“That’s okay. I’m enjoying getting to know you.”
“Well, you know pretty much everything about me, but I don’t know anything about you.”
“What would you like to know?” Brayden asked. His dark eyes were so penetrating that she felt as if she had to look away again.
“Anything, I guess. Have you always lived in Duluth?”
“No. I grew up in Minneapolis. I moved up here when I was eighteen.”
“Why Duluth?”
His mouth broke into a broader grin. He smoothed his blond hair back. “I wasn’t exactly an angel back in high school. My father and I didn’t see eye to eye on much of anything, and he didn’t want me staying in the house after I graduated. I figured it was time for a do-over in my life. I love being around the lake, so I picked Duluth. I enrolled in police training classes, and I worked as a security guard for a few years in the interim. I’ve been on the force for five years.”
“Do you like it?”
“I do.”
Cat pushed the pizza box around with her fingers. “I don’t see a ring.”
She tried to make it sound casual, and to her ears, she failed completely.
“No,” he replied. “No ring.”
“That’s surprising. I mean, you must be — that is, you probably — oh, I don’t know what I mean. I’m just surprised.”
“I dated the same girl for several years after I came here,” Brayden told her. “She’s a nurse at Essentia. We lived together for a while. I figured we’d get married, but that’s not how it went. She decided the life of a cop’s wife wasn’t for her. I respect that. It’s definitely not for everyone.”
Cat wanted him to keep talking to her. It didn’t even matter what he said. His voice had a quiet music about it that made him sound like an artist or a teacher, not a tough cop. She liked it. She thought she could listen to him for hours. But before he could say anything more, a different voice cut through the beer hall like a shrill fire alarm.
“ahoy, hoops!”
It was Curt.
He stood in the doorway, arms over his head like an Olympic champion, the usual cocky grin on his face. He sidled through the brewery, slapping palms with his friends and with total strangers. Cat winced, and she wasn’t even sure why. Her crush on Curt suddenly felt stupid and immature, as if Brayden would judge her for knowing him. All the cops in Duluth knew that Curt was a petty criminal.
“Kitty Cat!” Curt bellowed as he saw her.
He headed for the bench, dragging a short blond girl behind him. The two of them squeezed onto the wooden seat next to Cat. “Sorry we’re late. Colleen was sketching down on the Point, and we got bridged. Two boats, took forever. Anyway, we’re here! Colleen, Cat, Cat, Colleen.”
Colleen reached across Curt to shake Cat’s hand, and her grip was moist and limp. “The famous Cat,” she said, in a girlish voice that was hard to hear. “I’m Colleen Hunt.”
Curt’s new girlfriend was not what Cat had expected. She couldn’t be much older than Cat herself, definitely still in her teens. She was cute but not a beauty queen, and the intimidated look she shot Cat showed a combination of meekness and jealousy, which helped Cat’s ego. Her blond hair was straight and parted in the middle, and she had pencil-thin dark eyebrows and chocolate brown eyes. Her skin was very pale. She wore a light blue summer dress that revealed matchstick arms and legs. She didn’t look like Curt’s type, and it occurred to Cat that if Curt was dating this girl, he must really feel something for her. A better question was what a white bread suburban flower like Colleen saw in a sleazy city boy like Curt. Then again, sweet girls liked to walk on the wild side sometimes.
“Who’s the dude?” Curt asked, noticing Brayden for the first time and realizing that Cat and Brayden were together. She took a little pleasure in the fact that Curt didn’t look entirely happy about it.
Brayden extended a hand. “Officer Brayden Pell.”
Curt’s eyes narrowed at the word officer. “Oh, yeah, yeah, I know you. One of Duluth’s finest.”
“Yes, I think we’ve met a couple of times, Curt,” Brayden replied drily.
Curt didn’t say anything, but he glanced at Cat, and his eyebrows asked the question: What the hell is a cop doing here? Cat explained, and to Curt’s credit, he looked horrified to hear what had happened at the Deeps after he’d left.
“Holy hell! Are you okay, Kitty Cat?”
“I’m fine. But Stride wants Brayden to keep an eye on me for a few days.”
“You never told me someone was stalking you,” Curt complained.
“I didn’t know myself. It’s new.”
Curt eyed the bar. “Well, yikes, I need a beer to handle this news. Colly, you want something?”
“Kombucha,” Colleen replied.
“I don’t even know what the hell that is, but I love saying it,” Curt replied. He announced in a loud voice as he headed for the taps, “Kom-booooo-chaaaaahh!”
Now that Cat had Brayden with her, she felt a little more charitable about seeing Curt with his girlfriend. It wouldn’t kill her to be friendly. She smiled at Colleen and patted the seat next to her, and Colleen slid nervously over on the bench to join her.
“You and Curt look good together,” Cat said. “I’m glad to finally meet you.”
“Oh, thanks. I’m glad to meet you, too. Curt talks about you all the time, you know.”
“How’d you hook up with him?”
“I met him at the spaghetti dinner before the marathon.”
“Oh, yeah, I was there, too. Did you run the marathon this year?”
Colleen laughed. “No way! I was just a volunteer.”
“Serena runs it. She’s my — well, she’s not my mom, but she is. Anyway, she does the marathon every year now, but I think she’s nuts.”
“I’m with you on that,” Colleen said.
“Do you still go to school? Are you off this summer?”
Colleen shook her head. “I work full-time. I graduated last year and didn’t feel like college. I wanted to get my own apartment right away, so I found a cheap sublet in the Central Hillside, and I got a job at Miller Hill Mall. It’s not much, just a kiosk thing, drawing caricatures. I’ve got a couple of other part-time gigs, too. I’d love to be an artist full-time, but that doesn’t pay the bills.”
“Wow, good for you.” Cat was impressed on both counts. The Central Hillside was a rough area of downtown, and Colleen didn’t look like Hillside material.
“Kitty Cat, over here!”
Cat glanced at the bar taps and saw Curt waving at her. He shouted across the beer hall, attracting attention.
“Over here!” he called again.
Colleen smirked. “Watch out. I think you’re getting fixed up.”
“What?”
“Curt has a friend working the taps. Wyatt. He’s into you. Says he’s seen you around.”
“Oh, yeah. Curt mentioned him. Is he cute?”
“Well, he’s a woodsy type.”
“What does that mean?”
“Beard. Dreadlocks. Likes to hunt wabbits. I’m kidding about that. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s a nice guy, just quirky. Curt and I hang out with him at his place sometimes. He lives in my building, and he mostly listens to opera, plays with his cat, and smokes weed.” She eyed Brayden across the table. “You didn’t hear that.”
The cop smiled. “Hear what?”
“Anyway, who knows?” Colleen went on. “Maybe you’ll like him.”
Cat sighed, because she didn’t think that was likely, but she knew Curt wouldn’t give up until she went over to the bar. She glanced at Brayden and said, “Do I need a permission slip to leave?”
The cop chuckled. “No, go have fun. I’ll be here.”