
He smirks. “You know, my kitchen sink is draining kind of slow lately. Maybe you could come over and fix it for me.” His tone is teasing.
I give a grudging smile. “Don’t push it, Martinez.”
He chuckles. “It was worth a try.”
After a couple more calls, we grab a late lunch at a small diner called The Grizzly’s Den.
Liam seems to know everyone in town and they all appear to like him.
Some of them are curious about me. They ask a lot of questions about Atlanta, and I’m caught off guard by how friendly they are.
Liam takes all the attention in stride, as if he’s used to it.
Just as we’re finishing lunch, we get a call about a bear caught in someone’s garage.
“How does a bear get into someone’s garage?” I ask as I climb into our SUV. “And why would it bother?”
Liam grins. “Welcome to Montana. This time of year, bears sometimes come closer to town. They’re hungry and looking for easy food.”
“So what are we supposed to do with a bear? Cuff them and read them their rights?”
Liam gasps. “Hold on. Was that a joke? Did… did you just make a real joke?”
“Maybe.” I quash my smile, but it’s not easy. There’s just something about Liam that makes me want to smile all the time. That’s saying something too, especially after the last six months.
He whistles. “I never thought I’d live to see the day when Jude Collins made a joke.”
“Oh, shut up.”
He laughs. “Don’t worry. We don’t have to arrest the bear. We’ll just control the scene. Fish and Wildlife will take care of the rest.”
“Okay, good.”
Liam glances over, looking mischievous. “I’ll have to mark this day in my calendar. The day Jude Collins told a joke.”
“Let it go, Martinez,” I mutter, but he just laughs harder.
Beaver Lane is in a neighborhood that backs up to the forest. That probably accounts for why a bear came to visit. A woman who looks to be in her forties is standing in her driveway, filming the garage with her phone. Inside, I can see a large black shape moving around.
“Ma’am, I need you to go inside your house,” Liam says firmly.
“I will, but just let me get some more footage for my TikTok. I’ll bet this gets me a bunch of new followers.”
Liam exhales patiently. “Inside. Now.”
“But… but…”
“Go inside. I mean it,” he rasps.
With a scowl she sort of complies, although she walks as slowly as possible, still filming.
While we wait for Fish and Wildlife, we keep her nosy neighbors from entering the property.
The bear is tearing into garbage bags, making a mess but not aggressive.
It’s actually kind of fascinating seeing a bear up close.
After about twenty minutes, Fish and Wildlife arrives with a tranquilizer gun. The bear goes down easy, and they load it into their truck to relocate it further into the mountains. We head back into town and end up handling a few more calls, then it’s end of shift.
On the way back to the station, Liam says, “Hey, when we get back to the office, don’t head out right away.”
I frown. “Why not?”
He grimaces. “The station has a little get-together arranged for you at The Fox & The Kettle.”
“What?” I stiffen as uneasiness sweeps through me. “For me? Why?”
“To welcome you to the team.” He pulls into the parking lot of the station and shuts the engine off.
“But,” I sputter, “that’s absolutely not necessary.”
He seems taken aback by my reaction. “No, I know, but we always do this for the new people. Sorry, I forgot to tell you.” He gives a weak smile. “You have to come. Sally will murder me if you’re a no-show, especially after she went to all the trouble to set it up.”
“Look, I’m tired and it’s been a long stressful day. I… I don’t need a welcome party.” I put my hand on the door handle, hoping to make a quick escape. “Tell Sally thanks, but—”
“Wait, Jude, hold up.” He grabs my wrist and I jerk away. He blinks at me, obviously surprised at my overreaction to him touching me.
Embarrassed, I mumble, “Sorry.” I obviously can’t explain why I reacted like that. I’d rather die than admit the feel of his heated fingers on my skin felt way too arousing. All I can do is mumble lamely, “It’s just… I really don’t need a party.”
He looks bewildered. “Okay, so you’re not a party guy, but it’s already arranged. It’ll be weird if you don’t at least make an appearance. It’s going to be super chill. You don’t have to make a speech or anything. It’s just so the team can introduce themselves, that’s all.”
“I’d still rather not.”
His confusion deepens. “But, what would it hurt to drop by for a little while?”
I make the mistake of meeting his eyes. The disappointment I see there weakens me. “Is it really that big of a deal if I don’t show up?”
“Well, I mean, the world won’t explode or anything,” he says. “But if you don’t make any effort to meet everyone, people are going to think you’re unfriendly.”
“Then let them.” I clench my jaw, steeling myself against his wounded expression. “Look… I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m not here to make friends. I’m just here to work.”
His eyes flicker. “Is there some reason you can’t do both?”
The question is sincere and I’m not sure how to respond.
How do I explain that no amount of socializing will make any of them like me?
The truth is, they could throw me a hundred parties and I’m never going to fit in.
It doesn’t matter if it’s wolves or humans.
There’s something about me that seems to put others off.
Atlanta forced me to accept that. I’d never tried as hard as I did there to fit in, and it still hadn’t worked.
“Listen,” he says quickly into the silence. “Just come and have one drink.”
I scowl. “It’s a waste of time.”
“No it’s not. If you don’t bother to come, Sally’s feelings will be hurt. Other people will be offended that you didn’t show up. They’ll think you’re a snob. That’s just how it is. I’m sure you don’t want to hurt people’s feelings, right?”
“Of course not. I’m… I’m just not good at small talk or crowds.”
He nods as if he understands. “Okay, I get that. I’ll stick to you like glue, okay? If you get tongue tied or overwhelmed, I’ll pick up the slack. It’ll be good. I promise. Then, once you’ve had your drink and met everyone, you can take off.”
I want to say no so badly. I want to go home to my quiet apartment and decompress from the day.
But something in his expression gets to me.
He’s so fucking sexy and nice. I don’t want him disappointed in me.
The thought of that makes me uneasy. And the truth is, I enjoy being around him.
I feel good in his presence. If he’d invited me out for a drink, just the two of us, I’d probably have said yes. It’s the party thing making me anxious.
“Okay.” I exhale roughly. “One drink only, then I’m out.”
He brightens. “Yes. Fair enough.”