Where Angels Tread (5 page)

“Tell you what,” Palen continued. “I’m going to keep an eye on you for the next couple of months or so. Then, if everything looks okay, I’ll give you a trial run.” He rested his chin on the tips of his fingers. “It’s not about the accident, Shane. You know that, right?”

“I know,” Shane said quickly, not wanting to rehash the events of that night. He had spent more than enough time dwelling on them already.

“It’s about how you unraveled afterwards. Not that I’m saying I blame you. It would have brought any man to his knees, no doubt about that. But when you’re out there, patrolling the streets, you need to be at the absolute top of your game. And I’m just not convinced that you’re there yet.”

“I’m there,” Shane said, imagining how good it would feel to run his fingers along the dashboard of his cruiser once more. “When you think I’m ready, that is,” he added hurriedly, not wanting to outwardly disagree with Palen.

“It’s settled then,” Palen said, reaching across his desk to pump Shane’s hand up and down. “We’ll meet again in two months, and go from there.” He reached for one of the file folders littering the side of his desk and pulled it toward himself, then patted around his shirt pocket for his reading glasses. “Gotta take another look at this homicide report,” he muttered, unfolding his glasses and sliding them onto his nose. Shane, knowing himself to be dismissed, left Palen’s office, closing the door quietly behind him. As he turned to walk back to the front desk, he saw Buddy strolling toward him with a broad grin on his face.

“Hey, man,” Buddy greeted Shane, then leaned in conspiratorially. “What did Palen want? Are we gonna be partners again?” He ran his hands through his buzzed blond hair. “Sanchez is great, but he’s just not the same.”

“Not yet,” Shane replied, “but he’s going to give me another shot in a couple of months, if he thinks I’m ready.”

Buddy’s face fell, but he tried to quickly recover by clearing his throat loudly. “Want to come over for dinner this weekend? Maribel’s making her famous enchiladas.”

Shane shuffled his feet uncomfortably. “Maybe some other time. I have a few things I need to take care of around the house.”

Buddy examined Shane’s face closely. “Come on, man. You haven’t been around in ages. You’ve barely even seen Henry. He’s getting so big now, you wouldn’t believe it. Right now he’s learning his ABCs.” Buddy puffed out his chest with pride.

Shane offered his friend a tight smile. “I’ll see what I can do.” Buddy shrugged, then patted Shane on the back and pushed through the front doors of the station, calling to Sanchez as he made his way to the police cruiser. Shane watched in envy as the two of them slid into the car and slowly pulled out of the parking lot.

Yanking the chair behind the front desk out so roughly that it tipped over, Shane swore loudly and kicked it, then immediately regretted his decision. As he was hopping around painfully on one foot, a voice called him from behind. He swung around to find Nick, the rookie cop who brought in Zachary Griffin, watching him with a bemused expression on his face.

“Uh, everything okay here?” he asked uncertainly.

“Fine,” Shane snapped back, rubbing the toe of his right foot to try and assess the damage. It was already swelling rapidly; Shane would be lucky if he escaped with just a sprain. Just add it to the list of things going wrong in his life, Shane thought bitterly.

“Uh, that’s good. Listen, I found these on the floor last night.” Nick pulled out a small MP3 player and pair of headphones. “I think they belong to that kid I brought in. You know, the weird one wearing all black? Anyways, I thought you might want to give his mother a call to come down to the station and pick them up.” Nick dropped the items on the front desk and sauntered away. “Thanks,” he called over his shoulder.

Shane’s heart leapt as he fingered the small pair of headphones, picturing Heidi Griffin’s long red hair and the way her soaking wet sweater clung enticingly to her body. This day, he thought, was about to get a lot more interesting. He dug through the folders on his desk until he found the paperwork that Heidi had filled out, pumping his fist in the air when he saw that she had written down her address. She lived only a half mile down the road from him; it would be silly, he reasoned, to have her drive all the way out to the station to retrieve something so trivial. He might as well drop it off for her on his way home; besides, he wouldn’t mind seeing Zachary again. The image of the boy’s sad face splitting into a grin when Shane offered to play paper basketball with him was not something that he would soon forget.

Shane spent the rest of the day in restless anticipation, glancing at the clock every five minutes and pacing back and forth in front of his desk. It didn’t help that it was a particularly slow day at the station; the most exciting thing that happened was a young couple stopping by to turn in a wallet they had found on the side of the road.

When six o’clock hit, Shane grabbed his coat and headed out into the twilight. He had always loved the way the Santa Ynez countryside looked at this time of day, the sun setting magnificently over the bright green fields and rolling hills. Many people who visited the area for the first time ended up falling in love with it, and it was easy to see why, Shane thought as he drove through the winding country roads. The land gave off the kind of quiet serenity that was hard to come by these days, especially in a state like California that was already so jam-packed with people.

Ten minutes later Shane was pulling into the driveway of a small yellow bungalow. He double checked the address he had copied down from the police report before opening the car door. The house was modest, but Shane could tell by the perfectly manicured lawn and rows of flowering bushes lining the sidewalk that someone—probably Heidi—had put a lot of time and effort into making it look like a home.

Straightening his tie nervously, he rapped sharply on the front door. He could see through the gauzy white drapes on the window to a light on in the back of the house. There was also an old station wagon parked in the driveway, a good sign that Heidi was home. He listened with all of his might for the sound of approaching footsteps, but the house remained still and quiet. Shane raised his hand to knock once more, then noticed a tiny doorbell to the left of the door that he had missed the first time. He pressed it firmly; the chiming of bells could be heard echoing throughout the house. He thought he saw a flash of red hair behind the window before the door swung open.

“Officer Kensington! This is a surprise.”

