Page 23 of Then Came You

After Owen, she’d vowed never to date anyone whose job put them in danger on a daily basis. She couldn’t take the worrying, wondering, and waiting, not after everything she’d been through.

If/when she started dating again, she needed to find a nice accountant or businessman who sat behind a desk all day, someone whose primary risk was getting a papercut!

While women might find a “hot cop” more appealing, most had no idea what it was really like to be with one. To watch him put on all his gear, arm himself, and walk out the door while you sat back and wondered if that was the day he’d get hurt, or worse, never make it home. In addition to the physical dangers, there were also emotional ones.

Oftentimes, when Owen had come home after a rough night, he couldn’t sleep. His adrenaline would still be pumping from dealing with things like domestic abuse, drug or alcohol misuse, accidents, and even death. She’d tried to soothe him, but it hadn’t always helped, and sometimes she’d worried about his mental health.

No. She would never put herself in that position again.

Yet the next morning, when she read Lauren’s text message, she felt a flicker of excitement.

Sam asked for your phone number, and I might have given it to him. Don’t be mad!

Why?

Because I’m one of your best friends and I love you.

Since Lauren was at the store, Gillian figured she might not be able to talk, so she typed back: I meant, why did he want my number?

I’ll let him tell you. Just promise you’re not mad.

I promise.

Love you.

Love you too.

Gillian sat on her couch and stared at the phone, wondering when he’d call and unsure how to feel about it. Maybe he hadn’t spent the entire night with his date after all. Maybe the date hadn’t gone well even though the woman had seemed to be totally into him.

She was so lost in thought that it took a second to register that the phone was ringing in her hand. The number was unfamiliar, but she figured it had to be him.

“Hello?”

“Gillian?”

“Yes?” She pretended not to recognize his voice, although there was no mistaking it.

“It’s Officer…Sam…it’s me, Sam.”

He sounded uncharacteristically nervous, and now so was she.

“Hello, Sam.”

“I hope you don’t mind that I called. I stopped by the bookstore to see you, but you weren’t there.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“I talked to Lauren, and she gave me your number. She made me promise to tell you not to be mad.”

Gillian smiled. “I know. She already texted me.”

“Oh. Good.”

He sounded relieved, and then she felt guilty for pretending like she hadn’t known it was him. She was so out of practice with this that it wasn’t even funny.

“So, what are you calling about?” She decided to get to the point and put them both out of their misery.

“I wondered… I wanted to ask you… Oh, hell! Would you and Cocoa like to go to the dog park with me and Rocky?”