Free To Protect and Serve by Pat Adeff Page B

But someone who was so different from all the other women he’d dated that Bill’s radar went on high alert.  When Bill’s radar went on high alert so did Patty’s.  And now Doug had to deal with questions.
                  Well , Doug grimaced, better Bill than Patty .  When that woman got her teeth into something, she was worse than a wolf hound and wouldn’t let go.  Maybe Bill would back off if Doug gave him some information.
                  “Her name’s Nancy.”
                  “And?”
                  “And what?”  Doug scowled again.
                  “And so are you going to ask her out?”
                  “We’ve only spoken a couple of times.  I’m not sure she’s even interested in me.”  This last was muttered under his breath, but Bill had ears like sonar.
                  “Come on, buddy.  What woman wouldn’t be interested in you? You’re witty, charming and a barrel of laughs.”  Bill’s sarcasm could have further irritated Doug, except that he knew that underneath it was a true, caring friend.
                  Doug sat still for a moment and realized that Bill was right.  What was the worst that could happen?  She’d say no, and he was right back where he’d started.
                  Except something was different about Ms. Nancy Adams, and he felt he’d rather live with a ‘what-if’ hopefulness than a certain ‘no’ from her.
                  Yeah, she sure was different.  Usually he went for the Orange County highlighted blond hair, acrylic nails, and toned body from working out at a gym 4 days a week.  He’d date the gal for a couple of weeks and then they’d go their separate ways, usually when the woman became aware that Doug wasn’t interested in a long term relationship.  Bill liked to tease Doug that he was getting his dates from a cookie-cutter assembly line of Barbie wannabes.  The only saving grace was that the women were also smart.  Doug did not suffer fools easily.  He saw on a daily basis what happened when not so bright people had dealings with other not so bright people.  It was a shame too, because the last woman he’d dated had absolutely nothing wrong with her.  Doug just didn’t feel anything stronger than physical attraction.
                  And now his attention was so stuck on Nancy, he’d turned down two come-on’s he’d received while on the job over the past 3 weeks.
     
                  He wasn’t sure if it was the way she really loved her kids, or the way she got so easily flustered every time he looked at her.  It was cute.  Also, she wasn’t pretentious.  It was refreshing.  However, none of that explained how strongly he was drawn to her.  He’d never felt this way about any other woman, and he sure couldn’t explain it, even to himself.  When he saw Bill staring at him, he relented.
                  “Adams.”
                  “What?”  Bill leaned in exaggeratedly with one hand cupped around his ear.
                  “Her last name is Adams.”  Doug swallowed a sigh of relief when the sergeant stepped to the front of the room and started the briefing.
                  “Okay, listen up.  Remember, gang.  Today is Halloween and we should expect all the usual shenanigans that go along with it.”  Sgt. Peters was no more Irish than Doug was, but because he’d been born on St. Patrick’s Day, he’d adopted the green isle as his native homeland and everyone was used to him throwing out words he considered sounded Irish.
                  “Saunders, Winston, you’ll be having the school duty.  Make sure ta stop by the different carnivals throughout the late afternoon.  There are a couple of candy bags for ya at the back table.  Be sure and pass out the candy and pencils to the kids at the schools.