Officer on Duty (Lock and Key Book 4) by Ranae Rose Read Free Book Online Page B

her?”
    Her heart did a stupid little cartwheel, and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “Sure.”
    Okay, so a wide tooth comb was an essential for curly hair. And she really was happy to lend Paige a hand in maintaining her gorgeous new haircut, which she’d stopped by to show off a couple days ago, as promised.
    But there was no denying that she’d purposely waited until Jeremy got home from work to bring the comb over instead of taking it to Meredith’s place earlier that afternoon, where Paige often spent time while he was at work.
    “She’s in her room,” he said when she entered the kitchen. “I’ll go get her.”
    Paige emerged, her curls looking healthy and stylish. Her new cut reduced the volume of her thick hair, leaving the remaining curls to fall in a flattering cascade. She smiled when Lucia gave her the comb.
    “Maddie used one of these when she did my hair,” Paige said. “Thanks a lot.”
    “It’s nothing; I have more extras than I’ll ever use. Thought you might like it.”
    Paige smiled.
    “Thanks again,” Jeremy said. “For the comb, and the referral. God knows I don’t know how to pick out a hair stylist.” He touched his close-shorn hair, little more than a dark shadow over his skull.
    Lucia’s fingertips tingled.
    Paige examined the comb, laid it on the table and went to the fridge, where she pulled out a pitcher of tea. She’d just poured herself a glass when Jeremy went to a cabinet and opened it.
    “Can I get you some, Lucia?”
    “Sure.”
    Paige took the two extra glasses from her dad and filled them.
    A lifetime of living in North Carolina had taught Lucia to expect tea so sweet it was cloying, but she was pleasantly surprised. This tea was just right: undeniably sweet, but not overly-sugared.
    “Did you make this?” she asked.
    “Paige did.”
    “Well, it’s really good. I like it when it’s not too sweet.”
    “The way most people make it, you wouldn’t think there was any such thing as too sweet. I’m with you, though – there’s such thing as too much sugar.”
    “Grandma always says if you put too much sugar in your tea, it’ll rot your teeth,” Paige said.
    Lucia found that amusing, considering Meredith’s fondness for decadent baking, but only nodded.
    “I’m pretty sure she only started making it this way because she was running low on sugar after dumping it into a batch of cookies,” Jeremy said. “But it’s become a habit.”
    Lucia sipped the icy sweetness Paige had poured for her, meanwhile looking around the kitchen.
    It was modestly sized, with white cabinets, an island and little in the way of decoration. The thing that stood out most was a programmable coffee maker with a large carafe and a variety of buttons set into its brushed metal surface. Jeremy probably set it according to his shift times, so he’d have coffee ready whenever he got up.
    Rotating shifts had to be hard on the body. And what about Paige – how did she handle having just one parent who had to work at all hours of day and night?
    She had her grandmother, of course. But when Lucia thought of Paige crossing the street to ask for a hair stylist recommendation, a pang of sympathy shot through her, leaving a little hole in her heart.
    How awful, to grow up without a mother. She couldn’t imagine what her life would’ve been like without hers. She’d grown up with a great mom, two grandmothers and several aunts to boot. Her family was large, with plenty of people to love and be loved by.
    “I still can’t get over how gorgeous your hair looks, Paige,” she said.
    “Thanks. I’m so glad I found someone who could make it look good before school starts.”
    “You go back in August, right?”
    “Yeah.”
    “And you’ll be in what, seventh grade?”
    She nodded.
    “Exciting. You know, I have a lot of girls close to your age in my junior swim fitness class at the aquatic center. I don’t think any of them are quite ready to go back to school.”
    Paige