Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
“Sorry, Gallagher,” Dan almost spat. “I didn’t see you.”
“Of course.” I smiled at him. “I accept your sincere apology.”
He turned and stormed off. The chief met my eyes.
“Watch yourself. And get Chase to call me.”
I nodded and headed to my desk. I had a feeling Chase wasn’t going to like the message.
CHASE
Hannah was jumpy all evening. She barely picked at her dinner, making an excuse of a big lunch, which made me laugh. It had been my turn to pack lunches, and I knew exactly what had been in her container. A sandwich, some carrots, and an apple were hardly a large meal. But I let it go, wanting her to tell me what was going on. After dinner, she was on the move, changing things around, swapping out knickknacks from one place to another, only to change them back. I heard her go into her old room and shut the door, calling her mother, I assumed. She looked resigned when she came out, sitting beside me on the sofa. I offered her some popcorn, and she took a handful, staring at the screen.
“The rest of the composite is arriving on Thursday. Dom and Stefano are going to come on Saturday, and we’ll do the deck. His friends are going to come too, so it should go fast. One measuring, one cutting, two installing. We should get it done in a day,” I informed her.
She nodded. “Okay. Good.”
“As long as we don’t have any surprise inspectors,” I teased.
She looked at me, her eyes wide with anxiety.
“Hey.” I leaned closer and brushed my knuckles down her cheek. “I was joking. We’re all good.”
“I did something you aren’t going to like,” she burst out.
I sat back with a frown. “Okay?” I questioned her, my mind going a thousand miles an hour. “What did you do? Order a new kitchen? Decide to hang pink curtains in here?”
“I talked to the chief about Dan.”
That startled me. “Oh.”
She turned, her shoulders tense, her voice thick. “Off the record. I talked to Annette, and she’d heard Dan might have done this before. She thought I should say something.”
I blew out a breath. “Yeah, I suppose she was right.” I took her hand when I realized she was still holding popcorn in her fist and massaged the knuckles. “Relax, Cinnamon. I’m not angry.”
“You’re not?”
“No. If Dan has been a pain to someone else, then Annette was right. And if you felt you could trust the chief and talk to him, then I trust you.”
“Oh,” she whispered, her shoulders dropping in relief.
“Hannah, did you really think I would be angry at you? I know you’re trying to protect me.”
“I was worried. I know with your record, you’re sensitive. Henry—the chief—says he knows who you are.”
I offered her a rueful smile. “I’m not surprised. I remember him as well from when he was only an officer. He was always fair.”
“He says he’s glad you turned your life around, and he just wants to talk to you off the record too, in case.”
“Okay. I’ll arrange to talk to him—outside the station if I can. The next two days are crazy. That delivery company Maxx has the new contract with is bringing in two dozen more vehicles the guy just purchased over the next couple of days for service. It’ll be all hands on deck. Maxx wants to impress the owner, who is apparently a bit of a hardnose to deal with. But the contract means a huge boost to the bottom line for the garage. Maxx thinks if he goes above and beyond, this guy will give him another contract for a second business he is planning.”
“That’s great.”
“It is. Maxx has accrued a lot of expenses to get this job. More tools, more staff, some specialized machines that were a huge cost, in order to work on their vehicles. But it will pay for itself in six months after Charly crunched the numbers—even faster now he has added more vehicles. So we’ll all make sure this guy—Jim Albright—is impressed. So far, there have been no complaints, so I hope it continues. But I have to be around for the paperwork and oversee the guys.”
“Okay. I’ll tell the chief.”
I shifted closer, draping my arm around her shoulders. “Relax, Cinnamon. I’m not upset. Everything is okay, and we’re going to get through this.”
“Any news on your truck?”
“Well, I found a hood in a junkyard on the other side of Toronto. It will be here next week. The windshield is ordered, and Stefano decided while it was being repaired to do some cool airbrushing on it. Until then, I’ll drive the company truck, which I’m good with.”
“Okay.” She leaned her head on my shoulder.
“Are you worried about going back on patrol?”
“Not really. I’m surprised how much I enjoyed the office work, though. Learning more about how the station runs in conjunction with EMS and fire.”