The Bridge (Para-Earth Series) Read online

  She and Roy had been partners in the ‘Big Apple’ when she was still a rookie. After five years together, he’d left to become Chief of Police for the town of New Swindon. He asked her to join him, but she’d refused. Then four years later, he offered again when he needed a new second-in-command. This time she accepted. Her time in the city had become one long frustration, thanks to office politics and misogyny. Now, twelve years later, they had returned to attend the opening of the new building that had replaced their old stationhouse.

  A number of old friends and colleagues were on hand, as well as many new faces. In the station’s gymnasium a small band was playing, and a good portion of the floor had been set aside for dancing. A Foxtrot was under way, and she had been watching Roy’s wife dancing with a young blonde-haired man. He was leading her through a series of flashy steps that showed her off to great advantage.

  As she admired the footwork Roy came up to her and shook his head, “Good God that Youngster can move. I better get in there before my wife forgets who she came with.”

  He waited for the couple to draw near before reaching out and tapped his wife’s partner saying, “May I cut in?”

  The younger man thought about it and replied, “I don’t know. I was planning on making off with her.”

  “Kidnapping?” Roy asked curiously.

  “I was thinking more of subtle persuasion,” the young man replied.

  “Any licentious behavior planned?”

  “Only if she starts it.”

  Veronica suppressed a giggle as Roy pulled out a pencil and paper, and started making notes. “So we have attempting to make off with a police chief’s wife, with the intention of committing acts of depravity…”

  The young man’s expression suddenly became very serious. Turning to his dance partner he said, “I’m sorry Luv, but I have principles. I cannot come between a man and his wife, especially when it’s a man who has faced many dangers and has risen through the ranks of the proud and the blue. A man I respect and admire. A man who I’m desperately hoping is buying all this and doesn’t toss me in the nick.”

  Alice Peterson patted his hand, “Don’t worry. I’ll keep him busy while you make a break for it.”

  “Aiding and abetting eh!” her husband cried, taking her into his arms. “Ma’am I’m going to have to take you in for questioning.”

  “You’ll have to make me talk,” she replied, as the two of them danced off into the crowd.

  Veronica couldn’t help herself and burst out laughing. The young man looked at her and asked, “You’re not his daughter by chance are you?”

  “No,” she replied.

  “Married? Attached?”

  She shook her head.

  “Good!” Then, without asking he took her hand and whisked her out onto the dance floor.

  She had taken some ballroom classes a couple of years earlier and was able to do a passable Waltz. But with him, it felt like she was on Dancing with the Stars. His ability to lead was incredible. “You are good,” she told him as he put her into a 3/8’s combination turn.

  He bowed his head slightly, “Fourteen years of training. You’re rather impressive yourself.”

  She smiled prettily.

  “And so is you’re Waltz,” he added innocently.

  She’d groaned inwardly and muttered, “I can’t believe I didn’t see that coming.” Looking closer at her partner she noticed the dark eyes that never wandered from hers. And his face, while not handsome in the rugged sense, was more than pleasing. But he was also younger than her, a lot younger. Best not to lead him on, she thought. “You’re very nice Mr.….”

  “Hill,” he supplied, “Alexander Hill. And now protocol says you have to tell me your name.”

  “Why?

  “Cause I thought you’d prefer it, to me calling you my Waltzing Redhead,” he said, putting her in a dip as the music came to an end.

  “Fair enough,” she agreed, “You can call me Veronica”

  “Lovely name,” he smiled, still holding her in the pose.

  ‘Sigh… young, cute and about to be disappointed,’ she’d thought sadly. “Sergeant Veronica Ross,” she said aloud.

  Much to her surprise he broke into a grin as he brought back into a vertical position. “I thought so. The shoulders…”

  “My shoulders?” she frowned.

  “Broad and muscular, so obviously you keep fit for a reason. And you’re at the dedication of the new police station, so I figured you must be an officer,” he smiled.

  “Very good,” she applauded, “and what else are you besides a ballroom wizard Mr. Hill?”

  “Realtor, pastel artist,” he shrugged. “Nothing amazing, not like you.”

  “Are we talking about my looks again or my profession?” she asked, hoping to get ahead of him this time.

  “Killjoy,” he laughed. “No seriously, a police sergeant? You must be bloody good to get through the ranks that fast.”

  ‘Cute but slow,’ she thought. “Twenty years on the force isn’t exactly ‘shooting’ through the ranks,” she told him.

  “What they let you join up when you’re like 10 years old over here?” he asked innocently.

  She rolled her eyes, “I joined the police when I was 18 and I’ve been on the force for twenty-two years. I’m forty years old.”

  “Brains, beauty and a career woman,” he beamed. “By-the-by, how’s your Tango?”

  Veronica was so floored that she didn’t know what to say. Finally, her brain managed an, “Uh… okay I guess.”

  “Good, they’re about start one now,” he replied, taking her in position. “We can talk more while we dance. Afterwards we can maybe go for some tea and coffee.”

  She shook her head, “I don’t believe you.”

  He looked like a naughty boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “All right tea, coffee and some pie. I’ve got a thing for pastries.”