Heidi Griffin stood framed in the doorway, looking, if it was even at all possible, even more beautiful than Shane had remembered. Her auburn hair, now dry and styled, hung in soft waves down to her shoulders. She had big, curious honey brown eyes that were slightly wide-set, giving them even more of a striking appearance. She was wearing nursing scrubs, and despite their rather shapeless form, Shane could see the swell of her breasts beneath them.

“How can I help you?” she asked curiously, a smile playing across her full lips. Shane realized with a start that he had been standing there staring at her like an idiot, his mouth practically hanging open. Get it together, he thought to himself, dragging his eyes away from her body.

He held up the MP3 player wordlessly; she regarded him with an expression of mild confusion. “Uh,” he said, clearing his throat. “We found this at the station. I think it belongs to Zachary.”

“Oh!” she said, reaching out her hand for the player. “I think you’re right. He didn’t even tell me he was missing it.” She glanced over her shoulder into the house. “He’s actually not here right now, but thank you so much for bringing it over. You certainly didn’t have to go through all that trouble.”

“No trouble at all,” he said. “I know you live pretty close to me so I figured I’d save you a trip.” He saw something flash behind her eyes, and her smile wavered for a moment. “No!” he said hurriedly, cursing himself when he realized how strange his words must have sounded. Like he was some kind of creepy stalker. “That came out wrong. I meant to say that when we found the player I looked up the address listed on the police report, saw that you lived relatively close to me, and just decided to drop it off on my way home from work.” He held up his hands. “I’ve never been here before. Promise.”

Heidi threw her head back and laughed; Shane was mesmerized by the way her hair sparkled in the last embers of the setting sun. “Thank you again for stopping by,” she said, offering him a smile. She hesitated, and Shane saw her fingers tighten around the door frame; she seemed to be having an internal debate about something. Finally, just as Shane was about to turn on his heels and head back to the car, she opened the door an inch wider and stood back. “Would you like to come in for some coffee?”

Heidi could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she led Shane Kensington into the living room, watching as he carefully wiped his boots on the doormat before sliding them off and arranging them by the front door. When he noticed her watching him, he grinned at her sheepishly. “My mother always taught us that it was polite to take our shoes off before going into someone’s house. I guess that’s one of the things that stuck with me.”

“Smart woman, your mother,” Heidi offered, returning his smile. She couldn’t believe that Shane, the man who had been haunting her dreams for the past few nights, was standing here, right in her very living room. She glanced down at the scrubs she still wore, and silently berated herself for not bothering to change when she returned home from her shift. Had she known he was going to turn up at her door, Heidi would have put on something a little sexier. Although, she thought, mentally pawing through her wardrobe, single mothers were usually short on cleavage-baring outfits. Stained t-shirts and ripped jeans were a much more appealing uniform.

“How do you take your coffee?” she asked, bustling into the kitchen with Shane at her heels.

“Cream and sugar, if you have it.” He stared around the room in interest. “What a great place you have. Lived here long?”

“About four months,” Heidi said in a muffled voice as she bent to retrieve the ground coffee she kept at the bottom of the pantry. “Before this we lived in a one bedroom apartment for a couple of years, so as you can imagine we were a little cramped.” She poured water into the ancient coffeemaker, praying that it wouldn’t decide that today was the day it would go bust. She added the ground coffee and switched on the appliance, breathing an audible sigh of relief when it churned to life. Heidi was keenly aware of the way Shane’s presence filled every nook and cranny of the room, and was grateful that she had something to distract herself with at the moment.

She rummaged around in the refrigerator for the creamer, then lifted the sugar bowl out of the cabinet. When she turned around to ask Shane how many spoonfuls of sugar he’d prefer, she stopped in her tracks when she saw him examining John’s photo, which was still on the counter. She cleared her throat, pushing down the lump of emotion that had formed unexpectedly. “That’s my husband, John,” she said.

She saw Shane flinch slightly and drop his hand away from the frame. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled awkwardly. “I didn’t realize you were married.” He looked as though he was suddenly very sorry for coming inside.

“I’m not,” Heidi added quickly. “Not anymore, at least. My husband—Zachary’s father—died about three years ago.” Even as she said those words out loud, she had a hard time believing that they were true. Had it really been that long since she had last heard John’s voice, felt his strong arms wrapped tightly around her body? It didn’t seem possible, but somehow, it was.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Shane murmured. Heidi busied herself with pouring the coffee into mugs, trying her best to hide the expression on her face. Since she met Shane, her mind and body were in constant turmoil, battling the mix of emotions tumbling through her at all times. Feelings of attraction, mixed with a healthy dose of guilt. Heidi knew in her heart that John would want her to move on, to be happy, but living a fulfilling life without him seemed to her like a betrayal of the worst kind.

“Thank you,” Heidi said, handing Shane one of the mugs and leading him into the living room. She motioned for him to take a seat on the couch, while she settled herself across from him in the rocking chair that used to be John’s throne. “It’s been hard, but Zachary and I have been doing our best to pick up the pieces and try to live some semblance of a happy life.” She took a sip of the coffee and grimaced. “Sorry. I made this much too strong.”

“It’s fine,” Shane said, lifting his own mug to his lips. Heidi watched as he puckered his mouth to take in the first steaming sip. “I’ve had a long day and I could use a little extra caffeine.” He licked a few drops of coffee from his lips. “I got to spend a little bit of time with Zachary the other day and he seems like a really sweet kid.”

“If you can get past the persona he’s trying to adopt, then you’re right,” Heidi said, running her finger along the rim of her mug. “It’s his way of grieving, I guess. Although really all he’s accomplishing is isolating himself from the other kids at school. And from me.”