Perfect Partners Page 12

  “I met Nicole at Overton. She was assigned here after her first promotion above agent.”

  “Wait a second. Agent?” Izzy stopped in her tracks. She paused, feigning shock as she pretended to puzzle something out. “Isn’t that just a fancy word for…cop?”

  “Don’t be a smart-ass,” Sara cajoled.

  “Me? A smart-ass?” Izzy frowned. “Never. Merely pointing out a minor inconsistency in your dating policy.”

  “You’re forgetting it didn’t work out.”

  “What happened?”

  “Nothing crazy. Nicole was always up-front about her career aspirations. She wanted the big time. Executive level management. She climbed a few ranks here, but a field post only yields so many opportunities. The serious promotions involved assignments in other offices. Chicago. Denver. Seattle. Ultimately DC, where she is now.”

  “So that was it? She just left you here?”

  “Of course not.” A chipmunk darted onto the trail a few feet away. “She asked me to come with her. And even though I wanted to go, my life was here. I had Rocco and he was getting old—a move anywhere would have been hard on him. Plus the K-9 program was just coming into its own.” She felt Chase tense up between them, but he walked on, chewing his tennis ball, all but ignoring the adorable critter. “There was just no way I could leave at that time. John needed me here for the program. He saved my life. I wasn’t going to abandon him when this place was just hitting its stride.”

  “I’m surprised he asked you to stay. If he knew what was going on with you and Nicole.”

  “He didn’t ask me to stay,” she corrected. “He would never do anything like that. That doesn’t change the fact it was the right thing to do.”

  Izzy nodded, obviously trying to process all the information, and Sara felt a sudden need to justify her past decisions.

  “John and I work really well together. I needed to stay for him and the dogs. That’s the bottom line.” She pushed her hair off her face feeling defensive of her choices. “It was hardly a sacrifice. I absolutely love my job. I always have, since the very first day.” She touched Chase’s head for comfort and appreciated the look of affection he gave. “Hey,” she said making sure her voice was light. “Can we talk about how this guy just ignored a chipmunk? Right in front of him, no less.”

  “I was hoping you noticed.” There was no mistaking the satisfaction in Izzy’s voice. “He’s getting very good with his discipline,” she said, petting him generously as she spoke. He leaned into Izzy’s hand, and Sara loved watching their fierce connection.

  “I see that.” She rubbed her palm along the center of Izzy’s back, hoping the gesture passed as kudos. “He’s got you to thank for that.”

  “He deserves credit too. Right, buddy?” Izzy thumped his muscular body as she spoke to him. “We’ve been doing walks like this by my house almost every day after school.”

  “Your dedication shows. Both of yours, actually.”

  “My week, though.” Izzy groaned, covering half her face with one hand.

  Sara reached up and pulled her hand away. “Stop. Anyone can have a rough week.”

  “At least I’m making up for it now,” she said with a shrug. “And you can see I’m not a total slacker. Bonus”—she winked—“I’m getting the skinny on your boss slash ex-girlfriend. Not gonna lie. I’m shocked you broke those boundaries.” Izzy thumbed at her, the indication pointedly playful. “You, queen of the dating rules and all.”

  Sara laughed outright at Izzy’s brazen humor, and the appreciation of her quick wit garnered one of Izzy’s signature smiles, the full dimples adding sweetness to her dark sexy allure.

  “Oh my God,” Izzy blurted. “She’s the reason for all the rules.” She narrowed her eyes but her voice stayed good-natured when she added, “I knew I hated her.”

  “Easy there.” Sara matched her spirit. “I’m pretty sure she got you into this program at the last possible second.”

  “Right.” Izzy’s voice was low. “Her connection with Lieutenant Anderson.”

  Sara waited for Izzy to look at her. “I know there’s more to that story,” she said, all but asking for the details.

  “There sure is.” Izzy raised her eyebrows in willful defiance of Sara’s subtle request. “Patience, Sara,” she scolded playfully. “I’m still waiting to hear the end of your saga.”

  Her saga? Sara was genuinely confused and her look must have shown it because Izzy sighed dramatically.

