I check my phone to make sure I haven’t missed any calls from the hospital just before Mary joins me on the deck.
“Do you mind if I sit with you for a while?” she asks. I gesture to the seat that Brad just vacated and offer her a smile.
“I’d love it if you joined me.”
“It’s sure a beautiful day today,” she says and takes a deep breath, watching the boats zip around the lake. “And this is a wonderful view.”
“It sure is,” I reply. “Are you from here?”
“Born and raised,” she says with a nod. “I remember some Fourth of Julys that had snow.”
“No way.”
“A flake or two, yes. Nothing that stuck, of course. Plenty of rainy days. You just never know what you’ll get around here. Where are you from, Hannah?”
“Kansas,” I reply and frown. “It’s very different from here.”
“Yes, it is. I have a friend from Kansas. How long have you been in Cunningham Falls?”
“Just about five years.” I point out a bald eagle that’s swooped over the lake, looking for his dinner. “A friend of mine took a position here a few years before that, and I’d been to visit. I never considered practicing in a small town until the position came open here and Drake called me about it. And then it seemed like the best idea I’d ever heard.”
“This town gets under your skin,” Mary agrees. “Of course, there are pros and cons to living in a small town.”
“Of course, but the pros far exceed the cons.”
“I’m glad you think so,” she says with a warm smile. After a quiet moment she says, “I like the way Brad looks when you’re around.”
“How does he look?”
“Happy. Content.” She blinks rapidly, as if keeping tears at bay. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you.”
And, cue the butterflies again, but in a great way this time. Every woman wants to hear that the man they’re in love with looks at her in a special way.
“Of course,” she continues, “being married to a cop isn’t easy. And being married to the chief of police is as challenging as they come.”
“Oh geez,” I say and laugh her off easily. “We aren’t anywhere near marriage.”
“Still, you’re with him, and I can tell you from experience that it’s a job all in itself. His hours are erratic. He sees horrible things. Some he’ll tell you about, and others it’s best for both of you if he doesn’t. He will be tired and moody, and there will be times when it feels like he’s more married to the job than he is to you.
“I know, you’re not married, but I see the way you look at each other, and I know love when I see it. You haven’t said it yet, have you?”
I shake my head no and she keeps talking.
“That’s okay. It’s good to take it easy and let your relationship progress naturally. But you need to know going into it that you’re not just in a relationship with a man. He’s an important man, and in this town in particular, they will feel like they own him. You’ll share him.
“The statistics for marriages lasting for cops aren’t good.”
“Mary, I mean no disrespect, but I’m going to interrupt you for a moment.” I hold my hand up and when she stops, I shake my head. “I know who he is. And I would like to add that as a doctor, my schedule is just as erratic. I see horrible things. And my patients do believe they own me, and that I should be at their beck and call. I get it. I like to think that I get it as much as anyone who isn’t a cop can.”
“You’re right,” she says, watching me carefully. “You would, wouldn’t you? You know, my Bruce’s daddy was also an officer here in Cunningham Falls, and his mom tried to warn me about these things right before we got married. I didn’t listen to her. I was so in love with that man I couldn’t see straight.”
“And it seems to have worked out well for you,” I point out.
“Forty years of marriage,” she says with a nod. “Forty years, and only the past three of them have been somewhat normal. But I wouldn’t have traded it. What he did was important. He kept people safe, and he saved lives. I’m so proud of him. When Brad told us that he’d applied for the chief position when Bruce announced his retirement, I tried to talk him out of it. I knew that if he wanted a family it would take a toll. But he’s so much like his father.” She shrugs as if to say, what are you going to do? “He’s doing a good job, and we are so proud of him.”