The Man Behind the Badge

He stopped beside her table. ‘Kayla.’

‘Sergeant.’

He let that slide as he pulled out the chair on the diagonal from her and sat down, setting the bag on the floor. ‘You’re a hard woman to pin down.’

Her brows arched over darkly lashed grey eyes. ‘I wasn’t aware that I needed pinning.’

A glorious procession of X-rated images sprang unhelpfully into his mind and he could feel an unfamiliar warmth mushrooming in his face.

Hell, he was blushing.

He never blushed.

‘You don’t…er…need pinning.’ He coughed to clear the huskiness from his vocal cords, all the while aware of her faintly perplexed expression. ‘I’ve been trying to catch up with you.’

‘I know. I got your message but it didn’t seem urgent. Is there a problem with my statement about the accident?’

‘Nope. No problem with that.’

‘Good.’ Her soft mouth pursed briefly and then she made a production of looking at her watch. ‘I really should be getting…’

She trailed off as the cafeteria owner slipped a plate in front of her and then a cup of coffee. Tom stifled an urge to laugh at the comical look of guilt on her face.

‘Hey, Tom,’ said the woman with a smile. ‘Can I get you anything?’

‘A coffee would be great.’

‘Black, no sugar, coming right up.’

He turned back to look at Kayla. ‘Tsk, don’t you know it’s bad form to lie to a policeman?’

A strange spasm crossed her face. Pain? Then she lowered her eyes. ‘Yeah, I do, as it happens.’

His interest sharpened but he left the questions unasked. Instead, he filed her response away with all the other things he wanted to know about her.

‘I’ll let you off this time.’

‘Gee, thanks.’ The sarcasm was unmistakeable as she lifted her eyes back to his.

He frowned and let his gaze roam over her face, watched with interest as she fidgeted and a tinge of pink crept into her cheeks. ‘You know, if I was a suspicious man, I’d think you were avoiding me.’

She tilted her head to give him a considering look. The corner of her mouth crimped for a moment and then she said, ‘You’re a policeman. Suspicion is in your job description.’

‘Okay. Good point,’ he said, biting back the laugh that threatened. She had a quick wit and he was damned if bandying words with her wasn’t wickedly good fun. Hoping to provoke another exchange, he reached over and snagged a chip off her plate. ‘Eat up. Don’t mind me, I’ve already eaten.’

‘Not enough by the look of it,’ she said as he blew on the chip.

‘Always room for a chip or two.’ He popped it in his mouth.

‘In that case, do feel free to help yourself,’ she said, her tone withering as she picked up her knife and fork.

He grinned and grabbed another. ‘I hear you’re going to the camp draft this weekend.’

She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Yes. I am.’ She sounded reluctant to part with the details.

‘With Liz and Jack?’

‘Yes.’

‘Looking forward to it?’ he said, making a mental note to check with Jack to see if they intended to stay out at the grounds over the weekend. They did usually but with Liz being pregnant they might opt for the comfort of home and just drive out during the day.

‘I’m sure it’ll be interesting.’ She pushed the grilled fish around on her plate then cut a small portion off the end. ‘What was it you wanted to see me about? ‘

‘I’ve got some gear for you from Penny. Boots and a hat.’

‘Oh. I was going to pick it up from her tonight.’

He shrugged. ‘I was coming this way so I offered to drop it off to you.’ Which was a long way from the truth. He’d practically had to prise the bag out of his confused constable’s fingers.

‘Thanks.’ She laid the knife and fork on her plate.

‘My pleasure.’ He looked at her substantially untouched food and frowned. ‘Not hungry? You should eat more. There’s nothing of you.’

More colour flooded into her cheeks and the grey eyes sparkled with irritation. ‘Thank you for that professional assessment, Sergeant.’

‘Tom. And it’s not a complaint. What there is of you is a very nice package.’ He knew he was out of line but something about seeing her mouth open in a perfect oval of outrage was irresistible. Baiting her like this was probably doing little to help his cause, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. ‘I wouldn’t like to see you fade away while you’re in Dustin.’

‘Highly unlikely.’ She gave him a fulminating glare from stormy grey eyes. ‘Unless you’re going to make a habit of dropping by to pilfer my lunch.’

‘If that’s an invitation, I accept.’

‘It’s not.’

‘Shame. Well, much as I’d love to, I can’t stay and chat. There’s work to be done.’ He pushed himself to his feet and lifted the bag onto the chair. ‘Your accessories for the weekend. See you, Kayla.’

Not waiting for an answer, he walked towards the exit. A quick glance in the mirrored glass on the wall showed Kayla watching him leave. Perhaps he should check his shirt for scorch marks when he got back to the station.

He suppressed a grin. At least he could get under her skin. Not his first choice of reactions but it did mean she wasn’t completely indifferent to him.

What had that been all about?

Kayla frowned. Since the accident, she seemed to have had more to do with Tom Jamieson than for the entire time she’d been in Dustin prior to that.

She watched the door shut behind him then shifted her gaze to the bag on the chair beside her.

The knots in her stomach unravelled enough to allow a gurgle of hunger to escape.

She looked back at her plate and after a moment picked up the utensils. Stupid to let good food go to waste because the sergeant was so disturbing. Doggedly chewing a mouthful, she tried to banish him from her mind by thinking about the last patient she’d seen before lunch.