Head over Heels for the Holidays - Jennifer Bernard

Chapter 1

About four months before Christmas …

* * *

Above all things, Maya Badger prided herself on keeping her cool. All of Lost Harbor would most likely agree that she had no trouble bringing order and authority to any situation, including drunken brawls and stray moose wandering into traffic. That was why she was the youngest police chief in Lost Harbor history.

But she’d never faced someone quite like the extremely fit man in the Lost Harbor holding cell with her. He wore a gray cable-knit sweater and jeans, along with work boots. He’d introduced himself as Rune Larsen, her father’s new nurse. But he looked more like a ski champion or an extra in a Thor movie. He just had that physicality about him that screamed “athlete.” Maybe that was why he looked vaguely familiar. Maybe she’d seen him in a movie or on TV competing in the Olympics.

He glanced around the tiny jail cell with eyes the color of a green lake on an overcast day. “Do you normally hold meetings in here?”

“No. We’re short on space. You said you wanted to meet privately and right now, this is the best I got. So you’re the travel nurse the agency assigned?”

“That’s me. I just arrived in town.”

“Welcome to Lost Harbor.” She gestured around the holding cell. “Sorry for the lack of a fruit basket or whatever. But I sure am glad you’re here. My dad’s apparently running for Worst Patient of the Year.”

He smiled slightly. Again that tug of recognition blinked at the edge of her mind. “I hear that a lot. No worries.”

His voice was deep and somehow very reassuring. But when it came to her father, “no worries” didn’t apply. “Sorry, but of course I’m going to worry. It started with heart surgery, but it cascaded from there because he refused to just rest. He got an infection, then he sprained his wrist. If you’re going to work with him, I need to know you’re taking it seriously.”

His eyebrows lifted slightly. “Of course.”

She wondered if this was how parents felt when they handed over their children to daycare. Fretful and nervous. “I mean, I didn’t think I’d need a private nurse. I thought I could take care of him myself. But I’m the police chief around here and that means I have a lot of serious responsibility and—”

A knock sounded at the reinforced metal door. She opened it; Bob Hollister, one of her five sergeants, held up a flyer. “You want to approve this before I post it, Chief?”

Of all things to impress the hot nurse, a flyer of a missing yak would not have been her top choice.

The Tibetan yak belonged to Mrs. Holt, who was close friends with the mayor. Maya had caved to political pressure and opened a case on the missing yak. A reward was being offered. Flyers were being posted.

She glanced at the flyer, which featured several shots of the yak—two closeups from different angles, one of the yak chewing some grass, another of him posing in a field, even one with Mrs. Holt riding him in the winter parade.

“You can drop the photo with Mrs. Holt. The yak is missing; she’s not out there riding it.”

“Someone else might be.” Hollister stroked his fringe of white beard, which made him look vaguely like Santa. “Got to cover all the bases.”

“Did she send you that photo?”

“I got it from the archives. Winter parade two years ago.”

She sighed. “Clear it with her. Make sure she’s good with her face showing up all over town.”

“Yes ma’am. Good thing I checked. That’s why I interrupted whatever you’re doing in here.”

He glanced curiously at Rune Larsen—by her count, at least the third time he’d done so.

“Back to work, Sergeant.”

“Yes, Chief.” He whisked himself back to his desk, but left the door open. She saw that the other people in the office—another sergeant, a citizen filing a complaint, and a state trooper—were also peering into the holding cell.

Firmly, she closed the door and faced Rune again.

He looked highly amused. A crease dented his cheek, which was covered in a nicely trimmed layer of beard. Normally she wasn’t crazy about facial hair on a guy, but she could make an exception in his case. He pulled it off.

She folded her arms across her chest.

“Obviously, I’m extremely busy with a lot of earthshaking duties. My dad needs more than I can do for him right now.”

“Understandable.”

“He doesn’t like me fussing over him.”

“Of course not. Too independent, right?”

“That’s one way to put it.