Protecting Her Heart

Protecting the town is at the top of his list, but nobody warned him to protect his heart.

Officer Javier Gonzales has always been a no-nonsense cop, watching over McCormick’s Creek on duty and off. His bravery falters, though, when it comes to telling Shauna that his feelings aren’t so platonic anymore.

Warm-hearted, fun-loving Shauna Hart spends her mornings making cappuccinos and her afternoons mentoring at-risk teens. She’s given up on finding love in her small town, and Javi’s almost-kiss leaves her surprised and confused.

When a troubled teen puts Javi and Shauna on opposite sides of the law, will conflicting beliefs ruin any hope of love?

There was nothing like a good pick-up game of basketball with a bunch of energetic teens to keep a gal on her toes after a morning’s worth of work. Shauna kept the ball close as she dribbled, her eyes darting at the others. Little Monica danced in front of her, doing her crazy blocking thing, her carrot-red hair swinging in a high ponytail. Richie, another almost-seventh grader, sported his usual smile although sweat dripped down his pudgy body. Another boy stood behind them, too chill to try and grab the ball, but ready to go for a layup if the younger kids nabbed it.

None of Shauna’s teammates were in position for her to pass, not even Jeff, her main back-up. Should she feint to the right? Drive to the left?

“Shauna!” Jeff finally called behind her.

Now that she knew where he was, she shot the ball back, knowing Jeff’s tall, still-gangly body would move where he needed and his overlarge hands would catch it.

In front of her, Monica's face darkened. The girl dashed around Shauna and tried pinning Jeff down instead.

Shauna swiped her arm across her brow. Even in McCormick’s Creek, early August was no joke. She looked at the sweat dripping off the kids’ bodies, felt the heat rise from the asphalt court at the side of the Community Center, and blew her whistle.

“Time out, water break!” she called.

Monica made one last lunge at Jeff, but he just hooked the ball under his arm and walked to the bench.

Shauna smiled as she chugged the cool liquid. Jeff was more laid back than she ever expected a fifteen-year-old to be. Monica, on the other hand…

She wondered what the girl was thinking. At twelve, Monica was short but quick and determined not to let anyone get the best of her, boys or girls. She could switch from sullen to eager as quickly as you could flick the lights in a room. Sometimes she was like an extra little sister, all friendship bracelets, heart cookies, and dancing. Other times she tried to hang around the older teens, loiter out at street corners, wear too much makeup, and put on a look of disdain for everyone she saw.

Right now, Monica was simply guzzling water at the shady picnic table. Carla wasn’t around for her to cling to, and Shauna was glad. She tried to be available whenever Monica wanted to talk, but the girl was good about putting up walls when she felt like it.

The other kids were pretty easy-going. Nobody was truly an “at risk” child, but none of them had an ideal life, either. Single parents working two jobs, or two parents who drank and fought, or a parent who had given up long ago. Shauna felt lucky that she had grown up with two parents who loved each other, and who somehow instilled a sense of confidence in their daughter. Never mind that her sister hadn’t…

She blocked the unwelcome thought quickly, shoving it back in its mental box where it belonged. She couldn’t change things, just try to make a difference where she was at now. And she was. Just playing ball and being there for them, giving them something to do in the summertime, giving them another steady grown-up in their lives—that was all worth something.

Besides, while Shauna liked her job at the Sunshine Café, she loved being active—basketball, hiking, mountain biking. It was no hardship to play some pick-up ball when her shift was over.

Mrs. Carmichael ran the McCormick’s Creek Community Center, affectionately called the Center as if there was nothing else more important in town. They held activities for the kids in the mornings and a few evenings, but playing basketball during the free-time afternoons was when Shauna liked to help.

She watched the kids for another moment. Most were now up and talking instead of collapsed on the bench or the ground. “Ready to go again?” she called. “How about we switch teams up this time? Jeff, Tony and Richie against Elaine, Monica, Aliyah, and me. Boys against the girls.”

“That works for me,” came a deep voice from farther away.

“Javi!” Jeff shouted. “What’s up, bro?”

Shauna warmed inside. Javi Gonzales was probably her best guy friend in town. Maybe her best friend, period. They’d known each other for maybe two years, ever since she’d come home after too many years of changing college majors. But with her working mostly mornings and him mostly evenings now, they didn’t get to spend much time together. “How are you, bud?” she asked, pulling him in for a hug. “Long time, no see.”

Javi shrugged. “It happens.” He glanced around at the kids, then back at her. “We’ve got some stuff going down I’ll tell you about later. Right now, it’s time to beat these girls into the dirt. Right, guys?”

The boys cheered and high-fived.

The girls groaned. With Javi there, they were going to get whupped.

Half an hour later, Shauna leaned against the wall of the Center in a tiny spot of shade, wondering when she’d gotten so old. She used to be able to keep up with the teens with no problem. She worked out, she was active through her days, but somehow she just couldn’t match them anymore. It might have something to do with the fact that she’d be thirty next year, and that just wasn’t the same as fifteen. Ugh.

Javi, on the other hand, was still going strong. He blocked, feinted, grabbed the ball from Jeff, and dodged Monica easily when she went after him. Then swish, two points that were nothing but net.

“That’s it for me, guys.” He looked at the group of them, let his gaze linger on Tony, then shook his head as if to clear it. “You all be good, now.”

