AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Yep!" The girl preened under his compliment.
Tommy stood back and surveyed the bustling police station as his fellow officers engaged with the children. Some were showing the kids how their radios worked, while others were letting them try on their heavy vests, laughing as the kids struggled to manage their weight.
"Officer Tommy!" another child shouted, tugging at his pant leg to get his attention. "Can you show us how to use your radio?"
"Of course," Tommy grinned, bending down to show the eager child how to press the button and speak into the device, laughing when the boy’s eyes widened in response to a cheerful reply that crackled through the speaker.
“Who was that?” he asked in a hushed tone.
“Someone who always has my back when I’m out on a call,” Tommy replied with a wink.
"All right, kids," a teacher called out, gathering their attention. "This is your five-minute warning. Let’s start wrapping up our visit here so we can get back to school."
The children groaned in response, and Tommy had a sneaking suspicion the feeling was mutual for the officers.
“One of the teachers just told me I’m gonna blink and have a kid in Kindergarten,” Jack grumbled as he ambled over, resting his hands on his duty belt. “Tell me that’s not true.”
Tommy raised a brow at his best friend—the one responsible for his move to this cozy town five months ago. “You’re asking the wrong guy.”
He didn’t have much experience with babies, and though Jack and Robin had their 10-year-old from Robin’s previous marriage, this part was all new territory for him.
“The baby isn’t even here yet. I don’t see how I’m gonna blink and have a five-year-old when this pregnancy feels like it’s taking forever.”
Tommy glanced toward the open door that connected the bullpen from the mayor’s office. “How far along is she now?”
"Twenty-six weeks," he replied, following Tommy's gaze.
Tommy’s lips quirked at the way Jack drifted a few steps closer to the door as drawn to it by the mere mention of his wife. But just as he opened his mouth to make a lighthearted jab, a burst of laughter caught his attention.
Curiosity piqued, Tommy took a few steps closer to the door.
Grace.
She stood at the end of the hallway with Robin, her face lit up in amusement. He wondered what had made her laugh like that, and he felt a grin tug at his own lips in response.
"Who's that?" Jack asked, peering down the hall.
"Grace," Tommy said, not taking his eyes off her. "I met her yesterday. Sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“Well, we didn’t exactly meet, but she was at the cafe talking to Ida.” Tommy shuffled his feet, glancing at Jack. “Her name is Grace Hawthorne, and she’s a travel writer in town to do a piece on Snow Hill’s Christmas shenanigans. She lives in New York.”
“And… you know all of thishowexactly?” Jack drawled.
Tommy cleared his throat and fixed his gaze on the woman in question. “I may or may not have paid Ida a little visit last night to get the scoop.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. I owed her a visit anyway. The lights on her lawn Santa were on the fritz.”
Jack snorted, and Tommy caught him shaking his head out of the corner of his eye.
But honestly, what else was he supposed to do? Grace had taken his breath away in the thirty seconds he’d spent with her at the cafe, and if anyone would be willing to tell him what they knew about her, it would be Ida.
She owed him.Bigtime.
"Anyway, her writing is great," Tommy admitted, feeling a little sheepish. "She definitely knows how to paint a picture of the places she visits. I checked out her site last night, and it looks like she's made a pretty legit business for herself."
