In the Line of Duty (First Responders 2)

The holiday Monday dawned warm and clear but without the heavy humidity that had been hanging over the area for days. Jake was up at dawn, lying awake in the early light, thinking about Kendra. She was scared. He knew that well enough. He was too, but not like her.

Something had happened the night they’d been together. Talking about Khaterah had been good, and it hadn’t been easy. But it hadn’t been as difficult as he’d expected either. He would never forget her, but he was coming to grips with it, making sense of it all. He was also smart enough to know that it wasn’t just crazy, hot sex with Kendra. There was something more between them, something he didn’t want to wreck by going too fast. He didn’t want to drown himself in Kendra as some sort of displacement activity. And he cared enough about her to know he didn’t want to become her addiction either.

It had taken him a long time, but he finally felt like living again. It was a damned good feeling.

He got to the course early to help his mom and dad finish setting up the prize tables. The clubhouse was quiet, a few dedicated members teeing off to do their round before the tournament started. Jake watched as his mother put her arm around his dad as they stood back and examined the banner hanging from the main table. She stepped forward and made an adjustment then back again. They were such a strong unit, his parents. He’d probably shut them out too much since he got back home.

“Looks good,” he said, walking up to them.

His mom beamed up at him. “You’re here bright and early.”

“It’s a good day for golf. Need any help?”

“I think we’ve got it covered. You look good, Jake. Better than I’ve seen you look in a long time.”

“Thanks.” He looked into his dad’s face. They looked a lot alike, though there were deeper lines around his father’s eyes. Jake wondered how many of those he was responsible for. “Hey, Dad.”

“Saw you’ve got a partner for this one. Kendra Givens? Really?” Ray Symonds’s smile was slightly crooked as he grinned at Jake. “Isn’t she the one who threw you in the drunk tank a few years back?”

“Don’t remind me,” Jake replied. “She’s all right. Helped out with the B&E at my place a while back.”

“Are you…”

Jake looked down at his mom. She looked so hopeful. “It’s early days, all right? Heck, a month ago we were barely speaking to each other, so no pressure from you, okay?”

“Okay.” She smiled, squeezing his arm. “And I think the other pair in your team has arrived. There’s Gabe and Carly.”

The three of them had registered and put their clubs on their cart when Kendra arrived. She looked cute, dressed in a pink skort with white trim and a white golf shirt. She carried a set of clubs that Jake could see were rentals, and her ponytail bobbed above a pink-and-white sun visor. She did look adorable, though he knew she’d hate it if he called her that again.

“You made it.” Great start, Jake, he chided himself, so he reached for her clubs and put them on the back of the cart.

“Of course I did. I had to stop and pick up a set of clubs.”

She smiled and greeted Gabe and Carly. “What time do we tee off?”

He checked his watch. “Another fifteen minutes. Do you want a coffee or anything?”

“That’d be nice.” She smiled at him, hesitantly, and his heart turned over. She really was insecure, wasn’t she? Beneath all the bravado she showed in her work, when it came to her personal life she lacked confidence in herself. He understood why. She’d lost her father at a young age, and she’d really lost her mother too. No one had ever shown her how to be close to anyone. No one had ever taught her that sometimes people hung around. Maybe Jake had gone AWOL from his family for a while, but he’d never questioned that they’d be there for him.

But Kendra didn’t believe in that. And even if she did, she didn’t trust in it.

Maybe it was about time she did.

He came back with coffee—hers black, like he remembered—and handed it to her. She took a quick sip and smiled up at him. “Not as good as yours, but it’ll do.”

“I’m glad you came.”

“Me too.” She took another sip and looked around. “Good crowd. Oh look, the fire department’s put in a team.” She waved at Chris Jackson, the fireman who’d been on the accident call. One of the team called over, a good-natured jab about EMTs and police being last, and Gabe answered back for both of them,

causing a good deal of laughter among the carts.

Jake nudged her with his shoulder. “See? Fun.”

“Jake, I—”

“Shhh,” he said, wanting to keep it light and upbeat. “I’m just glad you’re here with me today, Kendra. No matter what the score is at the end of the day.”

Her gaze caught his and she looked about to say something, but Carly interrupted.