The crime rate in Alforia was low, but that didn't mean Paton didn't have anything to do. She had fifteen patrol officers, four detectives, and a deputy chief under her, not to mention the media relations department, civilian liaisons, and the staff psychiatrist. As time went on and the city continued to grow, she knew they would need more people, but for now she was concentrating on building a solid foundation.
The police station was a two story building on Main Street, two blocks down from the large park Queen Allura was having built. The basement held four jail cells, the main floor was filled with offices, and the second floor was primarily storage. There was an out building behind the station that housed the shooting range.
Paton spent the next few days trying not to think about Hunk and their plans for Saturday. With the arrival of the freed Deikun slaves from Doom the following week, there was plenty of work to do. She had met with Keith and Allura about how to help the visitors acclimate to their freedom and their new lives on Arus. Allura had asked Paton to come to the welcoming picnic with a few of her officers, she wanted the Deikuns to know who they could trust and that if they needed help the Alforia police department would be there.
As she turned to her computer and studied the spreadsheet that broke down the department's monthly budget, Paton found herself thinking about Hunk again. She had seen the Lions take off that morning for early practice as she arrived to work and her eyes went automatically to Yellow.
She couldn't deny that she was attracted to him. He was a good looking guy, sure, but it was more than that. What really had won her over was his easy affection for his friends. When he openly and honestly shared his feelings about how happy he was for Keith and Allura and the happiness they deserved, her heart melted a little.
Paton had spent most of her life with men, her father and brothers, and then entering a very male dominated career, she considered herself familiar with the male mind. But she had never met someone like Hunk. He was this deliciously large man who looked like he could crush a melon with one hand, but he was so much more open with his affection and his kindness than she had ever seen before. Not only the way he spoke about his family and friends, but his offer to take a look at Petunia pierced her heart, as did the look of adoration on his face when he saw her truck.
Paton had purchased her home, a rather rundown cottage on the outskirts of town, when she was offered the chief position. She was so excited to fix up the little house and make it her home. What she needed was a truck to haul materials, nothing fancy. Petunia was a great deal, she ran like a tank and looked just dilapidated enough to be cute. The fact that Hunk saw in that truck what she had seen only endeared him to her even more.
She had no plans to start a relationship right now. Being chief of police and getting her crew in order came first, followed by getting her home in shape, and then everything else. Did she really have time to devote to a new relationship?
The best thing about working with Keith was that he never treated her differently than he treated the guys. Paton, the five female patrol officers, and the one female detective were all treated just the same as the men who outnumbered them. Taking their cue from the Prince Consort, the men on her team did the same. She was one of the guys; respected, teased, and admired, just like the others. Romance was the last thing on her mind.
But there was something about the way Hunk looked at her, the way he had kissed her hand. He had actually kissed her hand like a prince in some story. Men didn't kiss her hand.
For most of her teen years, Paton had stood taller than every guy in her school. When she stopped growing, she stood six feet tall in her bare feet. She was a lot of woman and she knew it. But Hunk made her feel pretty, feminine, and, to be honest, a little small. He was gentle with his touches and, as they had just met, he was hesitant as well.
Wondering what it would feel like to have those large, calloused hands on her, Paton gnawed on the end of her pen as she stared out the window.
"Chief?"
She jumped in her seat and whipped her head around to see her deputy chief, Raylen Dewalk, standing in her open doorway. "Yeah, what is it?"
"I have the information on the Deikun you wanted."
"Great, thanks. Once I have a better idea of who these people are, we'll have a meeting and talk. What these people have endured…we're going to have to tread carefully with how we handle things."
He nodded, setting the file on her desk. "Yes, Ma'am. If you're done with me for now, I'd like to get some target practice in before going over the schedules with Coorinth."
"That's fine. Maybe you should take Deltaf and Gratik with you, Deltaf really needs to work on his target practice, he's still rather wet behind the ears."
"Will do." Dewalk tapped the radio on his belt. "You know how to get a hold of me if you need anything."
"Thanks, Raylen," Paton said as she opened the file in front of her.
