Healing the Lawman's Heart

Chapter Two

“I do believe I said no when asked about going to the emergency room.” Julia frowned at her watch, then at her brother an hour later. “I have two kids and an overgrown puppy waiting for me at Dad’s. And I’m on call for the next forty-eight hours.”

“Protocol says head wounds get looked at.” Zach aimed one of those brotherly looks her way, the kind that should get him smacked except she was too tired to put up much of a fight. “And you’re not on call anymore. I called Dr. Salinas. She’s taking calls tonight to give you time to rest.”

“You what?” Julia lifted her brows, surprised. “You can’t have her do that. She’s got a lot on her plate right now. I’m fi—”

“You’re not fine,” Tanner reminded her. He scanned her face with a mix of sympathy and amusement. “Although I have to hand it to you, you’re one tough cookie. And no driving for twenty-four hours. You heard the doctor. How were you expecting to answer calls?”

Great. Just what she needed. Another bossy cop, and he wasn’t even related to her.

She was determined to be patient because like it or not, they would be working in the same area, and Julia knew it was way better to have the police on her side. “The doctor didn’t mean it.”

“I did mean it.” The ER doc strode back into the room, handed Julia a container of pain meds, then faced her. “I had them fill this upstairs because the local drugstores are closed due to the storm. Use them if you need them, Julia.” His tone and expression said he doubted she would, but should. “I wasn’t messing around. No driving for the next twenty-four hours. Go home and rest.”

She frowned as she slid off the examining table. Zach held out her coat. She shrugged into it, then turned and stuck her hand out to Tanner. “Thank you for the rescue. I appreciate it. Seeing your lights come across that overpass made me real happy.”

The sympathy in his gaze deepened. “Anytime.”

“Don’t say that,” Zach warned. “She’s going to be working under your nose in that new clinic, and Julia’s not afraid to lasso people into helping her. Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Reddington.”

“I never do.” The promise in his voice pulled Julia’s attention up to his eyes. “Call me if you need me, okay?”

Tenderness. Kindness. Warmth. All in a to-die-for package, and when he smiled down at her, the tingle of her palms had nothing to do with a concussion and everything to do with attraction, which couldn’t, wouldn’t and shouldn’t happen. She had a mission to accomplish and despite how broad-shouldered and good-looking Tanner Reddington was, she’d read his dismay back at the clinic. He didn’t want her there, and she’d washed her hands of negative men after her ex-husband cheated on her for the second time.

She pulled back, blinked the emotion away and smiled at Zach. “Are you my ride home?”

Zach’s radio cued him. He listened, responded and hooked a thumb toward Tanner. “I’ve got a call across the lake. Tanner, can you get Julia home?”

* * *

Tanner saw a shadow of reluctance in Julia’s gaze. About riding with him? Going home? He had no idea, but the quick look surprised him. “Glad to. Where’s home?”

“I’m on Upper Lake Road, just beyond the Lodge.”

Tanner pulled out his hat and gloves, realized Julia had left hers in his cruiser, and handed them to her. “I’ll pull my SUV up to the ER entrance so you don’t have to walk out in the snow. But wear these until you get to the car because the windchill is wicked.”

“But—”

He ignored her protests as he strode into the storm. Five minutes later, he was at the ER door, waiting for her. She climbed in quickly, set his hat and gloves on the space between them, and settled into the seat.

She looked exhausted.

And pretty, despite the banged-up face. The way she sat back, as if allowing herself time to relax didn’t happen often, told him Julia Harrison looked after others first, and then maybe took time for herself.

“So, Julia, what do you do, exactly?”

“I’m a midwife and women’s health practitioner.”

Tanner’s fingers tightened around the wheel.

“Our practice was awarded a state grant recently,” she went on. “We bought the strip mall location about eight months back. Now we have the approvals in place to get it ready. Once the cleanup work is complete, we’ll set up three exam rooms, a waiting room and reception area—”

“With bulletproof glass,” he muttered as he made the turn onto Upper Lake Road.

“It’s a tough area,” she acknowledged, “but I think you run a risk anytime you set up an outreach like this. It didn’t stop Mother Teresa, and it didn’t stop Jesus.” She shrugged. “I like to think this clinic will reflect James’s teaching in the Bible. He said faith without works is dead. And while I love our practice, a lot of women don’t have the money or insurance to come to our main office, or they shy away because they’re afraid they don’t fit in. This way, they don’t have to do without needed care. And the area isn’t as bad as you make out,” she added with a pointed look in his direction.

“No?” He wouldn’t argue with her because she was fresh out of the hospital, but the lower end of Kirkwood Lake bordered some tough areas of Clearwater. Still, everyone deserved medical care. He believed that. But the thought of a pregnancy center, run by a midwife, right under his nose...

Was this God’s idea of a joke? Considering his loss, it felt more like a stab in the back to have Julia Harrison and her health care ideas parked in front of him.

“I think people will be pleased by the idea of medical care at the interstate entrance,” she continued. “That way we’re only a few minutes’ drive for folks in the hills...”

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.

Julia Harrison was going to kill Tanner for not protecting her brother. And he wouldn’t blame her one bit.

She rushed into the ER twenty minutes later with Zach’s wife, Piper, and a big, broad man that must be Zach’s father, Marty. He was taller than Julia, with the same blond hair, and he threw a frustrated look at Zach. “First her.” He jerked a thumb at Julia. “Now you. I assumed this whole parenthood thing got easier once you grew up. Clearly I was mistaken.”

