StellaI'm playing with the paper of my straw wrapper as I wait for Nick to meet me at The Café. Miracle of all miracles we've made time for one another, just like we said we would. A week later than originally planned, but better late than never. He's running late, which isn't unusual for when we meet each other like this. He knows I'll wait, and I know I'll be waiting. It's our own little thing.Leigh comes over to the booth I'm sitting in, and I can't help but notice how Ransom has her smile. "Hey Stella, how's it going?""Not bad," I answer, nervously rubbing on the pearl studs in my ears. For some reason, I think this woman should be able to tell I've been sleeping with her son. "Just been busy. I'm going back to school," I announce to her, an edge of excitement in my voice.There had been a late drop out in the nursing program, and because my family is well-connected in the community, and Aunt Blaze is who she is, some strings had been pulled and I'd been accepted. "I

Ransom"Here!" I command Rambo as the two of us walk into the Laurel Springs Police Department. We're about to go on-shift and he's excited. Always is as soon as he sees me put my shoes on and grab my vest. He's a work dog and loves to do so. The minute we pull into the parking lot, he's whining, dying to get out of my truck, and barking with excitement. When I let him out, he's like a child on Christmas morning, running, sniffing everything, saying hello to my fellow officers. Everyone loves Rambo, and he loves them. But I still have to make sure he can obey, and part of that is making sure we go on-shift on time."So…" Menace drags out the word as we walk into the squad room. "You've got a ride-along tonight.""Oh really?" I'm flipping through the shit that's been put in my mailbox at the office. How we get so much shit handed out in one day fucking amazes me."Yeah." I hear a familiar voice. "My tranny is out on my car; I'll be riding along with a few of you until it's fixed

RansomStella's irritated about something and I'm not sure what, but I think I'm moments away from finding out. She's out of her car and stomping toward where I'm standing on the back porch, waiting for Rambo to finish his business."You okay, babe?"She doesn't answer, causing nervousness to sit deep in my gut. "Rambo, come on." I tap my thigh for him. He runs up the deck, waiting for me to let him into the house. Still she doesn't say anything. Which makes me warier of her than I was of the guy at the traffic stop earlier. "You're kinda starting to scare me."Finally, she faces me, putting her hands on her hips. I can see that brain of hers working. "You're mine, handsome."Oookay… "Of course I am.""All those ladies commenting on your picture on Facebook, they can fuck right off."I can't help it, I laugh, before letting Rambo in the house. He hurries to his food dish, which I filled up prior to bringing him outside. The two of us just got home a few minutes ago, and a

RansomI'm in a damn good mood this afternoon as I make my way along the streets of Laurel Springs. It rained overnight, cooling it down slightly. I have no doubt that it'll warm back up in no time. But I'm feeling good about Stelle and I. Maybe I should have made sure she heard me last night, maybe I should have woken her up and professed my undying love to her, but I didn't. I've never told another woman besides my mom I love them, and I'm scared of rejection. Even if I don't think there will be one.We spent some quality time together before I had to come on-shift, and I'm relaxed as I'm gonna be. I even gave the first two speeding stops I made warnings. Nobody can say Ransom Thompson isn't fair today.As I get in behind a SUV, they swerve slightly. Okay, I'll give them one. But then they swerve two more times, and I know immediately I need to run the plates. Something tells me I need to."Dispatch, I need you to run this plate."It's not three minutes later the voice of o

LeightonSitting beside my son's hospital bed is a place I always pray I'll never be, especially since he decided to follow in his father's footsteps. I'm proud of him, there's no doubt about that, but I worry. We live in tumultuous times and not everyone loves police officers like I do. My hand holds onto Holden's tightly as we listen to the surgeon speak. She's just given Ransom something to relax him and she's explaining to us that his surgery is minimally invasive. "Luckily for you, the bullet missed most everything that would be a major problem. Based on the x-ray it should be relatively easy for me to go in there and get it out. Now I do believe it may have grazed your scapula, which is your shoulder blade. If it did and there is debris from it, I'll clean all that out while I'm in there. You're looking at a recovery time anywhere from four to eight weeks, depending on what I find when I get in there." She's talking to all of us quickly and efficiently. "You're very lucky