She nodded sagely. “I served as a nurse during the last great war so I know what it’s like to serve under pressure. I imagine your job calls for someone with steady hands, strong nerves, and the ability to connect with people and help them remain calm when it’s the last thing they feel.”
“It’s challenging at times. I do my best.”
“A big strapping man like yourself must miss the police work in the field occasionally?”
“Yes, ma’am, sometimes I do.” He didn’t miss the relentless drama, constantly seeing the worst in people and the nearly unavoidable cynicism pervasive amongst law enforcement personnel, though.
“I imagine Morehead is fortunate to have your service in whichever capacity. It takes a special man with nerves of steel to take on such a job and serve in the long term.”
Samson’s face felt a little warm as he smiled at her. Lately, he’d felt as if he was going to seed sitting at the dispatcher desk. Kate’s perspective had a way of blowing a breath of fresh air on his career. Joseph had told him once that the same qualities that made him a good Dom also made him a good emergency operator.
When Cassie returned with Ivan, her cheeks were flushed, and there was a dreamy quality in her eyes. Samson chuckled and watched Ivan’s eyes as he looked her up and down from behind. They must’ve had time for at least a kiss or two in the walk-in cooler.
Cassie halted as she looked out the shop window and let out a long sigh. “Folks, I’m afraid I have to excuse myself to handle an issue. Tilly and Marissa will take good care of you, though,” she said, waving at one of the girls from behind the counter, motioning for them to bring the coffee pot and tea pitcher for refills.
“You need any help with this ‘issue’?” he asked as he leaned close so they wouldn’t be overheard. “Hey, you know you got a little frosting…there?” He pointed at the sugary smear on her cleavage and grinned.
Cassie grinned and brushed away what he might’ve licked off of her under other circumstances. Her cheeks grew a little pinker than they already were, and she whispered, “Cake decorating is…messy work sometimes. Don’t leave before I get to see you for a few minutes alone, okay? I need to go head off trouble.”
The problem turned out to be her father, who had just walked in the door. A thinner, grayer, and even grumpier looking version of the perpetually angry man Samson remembered from his youth. Jorge Villalobos hadn’t changed much, but the unfolding scene revealed everything Samson needed to know about how Cassie had changed.
The man’s body language said a lot as he addressed Cassie, shaking his finger at her and then pointing to the kitchen area behind the counter.
“Mom is busy and has nothing to say to you, Dad. Absolutely not.” Cassie crossed her arms over her chest and shifted forward on one foot as she reacted to whatever he was saying and Samson heard him mention Bill’s name. “What? I can’t believe you would even ask that of me. You know he cheated on me.”
“So? He loves you.” Jorge’s tone implied she should be grateful.
“He loves himself. Like a few other men I’ve known.”
Jorge waved a hand as though he was dismissing the words of an idiot. “Pah!” He grumbled some more under his breath and then turned toward the kitchen. She stopped him with an upraised hand.
“No, Dad,” she said, corralling him into a corner near a stack of wooden high chairs, blocking his view of the kitchen. He muttered something in his guttural voice, and she shook her head and replied calmly but with equal force. “I said no. She’s working and doesn’t want to see you.”
“She is my wife!”
“No, she is not. You made sure of that years ago. And if I let you back there, you’ll only wind up yelling at her. I have a business to run. Now, you go on before I call Uncle Julio and have him come get you.”
“I don’t want to go with Julio. I can drive myself. I’m making Julio take me to buy a new car.”
“Keep your voice down, Dad. And you’ll do no such thing.”
“You think getting my doctor to sign a paper saying I can’t drive will keep me from doing it anyway? You don’t know me.”
“Unfortunately, I know you all too well. Don’t forget Judge Porter warned you to not drive anymore. You want to wind up in the hospital again? Sheriff Hank Stinson is in here eating lunch. You want to tell him what you think of the judge’s orders?”
“Pah! You don’t know what you’re talking about. Women! You’re worse than your mother.”
Although the exchange concerned Samson, he also was amused by the way her jaw jutted as she stood up to him like a bulldog, not giving an inch. Hank caught her eye as he used his napkin but she smiled and shook her head at him. She handled the situation just fine on her own.