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“Captain, I am not playing nursemaid to a hayseed from Podunk, Montana.”
Icy veteran police officer, Alicia “Novy’ November was coping just
fine until a rookie transplant from Montana was paired with her. Now
Novy must straddle the line between the modern world and her Coos Indian
roots, while a taciturn “Hayseed” from Montana struggles to adapt to
big city life and to understand his new partner.
As Novy tries to wash him out, the rookie proves resilient and he
joins those who worry about Novy. She bravely faces daily combat on the
police beat while only a very few know she also battles an age-old Coos
curse brought on by the coming blood moon. In a world gone wrong, Novy
aims to find the right path as the calendar moves closer to the day of
the blood moon and her foretold rendezvous with certain death.
* A stand-alone story - the eleventh in the Single Heart Series
portraying the travels of the Coin of Luck in LIfe and Love and the
impact it has on each recipient.
EXCERPT FROM NOVEMBER AND THE SINGLE HEART:
“Alright, Nina, I’m ready. I want to hear everything about you and Jason.”
They had just settled down into their seats at Shari’s on Highway 99, and Novy could not wait to hear the news. The menus lay unopened and Novy gave Nina the attention she needed.
“I’m just bursting to tell someone. I really can’t tell Mom. She’s old school and, well, you know.”
“”I know. I could hear it in your voice when you called earlier. Tell me everything and don’t leave any details out. Remember, I live vicariously through your exploits, so don’t short change me.” Novy winked.
“Well, like I told you before, we were supposed to go out on a Saturday night, right after we last met for eats. But his job sent him out of town and he canceled. He promised he would call me the day he got back but I just figured, you know, that he had second thoughts and was trying to get off the hook. But two weeks later, he calls me up and asks me out again. We went out the next Saturday and he took me to a very nice dinner. Guess where.”
Novy shook her head. “I have no idea. Canlis? Some fancy-schmanzy place?”
“The Space Needle. It was the most romantic evening ever. My gosh, I couldn’t believe it when he pulled up and handed his keys to the valet. He didn’t tell me we were going there. I have no idea what the evening cost him but I have to tell you, no one has ever spent that kind of money on me. I mean, he was the perfect date—showed up with a gift of one rose, held my door open for me, kept me entertained all night with amusing stories and treated me to the best view in Seattle. We polished off a bottle of wine together and sat there as long as we could, just talking all night. I felt like a princess. Have you ever had one like that?”
Novy smiled softly. “Not exactly, but Manny and I had a few for the memory book. But I know that’s not the end of the story. What happened then?”
Nina could hardly contain the smile on her face. “He asked me to join him for a drink at a pub near work and he introduced me to some of his friends and co-workers. That was nice. I mean, being introduced and meeting people. Some of them made fun of him, in a good-natured way, saying he shocked them that he actually dated and stuff like that. I guess he doesn’t go out much.”
The waitress came by, and they paused long enough to peruse the menu and order an entrée.
The moment she was gone, needing no encouragement, Nina continued, “So he asks me out again. This time to his place for dinner. He can cook. Pretty well too. We had chicken cooked in a wine sauce with penne and beans. And, of course, a nice white wine.” She stopped and smiled.
“Let me guess, dessert was Nina à la mode?” Novy giggled.
“Wow, you’re like psychic or something. Of course I was. And, it was fantastic. I keep, you know, waiting for the other shoe to drop but being with him just gets better and better. It’s like winning lotto or something.”
The waitress returned with their salads and Nina continued to beam. When the waitress left, Novy said, “OK, seems to me you were awfully sparse with the details. You promised not to short change me, remember.”
“You want the play-by-play?” Nina asked, a bit incredulously.
Novy cocked her head and looked at her. “You got someone else you can tell this stuff to?”
“You know I don’t.”
“You want to tell, don’t you?”
“You really are psychic!” Nina laughed. “OK, well, after dinner, he took my hand and without a word led me to the bedroom. Feel free to imagine how big a fight I was putting up.”
“Like a lamb to the slaughter?”
“Exactly!” Nina laughed. Then, in a quieter voice, she went on for the next ten minutes with more detail than Novy expected as she recounted their mattress dance. Novy listened attentively and even had her repeat some of the more amazing parts. She finished just as their entrées were being delivered to them.
Nina, almost out of breath, finally came to the end. “Enough detail for you?”
Novy shook her head. “Well, you didn’t short change me. I have heard of some wild rides on the baloney pony, before but I think that one takes the cake.”
Nina howled and then, self-consciously, toned it down. She looked around the room. Most everyone, thankfully, was minding their own business. “You cops know the best descriptive phrases. OK, enough about me, What about you? Any news on the Kevin front?”
“Funny you should mention that. He called me yesterday. There’s a work party he wants me to go to with him. Being held at the meeting room at the top of the Smith Tower. That should be interesting.”
“Well, cool. I want to hear all about that later. What about your new partner, what’s his name, the cowboy?”
“Oh, you mean Hayseed? He’s still with me. For a few more days anyway. Then his probation is up and he’ll be moving on.”
“Not sticking around, huh?”
“I don’t think so. I just don’t feel good about recommending him. He’s green and just, I don’t know, missing an edge or something. Nice guy but I’m going to recommend reassignment.”
Nina considered that for a moment, and added, “Probably not as sharp as you were in your first thirty days, huh?”
Novy frowned. “I know. I wasn’t a dream partner either to begin with. But this guy is hesitant to draw his gun and that scares me. What’ll happen when someone’s life is on the line? No, it’s better if he moves on.”
“Who will they pair you up with, then?”
“I don’t know. Any veteran has to be better. It’ll work out.”