  Alex had been full of surprises that evening. She had found out that in addition to being a fantastic ballroom dancer, he was well read, and was a commercial real estate broker.

  She also learned that he was a really good listener who asked intelligent questions. Even when she tried to catch him off guard by changing her attitude on a matter they had discussed, he asked about her apparent change of heart. This delighted her immensely. It wasn’t often she met anyone who was willing to challenge a police sergeant.

  But, the thing that surprised her the most was when he escorted her back to the hotel. She did not invite him up, and he didn’t try to finagle an invitation out of her. He merely asked if he could see her again. She left him with a firm… maybe.

  As she headed for her room, two thoughts kept running through her mind, ‘He’s fifteen years younger than me, so what is he thinking? And why am I getting so worked up about him?’

  The next morning the front desk called to inform her that a table, at an expensive restaurant across the street, had been reserved for the entire morning. A gentleman was hoping she would join him for breakfast. “Okay, this is too much,” she’d muttered and invited Roy and Alice to join her. Perhaps meeting her boss, who was 12 years older than her, might persuade her admirer that things just wouldn’t work out between them.

  As soon as they entered the restaurant, the head waiter escorted them to a private parlor. Alex was already sitting there with several files stacked in front of him. As soon as he spotted her he quickly put them away, and scooped up two more chairs from a table nearby.

  “All right Youngster, just what are your intentions towards my second-in-command?” Roy demanded, without ceremony.

  Alex didn’t bat an eye, “Scandalous, Sir.”

  “Any lascivious behavior planned?” the older man persisted.

  “You’ll have to ask your Sergeant, but I’m hopeful,” Alex had replied, looking at her with big puppy dog eyes.

  Veronica just shook her head wondering which of them she should be annoyed at.

  “Fair enough,” her former partner
nodded, “But, if you make her unhappy or God forbid cry, there’ll be a station full of police officers waiting to have a ‘talk’ with you. And I’ll have you arrested and sent there before you can blink, no matter where you are.”

  Alex stared at him before answering. “With all due respect, if I make her cry I’ll be worrying about the twenty years of police experience she’ll use on me there and then. There might not be much left by the time your lot even hears about it”

  As her boss roared with laughter, Veronica leaned over and whispered in Alex’s ear, “I should run you in for incitement.”

  “Got your handcuffs on you?” he asked innocently.

  “Yes, and I oiled them this morning,” she replied sweetly.

  “What are my rights?”

  “You can come along peacefully or you can resist.”

  “What happens if I resist?”

  She’d been waiting for this. “I’ll put your arm so far behind your back I’ll be able to introduce your left elbow to your right ear.”

  Alex blinked several times before he spoke again. “And if I come along peacefully?”

  “I’ll let you take me out to dinner and more dancing tonight.”

  “Coming along peacefully sounds good,” he nodded.

  She smiled and decided to see what he was really made of. “Afterwards I’ll take you back to my hotel room and break out my handcuffs.”

  “You had me at the dancing,” he told her

  “And the rest?” she purred, wondering if he would decide to cut his losses or turn out to be fetishist.

  He looked at her with those dark piercing eyes and said, “Could we hold off on that until the third or fourth date?”

  She raised an eyebrow, “Why not tonight?”

  “Because I want to make sure that you know that I wasn’t just trying to nail you in bed. I really like you.”

  Her jaw fell. This kind of honesty was not something she had expected. Especially the way he had said it. There was no attempt at lying in his expression or voice. He was being completely sincere.

  So that evening the two them went out for dinner and more dancing. The next day they explored Central Park, and in the evening went to dinner and a show.

  Then, she had to return to Connecticut. They had already agreed to meet as soon as she could take a few days off and called each other every day for the next two weeks.

  The day before she was to return to the city, he called to cancel. He was leaving town because his grandmother had passed away. He hoped she would understand. She told him she did.

  After hanging up she muttered, “Grandmother, my ass. You finally decided I’m too old for you.”

  She was still telling herself this when she went in to work the next day. Her mood was so bad that her coworkers kept their distance. Roy finally contacted her by radio and suggested she get out of the station and go on patrol. She later found out he had been inside his office trying to keep out of her way.

  After driving around in her patrol car for about twenty minutes, a call came in about an alarm going off at a home not far from her present location. It was one of the more peaceful and quiet areas of the New Swindon. Large trees lined both sides of the road, with the occasional home peeking out from behind them. Nothing happened very often out here.

  And now someone was trying to spoil it. She smiled as she gunned the engine. Whoever it was, had picked a really bad day to try and pull that kind of shit on her patrol.

  Rounding a curve she spotted the place where the alarm was going off and caught her breath. She recognized the small red house immediately, and knew that just beyond it stood a much larger building which was actually a private ballroom. She had taken dancing lessons in there from the lady who had owned the house. Her name had been Constance Hill, who had just passed away a few days ago.

  “No way!” she muttered and quickly pulled into the driveway and behind the strange parked in front of the garage. She was just about to get out of her vehicle when the person who had set off the alarm emerged.

