Just a Little Series (Parts 1 - 4) by Tracie Puckett Read Free Book Online

the day, dedicated to staying true to my
word.
    I headed straight for the break room to get
an idea of Luke’s whereabouts. If he wasn’t there drinking his
coffee that only left two options: he’d already gotten his fill and
left for the day, or he was running behind schedule and hadn’t made
a morning pit stop for his daily cup of joe.
    The coffee pot was full to the rim, and I
checked the upper cabinet to find one, single, solitary coffee mug
on the shelf, one belonging to an Officer Lucas Reibeck. I poured
the coffee in the cup and turned to greet him just as he walked in
the door.
    He stopped short and stared at me as I
leaned against the counter, holding the hot mug with both
hands.
    “Good morning, Officer Reibeck,” I stepped
forward to pass the cup to him. He took the mug, but his eyes never
left mine.
    “Julie,” he finally said, shaking away
whatever kept him staring, and he stood a little straighter,
“feeling better today?”
    “Much,” I nodded once. “I’m sorry I couldn’t
make it on Wednesday. It won’t happen again.”
    “Good.” A smile tugged at his lips. “You
ready to hit the road?”
    I nodded, knowing I was as ready now as I’d
ever be.
    “Let’s roll out then,” he only took one
drink of his coffee before setting it aside.
    Once in the car, Luke and I set out on
patrol like all the times before. But the morning was still eerily
dark, and the rain poured from the sky, pelting the cruiser with
heavy strikes.
    A few blocks from the station, Luke parked
the car off the side of the road.
    “Quiet morning,” he said as a large bolt of
lightning struck across the distant skyline.
    I nodded, not knowing exactly what to say.
Was I supposed to pretend that I didn’t like him? Like he’d never
heard those things I’d said to Matt? Or was I supposed to just be
quiet and let him say whatever he was going to say?
    “I was wrong to assume that you didn’t have
an interest in the field,” he finally said, still looking straight
forward as the rain fell harder. “I didn’t know about your
dad.”
    “It’s fine,” I looked away. “It’s just
something I’ve been around my whole life, you know? Between Dad and
Charlie, I felt like I already knew everything I could possibly
care to know.”
    He nodded as though he understood, but I
knew he couldn’t. Luke was the kind of guy who’d dedicated his life
to his job; he’d risked his own safety to protect his community. He
did it for the job, he did it for the passion, and he did it to
survive his mother’s legacy.
    “It’s not that I don’t respect what you do,”
I said, hoping to set the record straight. “I do, I respect it with
all my heart. But I just have a hard time trying to figure out why
anyone would want to risk sacrificing so much, and get so little in
return.”
    “It’s not about getting anything back,” he
said, and I truly believed he meant that. “It’s about paying it
forward. So many cops before us have lost their lives because of
the path they followed; people like your dad, Julie. And we owe it
to them to fight back. It’s not a job you choose when you get into
this field. It’s not a career, and it’s certainly not a hobby. When
it comes right down to it, you’re choosing a lifestyle. And no,
this lifestyle isn’t for everyone. I can respect that. But you need
to respect it, too. It isn’t something to take lightly.”
    I peered through the darkness to meet his
gaze, mesmerized by the softer side he was showing me.
    “I don’t take it lightly,” I said. “I think
it’s admirable what you do. But I can’t help but look at every man
and woman in uniform and blame them for their selfishness.”
    Luke scrunched his brow. “It’s the most selfless thing a person could do, so I don’t follow—”
    “My mom lost her life because of this job,”
I said. “And it could’ve just as easily been me. Dad wasn’t just
risking his life when he chose this lifestyle, Luke. He
risked the lives of