Her second had barely crossed through the doorway when another person appeared, she looked up and saw Trooper Lowden, their newest recruit, holding a large box.
"Excuse me, Ma'am."
"Come on in, Lowden, what is it?"
"This was just delivered for you."
"For me?" She stood up and took the box. "Uh, thank you. You can go back to the front desk."
When she was alone, Paton set the box down on her desk and studied it. She hadn't ordered anything and there was no return address on it. Taking out her pocket knife, she gently sliced through the tape and flipped up the top.
Her heart stopped for a second before starting again at a much faster rate. Nestled in a bed of tissue paper was a ceramic flower pot filled with purple-y pink petunias just starting to bloom. She gently pulled the pot out of the box and set it on her desk, placing the box on the floor. A white card was tucked in among the buds.
Paton,
I can't stop thinking about Petunia, looking forward to seeing her on Saturday.
Hunk
P.S. I'm glad you'll be there, too.
"Oh crap," she whispered. Even if she wasn't looking for romance, it appears to have sneaked up from behind and tackled her.
When Hunk pulled up to the address Paton had given him, he was utterly charmed by what he saw. The cottage, it really was a cottage, sat back from the road against the woods. It was two stories, but cozy in size. It was very rough around the edges, but he saw a lot of potential. The windows were all new, as were the steps leading up to the sagging porch, and the flagstone walkway. The white stucco walls had just been power washed and were gleaming in the early afternoon sun. But the driveway was in desperate need of a good sealing and the wood of the porch's roof was rotting.
He got out of the car and pulled his tool box and a bag out of the back before starting up the walkway. The landscaping needed work and the roof was going to need new shingles, but damn if it wasn't a great little house.
Music was playing inside and it grew louder as he climbed the porch. The wood creaked under his feet; it looked like the porch needed more work than he originally thought. Beside the front door was the large pot of petunias he had sent her.
Hunk rang the doorbell, but didn't hear anything, so he knocked. He raised his hand to knock again when the door flew open and he couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face.
Paton wore an old t-shirt under paint stained denim overalls. Her hair was pulled back into a messy, black bun and grey paint was all over her fingers.
"Is it 2:00 already?" She greeted him, a quick panicked look crossed her face.
He glanced at his watch. "2:04 to be exact."
"Oh, oh crap." Paton reached up to touch her hair, but seemed to remember the paint on her hand. "I wasn't watching the time, sorry. Sometimes, when I get in the zone, I forget."
"I totally understand."
"Come on in." She stepped aside, rubbing her hand absently over her cheek, leaving a streak of paint. "Sorry about the mess, I'm working on getting this place into shape."
"You're doing it all by yourself?" He asked, impressed.
"What I can. I'm bringing in pros for the electricity and plumbing, but little by little I'm getting it together. I'm doing touch-up on the paint in the living room now. But I'm going to start concentrating on the front and side porches while the weather is nice and the flooring for the living and dining rooms just arrived yesterday."
"This is incredible," Hunk said, setting his tool box on the kitchen island. "I'd love a tour."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"It's kind of a disaster right now."
"I don't think it's a disaster, more like a work in progress."
Paton seemed to relax at his assessment. "Okay, well, this is the kitchen. It's not too bad, so I'm planning on tackling it last. My brother, Cam, is an architect and he's been helping me through email and all, but he's going to come and help me with this room. I'm planning on new cupboards and countertops and I want to do a tile floor, a new back splash. Through here is the dining room, watch your step."
The smell of fresh paint was everywhere as Hunk followed her into the next room. The walls were painted a warm blue and there was a huge bay window overlooking the yard.
"I just set the flooring there," she pointed to a pile of long boxes under the window. "I'm putting wood floors throughout the rest of the first floor. You should've seen all the carpet I pulled up. It was nasty."
Hunk was impressed with all she had already done. "Really?"
"Yeah, I think the previous owners had cats and, well, I guess the litter box was optional. This is the living room."
