“I mean, no thank you, I’m not done yet. I use my running as a time to get my thoughts all aligned. My very, very tired thoughts.”
There she went again with her tired thoughts. I couldn’t help but smile. I’d never met a woman who made me want to lean down and kiss her like Sydney Burch did. From the moment she’d informed me she was calling my boss to see if I was a legit cop, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her.
“Well, I’ll leave you to sort out your very tired thoughts while running with your sluggish feet. They may need a little caffeine.”
“Oh, yeah. Maybe that’s what’s wrong. I need to get some caramel creamer. I don’t have any at the house right now.”
This woman was unlike any other woman I had met before in Chicago, and I wanted to get to know her better. “I think Salem just got a bit more interesting.”
“Umm… I guess tired thoughts and sluggish feet can make any town more interesting. Who would have known?”
Then she smiled, and I felt a weird flutter in my chest. I needed to leave before I really did lean down and kiss her. “Be careful. Until later, Syd.”
“See ya,” she called out with a wave.
I turned and started back to my house. My mind swirled with thoughts of Sydney. No woman had ever had this effect on me. My father had always told me, “When the right one comes along, you will know it immediately because they’ll constantly occupy your thoughts.”
Laughing to myself, I took the steps up to my front door two at a time. “That’s insane. The right one,” I muttered to myself as I unlocked the door to my house.
“Morning, Officer Mike!”
With a wave, I called out to my neighbor, “Good morning, Mrs. Nelson. How are you today?”
“I’m doing well, thank you! You know, you don’t have to lock your doors. This isn’t California you’re in anymore.”
I smiled politely. No matter how many times I’d told the older woman I was from Chicago, she kept saying California. I’d stopped correcting her about three weeks ago.
“Heard you met Sydney Burch last night.”
My jaw dropped. “Um, where’d you hear that, ma’am?”
Mrs. Nelson gave me a smile that said I really should know this by now. “Oh, word gets around in a small town, Officer Mike. She’s an awfully pretty little thing, isn’t she?”
Oh no. I’m not getting pulled into this.
I gave my door a push, and as it opened, I said, “Yes, ma’am, she is. If you’ll—”
“Did you ask her out? I’m sure she’d like a nice evening out with her grandpa passing and all.”
I stopped halfway into my house before I retreated and looked at my sweet neighbor.
“Um, no, ma’am, I did not ask her out.”
She frowned. “Well, that’s a shame. Next time you’ll get her, sweetheart.”
And with that, she turned and walked back into her house.
After a quick look around at the other houses, I laughed and walked inside. I locked the door after I shut it—a habit I would probably never break—and headed to the bathroom. I needed a shower and something to eat before I headed into work for my shift.