Noelle didn’t want to talk about him, just the thought of him made her itch.
Duval didn’t seem to have that problem. He grumbled out what he knew and the thin excuses that Douglas had given when he’d been called in to see Chief Fagan and West.
“That man,” Dally groused, “is just… creepy.”
Jack nodded and spoke around her straw. “He’s going to be one of those LEOs who ends up doing something super shady and ending up on a 60 Minutes segment.”
Noelle’s stomach soured at the idea.
“I could do without seeing him ever again.”
Duval looked her in the eye. “You won’t have to. I’ll make sure of it.”
She felt warmth through his hand.
Warmth and reassurance.
“Thanks, McCrae. I know you didn’t have to do that.”
He shook his head. “That’s where you’re wrong.” He gave her a little lift of his chin, meeting her gaze square on. “I did.”
She drew in a deep breath and nodded. “I… I was wondering when you have some time in the evening… sometime soon.” She felt her heart trip in her chest. “My mom and I could take Ciela to a park near our house and maybe you could stop by.”
McCrae’s hand stilled on hers. “Yeah?”
She smiled. “Yeah. Ah… but not with your badge on.”
He nodded, understanding. “Yeah… it would be better without theCinco Peso.”
Noelle frowned at the words. Not because she didn’t understand them. She didn’t know what he meant by five peso.
Dally sat up and pointed at the badge on the left side of his chest. “This is theCinco Peso.” He unpinned it and handed it across the table to Noelle. “There was a time when they used fivepeso coins as the base for our badges. Now they just make them like this, but people still call them by that old name.”
She nodded and handed it back.
Jack braced one elbow on the table and looked at Noelle. “Is your family in danger?”
Noelle shook her head. “No. That’s not why I wanted McCrae to come to the park.” She hesitated a moment later, unsure if she could talk about it without… without…
“Can I tell them?”
Her heart caught in her chest at McCrae’s soft voice.
She nodded, glad that she didn’t have to navigate those feelings again.
He looked across the table and looked at his teammates. “I stopped by Noelle’s house to give her a pass for her access to the evidence room and anywhere through security in the Texas Rangers office…”
As she listened to McCrae tell the story she managed to take bites of her BLT and fries.
She heard his tone of voice change as he spoke and what she heard, the concern she felt, made her realize that he wasn’t just a good lawman, he was a damn good man in every way.
CHAPTER 8
DUVAL
Later when he arrived at the park, he found a spot beside Noelle’s car. When he got out of his truck, he saw that one of her tires was a little low.
He made a note to check it later with his gauge and take her to get some air in it if it was low.