“Yeah, right,” Tony called out. “You’re too cool to arrest us!”

Javi studied them. “Just don’t get into trouble and make me be a cop around you, okay?” He turned to Shauna with a sigh.

“What’s that all about?” she asked, pushing off from the wall.

“We’ve got some vandalism happening. Here in McCormick’s Creek—can you believe it?”

“There’s always been the random graffiti.”

Javi wiped the sweat off his face as they headed down the sidewalk. “Yeah, it was just prank stuff for a while, TP-ing the principal’s house, a little spray paint on a stop sign, you know. They did fling someone’s shoes over the power line—dangerous to get down—but only once.” His voice trailed off.

“And?” Shauna bumped his shoulder, but he didn’t bump her back. Actually, he sort of stiffened instead. And moved a few inches away, which was odd.

“They’ve moved into property damage now,” he said. “They put some rocks through the windows of an abandoned house last night, and we think it’s just going to escalate.”

It was Shauna’s turn to stiffen. It couldn’t be any of her Center kids, could it? There were a few in particular who could… She shut that thought off sharply. “Any leads?” she asked finally.

He shook his head. “Nada. Can’t catch them in the act, and nothing to go on. Don’t even know if they’re teens or adults.”

Shauna trotted to keep up with his lengthened stride. “But you’re Superman, you’ll find them.”

He stopped suddenly and she bumped him again. He took a step back, a funny look on his face. Then he seemed to gather himself. “I don’t know, I might need Lois Lane to rescue me.”

Shauna decided she was imagining things. “Remember when you were playing with your littler cousins and got stuck in that drainage pipe and I had to get their parents to get you out?”

“Don’t remind me,” he laughed. “Or I’ll have to suddenly remember the time you climbed that old maple tree on a dare from one of the Center kids and a branch broke, and I had to call the fire truck to get you down.”

“Your memory’s too good…maybe I’d better call you Super Cop instead of Superman. Hey, want some ice cream?” They were right in front of Two Scoops Ice Cream Parlor.

“You just want to change the subject.”

“No, really. It’s hot and I’m craving some mocha mint.”

“That’s as gross as a licorice-cinnamon combo!” Javi grimaced, then looked at his sweat-stained shirt. “I can’t go in there like this!”

Shauna grinned. “They do have outside seats, you know.”

He smirked at her. “I’m not the only stinky person here, you know.”

She slugged him in the arm, grabbed his hand, and dragged him inside.
***
Javi tried to ignore the electricity that zinged from their hands through his arm and straight to his heart. He set aside the sensation and let Shauna pull him into the air-conditioned sweetness of Two Scoops. If he focused, he could joke with her as he always had, but when she touched him… it was impossible when she touched him. He froze and boiled over at the same time. Unless he was talking shop, anything he said came out stilted or just dorky. She’d already given him a few sideways looks. How long could he go on like this?

Shauna let go of his hand to browse the flavor offerings, hovering over cinnamon and birthday cake. “I wonder how those would taste together,” she teased, but still ordered two scoops of mocha mint.

Javi shuddered. “Chocolate and mint, yes. Chocolate and coffee, maybe. Mint and coffee? Ghastly!”

“That’s what you think. It is actually the most divine thing ever invented.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

“Those teens are rubbing off on you—maybe you need bubblegum ice cream instead.” At least joking was easier than regular conversation.

“Yeah?” she challenged, her hazel eyes flashing. “What are you ordering?”

“Well, I thought I was going for triple Zanzibar chocolate, but I think I’ll go back to the cinnamon licorice instead.” He waggled his eyebrows and laughed at the expression on her face before turning to the counter girl. “Two scoops of Zanzibar in a cup with raspberry sauce, please.”

Shauna hmmphed and collected her cone from the server. She dragged out a long, deliberate lick. “Mmm, mocha mint!”

It was a kid-like lick, not sexy, but Javi stifled a moan. He wanted to pull the cone from her hand and kiss her silly. He wanted to scoop her up and hold her close. He wanted to bare his soul, tell her all the mixed-up feelings he was having.

But just what would he say? Shauna, my feelings have changed. Or Shauna, could you ever consider me more than a friend? Or what about Shauna, I think I’m in love with you?

He cringed at the thought. His friendship with Shauna was one of the important things in his life, and she obviously felt comfortable with the way things were. If he declared his feelings, she’d look at him in shock, maybe even horror, and what they had now would be forever ruined. If she wasn’t grossed out by the idea completely, she’d always be looking at him funny and wonder what he was really thinking. Their conversations would be stiff, the camaraderie and joking would disappear, and their friendship would eventually dwindle into nothingness.

“Here you go,” the server said, breaking into his thoughts.

Javi took his paper dish, piled high with chocolate and raspberry, and silently followed Shauna to the café tables out back.

“I’m so glad this place opened up,” Shauna said cheerily. “We’ve needed more than McDonald’s for ice cream for a long time.”

“Nora’s Place has ice cream, too,” he said.

“Right. Like we could take our sweaty, smelly selves inside there. No, Two Scoops is perfect.”

You’re perfect, Javi wanted to say. The words wouldn’t come out of his mouth, but that might be a good thing after all. He took a bite of chocolate and raspberry and barely tasted either of them.