A Small-Town Girl

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Chapter Five

As Sergeant Conrad had predicted, the traffic was heavy. With practiced ease, Gen motioned cars through the intersection, giving grumblers her best stony glare and nodding her thanks to friendlier drivers. To Gen’s surprise, two high school kids even smiled shyly when she waved them on through.

Despite her concerns about the rain, the slicker had kept Gen relatively dry. She just wished it were summer—the damp chill kept the job from being completely bearable.

After her shift, Gen clocked out and raced home to her rooms on the top floor of a sixty-year-old white clapboard house at the corner of Plymouth and Third Avenue. Consisting of a bedroom, small bath, galley kitchen and comfortable living area, the place had more than enough space for her and Sadie.

The old oak floors and thick rag rugs her landlady had made years ago made Gen smile, and suited her low-maintenance lifestyle to a T. Sadie barked a greeting from her kennel the minute Gen opened the front door.

“Hey, girl,” Gen said as she placed her purse on the kitchen table. “Let’s get you some fresh air.” Sadie whined as Gen clipped on her leash and led her outside.

As expected, the dog balked about doing her business in the rain, but Gen wouldn’t take no for an answer. She was glad she still had her slicker on as the dog combed the perimeter.

“Hi, Gen!” Bonnie Walker, her landlady, shouted from the back porch. “You picking up after that dog?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

As Sadie trotted back and forth, smelling every bush in sight, Bonnie called out again. “It’s taking Sadie a while.”

“It always does.”

As Sadie inspected a tree, seeming to forget all about her disdain for rain, Bonnie pointed to Gen’s hair. “You’re getting soaked.”

Her landlady had a flair for the obvious. “Yes, ma’am.”

“When Sadie’s done, come on in and have some cookies. I’ll make a fresh pot of coffee, too.”

The hot liquid sounded heavenly, but she was a mess, and Bonnie was a meticulous housekeeper. There was no way Gen wanted to offend her by dripping water on her rugs. “Thanks, but maybe some other time.”

“No, you don’t. You take off your rain gear and join me in the kitchen.”

Even Sadie’s ears looked muddy. “Sadie—”

“She’s just a bit wet. Come on in and I’ll pull out a towel for her.” Bonnie paused. “Truth is, I could sure use some company.”

Gen couldn’t refuse that. “I’ll be right there.”

As soon as Sadie was finished, Gen dutifully led her to Bonnie’s back door, wiped down her paws, then slipped out of her own dripping slicker and shoes. Immediately a curtain of warmth enveloped her.

Though Bonnie was old enough to be her mother, she always made Gen feel comfortable, thanks to her frank way of speaking and easy smiles.

“So tell me how your day directing traffic went,” Bonnie said as she placed two mugs of piping-hot coffee and a plate of chocolate-chip cookies on the table.

“It was about what you’d expect—wet and long.” Realizing even she hadn’t known she was going to be out in the rain until a few hours ago, Gen stared at Bonnie. “How did you know what I was doing today?”

“Two women from church saw you on their way to visit me. They said you did a good job, like a real pro.” Bonnie cackled. “They said you were giving a couple of dads in minivans a good dressing-down when they tried to cut off the other drivers. How’d you learn to do all those hand gestures and such?”

“My ex-partner taught me,” Gen said aloud, recalling Keaton’s advice. “Directing traffic’s no fun in the rain, but it’s not hard. Just takes some getting used to.”

Bonnie nodded sagely. “Like arthritis. My hands certainly aren’t what they used to be.”

Gen glanced at Bonnie’s hand, saw her swollen knuckles and how the fingers were bent at uncomfortable angles. “Ouch.”

“I’m okay. I could take more medicine, but it makes me sleepy.” She pushed the plate closer to Gen. “Have another cookie.”

Gen couldn’t refuse, especially since Bonnie had put out a rawhide chew for Sadie and it was clear her dog wasn’t planning to leave anytime soon. “Thank you.”

Gen stayed with Bonnie a full hour before saying goodbye. Bonnie looked tired and Gen had things to do, not to mention that no amount of rawhide would hold over Sadie at dinnertime.

Once at home, she turned on the stereo and poured a generous amount of Mighty Munchies for Sadie. Although she was now dry, Gen took a hot shower, but not before popping a frozen pizza into the oven for herself.

Finally settled, Gen leaned back on the couch, work crossing her mind once again. Who had damaged Melissa Hudson’s car?

Though she’d spoken to Dean on the phone earlier this morning, Gen had decided to go ahead and meet with Melissa again anyway. While her gut told her the vandal had randomly chosen Melissa’s Civic, experience said it was better to be a little overzealous than remiss, especially since she was new to Lane’s End. The townspeople would want to know what had happened so the culprit could be punished.

For an instant she considered talking to Sam, to see how he would recommend handling the case, then rejected that idea. She’d only look weak if she asked for help. And while she might admit her personal faults to her sister, admitting professional ones would never do, especially if she wanted to fit in and be accepted.

CARY DRUMMED HIS fingers on his binder while Evan droned on about the state of Ohio’s new graduation requirements. Usually Cary enjoyed the opportunity to see his coworkers and interact with other adults for an hour, but today’s topic was beyond boring. It also didn’t help that he could see Kate every time he looked at Evan, reminding Cary once again that he’d been the proverbial fool in love. To avoid catching Kate’s eye, he stared at his binder.

Christy, on the other hand, relieved her boredom by passing notes just like the kids in his class.

Kate’s now seeing Andrew Richards’s dad. What do you think of that?

Cary fought to keep his expression neutral. That was news. Through the grapevine, he’d heard Michael had dropped Kate as soon as he’d accepted Lakota’s offer. Discovering Kate had already moved on was a true surprise. Especially when her new “someone” was as fake as city councilman Clay Richards.

Kate was obviously putting her cool blond charm to good use. How could Cary have been so gullible to think that she’d been in love with him?

Maybe she’ll become a lady of leisure soon, he wrote back. He winked when Christy opened the note and grinned.

“Hudson, you have a question about our topic?”

Busted. “No, Evan,” he said.

“No questions about the new credit requirements?”

“No. I’ve read the information carefully. But I’ll do it again just to make sure I haven’t missed something,” he said, deliberately ignoring Dave’s laugh, which he hadn’t quite hidden behind his cough.

“Good.” Evan stepped from behind the podium. “Before we wrap up, we couldn’t end this staff meeting without acknowledging Brad. As everyone knows, Coach Jackson has done a tremendous job this season. Because tomorrow night’s game is crucial, on Wednesday we’ll be going to our short schedule and hosting a pep rally at one o’clock. Tickets for the game will go on sale at lunch.”

Spontaneous applause broke out for the likable basketball coach.

Evan tapped the podium. “First bell rings in four minutes. Have a good day.”

Echoing their students’ enthusiasm at the end of class, the teachers eagerly filed out of the staff room. In the commotion, Cary bumped into Kate. “Sorry,” he said, his voice catching in his throat.