Hands of Grace by Brenda S Anderson

Author:Brenda S Anderson [Anderson, Brenda S]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Vivant Press
Published: 2020-02-17T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

“You did?”

Daniel had a feeling this was where the game was headed, so he’d prepared for the question. His answer would be mostly true, and he wanted to curse at Howard for not allowing him to be completely honest. He’d tell all but his return to the force, but even with that omission, he felt like he was telling too much. Would she respect him any longer?

He splayed his hands on the table, hoping to convey honesty. “With Howard as my mentor, how could I not want to become a cop? He was a real-life hero. I wanted to be just like him.” He shook his head and chuckled. “I turned out to be too much like him.”

“Hey.” Rita reached over the short table and covered his hand. “This is just a game, not a therapy session.”

“Yeah, I know, but if I’m going to be hanging around here until the garage is done, it seems there are things about me you should know.”

“As long as you don’t expect me to do the same.”

“No expectations.” He tugged away his hand and sat back in the chair. “I went to police academy, easily passed the Peace Officer Licensing Exam. Howard helped get me on the Rochester force, but that was too small for me. I wanted to save the world, and how could I do that in a hick town in Minnesota? Eventually, I got a job with the St. Paul Police Department. I worked. Dated a lot. I learned that women loved dating a ‘hero.’” He snorted. “I got engaged. She broke it off two weeks before the wedding because I didn’t spend enough time with her.”

“She knew you were a cop, right?”

“Yeah, but once the glamour wore off, she realized my job took more hours than I had to give to her. And, to be honest, the broken engagement was the best thing for both of us. She’s now happily married with a brood of kids.”

“I’m still sorry that happened. A broken heart’s painful. I know.”

“I suppose you do.” At least his broken heart hadn’t come with concerns for his life, as Rita’s had.

“But that doesn’t explain why you left the force.”

Trying to hide his sigh, he rubbed a hand over his mouth. “Problem is, I didn’t learn from that. I worked. Dated more. Got married to a woman whose sister I’d been protecting. She divorced me when her sister was murdered.”

Rita gasped.

“Yeah, that’s the usual response.”

“I’m so sorry. I . . . ” She sat there, frozen, her mouth gaping open. “Can I ask, uh, do you mind telling me what happened?”

Not really, but his therapist had told him with each retelling it would get easier, and the truth would eventually break through the lies he’d told himself. “The CliffsNotes version is that we thought we’d caught her stalker, and it turned out we had the wrong guy. When they realized the mistake, I was too late getting to her.”

“So, it wasn’t your fault.”

“Depends upon how you look at it.

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