  It was Alex.

  Smiling she switched on the loudspeaker of her vehicle. “Hold it right there,” she ordered, knowing her voice would be altered by the system. She also knew he was too far away to see inside her vehicle.

  Immediately he froze.

  “Hands on your head,” she instructed menacingly.

  Her admirer obeyed, looking slightly worried.

  “What are you doing here?

  “I’m Ms. Hill’s grandson. She left me this place in her will. The lawyers gave me the keys but not the code for the alarm,” he answered quickly.

  “And that’s why you broke a date with your Waltzing Redhead?”

  His eyes widened, “Oh God, don’t tell me you work with her? I didn’t make her cry did I?”

  She got out of the car, microphone still in hand saying, “No, but she couldn’t help wondering if you’d decided she was too old for you after all.”

  Relieved, he lowered his arms. “I see you brought your handcuffs.”

  “Well, it was going to be date number four,” she winked, walking over and slipping her arms around his neck affectionately.

  “Did you really think I was blowing you off?” he asked quietly.

  “Kind of,” she admitted, feeling a little ashamed. “You know the age difference? Does absence really make the heart grow fonder and all that.”

  He looked her straight in the eye and said, “It did for me.”

  Blushing she smiled, “Me too.”

  “Well in that case, I better keep this house and move in.”

  “Are you serious?

  He nodded, “I’m able to do most of my work by phone and internet. Occasionally I’ll have to go in to the city, but I prefer being here. I’ll have you, my own Ballroom and the old Cathouse just beyond those trees.”

  “Cathouse?” she repeated, raising an eyebrow.

  “It’s an old kennel where my Grandfather kept dogs and cats. But it was mostly cats,” he explained. “My Gran’ always used to swat him whenever he called it that. I’d get no dessert if I said it.”

  She had to ask. “So what happened?”

  “Gran’ used to get the summers off from making goodies,” he answered with a sad look.

  She laughed out loud. It felt good. He was still quite a bit younger than her, but she realized that she’d already fallen for him. “Are you doing this just because of me?” she asked him.

  “Mostly, but I also really liked being here. It became a second home for me,” he said wistfully. “I spent quite a few summers with my grandparents. We didn’t go into town much, but I didn’t mind.”

  “Probably why I never saw you,” she commented.

  “I was also a good kid.”

  “Except for no goodies because you kept talking about Cathouses?”

  Alex gave her a pathetic look, “Never said I was perfect.”

  Smiling she asked, “Did your grandparents get you into dancing?”

  He nodded, “Granddad developed heart troubles when I was twelve and wasn’t able to dance as much. I knew he didn’t want Gran’ to stop so I asked them to teach me. I’d dance with her, and he would step in and give me pointers. He died when I was sixteen, so I made sure I stayed here in the summer and during vacation time to be with her. I felt like I had to keep her dancing, for both their sakes.”

  ‘You are something else,’ she thought. Then she asked, “So, when are you going to start giving dance lessons?”

  His eyebrows shot up in surprise, “Who? Me?”

  “You did a pretty good job back in the city. And you’re grandmother used to give lessons. She taught me for a couple of years on and off.”

  Alex thought about it and said, “I’d need a partner to help me demonstrate.”

  “I’m not that good,” she told him, knowing exactly where this was leading.

  He pulled her closer, “Well I’ll just have to give you private lessons now won’t I?”

  “I’m taller than
you,” she pointed out, ‘As well as over a decade older too.’

  He pressed her body close to his, “I don’t recall us having any trouble with that back in the city.”

  The last of her resolve crumbled. “When do we start?” she asked.

  “I’d say we were off to a good start already,” he murmured and kissed her deeply.

  She felt her heart racing with delight. But there was something she was forgetting...

  The radio on her shoulder crackled and a voice said loudly. “Sergeant Ross is everything all right, copy?”

  They both jumped backwards, like a couple of teenagers who had just been caught in the janitor’s closet.

  ‘Sorry,’ she mouthed and answered her radio. “Ross here, everything’s fine.”

  “So I see.”

  A horn beeped and they both turned around. A patrol car was slowly creeping by. Roy was in the driver’s seat. “There’s a familiar looking Youngster,” he said into the radio. “And still up to lascivious behavior I see.”

  “Roy, you’d better not be using an open channel!” Veronica yelled.

  “Now would I go and use an open channel just to embarrass my second-in-command?” he replied into the mike.

  Before she could respond several other voices came over the radio.

  “I didn’t hear a thing, Sarge…”

  “Lascivious behavior? What’s that?”

  “You go girl…. Er, Sarge.”

  “They made me keep the channel open Ronnie…” this last one was the station’s dispatcher.

  “Oh I’m gonna…” she growled and glared at Alex who had been grinning. Suddenly, the smirk vanished in a puff of seriousness. “Oye, you shouldn’t be playing with official police equipment like that!” he yelled at her boss.

  “I’ll make the judgment calls about staff and equipment, Youngster,” came her boss’s reply over the radio. “In the meantime Sergeant Ross can write you a nice little warning about false alarms. Next time there’ll be a fine.”