Sharon Archer - The Man Behind the Badge

Thank goodness he didn’t realise he was responsible for her light-headed state. Or at least partially responsible. If she’d eaten a proper meal before leaving Melbourne, if she hadn’t straightened from her bent position so quickly. If he hadn’t crept up on her, spoken her name so unexpectedly. Panic had made her head jerk upright, had flooded her system with an explosion of contrary stimuli. Instead of doing anything sensible, she’d nearly pitched face down at his feet. Would have if he hadn’t caught her.

Which brought her full circle back to being held in his arms. She shivered.

What was it about his brand of masculinity that left her dizzy with all sorts of chaotic feelings? Whatever it was, she didn’t like the feeling of vulnerability. There were so many strikes against him. A career police officer, strong and hard. Controlled and used to controlling. She had to find a way to cram the sergeant back into the mental box she’d managed to keep him in for the two months she’d been living in Dustin.

He’d said she should call him Tom. She didn’t even want to think about him that personally…intimately. Ridiculous though it was, if she thought of him as Tom , he’d become too real, a man she’d have to deal with. As Sergeant Jamieson, he was a police officer, someone she could keep at a distance. She was only here for another four months. Surely she could lock her unruly reactions down long enough to get through that.

She rolled her head to look at him where he stood with Jack Campbell. Both were long, lean, athletic men. Two of a kind. Yet she’d never felt threatened by Jack. He was a honey. She knew he and Liz had had their problems but they’d come through them and now their marriage was stronger than ever. They were a family, one adorable daughter and another baby on the way.

Sergeant Jamieson was a different proposition altogether. He had hot eyes. At the few social occasions she’d attended, she’d felt him watching her. He’d never put a foot wrong, but in her mind he was disturbing. Radiating a hunger that she didn’t want to think about. For things that weren’t his, things he had no right to. She shivered again. He made her feel utterly conscious of her vulnerability as a woman.

She mentally shook herself. It didn’t matter what he wanted. What she wanted was what counted. And she didn’t want any man in her life at the moment.

And definitely not someone like Sergeant Tom Jamieson.

TOM fell into step with Jack as they walked towards the bright lights at the hospital entrance.

‘Here are Kayla’s keys.’ Jack held out his hand.

‘Thanks,’ Tom said, spotting his quarry as soon as he stepped through the sliding door into the emergency depart ment.

Tall and straight in the shapeless green theatre pants and top, Kayla still looked entirely too appealing. Her pale face turned towards them. When she realised it was him, an interesting shade of pink bloomed along her cheek bones and her eyes darkened to stormcloud grey. He might have flattered himself that his appearance had that effect—except for the ferocious frown that pleated her forehead a split second later.

‘Uh-oh, looks like you’re in the dogbox, mate,’ murmured Jack beside him as they walked towards her.

‘Hey, Kayla.’ Jack stooped to kiss her cheek.

‘Hello, Jack.’

‘Is Liz around?’

‘She’s in the tearoom with her feet up. I think she’ll be glad to go home.’

‘That’s what I’m here for. Catch you two kids later.’ Jack grinned at the two of them and winked.

Tom watched the expressions flit over her face as her eyes followed Jack. Then suddenly she turned to face him, her silvery eyes impaling him, her mouth firm.

‘My keys, please, Sergeant?’

He juggled them in his hands, tossing them from one to the other. ‘Have you been cleared by your doctor…

Doctor?’

‘Yes, of course.’

He tilted his head and considered her. ‘So, your near collapse was because…?’

Her lips thinned and for a moment he thought she’d refuse to answer. He almost relished the opportunity to lock horns with her.

‘Low blood sugar. Tiredness. Getting up too quickly. I prescribed myself a cup of tea and grilled cheese on toast while I waited for you to return my keys.’ She held out her hand. ‘And now I’d like to go home to bed.’

Tom’s fingers clutched the keys as he bit back a tempting retort. She did not mean anything by her comment. It was not an opening or an offer. If he was a gentleman, he would definitely let that slide through to the keeper.

He cleared his throat and dangled the keys. ‘In that case…’

As she reached out, he caught her hand, gently turning it over and depositing the keys on her palm with studied care. He curled her fingers over them one at a time as he held her eyes with his.

‘Thank you.’ She tugged lightly and when he didn’t release her, she narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Was there something else…Sergeant?’

‘Yes, there is. Kayla.’ He let his tongue linger over the syllables of her name. ‘You get a good night’s sleep.’

He felt her hand twitch in his, saw a flare of awareness in her eyes. And something else. A starkness, a vulnerability.

Surely she wasn’t afraid of him. He released his grip and her hand dropped to her side.

‘Thank you, Sergeant.’

She turned away, walking quickly, her movements oddly jerky as though she was having trouble co-ordinating her limbs. As though she couldn’t get away from him fast enough.

He wasn’t used to having that sort of effect on women. He knew, without conceit, that he was reasonably good looking. Kayla Morgan was indifferent, immune. No, more than that—she seemed to find him downright distasteful. Damn it, she didn’t know him well enough to feel that way about him. It rankled, made him want to get in her way, be hard to ignore.