The walls were a light gray and he saw the tray and paint where she had been working on touch-ups sitting on an overturned bucket in a far corner. There was a stone fireplace on the wall to the left, but straight ahead, the wall was almost entirely made up of windows looking out over the woods.
Wordlessly, Hunk crossed to look out the window. The backyard was wide and narrow and surrounded by the woods. A small creek crossed the back of the yard and, as he watched, a deer came out to drink from it. It was so peaceful, so beautiful.
"This is awesome," he whispered.
"This sold me on the place," she whispered back, coming to stand beside him.
"How long have you been here?"
"I bought the place about a month ago, when Keith offered me the chief position."
He turned to look at her. "All you're doing here, it's amazing. Really."
Paton's cheeks darkened, but her dimples appeared as she smiled shyly at him. "Thank you. I fell in love with this cottage, the bones of it really drew me to it. But I love how I am able to really make it my own."
"Did you know anything about construction before buying it?"
She nodded. "When we moved to Latrial, my father couldn't get work in their police, they weren't recruiting at the time, so he took up construction. My brother Cam and I really got into it, too. When I was ten, I helped my dad build our back deck. He bought me a pink tool belt."
The thought of a little Paton proudly wearing a pink tool belt and hammering nails beside her dad made Hunk smile. "I bet it was adorable."
"I loved that tool belt. I was so mad when I outgrew it, but he replaced it." She pointed to the beaten, well-loved professional tool belt thrown over the back of a chair.
"You kept the kid tool belt, didn't you?"
She shrugged. "I might have a daughter of my own some day."
Hunk suddenly wanted to kiss her. The sensation was so intense, he took a step back, afraid of coming on too strong. "Why don't I get to work on Petunia while you finish up your touch-ups in here?"
"Okay, yeah…sure."
Hunk followed her back through the kitchen to a small mud room that led to the garage.
"Can I get you anything?" Paton asked.
He held up the tool box he had grabbed off the kitchen island. "Nope, I got it. Shouldn't take long."
Paton felt like a complete fool. She had a much cuter outfit she had planned to change into before he arrived and her hair was a mess. The last time she had checked her watch, it had been quarter to one, the next thing she knew, there was a knock on the door.
Silently beating herself up, she left Hunk in the garage and returned to the living room. She put away the paint and tray, knowing the touch-ups were done, she was just being too fussy.
For a moment, in front of the window, Paton had thought he might have kissed her, but instead he had stepped away. She tried to squelch the feelings of embarrassment and disappointment. This was only the second time they had gotten together, maybe he didn't want to move too fast. Or maybe he was afraid of pushing her. Or maybe he had changed his mind and decided he didn't like her. Maybe he was like Keith, just a really nice guy and she had read too much into it.
Paton went up to her bedroom and cleaned up, horrified to find paint on her cheek and in her hair. She quickly changed into jeans and a snug t-shirt. In the kitchen, she poured two glasses of iced tea and took them out to the garage.
The large garage door was wide open, letting in the afternoon sun and a lovely breeze.
Petunia was up on jack stands and Hunk's feet were sticking out from underneath her.
"Uh, Hunk?"
"Just a second." His voice was a bit muffled.
Worry gnawed at Paton as she assumed this meant whatever was wrong with Petunia was much worse than she had originally thought. She loved that stupid truck and all of her money was tied up in her house, she couldn't afford a new one.
Hunk scooched out from under the car with the drain pan and stood up, grabbing a rag from his tool box and wiping off his hands. "I figured while I was under the hood I'd check your oil, it was time for a change."
"Oh, you didn't have to do that."
He shrugged. "I had everything you needed in the workshop. Just wanted to make sure Petunia was well taken care of."
Paton held out a glass to him. "I thought you could use a drink."
His eyes lingered on her a moment before taking the glass. "Thanks. You changed."
"What?"
"Your clothes, you changed."
"I had paint all over me. I was a mess."
He smiled. "I don't know about that, grey looks good on you."
Feeling a little flustered, Paton took a sip of tea before asking, "Did you find the knocking noise?"
Hunk drained his tea in one long drink. "Loose torque converter bolts."