  “You and Nicole,” she said. “Tell me the rest.”

  Sara stuffed her hands in her pockets. “There’s not much more to tell.”

  “That was it? She took a promotion, moved, and it was over?” Izzy scrunched her face up as though she didn’t quite believe it.

  “We did long distance for a while. It’s hard, trying to make a relationship work when you’re in two different places.” Her attention shifted to a squirrel using the high branches as a jungle gym. “Over time it just kind of fizzled out,” she said. God, that sounded pathetic. “Most of the time I think it would have ended anyway. Even if she’d stayed.”

  “Sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself of that.”

  Sara looked at Izzy and wondered how much truth there was to her observation.

  “We were at different points in our lives. I was almost thirty. Nicole was forty.” A dark red triangular stone caught her eye and she picked it up to examine it closely. “Age gaps can be tricky like that. Sometimes it makes no difference at all, and then there are phases where the disparity seems insurmountable. In retrospect, I think we were growing apart.”

  “But you lived in her house until last year? That seems like it could be, I don’t know, uncomfortable.”

  “It wasn’t,” she said, acknowledging the strange reality of her situation. “We were on and off for a while, so for a long time it felt natural to be there. Even after we broke up, our lives were very intertwined.” She knew it sounded like there was more to it, and if she was being honest, there was. More than once she’d expected to get back together with Nicole. It was a truth she rarely admitted to herself, let alone shared with anyone else.

  Izzy dribbled the tennis ball, playing with Chase as they hiked. “So let me see if I have this straight.” She bounced the ball high and Chase caught it with a leap in the air. “You two dated for years. Had a totally amicable breakup. One that was so easy you stayed close friends over the years, even working together, and you continued to live in her house.” She lifted her eyebrows suspiciously. “And in all this time, you never…” She let her sentence dangle, obviously waiting for Sara to fill in the gap.

  “We were on and off for a while, I admitted that.”

  “And since then?” She took the ball from Chase and tossed it back and forth in her hands. “No trips down memory lane? One-offs because you’re both gorgeous and single and sleeping under the same roof? Drunken hookups? Nothing? I find this hard to believe.”

  Sara looked at the treetops, pretending to be enraptured. “Is that a bald eagle up there?” She winced in laughter when Izzy chucked the tennis ball at her.

  “You’re a jerk,” Izzy said, slight defeat seeping through her smile. “I knew there was still something going on.”

  Sara reached down to take the ball from Chase who’d dutifully collected it. “There’s not.” She couldn’t keep from laughing at Izzy’s reaction. “Honestly,” she said, handing the soggy ball back to Izzy. “I’d be lying if I said there haven’t been a couple of moments over the years. And even stretches where I thought we might work things out. But”—she shook her head—“those days are over.” It dawned on her that this level of personal information was more than she’d shared with any of her other friends, but Izzy was special. And despite her commitment to mere friendship, she wanted her to know there wasn’t anyone else. “Why are we only talking about me?” she asked, turning the question back on Izzy. “When do I get to hear about your skeletons?”

  “No skeletons.” Izzy’s s
mile was tempered. “Not much of anything to tell, really. I’m single. Available. Looking,” she added lightly.

  Sara swallowed hard, feeling a pang of desire at Izzy’s not-so-subtle inference.

  Izzy distracted her with a tiny tap on the back of her hand. “Watch this.” They’d reached a section of the trail that intersected with paved blacktop, no doubt used by the forest rangers for park upkeep. Izzy threw the ball as far as she could down the makeshift road and watched Chase bound after it. Before he reached it she called out, “Chase. Stop.” Chase stopped immediately, the ball bouncing away as he looked from it back to Izzy. “Come. Come,” she repeated, pointing one finger at the ground in front of her. He raced back and sat squarely at her feet.

  “You mastered calling him off.” Sara was impressed and she wanted Izzy to know it. “Letting the ball go too.” She nodded in appreciation of the feat. “That’s a huge deal. Particularly out here with all these distractions.” She watched as Izzy rewarded Chase with his hard rubber Kong. Chase pranced ahead, rightfully proud as he picked up the trail on the other side of the clearing.

