Ruth Herne - Healing the Lawman's Heart

The rural poor of northern Appalachia was a documented fact, a problem that had existed for generations.

“And the people who’ve fallen on hard times in Clearwater are close, too.”

“Plenty of those, unfortunately. The loss of jobs messed up a lot of folks.”

“It did.” Julia puffed out a breath of air, then turned his way. “But I’ve always felt that each step we take toward making things better has some good effect. Even if we don’t see it.”

Was she right?

Tanner wasn’t so certain. Was that because of his work, his past? Or was he a negative jerk who always looked at the dark side because he’d been surrounded by that kind of environment as a child? Lately, he wasn’t sure. “You’re an optimist.”

“I hope so.” She motioned up ahead. “That’s my place on the left, with the red reflectors at the bottom of the driveway.” He made the turn up the snow-filled drive, pulled to a stop and she climbed out before he had a chance to get out and open her door.

Her actions said she liked her independence. Five hours ago he might have considered those undesirable qualities in a woman, but seeing how calmly she reacted to the scene at the clinic, then the accident and the hospital—

Maybe a strong, independent woman wasn’t a bad thing.

She quirked a grin his way and gave him a quick salute as she grabbed her purse and medical bag, the only things they’d retrieved from her rental car. “Thank you again. I’m sure proximity will mean we see more of each other, and I’m going to hope for two things.”

“And they are?”

“First, less snow and ice.” She made a face into the driving storm. “And second, if I do run into that trouble you’re expecting, you and my brother are around to save me. Again.”

Tanner knew that sector as well as anyone. Trouble would find her, no question. Would he be hanging close by to make regular runs to a pregnancy center?

Most likely not, but he didn’t need to share that at the moment. “Get inside. Get warm. And good luck finding someone to rent you another car.”

She laughed as she dashed up the rest of the driveway and through the garage door.

Lights clicked on inside, behind pulled-back lace curtains.

He considered that as he backed around to pull out of her sloped driveway.

He wouldn’t have tagged her as a lace curtain girl. As he drove south toward the interstate, he wondered what else he might have gotten wrong about Julia Harrison.

He pulled into the barracks lot, parked and went inside to complete required paperwork and file his report before he headed home. He didn’t want to think about babies and midwives, old dreams and harsh reality. He wanted justice and explanations.

But right now, he wanted a good night’s sleep. Restless dreams messed that up. Convoluted images of children and families floated through his brain. Each year he dreaded the double anniversaries. The day he lost his wife, and the day after, when his son took his last breath.

The shift commander called him late morning. “Johnson’s out with flu. Can I put you in for an extra afternoon shift today and an overnight tomorrow?”

“Absolutely.” He didn’t say he’d longed for a call like this. Only the commander in Jamison knew his history, and Alex Steele wasn’t the kind to betray a confidence. But Alex could empathize because he knew what it meant to bury a wife. “I’ll be there by two.”

The work respite pushed him into gear. He’d made it a habit to follow up on accident victims, which meant a quick call to Zach’s sister. Mixed emotions rose as he dialed her number on his way to his car. Julia the person was intriguing in multiple ways.

Julia the midwife? Not so much. But that was his problem, not hers. She answered on the second ring. “Julia Harrison.”

“It’s Tanner Reddington, Julia. I wanted to check in and see how you’re doing today.”

“Before or after the tree fell on my house during last night’s storm?”

He stopped walking, certain he’d misunderstood. “What?”

“A tree. Fell on my house.”

Was she serious? “Are you okay?”

“Fine. But my house isn’t looking all that good right now.”

“What happened?” Thoughts of her in danger made his pulse speed up. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

“No, I’m fine, really. The tree hit one end of the house and I was in the other. But it will be boarded up for weeks while they do repairs, so I’m staying at my dad’s with my two little boys and a somewhat ill-mannered and huge puppy. They’re having the time of their lives helping on the farm. The boys, not the dog. He’s not exactly mature enough to be farm friendly.”

“I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”

“Even though I’m building a clinic in the middle of the ‘hood’?”

“I wouldn’t call it the ‘hood,’ but it’s not what we’d call a welcoming neighborhood, either.”

“Rehabilitation starts one step at a time,” she replied. “And even if we only help save one baby, one woman, it’s a job well done.”

One baby. One woman.

His belly clenched.

She made it all seem possible, and maybe it was, but then why did he have to face the impossible? His lawyer had emailed him that they needed a conference call to talk about the malpractice suit he’d filed two years before. He’d ignored the message because talking about settlements and money on the anniversaries of his losses made him cringe.

He couldn’t utter a rational response. Not around the lump in his throat. He muttered a goodbye to Julia, gathered his things and went to a coffee shop to spend the next ninety minutes alone. With old rock music playing in the background, and folks coming in and out, he could bask in obscurity until he showed up at work. Mercifully, working would help him through the next forty-eight hours.

A call to back up Zach Harrison on a possible breaking and entering case came midway through his shift. He drove toward the lower east side of Kirkwood Lake just after dusk.

He pulled up to the address, spotted Zach’s cruiser off to the side and rolled to a stop alongside him. He lowered his window so they could talk without radios. “What have you got?”

“B and E, two kids, a possible third, looting side-by-side merchants.”

“You want front or back?”

“I’ll take front. Chalmers should be right along.”

“They know they’ve been spotted?”

Zach shook his head. “I’m blocked by the trees. A neighbor in the upstairs apartment over the nail salon called it in. And it’s dark now, so they’re less likely to see us.”

Chalmers pulled up then, and the three men eased out of their SUVs. Tanner circled left while Chalmers joined Zach as they approached the front of the building. Zach stopped, waited for Tanner to make it around back, then yelled, “New York State Troopers! Come out with your hands up!”

They came out, but not with the intention of getting caught. Two darted out the back, straight at Tanner. He raised his hands. “Stop. Now.”

One kid did. The other dodged right, then the first one thought that might be a good idea, and darted left. Tanner pinned him against the wall while talking to Zach and Chalmers through his radio. “One suspect heading east, about five-eight, leather jacket, clean-shaven, tight blue jeans, black boots.”

Zach’s voice came through the radio. “I’ve got visual.”

The next thing Tanner heard was a dash, then a scuffle, followed by a moan of pain. Zach was in trouble. He half dragged his cuffed perp around the front of the building, then groaned.

Zach lay sprawled in hip-deep snow. Chalmers had both youths lying on the ground, his weapon drawn as he barked a request for an ambulance into the radio. And from the look of Zach’s lower leg, his ankle went one way and the leg went the other.