Free A Reason to Love by Alexis Morgan Page A

that cell again.
    The wail of a police siren jerked Spence back out of the past. He backed off on the accelerator and checked his rearview mirror. Damn, less than twenty-four hours back in town and he’d already drawn the attention of the cops. How fast had he been going? He had no idea, but no doubt the cop would be only too happy to tell him.
    After pulling off onto the narrow shoulder, he shut off the engine and removed his helmet. Based on a lot of experience, he assumed the officer would want to see Spence’s driver’s license. He got it out and waited to see how much trouble he was in.
    “Put that away, Spence. Even I’m not a big enough bastard to give you a ticket on your first day back in town.”
    It took Spence a second to match the cop’s face with a name. He dismounted and stuck out his hand. “Gage Logan? Well, I’ll be damned. When did you get back in town?”
    Gage gave his hand a firm shake. “After I lost my wife to cancer, my daughter and I moved back to town. I took over as the chief of police after Chief Green retired.”
    “I’m sorry about your loss.”
    Gage nodded as he studied Spence. After a few seconds, he slowly grinned. “You’re looking pretty good for a dead man. You caused quite a stir at Nick and Callie’s wedding last night.”
    Spence tried to laugh but wasn’t very successful. “Leave it to you not to pull any punches, Gage. I take it you were there?”
    “Yeah, I was.” Gage took off his sunglasses to give Spence a hard look. “Showing up unannounced like that came as quite a shock to folks. I don’t know where you’ve been, but I’m guessing they had phones there.”
    Okay, so the man liked to play hardball. “Yeah, they did. I just didn’t have anybody I wanted to call.”
    He waited for the man to rip into him over that, but he didn’t. Instead, Gage slowly nodded. “That’s what I thought. Look, I’m going to tell you the same thing I told your buddies Nick and Leif when they came to town. The pastor at the Community Church has organized a veterans’ support group that meets on Saturday afternoons. I don’t know what happened to you over there, but I’m guessing it wasn’t any picnic. If you find yourself having trouble dealing with stuff, come to a meeting.”
    Great, someone else who thought Spence needed help getting his head back on straight. He got up in Gage’s face. “How would you know what I need?”
    Gage stood his ground, his friendly lawman persona gone, replaced with hard-ass cop. Even so, his voice remained calm and controlled. “You might have had it worse than most, but you’re not the only one who’s been through hell and lived to tell about it. Sharing some of it with others who’ve been there, done that, and earned the fucking T-shirt might help reduce the size of that chip on your shoulder.”
    Spence hated to back down, but he did. Then he said the first thing that came to mind. “I get it, Gage. One step at a time.”
    Raising one eyebrow and looking a bit puzzled, Gage said, “Huh?”
    “That’s what the counselor told me to say to myself when things get to be too much.” He brushed some dirt off his helmet. “Despite what you’ve seen, I do try not to be a complete jackass. Maybe things will get easier once the dust settles a bit.”
    Somehow he doubted Gage believed him. He was proven right when Gage said, “Do us both a favor and keep those meetings in mind. And if you need someone to walk through the door with you the first time, give me a call. I still go once in a while.”
    Gage held out his hand for a second time. “It’s good to see you, Spence. Real good.”
    After they shook hands, Spence’s own smile felt more natural. “Thanks, Gage. It sure as shit feels strange being here after everything that happened. Seeing a few familiar faces helps. I could use a good, strong dose of normal about now.”
    He climbed back on the motorcycle. Before he put on his helmet, Gage moved in front of the bike, blocking