  Sara searched for words to convey what she was feeling in this moment. Respect for Izzy’s obvious skill as a handler for sure, but woven in with that admiration was pure longing. She seemed suddenly unable to separate Izzy the handler from Izzy the gorgeous woman she thought about nightly. Her feelings were racing toward dangerous and she was hell-bent on keeping herself under control. Still, she needed Izzy to know she was important to her.

  “I’m sorry I was distant all week.” She watched Chase lope ahead, still chewing his toy. “Forgive me?”

  Izzy glanced up, her eyes full of raw emotion. “You know I do,” she said, her voice soft as a whisper.

  “Izzy, you have to stay focused.”

  “I know.”

  Sara stopped walking and Izzy followed suit, turning to face her.

  “You were out of it this week and it showed.” Sara rubbed her forehead. “It came through in your training. You were sloppy. When you got killed in the simulation—”

  She stopped herself from saying any more, all at once realizing this horrific fear was the one thing keeping her from giving in to what she so desperately wanted. Tilting her head all the way back to see the trees reaching for the sky, she let her guard drop for a moment.

  “That’s exactly the reason this can’t happen,” she said, wagging a finger between them. “I would never sleep.”

  Izzy caught her finger and held it with her own. “You worry too much.” Her hand grazed over Sara’s knuckles and along her fingertips. “I’m careful. And good at my job. And yes, I made a dumb mistake the other day. But it won’t happen again. Trust me.”

  “I do. But God, Izzy…”

  They were still sort of holding hands, and Sara’s gaze shifted from Izzy’s eyes to her mouth and back again. She licked her lips, tossing aside the weeks of excuses, ready to replace them with the rush of pleasure that would surely come with the feel of Izzy’s gorgeous full lips against hers. But something ahead of them caught her attention a split second before she made her move, and in an instant her desire was replaced by genuine fear.

  Izzy must have read the change in her expression because she spun around immediately.

  Chase was ahead of them, bent in a crouched fight position, stiff as a board and ready to spring off his hind legs. He was twenty feet away, halfway between where they stood and a black bear standing upright just off the path.

  “Chase, come.” Izzy’s voice was even. “Come to me.”

  He took a tiny step backward. “That’s it, buddy,” Izzy urged him on. “Nice and slow. Come right back to me.” He inched his way back, never taking his eyes off the bear. When he reached them, Izzy gripped Sara’s hand and guided them slowly backward. Chase’s butt pressed up against her leg as he continued the retreat. He was careful and poised and incredibly protective, showing both bravery and acumen.

  The second Sara led them through a clearing into the open field, Izzy dropped to her knees and hugged Chase, clearly proud of his success handling the tenuous situation.

  “Chase, you are such a good boy!” She scratched his ears and petted his head as she showered him with affection. “I know you lost your favorite toy, but I promise we’ll get you a new one.” She kissed his head and pressed her cheek against his face. He responded with a huge smile, his tongue drooping out to the side. Sara’s heart swelled but she made sure to give them a second before joining the lovefest.

  They strolled along regaining their composure, and it took a good few minutes before Izzy expressed her surprise that they were still on the grounds of the training center. Sara explained Arren’s Hollow was fully adjacent to campus and the flat path they’d taken was about a quarter mile inland. She also swore she’d never seen a bear in the thousands of times she’d hiked the trails.

  “Bears and dogs are actually distant relatives,” Sara said, still a bit shaken.

  “Is that true, Chase? Was that your cousin?” Izzy asked in an overly cheerful tone, her adrenaline obviously still through the roof. Chase responded with a sharp playful bark, and even though she knew he was just responding to Izzy’s enthusiasm, Sara loved that he got in on the conversation.

  “Is it too early for a drink?” Izzy asked with a slight laugh. “My heart is still racing.”

  Sara smiled. “There’s an adorable little brunch spot a few miles away, if you’re up for it. I don’t know about drinks, but I do owe you a meal from last week when I skipped out.”

