Page 24 of Falling For You

Birdie's face lit up. "Barb got it for me!"

"Well, Barb has great taste."

I paid and handed Birdie the flowers. "Thanks, Daphne."

She smiled. "I always look forward to visits from Birdie."

I took the bag of books so Birdie could carry her flowers in one hand and hold mine with the other.

"I'm so excited to be a hobbet for Halloween! Can I carry the ring?"

"A hobbit. And yes, the whole night."

She grinned. We'd been planning for Halloween since August when I got her picture books of Lord of the Rings and she thought the hobbits looked silly.

Halloween was our night, the two of us in costumes that only made sense together, walking the neighborhood until her legs gave out and I carried her the rest of the way home.

We turned the corner onto our street. Birdie was telling me about a Nancy Drew mystery where someone hid a clue inside a pumpkin, a detail I was fairly sure she'd invented, when I saw her.

Andy Walsh.

On her front porch in shorts and a T-shirt, book in her lap, feet up on the railing. The late afternoon sun was catching her hair and the smooth skin on her bare legs. I was going to pretend I didn't notice.

I could cross the street. Say something. She'd give me that look and I'd enjoy every second of it.

But Birdie was already pulling me toward the door.

"Can we read the first chapter before dinner, Daddy? Please?"

"Just the first chapter."

I let my daughter pull me inside and closed the door behind us.

CHAPTER 8

Fire Prevention Week

ANDY

I opened my locker and the list was there, same as every morning.

I'd typed it out my second year on patrol and taped it to the inside of the door. Everything I needed to transfer into Patrol Investigations.

[x] Blue to Gold training

[x] Search Warrant Preparation and Execution certification

[x] Fourth Amendment coursework

[ ] Forty hours of ride-along time in Patrol Investigations

[ ] Documented criminal investigative experience

[ ] Written exam

[ ] Oral board interview

[ ] Two supervisory recommendations