Without thinking, she brought the puppy closer to her chest. “He’s not goofy. He’s a baby.” She jumped when the dog tried to burrow under her shirt.
Alex smiled. “He’s cold. So am I. May we come in, Genevieve?”
He was so polite, it seemed weird. As if he was reading her thoughts, he raked his hands through his hair. “I didn’t ask the first time. Figured you deserve a choice.”
Though she was finding it a bit difficult to breathe, she nodded. After collecting the dog bowl in the box, she held the door open for him. When he came inside, she noticed that he was holding two duffels.
He raised the smaller one. “This is everything you’ll need for the dog. If you want to keep him. If not, I’ll take him back.”
She looked down at the guy, cradled like a baby in her arms. He watched her with complete trust and blind adoration already and gave a tiny bark. “I’ll keep him.”
To give herself something to do, she filled up the bowl with water and set it down. When she deposited the dog on the ground, he gave a growl and attacked the bowl as if it were his enemy.
They laughed at his antics, and it seemed to break the tension and weird formality of the moment. When she looked at him, he was smiling, a sheen of moisture in his eyes. “Reynolds and Leonie are both behind bars. Leonie didn’t get bail, and Reynolds’s is too high. He seems to have lost all of his friends.”
Satisfaction flowed through her. “Good. I hope Reynolds is finding out what they do to cops behind bars.”
“I’m sure he has. I’ve missed you.”
“Me too.” She couldn’t help the admission. She cleared her throat. “So what is the deal with the presents?”
The tips of his ears turned pink. “I was courting you.”
“With radios and canned food?”
“I figured you’d appreciate that more than flowers and candy.”
She smiled. He had her pegged. “And the lingerie?”
“Well, yeah, so not everything was practical. But everyone needs panties, right?”
“The thong isn’t considered a necessity.”
His eyes flared with heat. “Depends how you’re looking at it.”
Her breath caught. Forget how good his rangy body looked in clothes, she wanted to do nothing more than tear them off. Her brain taunted her with how good he’d looked lying on her bed in nothing but a sheet.
“Anyway, the weather kind of derailed my plan. I couldn’t stand the thought of you spending another snowstorm here by yourself. So…” He lifted the larger bag.
“So you’re planning on getting snowbound with me?” She shook her head in disbelief. “Did you use your vacation days for this?”
“Kind of. Every day’s a vacation day for me. I quit my job.”
“What?”
He dropped the duffel on the floor and shrugged out of his jacket. Underneath, the white long-sleeved shirt molded to his muscles and brought out the tan of his skin. “I handed in my resignation. I’m done.”
“But…you can’t do that. You love being a cop!”
“Yeah, but you made me realize something. I loved being a cop because I felt like I was making a difference in the world. I’m not doing jack shit here except sort paper.”
“There’s different levels of—”
“Genevieve, I get that. I have nothing but respect for small-town law enforcement. This timeout has been good for me. I needed it, but Harrison doesn’t need me. When I handed in my resignation…I’m officially no longer a cop, and ask me how I feel.”
“How do you feel?” she asked cautiously.
He grinned. “Like me. I thought I couldn’t live without this job, without this title. But I don’t need it. I’m still me. Thanks to you, I feel confident in a way I didn’t before. I don’t think I’m magically cured, but it’s like a weight was lifted off me. Like I’ve been redeemed. I don’t need to be a cop to feel like a hero, because when you look at me, I’m already there.
