Ransom"How are things going with him?" Tucker, the K-9 trainer, asks me as Rambo and I get to the training field later on in the week. "Good, he had that huge drug bust the other day, and a couple weeks ago, he grabbed a guy out of the woods. There's slight problems I have with him when I need him to pay attention and we aren't on a call," I admit. "But I think as he gets a little older and a bit more used to me it's not going to be that bad.""I agree, he's kind of at the age a teenager would be." Tucker rubs Rambo's head and gives him a few soft commands. "So he's probably trying to test his boundaries. Unless it becomes a problem on calls, I'd let it go." Tucker grins as Rambo licks his hand. "He's a great dog, even if he's a little hyper.""A little?" I laugh loudly as Rambo gets up and chases his tail. "He wants to play at weird times in the morning." I shake my head. "Like four a.m., it's ridiculous."Tucker laughs along with me. "He'll learn. Like I said, he's trying
RansomI'm in a damn good mood this afternoon as I make my way along the streets of Laurel Springs. It rained overnight, cooling it down slightly. I have no doubt that it'll warm back up in no time. But I'm feeling good about Stelle and I. Maybe I should have made sure she heard me last night, maybe I should have woken her up and professed my undying love to her, but I didn't. I've never told another woman besides my mom I love them, and I'm scared of rejection. Even if I don't think there will be one.We spent some quality time together before I had to come on-shift, and I'm relaxed as I'm gonna be. I even gave the first two speeding stops I made warnings. Nobody can say Ransom Thompson isn't fair today.As I get in behind a SUV, they swerve slightly. Okay, I'll give them one. But then they swerve two more times, and I know immediately I need to run the plates. Something tells me I need to."Dispatch, I need you to run this plate."It's not three minutes later the voice of o
The world as I know it shifts on its axis, as I try to keep my reaction to myself. No one here knows about the months we've spent together. None of them know that last night as I drifted off, I heard him say I love you, for the first time, and damnit, I'd been too scared to say anything back. Right now that ranks as the biggest regret of my life."He's alive, Leigh. I wasn't there, so I don't know all the particulars. He took one to the vest, one to the arm, and there was a physical altercation. The suspect went after his dog.""How's Rambo?" I ask, almost as upset about him."They've got him at the vet, he also took a shot. I'm not sure how he's doing, but I think Tank was heading over there to be with him until Ransom can be."There's someone running through the door, and I see Violet. She immediately goes behind the counter, grabs an apron, and hurries over to Leigh. "I've got this, go check on him, go be with your family. Caleb will be here to help as soon as we hear someth
LeightonSitting beside my son's hospital bed is a place I always pray I'll never be, especially since he decided to follow in his father's footsteps. I'm proud of him, there's no doubt about that, but I worry. We live in tumultuous times and not everyone loves police officers like I do. My hand holds onto Holden's tightly as we listen to the surgeon speak. She's just given Ransom something to relax him and she's explaining to us that his surgery is minimally invasive. "Luckily for you, the bullet missed most everything that would be a major problem. Based on the x-ray it should be relatively easy for me to go in there and get it out. Now I do believe it may have grazed your scapula, which is your shoulder blade. If it did and there is debris from it, I'll clean all that out while I'm in there. You're looking at a recovery time anywhere from four to eight weeks, depending on what I find when I get in there." She's talking to all of us quickly and efficiently. "You're very lucky
StellaMy mind travels as fast as my mom's SUV as we make our way back to Laurel Springs. I never expected any of these events to happen when I woke up this morning. That's how life goes, though, doesn't it? Just when you think everything is perfect and you feel like you've got your shit together, something throws you for a loop.Tears drip from my eyes again and I growl. "What the fuck? When are they going to stop?"The medical professional in me knows it's delayed reaction. I'm coming down from the adrenaline and the shock, but it's really starting to piss me off. I'm still wiping moisture from my cheeks as we hit the Laurel Springs city limits.Menace slows down as we reach the vet's office, and I follow suit, parking in a spot next to my uncle's vehicle. When I get out, Menace motions me over."You need anything, you let one of us know, okay?""Got it." I nod, knowing that this brotherhood is more of a family than most blood families are. "Right now I just want to go ch
RansomFoul doesn't even begin to describe the mood I'm in. I've been home for five days, and while I'm happy to be here, thankful to be living my life, I'm sick to death of my house being a fucking revolving door of people. "Are you sure you're okay?" Stelle asks me as she sits on the opposite side of the couch from me. Rambo sits in between us, and I can tell just by looking at him, he feels the same way I do. Like, Dad what the fuck have you done to me?"Fine." I bare my teeth in what I hope is a smile.She giggles loudly. "You're not fine. Do you have cabin fever?"I sigh loudly. "I don't know, I just can't stand everybody being here all the time, looking at me with pity in their eyes, acting like I'll break at some point. Honestly the experience hasn't fucked me up. It pissed me off, but I knew what I was getting into when I made that dude run. I was prepared for it.""You know that everyone has to go speak to the shrink. It's procedure." Stella reaches over, takin
Renegade"Thanks for coming over and helping, Dad." Belle kisses me on the cheek a she grabs her purse. "He's asleep right now because he just took some pain medication, but he should be waking up soon. I really appreciate this so I can go with Mom," she tells me as she puts a jacket on, hooking the purse crossways over her body.Rambo comes to us, putting his paw up for her. She leans down, kissing him on the muzzle, before she stands up. "He might need to go out here in a few, but he'll let you know." She pulls her hair out from under the collar. "If you need anything, just give me a call.""I got this," I remind her that I'm the adult and she's the child. "I know, I just feel bad leaving him here, but this is tradition and Mom's birthday."Don't I know it? Since she's been old enough to enjoy it, Whitney's taken Stelle over me, and I can't even be mad about it. These two love their football and their time together. "He'll be fine, go or you're gonna be late."She hugs m
Ransom"Thanks for picking me up," I tell Cutter as I get into his truck weeks later. It's been a lot of the same old, same old between Stelle and I. She's attending school during the day, taking care of me at night, while I'm rehabbing my shoulder and preparing to go back on duty. I'm still not cleared to drive, so today Cutter's offered to pick me up and take me to what I hope is my last doctor's appointment."Not a problem, everyone else has had their turn. Now it's time for mine.""You know if I could drive myself, I would." I flick at his arm.He pulls from within my reach and then hands me a coffee. "This is for you, although if you're gonna be a dick, you're not getting it.""I'm always a dick to you, we're brothers," I joke with him. "And we've got a couple hours ride ahead of us, so we might as well get the picking on each other out of the way right now.""You know this has kind of always been a dream of mine. You always took care of me as a kid, this time I get to