He popped off the bottle top and took a long pull, and then surprised her by saying, “They love you, by the way,” and then he shrugged.“I know you’re curious.”
“No, I’m not.You just want to tell me what they had to say because cops gossip as much as the women downstairs.”
“What I want is for you to stop arguing with me, you hardheaded woman.Goodness knows why I find that such a turn-on.”
“You always were a perverse creature.”
They’d been so much more than lovers.They’d been partners.And when you combined both of those things, there were no words to describe that kind of bond.The saying of being someone’s other half was true.You had to know every part of their personality—their quirks and habits—their sorrows and joy.Partners were often closer than spouses ever could be.And then when you added love on top of that level of personal intimacy, it was as if you didn’t belong to yourself anymore.
They’d had that, once upon a time.And then she’d severed the connection like she would a limb from the body.To protect herself.He’d refused to meet her halfway.She hadn’t been able to face undercover work again.Not after what had happened.And he hadn’t been able to leave it behind.The job had always come first.
“Mrs.Baker said that she likes that you slip her cat treats when you think no one is looking.And there was another lady in there, she looked a little bit like a female Milton Berle?—”
“That’s Ginny Goodwin,” Mia said, knowing exactly who he was talking about from the description.
“Well, she said that sometimes you secretly pick up the check for people over at The Lampstand.Especially the young families who work the shops and are trying to make ends meet.”
“So what?”she said, feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden.
“Don’t get defensive.You’ve made your mark here.The way you work too hard and need to take better care of yourself.Their words, not mine,” he said, holding up his hands when she started to glare.“The way you pitch in on city cleanup days or sneak into the back pew at church on Sunday mornings.”
“You’ve got a problem with church now?”
“I don’t have a problem with anything.Other than you being a big phony.Mean as a snake, my rear end,” he said with a grin.“You’ve made a home here.Become part of the community.They don’t see you as an outsider.You’re one of them.And one of the older ladies said she was thinking about getting some tattoos like yours and some colored streaks in her hair.She said you looked hot and she could use a little hot in her life.”
Mia snorted out a laugh.The timer dinged on the oven and she pulled out Mrs.Baker’s pizza.It smelled so good she had the fleeting thought that it might be best to eat it all herself.
“It’ll go straight to your hips,” Zeke said.
“Stay out of my head.”
“Didn’t have to go in there for that one.I could read the intent on your face.”
He got plates and found the pizza cutter in the drawer next to the stove.She narrowed her eyes and wondered if he’d come in and looked around while she’d been hiding at work, or if her patterns of where she kept things were so regimented that he knew right where to look.
They sat at the little bar in the kitchen and ate pizza and drank beer, and Mia decided to wait him out.Zeke had never liked silence between them.He’d start talking eventually.
“I know what you’re doing,” he said.
She stared at him blankly and took another bite of pizza.
He finally sighed and said, “I’m retiring from undercover work.”
None of the scenarios Mia had played through her mind had been that one, and she choked on her beer.She pounded at her chest and coughed a couple of times and then stared at him in complete and utter shock.
“Your mouth is hanging open,” he said.
“I think I passed out for a second.I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“I should’ve done it years ago,” he said and shrugged, ignoring her question.“I’m forty years old and it’s a younger man’s game.But I think sometimes it just takes men longer to realize when they’ve hit their limits.Our egos are fragile, I’m told.”
“Are you sick or something?”she asked, only half joking.She got up and went to grab another beer.The news was a shock.And she was surprised by the violent rearing of her temper.She wanted to throw something.To ask what was so important now that he was able to put the work behind him.But she didn’t.She took a long sip of beer and waited him out.
“I’m not sick.It’s just time.I was offered the chief’s job over in Riverton.Normal hours and weekends off sounds better and better the older I get.It’d be nice to see what it’s like to have a normal life.”
“Wow—Riverton.”She still couldn’t wrap her brain around it.It was like he was speaking another language and she wasn’t able to process any of his words.It was a good job.Riverton was the closest large city and he’d be running a full department of more than a hundred, not a twenty- or thirty-man task force.
“You’re angry,” he said, surprised.
