Game On

Chapter 1-2

It was a good thing his shift was almost over—his thoughts were so scattered, he was almost a road hazard.

"Come on, man." He cursed as he came up to a red light a bit too fast, forcing him to stomp on the brakes. "She's fine. You're fine."

Angela Kenzie.

Of all the people he could meet on patrol, he never would have imagined running into her.

Or expected her to look so distraught.

Her face when he'd approached the car, the reddened eyes and dark circles…

There was no way this was just a casual visit to see her mother.

He glanced at the digital clock on his dashboard. Another half-hour and he'd hand over the town's security to the state troopers until morning, when Al would come on duty.

Good thing too—right now he'd have trouble dealing with a simple jaywalking offense, his thoughts were so scattered.

A final swing past the town square, and Jake pulled into the small parking lot next to the police station. Locking the car, he headed into the building.

"You okay?" Grace frowned, chopsticks poised for attack on the Chinese-food container in her hands. "You look out of sorts."

"Just tired. End of shift and all that." Sitting down at his desk, he began filling out the paperwork—thank goodness it'd been an uneventful shift.

Except for…

"Jake."

The single word brought him around.

"You look like someone who needs to talk." Grace smiled. "That's what I'm here for."

For a second, he considered passing on the dispatcher's offer—then realized it wasn't really an option. If she didn't find out now, she sure would once the gossip train left the station.

Keeping a happy workplace ranked high on his To-Do list, and keeping the senior out of the loop would only come back to bite him in the ass sooner or later.

He drew a deep breath. "Stopped someone I used to know a long time ago. Took me by surprise."

"Who?" She slurped the noodles into her mouth.

"Angela Kenzie."

Grace's eyes went wide behind her bifocals. "Well, there's a surprise. Haven't seen her in town for ages." She gestured with her chopsticks. "Mary-Ann's going to be cooking up a storm." She eyed Jake. "What did you stop her for?"

"Broken taillight. Escorted her home."

Grace nodded. "Good call. Her mother would have a fit if she ended up in an accident." She smiled. "Guess you gave her a warning, right? No fine?"

He arched an eyebrow.

"Doubleplusgood. She might be making good money working in Philly but no one likes to pay tickets." She paused for a moment. "Remind me again on how you know Angie? She's been in Philly now for a few years…"

"We went to Penn State together." It was as much as he was willing to give up right now.

"Hmm." She eyed him. "Small world."

Tell me about it.

He returned to his paperwork, trying not to think of Angela and failing.