The cop pointed the flashlight in Neal’s
face. “You had anything to drink tonight?”
“No.” Neal made a conscious effort to stand
up straight on his throbbing foot. “I’m on my way home from the
hospital.”
The cop shined the light on Neal’s shoeless
foot.
“Not for that.” Neal hoped to invoke the
policeman’s sympathy. “My wife was in a car accident tonight. She’s
in intensive care.”
The cop remained stone-faced. He motioned to
Neal’s car. “You’re lucky you aren’t in intensive care yourself,
mister.” He paused, looking at Neal more closely. “How exactly did
you lose control of your vehicle?”
“My daughter...she scared the hell out of
me.”
The cop shined his light back into the car,
at Natasha. She turned her head towards the light. “Gaaaaaa,” she
said, kicking her feet a few times.
“Yeah, she’s really scary,” the cop said. “I
can see why you nearly caused a ten-car pileup.”
“I didn’t mean...” Neal ran his trembling
hand through his drizzle-soaked hair. “What I meant was, she
screamed and I thought something was wrong with her. When I looked
over to see if she was all right, I drifted into the other lane,
then I over-corrected, and...” Neal shrugged. “I’m sorry. I’m
pretty upset about my wife.”
“Upset is no excuse. You need to be more
careful. If you’re that upset, you shouldn’t be driving in the
first place.”
“I know.”
“And you need to strap your daughter into
the back seat, according to the law.”
“Yes sir.”
The cop opened his mouth as if to continue
his lecture, but apparently changed his mind. “May I see your
driver’s license, please?”
“Sure,” Neal said, pulling out his wallet.
He handed the license to the policeman and then glanced at all the
cars that were slowly rolling by, and at the people in them who
were gawking at him.
The cop shined his light on Neal’s license
and studied it. “Mr. Becker, how about moving your care over to the
shoulder of the road, so it’s not blocking traffic. And strap your
daughter into the back seat, where she belongs.”
“Okay.” Neal hesitated briefly, not wanting
to get back into the car with Natasha. The cop did not take his
eyes off Neal—his square-jawed face showed a kind of suspicious
curiosity.
Neal reluctantly climbed back inside his
car, started the engine, and moved it over the shoulder of the
road, aligning it with the traffic. He was aware of Natasha’s
steady breathing, but he would not allow himself even to look in
her direction. Avoiding her eyes, he picked up her car seat and
moved it into the back, his hands shaking so violently the buckle
chattered a little bit as he secured her. He wasn’t sure if it was
a curse or a blessing to have her in the back seat—he wouldn’t have
to look at her face, but God knows what she might do behind his
back.
He quickly shut the door and walked back
around to the driver’s side of the car.
“Please wait inside your car, sir,” the
female cop told him from the window of the patrol car.
“I really need some air,” Neal said, “if you
don’t mind.”
The policewoman eyed him momentarily, then
said something to the other officer, who was now sitting beside her
in the police car. They talked for a few long minutes—Neal could
hear the police radio crackling, a dispatcher giving them
information. He thought he heard the word “hospital.”
The policeman finally got back out of the
patrol car.
“The address on your license isn’t correct,”
he told Neal.
“No. I just moved a few months ago.”
The cop motioned down the street with his
flashlight. “You live right down the road here, then.”
“That’s right.”
“You realize I could cite you for reckless
driving, don’t you?”
“Yes sir.”
“And for not having your child properly
secured in the back seat.”
“Yes, of course.”
He glanced down at Neal’s bandaged foot
again. “And for not wearing your shoes. Technically, you can’t
drive barefoot.”
Neal nodded.
The cop sighed. “Well...since you’ve had a
rough day, I’m gonna give you a break.” He paused, and for the
first time, his rugged face softened. “I heard about your wife
earlier today—one of my buddies was on the scene. Pretty messy.
How’s she doin’?”
“Not too good,” Neal said.
The policeman nodded sympathetically. “Well,
you got to be more careful. This is no time for recklessness, Mr.
Becker. Your child needs you more than ever right now.”
“Yes sir,” Neal said, trying to appear
grateful. Getting a measly traffic ticket was the least of his
worries. In fact, he almost wished they would arrest him.
The cop handed Neal back his license. For an
instant, Neal considered taking a swing at him. Then they would
have
to arrest him and he’d be in jail for a couple of days
at least, and Natasha wouldn’t be his problem anymore.
But Neal just got back into his car, aware
of both officers watching. He gave them an appreciative wave as he
pulled away, then glanced over his shoulder at Natasha. He wasn’t
afraid of her anymore—he was too pissed off at her to be afraid.
But at the moment, there wasn’t much to fear. She was still
behaving the same way she had in front of the cop, playing the role
of the innocent child, kicking her legs around and making cute
little baby noises.
Neal was actually glad that he had almost
had an accident and gotten pulled over—it had shaken him back into
reality. What was so scary about her, anyway? Of course, the
policeman didn’t know she was only five months old and could
already talk. But so what if the damn baby could talk? What harm
could it do? Let her say whatever she wanted.
Sticks and stones may break my bones...
Neal focused his eyes on the road ahead of
him and told himself that no matter what Natasha said, he wasn’t
going to let her get under his skin.
(End of Book 1 – to be continued)
To purchase Book 2 (and conclusion) of Baby
Talk, please go to my website at www.mikewellsbooks.com
A
Letter to My Readers
Hello, Dear Reader!
I hope you enjoyed Baby Talk. If so, you’ll
like many of my other novels. I write in a variety of
genres—thrillers & suspense, romance, young adult, and horror.
All my stories are written in the same gripping, fast-paced style
with plenty of suspense and surprises. As I say on my website, my
goal has always been to write novels that are so engaging and
entertaining that you can’t stop reading after a couple of
pages—“unputdownable” books. You can read all my book descriptions
and read/download free chapters on my website/blog, www.thegreenwater.com
Also, if you liked this ebook, I would
greatly appreciate any help you can give me in spreading the word
about what I have to offer. Positive word-of-mouth for independent
authors like me is the only formula I know for success. Please pass
this book along to your family and friends—give it to anyone who
you think would enjoy it.
I always welcome comments about my
books—please feel free to give feedback via email
([email protected]) or via my blog. Book reviews on
Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, etc. are also appreciated.
Thanks for reading!
Mike Wells
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