That had me saying, “I was following?—”
Naturally, Stone cut in, “We had eyes on?—”
Ian never let Stone finish. “You don’t touch my girlfriend?—”
“Enough,” my dad barked.
Silence fell.
He turned to Stone. “You. Start talking.”
Stone straightened. “We had a suspect under surveillance who we believe is connected to the bank robbery. Pepper unknowingly began tailing him. I intervened to prevent her from alerting him. Another agent maintained the tail.”
Dad’s eyes narrowed. “And did you lose him?”
“No, Sheriff,” Stone said. “Not yet.”
My dad then looked at me. “And you?”
“Madge called me and told me she spotted the guy she had seen casing the bank.”
“And you thought it would be a good idea to follow him instead of calling the sheriff,” my dad said, shaking his head.
In my defense, I said, “Madge called the station, but the person told her you were busy and would get back to her. I assume you never got the message.”
He shook his head again and I smiled, knowing what he was thinking. Madge called my dad frequently, reporting minor issues, and dispatch no doubt had been notified not to disturb him with her calls.
He turned to Ian. “And you?”
Ian didn’t hesitate. “Madge called me worried about Pepper’s safety. I came to find her.”
Dad nodded once. Then he rubbed a hand over his face before saying, “Every single one of you is lucky this didn’t turn into a bigger mess.” He turned to Stone. “And you need to let me know when you’re tailing someone in my town.”
Stone met his gaze. “Understood.”
Dad’s gaze remained on Stone for a moment as he turned and took off, then he looked at Josh. “We’ll talk at the station about de-escalating situations, Officer Madison. Now get back to patrolling.”
“Yes, sir,” Josh said and went straight to his patrol car.
My dad nodded at Ian. “Thanks for looking out for Pepper. She can be a handful.”
Ian smiled, that gorgeous smile of his and, of course, it got people passing by smiling as well.
“Pep’s a handful I enjoy looking after,” Ian said with a light laugh.
“That’s sweet,” I said, his tone light, but heartfelt, and, of course, I had to remind him, “but I don’t really need looking after.”
“That’s debatable,” my dad said.
I grinned. “So, since you were headed to Sadie’s for a sweet treat, I can only assume dispatch failed to deliver Madge’s message.”
“I can always have dispatch forward the dozens of calls I get a week from Madge to you,” my dad said far too seriously.
“Maybe send them to Mom,” I suggested.
Dad cringed. “Bite your tongue, Pepper. If she finds out I don’t respond to every single call, she might fire me for dereliction of duty.”
My eyes went wide.
