“Are y’all looking forward to the race?” Livia asked.
As she drew the children into excited conversation, Autumn stepped forward, extending the to-go cup in her hand. “I come on a mission of mercy. A Zombie Killer from The Grind. Extra shot of caramel, just how you like it. Figured you’d be dragging about now. Plus, Boudreaux’s missing his daddy.”
Judd automatically took the cup in one hand, and gave his dog a head rub with the other, but he couldn’t tear his eyes off of Autumn. “Thanks. What are you wearing?”
She glanced down at her shorts and fitted tank top, which displayed miles of lean, toned legs and arms that he forced himself to ignore. “I realize you’re on a double, but if you’re so tired you don’t recognize running gear, I’m not sure you should be on duty.”
“I’m talking about the race number.”
She deliberately widened her green eyes at him. “It’s called participation.”
“You’re not running.” With a struggle, he managed to make it a question rather than an order.
“I am, actually. Livia, Riley, and I are doing it together.”
Frustration whipped through him. “You aren’t supposed to exert yourself. Dr. Webb said—”
“That exercise is good for my heart.”
“He meant yoga or swimming.” Hadn’t he? Nice non-competitive stuff that wouldn’t get her heart rate or blood pressure up. Nothing that might aggravate her heart condition.
“It’s a one mile fun run, not a triathalon. Besides, Boudreaux is looking forward to some exercise. Aren’t you, boy?” She scratched behind his ears, and Boudreaux pressed into her touch, eyes rolling back in bliss.
Missing his daddy, my ass.
“Boudreaux’s idea of exercise is walking from the sofa down to the end of my dock.”
“Which should be proof enough that I won’t be over exerting myself. Stop worrying, Grandpa.”
That was like ordering him not to breathe. He couldn’t just turn off twenty-five years of protective instincts. Not when he could still so clearly see her lying in that hospital bed, hooked up to half a dozen monitors and machines.
Someone’s voice boomed over a bullhorn. “Everybody participating in the Fun Run please take your position behind the starting line. The race will begin in five minutes.”
“We should go find Riley,” Livia said.
“Gotta go.” Autumn was already turning away before he could think of any other rational arguments against her running in this race. “Drink the coffee, Judd. You’ll feel better. Bye, Mary Alice!”
Beside him, Mary Alice lifted her hand in a wave. “She’ll be fine.”
Judd grunted a response and scanned the course to see what medical personnel were on duty, in case something went wrong. The First Aid tent was about thirty yards away, on one corner of the town green. They were more expecting scraped knees and sprains, but a defibrillator would be there. And he had his own EMT training to fall back on in an emergency.
None of it made him feel any better, but short of bodily stopping her from participating, it was the best he could do. Not that she’d had any incidents in years, and her last check-up with her cardiologist, three months before, had given her an all clear.
Judd blinked, realizing Mary Alice had been talking to him. “Sorry. What?”
A flicker of exasperation passed over her pretty face. “I asked if you’d be up in time tomorrow for us to go to your family’s Sunday brunch?”
“Yeah, sure. Mom’s been fussing she hasn’t seen me.” It’d be good to see his family. Plus, he needed to firm up plans to go shopping with Autumn for his brothers’ birthday. No one was better at coming up with the best gag gifts for the twins than she was.
“No one outside the department has seen you since you went on nights a month ago.”
“Part of the job.” He shrugged. “Race is about to start. Y’all have fun and be careful.”
He bent to give her an absent kiss and hit her cheek when she turned at the last moment. Okay, so she was annoyed. He’d work on smoothing that over once this shift was done and he’d slept. He headed further up the street, judging the best spot to keep an eye out for Autumn. Just in case. The race course ran the length of the green, down Main Street, onto Franklin Street before looping back on Market Street to finish on the opposite side of the green. If she had issues, it would be on the tail end of the course. He positioned himself on the far corner of the green at Main and Spring Streets to watch the start.
At 6’3”, Judd could see over most of the crowd, so when the starter pistols went off—in tandem, thank God—he kept an eagle eye on the surge of people flowing down Main Street. With her bright flash of hair, Autumn was easy to pick out. She, Riley, and Livia were in a tight cluster, with Boudreaux trotting ahead. None of them was going faster than a jog. He could tell Autumn was even talking and laughing as they went. The tightness in his chest eased a fraction.
“I don’t think Boudreaux quite knows what to think about all these people.” Mitch Campbell, one of Judd’s poker buddies, stepped up to the curb to watch the girls.