Page 34 of Justice for Samara

“What happened?”

“Cheating. Ridiculously common.”

“So I hear. And before you were an officer?”

“I went to college. Getting a degree in criminal justice. Was thinking about getting my masters when I decided on a whim to sit for the test at the academy and got in. And that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.”

“So you’re, what, thirty-four?”

“Thirty-five. And you told me you’re twenty-six. My birthday’s in April.”

“Mine is in late June, so I’m almost twenty-seven.”

“So I’m eight years older than you. Ever date an older woman?” she asked with a chuckle.

“Yep. I dated a woman who was in her early thirties when I was in community college.”

Her eyes went wide. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Good times, those.”

“For a kid that young? I bet.”

“Yeah. Taught me a lot, I’ll give her that.”

“All the right kinds of things, I hope.”

Michael nodded. “Oh, yeah. All the right kinds of things. I mean,allof them.”

“Notallof them.”

“Oh, yeah, definitely all of them.” He snorted a little. “Yeah, I think most of the guys think I’m a virgin.”

She drew back, looked up into his face, and peered at him from under her furrowed brow. “Why the hell would they think that?”

“Because they’ve never seen me date anybody. When I first started there… Remember ‘The Fergs’ fromLongmire?”

“Yeah.”

“They thought I was Ferguson. At least that’s how they treated me. Like a larger version of BarneyFife.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah. I just didn’t want to go out with any of the women my mother pushed me to date, and there aren’t that many around here. Plus I went to school with a lot of them, and I didn’t really want to date them. The dating pool around here is very, very shallow.”

“I got that impression.” She drained the bottle and set it on the coffee table. “You about done?”

“Yeah.” He polished off the last of the soda and sat there. “So let me say this. Knowing what I know now, we’re gonna take this at your speed. I won’t push. But that means you’re going to have to communicate with me. I can’t read your mind, so whatever you want, you have to tell me. I’m not going to treat you like you’re made of glass, Samara, but I don’t want to push you too far either. Comfortable?I want you comfortable with me. And then once we get to know each other better, I’ll have a better idea of what you want and when. But until then, I really need some guidance.”

She sighed and nodded. “Yeah. I can do that.” He could see a hint of pink spread across her cheeks. “Thank you for… understanding.”

“I’m not going to lie to you. I couldnevertruly understand. But I want to. I really do. And I want you to always feel safe with me. Always.”

“I do. You haven’t done anything that’s made me feel uncomfortable. Nothing.” He hated the sad look on her face when she said, “I just want to feel normal.”

Michael shook his head. “Honey, none of us feel normal. That’s just life.”

“You don’t feel normal?”