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Her words solidified one thing: He didn’t have to thank her for anything. She was still clearly judging him for how he was doing as a parent. Well, he’d like to see how well she could do if she was new to all of this.
She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. “However, I’ll admit, if my superiors knew that I’d let a child into my backseat without noticing them, I would likely get a stern talking-to.” She flushed and glanced up at him. “While I still firmly believe everything I said earlier, I can admit when a child is a bit much to handle.”
His whole body went still. Was she actually telling him that she understood where he was coming from? This could validate everything he thought he knew about his own kid. Maybe Nick was different. It was possible he was even harder to look after than a typical kid.
“I appreciate that,” he murmured. “It takes a big person to humble themselves and admit they were wrong.”
Things were looking up. Even if this cop didn’t approve of his parenting style, she’d been caught off guard by the kid, too. He wasn’t alone.
Her eyes widened. “I never said?—"
“Okay, you never said you were wrong. Not in so many words. But you did admit that he’s a hard kid to look after.”
He’d caught her with her back against the wall and they both knew it.
She wagged a finger at him. “That’s not what I said.”
Grant shrugged and flashed her a smile, to which her frown deepened.
“You know what I meant. You’re the responsible adult in this situation and you need to be more aware of your child even if you’re new to this.”
His smile faltered. How did she know that? This was the first time they’d met. “Did Nick?—”
The officer squirmed beneath his gaze. “Nick didn’t say anything.”
“Then how…” He leaned his forearm against the car just above the window. His eyes narrowed as if he’d be able to drill into her mind and discover what she was trying to hide from him. “You weren’t stalking me, were you?”
She sat up tall and straight in her seat. “Of course not.”
“Really? You didn’t run my information from my plates the second you got in that car of yours? I wouldn’t put it past you.”
Her mouth fell open but before she could say anything, her radio crackled, reminding them that she had somewhere to be. She snapped her mouth shut and her glower deepened.
“I have to head over there. I suggest that you get in your truck and follow me so you don’t lose track of your son like you’ve done already.”
“I’m gonna find out, you know.” Grant pulled away from her car. “There are few ways you would have been able to find out about my situation. You might as well tell me.”
“Get going, Mr. Shaw.”
“Yeah, Dad.” Nick’s voice came from behind her. “We have to go.” He poked his fingers through the grate. “Hey, since we’re running late, can you turn on your sirens?”
The officer rolled her eyes. “No, Nick. I’ve already told you there will be no lights, sirens, or speeding. Now sit back in your seat.”
Eyes darting over to Grant, she shifted into drive and pulled out into traffic.
Grant was torn between chuckling and being concerned. Technically, it wasn’t a big deal that she knew he was a recent father. She could have picked up that information from anyone since they’d parted ways. The town was small enough and he was new enough that anyone could have been gossiping about him.
He could practically hear it. They’d say “poor guy” and gab about the fact his ex hadn’t told him about Nick in the first place. All it would have taken was for Charlotte to tell just one of her friends for the whole town to know.
Shaking his head, he jogged toward his truck and climbed inside. There was only one thing that rubbed him the wrong way. If she knew he was a new parent, shouldn’t she be a little more understanding? It didn’t track that she would hold him to a high standard when he didn’t know what he was doing half the time.
The whole way to the ranch, he couldn’t get the officer out of his head. He’d quickly shifted from the fact that she was far too judgmental for her own good to wanting to know more about her. She was a deputy. He hadn’t heard much about her, but that wasn’t surprising considering he was so new to the area.
Still, someone with that kind of attitude was bound to ruffle some feathers. He’d have to ask around.
Her green eyes were the thing that made it difficult to put her out of his head. With eyes like those, she could have been a model or an actress. Absentmindedly, he hummed the tune to “Bette Davis Eyes” as he turned onto the now-familiar road that led to Sagebrush Ranch. With his luck, he wouldn’t see her again.
Or maybe it was exactly the opposite.
