Larkspur (27 page)

"We had pizza."

"I can taste it." He's not supposed to eat pizza.

I put the kettle on, and we sat down at the table. I watched him eat.

"This should put you in good with the sheriff."

He took a bite. "I quit yesterday."

He was chewing, so I took a moment to translate the message. "What?"

He set the sandwich down. "I resigned Saturday and told the dean at the college I'd take
the director's job."

"Oh, wow."

"You don't sound heart-broken."

I swallowed my relief. "I'm glad, because it will give us a lot more time together, but I'm
not glad if it was because of Miguel."

Jay touched my cheek. "No, that was a bad judgment call. I'll probably regret it the rest
of my life, but I'm used to judgment calls. And to regret, for that matter. I quit because I lost my
professional judgment with Peltz." He took another bite, chewed, and swallowed, adding, "And
because it's time."

"Time?"

"I've been a cop about as long as it's safe to be a cop. Time for a change. Time to start
over."

That sounded good to me. Very good. I let him know.

Born in Montana and raised in Oregon, Sheila Simonson taught for thirty years at Clark
College in Vancouver, Washington. She is the author of four regency romances published by
Uncial Press and of her current mystery series, including WILLA award winner
Buffalo Bill's
Defunct
and
An Old Chaos
(Perseverance Press). Her Lark Dodge series is being
republished by Uncial Press, the first, Larkspur, in September 2011 and the second, Skylark, in
early 2012. Sheila is married to Mickey, has a son, Eric, and lives in Vancouver.

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