She shook off the thought and spotted the bottle. “Poppy, alcohol isn’t good for you.” She pointed to the Guinness on the counter, but he waved her off.
“Beer is. Just heard it on the news. Something about the fermentation or wheat. Just one, A. I had a hard day.”
Her heart softened. He was so full of life. The idea of not having him around for another twenty years terrified her, so she always tried to balance her mothering instincts with the knowledge that he also needed some vices. She danced around the pups tumbling at her ankles and took out a full bottle of white wine. Guess she had her own vice.
Arilyn began setting the table. “I had a bad day, too,” she confided. “Started an anger management course.”
“Another job? Can you handle all this?” Poppy spooned out the stew into two bowls and settled at the counter. “What about Kinnections?”
“My shifts are flexible. I usually enjoy running these classes, but there’s a cop in my class who’s a bit challenging.”
“You mean he’s a jerk?”
She nodded. “Yeah, he’s a jerk. He’s so arrogant! And he has this sneer-smirk thing he probably thinks is sexy, but it’s really annoying.”
“You’ll keep him in line. After all, he’s in the class for instruction on managing his temper, right? By the time you get done with him, he’ll be a changed man.”
His confidence in her abilities soothed her nerves. She picked up the spoon and took a bite. Heaven. Her family had pure Irish roots and besides making a mean soda bread, Poppy was great at stews, soups, and his famous corned beef and cabbage. He’d almost cried when she became vegetarian. “Yeah, I guess.”
“I know. Cops are a funny bunch. I respect the hell out of them, but their job makes them a bit hard-core. Imagine the type of circumstances they run into on a daily basis. Would probably piss me off, too.”
She fell quiet, thinking over her grandfather’s words. He was right. Stone had his own issues to work out. He may be difficult to deal with, but if she was able to help him perform his job in a more peaceful manner, it would be worth it. He may mock her, but she believed in the tactics she taught. She’d just have to prove it.
“Thanks, Poppy.”
“Welcome, sweetie. I’ll walk the dogs for you until you finish up class. No need to rush home when I can help out.”
She held her tongue, knowing he needed to be busy just as much as she did. “That would be wonderful.”
“Good. Now finish your stew and tomorrow give that cop a little hell.”
Lenny and Mike howled in agreement, or maybe it was because they smelled meat in a house that never had any.
Arilyn laughed and listened to her grandfather.
five
WHEN SHE WOKE up, Arilyn swore to have a better attitude.
It lasted all the way up till the moment Stone Petty strolled into her class.
He was late. A full fifteen minutes. The worst part? He strolled into the firehouse with a lazy grace that confirmed he didn’t give a crap. Luther and Eli glared at him. Dammit, arriving late to her class set the wrong tone. A large coffee cradled in his big hands, he shoved some sort of greasy biscuit with bacon hanging from it into his mouth, rubbing his hands down the front of his jeans. Today he wore a Jets T-shirt, a battered ball cap from Key West, and sneakers with a tiny hole in the big toe. His five-o’clock shadow only added to the dark menace of his goatee, and he nodded to the other men before plopping into a chair.
“Whassup?” he grunted, crumpling the wrapper into the brown bag, and shooting it across the room at the wastebasket in the corner. He made the shot and gave a half grin of male pride before sliding his gaze back to her.
Oh, she was going to kill him.
He was a heathen with no manners. Her nose crinkled with disgust. How on earth did his body look in decent shape? His diet probably consisted of crap. And he may have tried to hide his discomfort during their time in a seated position, but she knew he had difficulty keeping still and pain-free.
Wait till she finished with him today.
“Officer, perhaps you’d like to explain why you’re late?”
He glanced around as if surprised that anyone cared. “Had to stop at the station first.”
“I see.” She dropped her voice to arctic chill mode and narrowed her gaze. “I’m sure your superior informed you that you must sign in to these classes at the appropriate time. Being late disturbs the class and disrespects all of us.”
“Yeah, well, I’m sure solving a crime trumps being late.”
Her brow lifted. “Remind me again, Officer: Are you currently on suspension?”
Gotcha.
He jerked in his seat, and anger flickered over his features. Those inky eyes slammed her with male irritation. “For two weeks only. How did you know about that?”
“So, solving crimes on suspension would be against the rules, wouldn’t it?”
He refused to surrender. Just stretched out his legs like a relaxed predator and sipped from his coffee. “How would you feel if I stepped back and watched a theft happen ’cause I’m on vacay? Is that a great use of the taxpayers’ money? ’Cause it seems you’ve always been concerned with how I spend my day.”
She remembered their very first conversation in the summer, when she accused him of being a liability on the taxpayers. Hmm, still sore about that, huh? She tried not to crow in glee. “Oh, I apologize, you were helping with an arrest? Maybe I’ll call and thank your boss. Explain to him in this particular case it’s fine to be late.”