  “You owe me nothing,” Izzy said. “Let’s get this guy set up in his kennel and I’m all yours.”

  Sara wondered if Izzy’s innuendo was intentional or just a figure of speech. After securing Chase, they were almost at Sara’s pickup when Jen called out from across the parking lot.

  “Hey ladies,” she said, sauntering over. She gestured toward Mark, who was standing by the driver’s side of his Ford Explorer. “We were just going to grab a bite. You guys want to tag along?”

  Sara exchanged a look with Izzy, and she knew they were thinking the same thing. Even though they wanted more alone time, it would be rude to decline the invite. “Sure, why not.”

  Sara was rewarded with a knowing smile from Izzy at her acceptance on their behalf, and even though lunch was far from a secluded one-on-one, there were laughs and smiles and a million questions from Mark and Jen about their encounter with the bear.

  A solid two hours later when they returned to the training compound, their small intimate moment seemed completely distant. Deep down she was dismayed, but Sara couldn’t help but wonder if it was for the best.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “How’s things at school?” Elena slid into a cushy lounge chair on the back porch of their parents’ house. “Still hot for teacher?”

  Izzy leaned her head back against the wooden post of the railing where she sat close enough to keep an eye on Chase and her nephew playing in the grass. The mere mention of Sara made her heart ache, and she wondered what Sara might be doing right now on this warm Saturday evening, the summer weather finally upon them. She was probably in a T-shirt and cutoffs somewhere, enjoying the sunset.

  “Completely,” Izzy answered, her admission hanging heavy in the space between them. She couldn’t lie to her sister—Elena would see through her in a second. She might have downplayed it and avoided the third degree, but something inside her needed to get it out. Two weeks had passed since her bizarrely awesome hike with Sara, a day that had started full of tension but included an almost-kiss, she’d put money on it. There was no arguing Sara had opened up to her, and for a few minutes she’d let her walls down, but then there was a bear, and then their colleagues. And while the afternoon was nice, they’d ended up right back in the friend zone.

  She shouldn’t complain. In the last week and the one before it, Sara had been attentive to her at school, giving her individual instruction and praise, even chatting her up during class breaks and at lunch. But Izzy cou
ld tell she had pulled back again. All of their interactions occurred in the company of others, and even then, Sara avoided eye contact.

  “Come back to me, baby sister.” Elena touched Izzy’s calf with the tip of her pedicured toe.

  “Sorry,” Izzy said. She took a long sip of the IPA her brother had handed her earlier, the cool beverage helping bring her back to the present.

  “Wow.” Elena sighed. “Where did you go just now?”

  “I’m losing my mind. No big,” she said, her mood evening out as she enjoyed another long swallow.

  “Because of your instructor?”

  “Yes. No. I don’t know.” She watched Chase tug against the looped end of his rope toy, steering Jack in circles around the yard. Her nine-year-old nephew went crazy when Chase let him win over and over. This dog was a genius. Smart, social, protective. She smiled to herself, every bit the proud parent.

  Elena sat upright on the end of the lounge chair. “What’s going on? Last you told me you all were doing the friend thing. Give me the latest.”

  Izzy let out a sigh. “There’s nothing really to say. That’s it. We’re friends, I guess.”

  “But you want more?”

  “Yes,” she said emphatically. “The thing is, I know she does too. I’m telling you, I can feel it.” She wiped the sweat from her beer bottle. “Elena…” She chewed her lip nervously. “I’m pretty sure we almost kissed a few weeks ago.”

  “Who almost kissed?” Rick’s deep voice surprised them both as he came outside to check on his son.

  “Izzy and her teacher.” Elena answered, scooting over on her chair to make room for their big brother.

  Rick opened his eyes wide. “Your teacher? Isn’t that against the rules? I mean, I know you cops think you’re above the law and all,” he teased. A New York City firefighter, he and Izzy constantly played up the agencies’ long-standing rivalry.

  “It’s not even like that.” She shook him off. “She’s hardly my teacher. I’m not in the academy. I’m doing specialized training.” She thought for a minute. “Like if you were trying out for FDNY marine operations, or something.”