Razing Kayne by Julieanne Reeves Read Free Book Online Page B

much, why she couldn't just leave well enough alone, but it
     did, and she couldn't. How screwed up was that? She didn't want a relationship with
     him, knew one could never happen. Yet she still felt the need to reach out to him,
     and try as she might, that need wouldn't leave her alone. Every time she closed her
     eyes, she pictured the raw look on his face as he held a sleeping Gracie at the picnic.
     No one should have to bear that type of pain alone.
    “Hey, Kayne, it's Jess. Um, Jessica Hallstatt.” she said, when he answered.
    “Hi.”
    “Listen, I just wanted to—”
    “I'm sorry—”
    “Apologize—”
    They fell into an uncomfortable silence for a moment, and then she forged ahead. “I
     don't know how to do this.” The moment the remark was out of her mouth, she realized
     how telling that statement was. How encompassing. Hearing his voice kicked her heart
     rate into the triple digit range.
    “This?”
    Great, how was she supposed to answer that? She should just hang up now and save both
     of them any further embarrassment. Instead, she asked, “Do you like Mexican food?”
    “Uh, yeah.”
    “Would you like to come for dinner tomorrow night?” Silence. She quickly added, “It's Wednesday, which is game night, and I promised the kids
     homemade Mexican food. They'd love to see you.”
    There was a long pause in which she was certain he was going to say no, but he surprised
     her. “Sure, I'd like that.”
    ***
    “Dobrescu.” Kayne mumbled into the phone the next morning. Leaning forward, he rested his elbows
     on knees and scrubbed his face with his free hand. He heard radio traffic in the background,
     interrupted by occasional silence—dispatch. The silence occurred when the dispatcher
     keyed up to respond to the officer and muted phone conversation. “Hey, sorry about that. Kayne?”
    “Yeah.” Why the hell had he answered the phone without looking at the caller I.D.? No easier
     way to get roped into working an undesired shift.
    “Wow, asleep at noon—you take your day off seriously.”
    Kayne recognized the flirtatious voice. Candice again. Though most of the guys called her Candy. He simply grunted, hoping she'd get to the point.
    After a moment she took the hint. “Sgt. Balentine wants you to cover a traffic detail
     for a few hours.”
    “When?”
    “As soon as you can check 10-8.”
    “I can't work past four, I have a date...er, uh plans.” He couldn't— shouldn't— call it a date.
    “The date excuse sounds better.” She laughed. “Especially if it's with me. What time are you picking me up?”
    He'd thought she would have caught a clue by now that he wasn't interested. “Look,
     Candice, I'm seeing someone.”
    “I won't tell her, if you don't.” Her laugh said the remark wasn’t necessarily a joke.
    After reluctantly agreeing to the shift, Kayne threw on a uniform and tossed some
     street clothes in a duffel bag. That way if he didn't have time to come home, he wouldn't
     be stuck in a uniform all evening.
    He waited for a break in radio traffic before calling in for duty. “Eleven-three-eight,
     I'm 10-8, enroute,”
    “Good morning, sir, scene is mile post 247.5, southbound State Route 87.”
    “Copy.” And wasn't that a fun spot—Corvair Curve–a steep sharp curve on a winding highway
     halfway down Oxbow Hill, about five miles south of Payson.
    “Hey, Kayne,” Sgt. Balentine greeted. “I need you to come down to the scene. First curve after the warning grid. We're going to be here for a while.”
    “Did dispatch advise you this carriage turns pumpkin at sixteen hundred hours?”
    “Negative, we'll do our best.” Our best, was similar to a parent saying maybe . As in, not fucking gonna happen.
    Kayne arrived on scene and realized God and everybody was there. From the looks of
     the apparatus, he surmised it must be a HazMat situation. It took a moment, but he
     located Sgt. Balentine. “What happened?”
    “Fuel tanker straightened out the