“Are you okay?” Julia asked while Piper grabbed hold of Zach and burst into tears.

Zach sent his father a questioning look because anyone who knew Piper McKinney Harrison knew she didn’t cry. Ever.

Marty Harrison made a face, surprised.

Julia shrugged. “Don’t look at me. I figured it was just an ankle and not a bullet, but then I’m hard-hearted.”

“Compared to Piper?” Tanner scratched the back of his head. “No one’s tougher than Piper, are they?”

Julia started to speak, then paused.

Zach winced in pain, then caught her look. “Piper? Are you...? I mean, are we expecting again?”

“Yes.” She nodded against his chest, and Tanner’s gut did a weird little twist when Zach’s hand tightened protectively over his wife’s neck. “I was going to tell you tonight, I had it all planned and it was going to be very romantic—”

“Seems it already was,” noted Julia. Her easy humor made Tanner feel better, but for a guy who avoided pregnancy and children purposely, he’d been unexpectedly bombarded by both for the past twenty-four hours.

“And then they called and said you were hurt,” Piper continued, “and the first thing I thought was you were shot.”

“But I wasn’t.”

“Well, you could have been,” she insisted.

“Only if Tanner shot me. Or Chalmers. Unfortunately I was bested by a decorative rock path buried under a monumental snowdrift. I went one way. My foot went the other.”

“How bad is it?” Julia asked. She lifted the blanket, grimaced and set the woven throw back down gingerly. “Oh, that’ll need an operation, bro. When is that expected to happen?”

A doctor strode into the room. “Right now. We just called in an ortho specialist. I’m Dr. Laramie, hey, wait.” He stared at Tanner, then Julia, then Zach. “Didn’t I see you Three Musketeers in here last night?”

“Guilty as charged,” Tanner admitted. “Last night it was her fault.” He pointed Julia’s way and ignored her little squawk of protest. “This one’s on me.”

“It’s on a rock path and a snowstorm and three brats who wanted to steal old folks’ pensions to support a drug habit.” Zach held Piper’s hand between two of his and stared at Tanner. “You had two-on-one at the back. You did what you needed to do. I tripped, plain and simple.”

Tanner couldn’t let it go that easily. “If he’d come around the other way, you’d have been clear and there’d be no injury. Now you’re busted, your wife’s expecting and you won’t be around to back me up for six—”

“Eight,” said Zach’s father.

Julia scoffed. “Ten, minimal.”

“Twelve weeks, most likely,” the doctor advised cheerfully. He held up an X-ray. “This snazzy black-and-white photo of your bones shows multiple breaks that are going to be surgically repaired by installing some pretty inventive hardware in your ankle. The nuts and bolts will hold things together as they heal, but the tough part isn’t the four breaks in the bone.”

“It’s not?” Zach asked.

“Soft tissue damage,” the doctor reported. “That’s why we’re looking at twice the healing time. Tendons and ligaments grow slowly, so you’ll be spending the entire spring out of commission.”

Zach looked like someone just kicked him in the teeth, and Tanner knew just how he felt. Twelve weeks of immobility?

A killer.

Zach turned toward his sister. “Julia. The clinic.” His face darkened. “Oh, man. You were counting on me, and you need to have that work done on time for the grant money to be disbursed.”

She waved his concern off as if it was nothing, and that garnered Tanner’s respect because Zach had explained that if the work didn’t get done, the grant money went to someone else.

“You think you’re indispensable or something?” Julia shrugged as if this wasn’t a big deal, but Tanner knew better. “We’ll get someone else to help us get the clinic ready for business.”

“I know what your budget’s like and you were counting on me,” Zach lamented. “And we can’t have Piper working in a zone that might have asbestos. Jules, really, I’m so sorry.”

“I’ll help” Tanner offered. It was the last thing he wanted to do, to be caught in a work zone with midwives and doctors and pregnant women, but they should be done with the work before too many young mothers came around. “I’m decent with a hammer and I like fixing things. And it’s not bragging to say I’m better than your brother.”

Zach started to protest, but Tanner stopped him. “Save your breath. If I’d been between the kids and that alley, the second kid wouldn’t have gone that way and you’d be doing paperwork right now. As it is, Chalmers is doing paperwork and I’m...” He took a deep breath. “Going to help build walls for a women’s health clinic in a crime-riddled strip mall.”

“Not necessary,” Julia said coolly. “But thank you. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of help, and didn’t we confirm last night that accidents happen to everyone? No one’s fault, then or now.” Her expression said she didn’t need his help or like his attitude. But he knew what he needed to do.

“I will help, it’s useless to argue,” Tanner offered mildly. “And who’s got your boys and little Jackson if you’re all here?”

“My mother.” Piper kissed Zach’s cheek as the doctor returned with papers to sign. “She’s having the time of her life, and she can’t wait to be a grandma again.”

Tanner had had enough talk of babies and clinics. He’d been so happy to get the call-in today, glad to push thoughts of this anniversary aside, but that was hard when pregnancy chatter surrounded him. He took a step backward. “Zach, I’m heading out to help Chalmers. I’ll do whatever you need, and again, I’m sorry, man.”

Zach waved him off. Tanner started to head toward Julia, but her expression said their conversation was over.

It wasn’t over, it had barely begun, and he had every intention of helping with her women’s health center. Why it had to be in his patrol area was a quirk of fate he didn’t need, but out of his control.

He strode out the door, determined. Like it or not, Zach had gotten hurt because he’d messed up. Now he’d help pick up the slack his mistake had caused. Whether Julia liked it or not.