“I didn’t come here to make friends, Sir. I came back to the town to work and do my duty, Sir.” She fidgeted with the sharp pleat ironed into her trousers. Her nails were short and neat, and her fingers bore the mark of a ring pale against the tan of the rest of her skin. Divorced or running? Jake would find out sooner or later.
He thought he noted a small dent in her toughness when she mentioned her birthplace. “I understand that but what I’m saying is this, the townsfolk will accept you better if you act like you want to be here doing what you’re doing. Put up barriers like you are with me and you’ll get nowhere fast. Understand?”
“Yes, Sir. Understood. I don’t mean to be ‘hard ass’ as you put it. Just trying to keep low key until the folks get used to me. New kid in town always gets looked at sideways.” Her lips twitched at the corners and he smiled at her, encouraging her to open up to him. Better to have staff working with you than against you any day of the week.
“Do you still have family here?” Sounds like she has more than a chip on her shoulder to me. Be interesting to see what it is. See if I can knock it off. Jake mentally kicked himself. Don’t get involved pal, not with your own staff. The pale band of skin where her wedding ring used to be glared at him. Good enough reason to keep his distance.
“I believe I have quite a few relatives here. I don’t know many of them personally, but I’m sure we’ll meet up sooner or later and I can rectify that.”
“Word of advice: Ease up and try and enjoy your job. Not much happens here compared to the good old US of A. Fact of the matter is, you’ll probably be bored to tears in a matter of days and regret moving back. But it’s your call. For the short term, I want to pair you off with a young officer who can show you the ropes around town. He’s a good kid and knows everyone as he grew up here. You’ll find your feet easily enough with him, although you top him by years of experience. You never know, you’ll probably end up being the teacher.” He pushed the button on his intercom and spoke. “Mick, can you come in here please?”
A couple of moments later a fresh faced young man tapped on the door, opened it, and walked into the office. “Yes, Boss.” He glanced at Ryder and Jake could see the blush creeping up his cheeks. Shy around the ladies, Mick tended to get a little tongue tied. Working with the new constable would do him good, get him out of his shell, or do his head in being how she was so pretty to look at. The kid seemed barely old enough to shave, but had the makings of a great cop and Jake wanted to make sure he learnt the right way. Call it intuition, but he thought Ryder Quinn would be the perfect match for him.
“Mick, I want you to meet Constable Ryder Quinn. She’ll be your new partner for the foreseeable future. Constable Quinn, this is Mick Dickens. Best bull rider and coffee maker this side of the Great Dividing Range.”
* * *
He was right, she needed to ease up and go with the flow. No point in making out she was prim and proper when she really wanted to fit in and be part of the community. Do your best with the charm, Ryder. She stood up and held out her hand. God Bless him, the poor kid was blushing to the roots of his hair. The little bits of fluff on his chin and around the edges of his top lip made him look younger than he probably was. Dark brown eyes skittered around the room only to flitter back to her face before shooting off again.
“Nice to make your acquaintance, Constable Dickens.” He pulled his hand from hers before they had a chance to do more than brush skin. A smile twitched at the corners of her lips and she dropped her head. It would do no good to embarrass the poor kid on her first day. “I’m looking forward to seeing Mudgee. It’s been some time since I was here last.”
“But you’re from America, aren’t you? You sure sound like it anyways.” Mick stood closer to Jake seemingly for protection and watched her.
“Yes. I was born here, but we moved when I was about four years old and I spent most of my life in the States. My mother is American, father was an Aussie as he liked to call himself.” She pushed the chair in toward the desk, using it for support.
“Right. Now the introductions have been made, I’ll issue you with your gun and the two of you can start your rounds.” He turned to Mick. “I want you to introduce Constable Quinn to as many people as you can today while keeping an eye on the usual trouble makers.”
“Sure, Boss.”
“Follow me, Quinn.”
By the time she signed off for the day, Ryder’s feet were
