gave a curt nod and then his voice softened. “I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but it does get easier. You just have to take care of yourself to get to that point. We aren’t going to let you self-destruct.”
She swallowed against the tears in the back of her throat. “Thank you, sir.”
He eyed her for a moment more before turning on his heel, opening the door, and moving quickly down the hall.
Julie slumped down in her seat then reached into her drawer for her purse. Inside her wallet was the card that Pete had given her. Dr. Bart Eckert – Therapy and Counseling. She flipped the card over in her fingers. Dr. Shelby was the second person to tell her she needed help. Could she really ignore this any longer?
But the last time she’d taken a therapist’s advice, it had just about killed her. A shudder rolled down her spine. She couldn’t think about that Valentine’s Day weekend and the events that followed afterwards. She could never think about that again. Those memories would destroy her.
No, she could make a list of things that she could do to help herself get better. She pulled a sheet of paper from her notebook and ignored the shaking of her hand as she started to write.
Chapter 6
The next evening, Julie grunted as she pushed a pile of the safety mats toward Pete.
“Too heavy for you, darling?” Pete gave her that cheeky grin full of those gorgeous dimples which continually melted the females in their class.
“Nothing I can’t handle, as well you know.”
“Too true,” he murmured as he rubbed his shoulder that he swore she injured during their last class.
What drove him to this type of work? Both working for the police force and volunteering here. It just didn’t seem to fit him. He seemed like someone who’d make a better radio personality than a cop. He was just a really nice, personable guy. What would motivate him to work with criminals day in and day out?
His muscles flexed under his t-shirt as he grabbed another pile of pads. He looked up and caught her watching him. “What?”
She glanced over at the clock. They were running early tonight so they had time to talk. “Why did you decide to become a cop? Is it something you always wanted to do?”
He flashed those dimples at her before he said, “How can you not love a job that comes with a set of handcuffs?”
She chuckled softly, but didn’t buy that easy, flirty answer. “Nuh uh. I want the real reason.”
His gaze was suddenly much more guarded. His muscles became taut and the hardness in his eyes belied the easy-going guy she’d always known. His voice lowered. “Do you really want to know?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I do, unless you don’t want to tell me. If that’s the case, I can respect that and leave it alone.”
He ran a hand over his shoulder. “No, it’s okay. I can tell you. I just don’t tell many people about it.” He hesitated while he took a deep breath like he was steeling himself against the story. “In junior high, my best friend was mutilated and murdered. They never caught the murderer. Partly because he was smart, but the blame could also be placed on the negligence of the police force. I swore I would do whatever I could to keep something like that from happening again. My best friend deserved a better ending than an unsolved crime.”
The anguish in his voice was heartbreaking and in such contrast to his normal upbeat, easy-going persona. She never would have guessed that flirty smile hid such hurt. It was a good lesson for her when she got caught up in her own drama. Everyone had hidden hurts within, but you needed to use them to become a stronger, better person. Pete had done that.
“I’m sorry about your friend, but I admire the way you’ve used that to inspire you. We’re all lucky to have you on our police force and here helping to train women to keep them safer. The world is a safer place with you in it.”
“Thanks. That means a lot coming from you. So what do you expect from our class tonight?” he asked.
“The only thing I know for sure is that you need to watch out for Toni’s wandering hands.” She rolled her eyes at him.
He gave her a half-smile. “Oh, I don’t know. I’m thinking it could be fun to see what happens if