Hands on hips, he watched until she was several metres away then he called softly, ‘Kayla?’

The stiff stride halted. ‘Yes?’

He waited, the silence stretched. She pivoted to look at him with obvious reluctance. ‘What did you want?’

There it was again, that hint of defencelessness, of desperately masked fear. It reached out and touched him. Made him want to gather her close, shield her from whatever was troubling her. Which was difficult because he seemed to be the main cause of her stress right now. How could he protect her from himself?

‘Come and see me at the station this week. I need you to make a statement about the accident.’

‘Oh. Yes.’ She swallowed, relief patent on her face. ‘All right.’

‘Goodnight.’ He jammed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans.

‘‘Night.’ And she was moving away from him again. A couple of steps later she stopped. He could almost see an internal battle being waged as she looked over her shoulder then turned to face him. ‘I should thank you for your assistance tonight.’

‘Should you?’

‘Yes, I should,’ she said firmly, squaring her shoulders. Her bearing reminded him of his nephew’s attitude when he’d had to apologise for a serious transgression. Courage, trepidation and determination not to flinch from an unpleasant task. No prizes for guessing what, or who, was the distasteful thing in this case. ‘You were great at the accident. Thank you, Sergeant.’

‘Happy to help…Doctor.’

With a quick nod, she spun around and moved away, without hesitating this time.

Why was he doing this to himself? Kayla was giving him red lights all the way. Yet he felt compelled to keep pushing, to try to get close.

She was confident and competent when doing her job, but so vulnerable and prickly with him when dealing with him on a personal level.

He watched until she moved out of sight without looking back then he huffed out a breath. He’d thought she might look back at him, give him some indication that she knew he was still standing there. A vain hope.

He hunched his shoulders. Perhaps he should back off, let it go. Kayla was Liz’s friend. Liz would skewer him if he upset her. The whole thing was complicated.

‘Earth to Tom?’

He turned to find Liz watching him, curiosity and concern in her eyes. He wondered how long she’d been standing there, what she’d read on his face. She glanced along the corridor to where Kayla had disappeared.

‘Jack was looking for you,’ he said quickly into the brief silence.

‘He found me. Tony just collared him about something so I came on ahead.’ She paused. ‘We stabilised your accident victim and sent him off to Melbourne. I organised that blood test for his alcohol level, too.’

‘Good, thanks.’

‘Tom…about Kayla…’

‘What about her?’ He tried to sound casual but knew he hadn’t succeeded by Liz’s troubled expression.

‘Tom, I love you very dearly and I’m telling you as a friend. Kayla’s not up to your weight.’

‘I don’t know what you mean.’

‘Don’t you?’ she said dryly. ‘I’ve seen the way you look at her. And not just today.’

‘Well, she’s not looking back so you can put your mind at ease.’

‘Perhaps.’ Liz looked along the corridor again. ‘Kayla’s my friend, Tom.’

‘I know. I’m just having a hard time picturing the two of you as pals. You seem like an unlikely pair.’

‘She came to my rescue when a charming date spiked my drink. I was in first year at uni and pretty green. Kayla stood up to him and took me to hospital. She looked after me, Tom, even though we didn’t know each other.’ Liz’s eyes examined his face as she spoke. ‘She didn’t have to get involved and yet she chose to. She was a better friend to me that night than all my so-called close friends.’

He rubbed his jaw. This picture of the valiant, loyal, caring Kayla was incredibly attractive. All the qualities a man could ask for in a potential life partner.

‘Why is she here in Dustin?’

‘You know why she’s here.’ Liz patted her protruding stomach and looked smug. ‘She’s working while I’m on maternity leave.’

‘But you’re not on leave yet.’

‘True.’ She tilted her head and looked up at him for a long moment. Her eyebrows rose. ‘Why don’t you ask her?’

He grimaced. ‘I would if she wasn’t so damned prickly. She Sergeants me to death and treats me like I’ve got her under bright lights for interrogation.’

‘You can be intimidating.’

‘Nah.’ He smiled at her. ‘I’m a SNAG.’

She gave him a droll look. ‘I’ve yet to meet anyone less like a sensitive new-age guy than you. Except maybe Jack.’

Tom laughed. ‘Then I’m in good company.’ He waited a beat then said, ‘So how about it? What’s her story?’

Liz looked at him thoughtfully. ‘You know I won’t tell you that. But I will tell you that it suited both of us for her to come to Dustin early.’ She smoothed her hand over her stomach, a small smile on her mouth. ‘And when my time comes, I know I’m in safe hands with Kayla.’

He grinned as he saw Liz’s husband approaching. ‘Not getting Jack to play midwife for this one?’

‘He’s on standby. But even he admits he’ll be happy to take a back seat for the arrival of future Campbells.’ She grinned up at her husband as he slipped his arm around her waist. ‘Won’t you, darling?’

‘Believe it. You, my sweet, are confined to town for the rest of your pregnancy. A maximum of two kilometres from the hospital at all times.’

‘Uh-uh. There’s the camp draft next weekend. You prom ised.’