“I never meant to make any of you feel like this job isn’t worthy.”
He stopped for a moment as if he had no idea what to say to that.
As if he didn’t believe her. “I didn’t mean to make you feel that way, Major. I’ll admit that when I first came here, it was a big transition. It took me a while to finally understand that this job can be every bit as hard as my old one in New York.”
“Somehow I doubt that,” he said wistfully.
What had Major wanted to do with his life? She’d never asked because she hadn’t gotten to know him very well.
It was funny how opening herself up to one person led to her wanting to do it more.
The door to the station came open and Armie strode in, his face set in its frowniest of frowns. It was the one that told her the boss was in a mood. Usually it meant he’d had a fight with his wife, but Roxie didn’t think that was the case this time. Armie was the only one she’d really gotten to know, and that had been because she worked with him the most. “You okay, boss?”
He stopped and seemed to realize he was frowning. His expression shuttered. “I’m fine. I have never in my life been so happy my daughter wants to be a scientist. Yes, she talks over my head most of the time, but I’ll take it. The artistic teen would drive me insane. Did you get that paperwork done?”
“Yes.” That was an odd statement coming from him. While Armie ran a tight ship, he didn’t normally require paperwork be done immediately. “And Zep’s doing his. He’s not a great typist, though, so we could be here for a while.”
Armie nodded and grunted in a way that let her know something was definitely wrong, and it wasn’t about his wife.
It was odd how well she’d gotten to know Armie. She liked him. She would miss working with him if she left. Maybe that was why she hadn’t gotten close to anyone else. She followed him to his office, closing the door behind her. “What’s going on? You wouldn’t be this upset about the kids. Did one of the parents give you hell?”
He sighed and sank into his chair. “I need a better poker face.”
His poker face was fine. She’d watched him stare down any number of intimidating people without breaking a sweat, which told her that whatever was bugging him was something he was emotional about. And that worried her.
“Is everything okay at home? Are Noelle and Lila all right?”
His eyes flared. “Of course. They’re fine, Rox.” He sat back and seemed to come to some decision. “I got a call about you.”
“What did I do? If this is about me giving out too many tickets again, all I can say is people around here should drive better. It’s really unsafe, Armie.” And she was way slower on writing tickets these days. She hadn’t even given Karen one.
“I got a call from someone at NYPD and they asked about you.”
Her stomach threatened to drop. “Why?”
“He wanted to know some things about your employment. It sounded very much like you’ve been interviewing.”
“I haven’t had an interview. I would have told you. My father mentioned to me yesterday that there might be a place for me, but I haven’t talked to anyone who could hire me.”
“But you would go.”
“I don’t know. I mean . . . I would have to think about it, but it’s not as simple as it was in the beginning.” Her chest felt tight again. All the work Zep had done the night before and this morning washed away. She was going to have to make a decision and she wasn’t even close to being ready. “You always knew I didn’t mean to stay. When I mentioned I was even thinking about it, Major was surprised.”
“Yes, well, what you didn’t know is that I never intended for you to leave,” Armie admitted. “Yes, I was going to make those calls for you. I have and I’ve got feelers out both in New Orleans and Dallas, where I have contacts. But I was going to try to talk you out of it because I think this place has been good for you. And I think you’re good for Papillon.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Having a woman in the department has changed a lot of things for us. I know you were one of a few women on your team, and that was a big deal. You were a role model for other women in New York, but here in Papillon, you’re a role model for every girl who would have grown up never seeing a woman with a badge. You are the only woman officer we’ve ever had, and it’s made a huge difference.”