“I noticed.” There’s the smallest hint of humor in his voice.
“Yeah, well you ain’t seen nothing yet. You’ll thank me for suggesting a warmer coat when the temperatures drop for real.”I chuckle and pull out of the lot, heading toward Main Street. I spend the first thirty minutes of our shift showing him the town. I point out the areas where we have drug activity and higher theft.
“You have two bars in town, it looks like.” Jude peers out the window. “Either of them a problem? Last night at The Fox & The Kettle everyone seemed well behaved. It had a nice mellow vibe.”
“Oh, yes.” I laugh. “That’s because Jim keeps a tight rein on the place. If you get out of line more than once, he won’t let you back in. No exceptions.”
“That’s probably a good thing.” Jude turns his head to study me. “I’m gathering from your tone that the other bar is different?”
“Definitely. We have way more trouble at the Hawk’s Nest.” I sigh. “I’m not saying nothing bad ever goes down at The Fox & The Kettle, but the Hawk’s Nest is a dump. It’s on the edge of town, and it’s the worst by far. A lot of drugs pass through there. If we were a bigger department, maybe we could have undercover officers keeping an eye on the place, but we just don’t have the manpower. That’s the drawback of a smaller department.”
“Bigger departments have drawbacks too,” he murmurs, going back to staring out the window.
“I’m sure they do. No place is perfect.”
The silence returns. I’m the kind of person who likes to make people feel at ease. But something about Jude has me a little tongue-tied. I don’t want to ask dumb questions or make him uncomfortable by prying. However, if I want to get to know my new partner, it’s obvious I’ll have to ask him stuff. He’s not volunteering much.
“What made you want to come to Montana?” I glance at him. “I’m sure there were bigger departments you could have transferred to.”
“There were. I like the mountains.”
“Ahh.” I nod. “You don’t think you’ll be bored with a small department like Golden Peak?”
His expression is placid, but his fingers drum against his thigh, showing tension. “I thought maybe a slower pace would be good for me right now.”
“Any particular reason why?”
He lets out a breath, giving me a wary glance. “Is it a problem for you that I’m here, Martinez?”
Surprised by how defensive he sounds, I quickly say, “What? Heck no. That’s not what I meant.” I laugh gruffly. “It’s just that most of our officers were born on the mountain and have lived here all their lives. Golden Peak is a great place, but it doesn’t usually attract people from the big city. Small-town life isn’t for everyone.”
His jaw clenches but then he seems to relax a bit. “I grew up in a small town in Florida.”
“Did you?”
“Yeah. Placerville, Florida.” He shrugs. “After being in Atlanta for a long time, I got tired of all the traffic and people. I decided to make a change.”
“Okay, fair enough.” I can’t help feeling there’s more to the story, but I won’t push him to talk yet. I don’t buy that he just decided one day he wanted to leave the big city for a tiny department like ours for no reason. However, I don’t want toalienate him on our first shift together. “How about we grab some coffee and then see what calls come in?”
“Sounds good.” There’s obvious relief in his voice that I’ve backed off.
I park outside Happy Ground’s Coffee. When we walk in, the place smells like fresh-roasted beans and bacon. The scent makes my mouth water. “They have great breakfast sandwiches here, if you’re hungry.”
Jude purses his lips. “Just coffee for now.”
“Morning, Liam,” the owner, Marie, calls from behind the counter. She’s human, in her sixties, with kind eyes and a ready smile. As usual, her apron is dusted with flour from her morning baking. “You want your usual?”
“Yes, ma’am.” I meet Jude’s gaze. “Bacon, cheddar, and egg sandwich with a large black coffee.”
He wrinkles his brow. “You eat bacon every morning, you’re gonna have a heart attack before you’re thirty.”
Despite his lecturing tone, I’m thrilled he said over three words without me forcing it out of him. “I don’t eat baconeveryday. Duh. Sometimes I get the oatmeal. That’s good too.”
“Still,” he murmurs.
I give Marie my credit card. “And I’ll have you know I’m turning thirty Friday, so looks like you were wrong.” I grin.
“The day is young,” he says with a smirk.
