“And no need to be gentle,” he whispered so softly to the other officer, I wasn’t sure I heard him right. Once we were alone, Luke asked, “Are you okay?” as he nodded his head toward my arm.
I glanced down at my arm. “Um, yeah, I might have a bruise though.”
He placed both of his hands on my shoulders and leaned down into my space. “You need to be more careful.” He pulled back as if to go, and then stopped to say, “I don’t know how you represent those assholes.”
I still felt the warmth of his hands on my shoulders. My eyes closed for a second, remembering the vision of his face near mine. “Oh, you get used to it,” I answered flippantly so he wouldn’t know the effect he had on me. “Thanks for helping me out.” Thankfully, my clients usually didn’t touch me, but I’d been called every name in the book.
“Sure. Try and stay out of trouble,” he answered gruffly and then pulled open the courtroom doors to go back inside.
I stood there for a minute trying to get my bearings and then I picked up my briefcase. I headed to my office on the second floor. On the way to my office, I popped my head into my coworker, Ashley’s office. Seeing her on the phone, I moved files from a chair to the floor and sat down to wait for her to finish.
Ashley took off her glasses and asked, “How was court?” Her long dark brown hair was in a high bun but tendrils were starting to escape.
I looked around her office and answered, “My crazy client’s boyfriend grabbed my arm after court. He wouldn’t let go.” Everyone had two long desks in their office configured in an L-shape, and a window overlooking the front of the courthouse. Ashley’s degrees were framed on the side wall and Ravens and Orioles bobbleheads sat on her desk, which was piled high with files.
Ashley looked over at me with concern. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, a little shaken up. Sergeant Hudson intervened, thankfully.” I didn’t mention that I was equally shaken up by my encounter with Luke.
“Luke? Is this the police chase case?”
I sighed deeply. “Yes, that’s the one.”
“I guess she was surprised she got jail time?”
“Yup, she got ninety days. She tried to say she didn’t know she was being pulled over,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“You would think the multiple police cars chasing her with lights and sirens would have clued her in.”
I snorted, “It clued her in enough to throw her drugs out the window.”
“Why do we get the crazy clients?” Ashley sighed. “They expect us to work miracles.”
“I know. I was hoping my clients would be tamer here than in the city.” When I left my hometown I vowed never to live in a small town again. I’d grown up in my parents’ footsteps. They were the golden couple in my high school, popular and social. I was the opposite, quiet and studious. It baffled my parents, the teachers, and the gossips in town. I left for college and never looked back. In the city, I could blend in. Then my boss transferred me here. With a population of five hundred, it was small. A new resident was a curiosity and I felt the stares as I walked through town. It reminded me so much of my childhood, I was anxious to return to the city.
“You would think. Hey, did you talk to Samantha about renting the apartment above the bakery?”
“No, but I need to. I can’t stay at the inn for three months.” This was the other issue with a small town. There were no apartment buildings, so there were few options for short-term rentals. I was filling in for a coworker who was out on maternity leave and only needed to survive the next three months. Then I could go back to the city.
“I’ll walk over with you after work to talk to her. Okay?”
I nodded in agreement as she picked up her ringing phone.
“Emma and Luke are complete opposites, even down to their professions. But it makes for an entrancing romance. Add in the mystery of someone sending threatening text messages and trying to scare Emma out of town and this book becomes an absolute page- turner!” -Brianne from A Book Nerd, a Book Seller and a Bibliophile
One-click Choose Me.
