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ring finger. Josie didn’t know it, but only last year was Heidi finally able to muster the strength she needed to stop wearing her wedding band. She had laced John’s ring through a gold chain, which she always kept hanging around her neck like a talisman.
    Heidi winced. “No,” she replied flatly. “I’m just not ready.” Even as she said those words, Shane’s face, with those gorgeous eyes, popped into her head again. No, she thought firmly, closing her eyes to clear her mind. It was just a silly attraction, nothing more. For all she knew, he was married or in a committed relationship. Not that it mattered; Heidi would never find out.
    Josie glanced at the slim watch wrapped around her wrist. “Your shift is almost over. I can cover you from here. Why don’t you go home early? Get some sleep. You look like you could use it.”
    “Thanks,” Heidi said gratefully. “I think I’ll take you up on it. If it gets any later I’m going to have a hard time staying awake on the drive home.” She gathered up her purse and keys and bustled through the doors of the hospital, searching for her car. It was a cool, crisp night; the rain had stopped, leaving behind that heady, earthy smell that Heidi used to love so much.
    She navigated the station wagon onto the highway, still yawning sleepily, her mind wandering to the cozy comfort of her warm bed. Maybe she’d treat herself to a warm mug of hot cocoa and a few chapters of a good mystery novel before turning in for the night. As she mentally worked her way through the stack of books on her shelf waiting to be read, a blue and red flash of police lights lit up the road ahead of her.
    Dutifully, Heidi pulled her car over to the side of the road and waited for the squad car to speed by. As it did, she craned her neck to see inside. Moments later, as she steered back onto the highway, Heidi was cursing herself for the disappointment she felt when she saw that Shane Kensington wasn’t behind the wheel.

CHAPTER 3
    “Shane, can you come in here for a minute?”
    Following the sound of Chief Palen’s voice, Shane made his way into the veteran cop’s office, which was stacked floor to ceiling with hundreds of file folders detailing cases that the chief had worked on over his forty year career. Never in his wildest dreams did Shane imagine that he would one day be working side by side with the man who first inspired him to become a police officer. Chief Palen was a popular man both in the community and among the other officers, who treated him with a respect that bordered on reverence.
    “Sit down, son,” he said, motioning for Shane to close the door behind him. He waited for Shane to settle into a chair before continuing. “I wanted to check on you, see how everything was going.” He pulled out a sheet of paper and moved his eyes down the text quickly. “It says here that you’ve stopped seeing Dr. Holmby.” He fixed his gaze on Shane, who squirmed slightly in his chair.
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Any particular reason?”
    “I didn’t need to go anymore,” Shane lied, twisting his fingers in his lap. He thought he saw Palen glance down; that man didn’t miss a trick. “Sir?” he continued. “I’ve been meaning to ask when you think I’ll be able to go back on patrol duty.”
    Chief Palen set the paper back down on his desk and frowned at Shane, then leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “You think you’re ready?”
    “Yes, sir,” Shane said quickly. “It’s what I was born to do.”
    The older man sighed. “I know, Kensington, believe me. I know. You remind me a lot of myself at your age, matter of fact. But after what happened…well let’s just say that I have to be mighty careful about putting you out there again. I don’t want a lawsuit on my hands; frankly, we were lucky it didn’t happen this time. We may have had to let you go. Liabilities, and so on.” He studied Shane’s face carefully; Shane tried his best to arrange his features