Single Dads Collection. Lynne Marshall

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       Chapter Five

      “Thanks, Captain.”

      Captain Cameron St. John nodded. “No need to thank me, Lucy. I’m sorry about your car.”

      She didn’t even want to look around the captain at the sight of her car being pulled away by the wrecker. She’d just left the station and had been heading home, as she’d promised, but someone had run a red light and T-boned her car. Her car she had just paid off.

      Her hands still shook and she wasn’t sure she was ready to get out of the captain’s patrol car yet, either. She’d never been in an accident, and she was quite certain she never wanted to be in another.

      “It’s a little different being on this side of the job,” she stated, trying to get her heartbeat back to normal.

      “I just wish we knew who hit you,” Cameron muttered. “I’ve got some patrolmen driving around looking. Whoever it was has some massive damage to their car, so they should be easy to spot.”

      Lucy blew out a sigh. “I’m sorry. It all happened so fast and all I saw was a dark color fleeing the scene.”

      Cameron patted her shoulder. “It’s all right. We take care of our own.”

      She loved that about her job. They were like family. Still, she wished her car weren’t smashed because she had no backup. Lucy rubbed her forehead, trying to ward off a headache.

      “You sure you don’t want the EMTs to check you out?” he asked.

      Lucy shook her head. “No. I’ll be fine. I could use a lift home, though.”

      “No problem.”

      Cameron drove her home, which wasn’t far considering she was only a few miles away when she was hit. During the ride she asked about his family and if they were all bringing their kids to the fall festival. Cameron had two brothers and they were all influential people in the town.

      “If you need to call out tomorrow, don’t think anything about it.”

      He pulled into her drive and Lucy grabbed her purse. “Thanks, but I’m sure I’ll be all right. Besides, Carla is still out.”

      “I think she’ll be back tomorrow,” he told her.

      Tugging on her handle, she smiled. “Well, I can still come to work. I wasn’t injured, just shaken up and a little sore on my left side where I hit the door.”

      Cameron nodded. “The offer still stands.”

      “Thanks for the ride,” she told him as she got out.

      As she let herself in her back door, her cell chimed, but she was juggling her key in the lock and holding her purse. She let it go to voice mail; it wasn’t like she was in the mood to talk anyway.

      As soon as she stepped inside and dropped her purse to the counter, the phone started ringing again. All she wanted to do was grab a quick shower and crawl into bed. Or maybe she’d just go straight to bed.

      Lucy’s mind raced as she thought of getting some much-needed sleep, then getting up to bake something to take to Tammy, who’d just lost her pup.

      First thing after she woke she needed to see to the horses and make sure they had enough straw and water. They should be fine, but she tended to them every single day just like Evan used to do.

      Oh, yeah. Then after all of that she had an invitation to Noah’s house. She may cancel that because…well, she was exhausted and sore and perhaps she shouldn’t keep going around sweet, impressionable Emma. The little girl had recently lost her mother and Lucy wasn’t sure of the circumstances surrounding that tragedy. But Noah had invited her over, so perhaps he wanted to grab that olive branch she’d extended. Maybe he needed a friend. But part of Lucy didn’t want to just be a friend to the only man she’d felt a pull toward since her husband passed.

      Though there was more time since her tragic loss than his, she knew grief couldn’t be given a time frame. Everyone healed differently and everyone moved on at their own pace.

      Lucy locked her back door and wondered what she’d do about wheels. On a groan, she realized she wouldn’t be going anywhere with baked goods. Perhaps she could call Tammy and invite her over. Maybe getting her out of the house would be a good idea, because that’s the only way Lucy was going to be able to try to comfort her in person.

      And she surely wasn’t about to ask Noah to give her a lift. Speaking of Noah, she’d best send him a text and tell him she couldn’t make it later that day.

      As she headed through her one-story house, she started stripping out of her clothes. By the time she reached her bedroom, she was ready to put on her favorite ratty nightgown, draw her room-darkening shades, and crawl into bed. She’d worked midnights for so long, she had her system down pat. Her bedroom was in the back of the house, away from any road traffic, and when her door was shut and her fan was on, it was out of earshot of the doorbell.

      Lucy tossed her clothes into the basket and had just pulled her nightgown over her head when the doorbell rang. Seriously? She should’ve turned her fan on and shut the door right away.

      She started to climb into bed, more than willing to ignore the unwanted guest. Her neighbors knew she worked midnights, so they never bothered her. But the doorbell turned to a persistent knock.

      Obviously someone needed her right now. Since her nightgown was an oversize T-shirt СКАЧАТЬ