Page 21 of Last Chance Christmas

“You never told me about that.”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t going to ask for a favor.”

“Any sign of a break-in?”

“Nope. And I never knew for sure who it was coming in the house, but it stopped when Sosa was arrested.”

“Did they take anything?”

His lips curled up.

“I’m just asking. I am a cop.”

“I know you’re asking because you care. That’s not in question.”

He thought it was because she cared about any citizen of Last Chance County, people she had sworn to protect. That she treated him no differently than anyone else in town. But that only meant she had successfully hidden her feelings from him. Maybe too well.

“I’m asking because it’s you, because I care.”

Izan held her gaze with that steady stare of his.

“You’re an interesting guy, Izan Collins.” A dichotomy. A Hispanic man raised by Protestant Anglo-Saxon parents, who still felt a connection to his roots. Only, he couldn’t go there, because those roots were poison. He probably yearned to know more about his family, but with both of his parents dead and the people who’d known them either criminals or deceased, there wasn’t much chance of finding out about them.

It likely colored how he saw the world. Not quite feeling like he fit. Knowing there had been something else out there for him, but having to come to terms with the fact he’d never know.

“I don’t mean that in a bad way,” she said. “I am a cop. I need a good mystery to solve.”

“Still not sure that’s a good thing.”

She smiled. “It’s a good thing.”

“So if I ask you out again, you’re gonna say yes?”

Her smile faltered. “There are things you don’t know.”

Now she was repeating herself. He would probably get frustrated and walk away, like all the others. Not that she had dated this long list of men who didn’t try hard enough to break through the barriers she put up. But Olivia wanted someone to believe she was worth the effort to try. To put in the work to convince her that her fears were unfounded.

Instead of acting like everyone else in her life—bosses, teachers, friends—and dismissing her because of where she’d come from.

“I’d love to hear them,” he said softly, laying his hand on hers.

She intertwined her fingers with his, enjoying the feel of his warm hand against hers. “I just…I don’t let people in. I do my job, and I go home. I’ve never brought anyone home. Not even in school. I used to go to my friends’ houses.”

“The way we are is often about where we’ve been or the things that have happened to us. You protect yourself from being vulnerable.” Izan paused. “I’m guessing a cop is the strongest person you know.”

“It’s what I wanted to be as soon as I knew what they did.”

“Did you know a cop when you were growing up?”

Olivia nodded. This wasn’t where she’d thought the conversation would go. Very quickly, they’d segued into vulnerable territory. Instead of talking about what it was at home that she didn’t want anyone to see, he’d found the reason why she’d become a cop.

“His name was Howard Barnes.” She let out a breath. “I’ve never told anyone this.”

“It’s fine if you don’t tell me. It’s your story, Olivia.”

She wanted to tell him, because it meant something to her that he was the one who knew—the only one. “I was six. Somewhere around there. My mom would drink at this bar, and she would leave me in the car outside with a blanket so I could sleep on the back seat.”

His hand flexed in hers.