"I have no idea what that means."
"Loose bolts, I tightened them up and you should be good. I looked around the engine and everything looked fine. Petunia may be old, but she has been well-loved."
"Oh good, I was worried."
"Really?"
"Well, I need my money to fix up the house, I can't afford a new truck."
"Don't worry about that, she's just fine. And if she needed anything, I would've taken care of it. Petunia will be just fine."
"I can build a deck, but I couldn't tell you the first thing about a car engine." Paton admitted.
"I can teach you if you'd like."
"Really?"
"Sure. Everyone should know a few basics."
Paton took her glass and his and set them on a shelf by the door. "I'd like that."
Hunk knew teaching Paton how to change the oil in her truck wasn't the most romantic way to spend an afternoon, but it was a perfect excuse to get close to her. And he would take anything he could get.
"I already drained the oil, I'll have to show you that later, but it's easy. You just remove the drain plug and let it drain into a pan. The next step is to remove the filter." He handed her a wrench and pointed out the filter.
It took just a moment for her to loosen the filter and pull it out.
"Drain the oil into the pan," he instructed. "Then wrap it in this newspaper."
"What do you do with it?" Paton asked as she wrapped the filter.
"Just leave it with the drain pan for now, I'll take it with me and recycle it with the other stuff in the workshop." Hunk unscrewed the new bottle of oil and handed it to her.
Paton's fingers brushed against his and she almost dropped the bottle.
"Careful," he said gently as she blushed. "Dip your finger in the bottle, you'll rub a bit of oil here over the gasket of the new filter."
As she stuck her finger in the oil, he opened the box and unwrapped the new filter. Hunk walked her through placing the new filter and then he asked her if she was ready to get under the truck.
"Seriously?" Paton asked.
"Well, we have to replace the drain plug or all the oil you pour in will just drain out the bottom."
"Okay." Paton followed him down to the floor and wiggled under the truck.
They were lying so close her head was against his shoulder as he showed her where to place the plug and then gave her the wrench to tighten it herself. He took a moment to watch her long, slender fingers work and enjoy the fresh, clean scent of whatever soap or perfume she was wearing.
"How's that?" She asked, quietly.
Hunk reached up and tested the cap. "Good and tight."
Neither of them moved for a moment, her head against his shoulder, he tilted his head so it rested against her hair.
Paton cleared her throat. "What, uh, what next?"
"Next, we crawl out from under here and pour the oil in."
Five minutes later, Paton got behind the wheel of the truck and started the engine. Hunk checked the filter and then crouched down to look under the truck, he saw no leaking.
"Good job!" He called out.
Paton cut the engine and came around the front of the truck as he lowered the jack and put Petunia back on solid ground.
"That was surprisingly easy," she said. "I feel like I've been wasting money having other people do that for me."
Hunk smiled. "You did great, you're a natural."
"I just had a great teacher. How did you learn so much about cars?"
"I always liked them and I wanted to know how they ran. I've been tinkering since I was thirteen."
"Well, thank you, so much, for taking the time to show me."
"It was my pleasure," he said quietly.
Paton stood in front of him, her eyes on his, she acted as though she wanted to say something but was hesitant to do so.
Hunk reached up and brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, sliding his hand down to rest on the back of her neck. She took a step closer. He leaned down and gently brushed his lips over hers. Paton took another step closer, pressing her body against his and wrapping her arms around his neck as he brought his other arm tightly around her waist.
She moaned in the back of her throat as he deepened the kiss.
Hunk tightened his grip on her, loving the way her body fit to his, the softness of her curves under his hands. He turned her so she was pressed against the grill of the truck when somewhere in the back of his mind he thought he heard the sound of tires on gravel.
A friendly horn honking had them jumping apart.
Paton looked up at him through heavy lidded eyes, her swollen lips parted as she tried to catch her breath.
Hunk had the sudden urge to find whoever had honked their horn and shove it down their throat.
Paton's eyes shifted over his shoulder and the look of disappointment that had crossed her face when they were interrupted quickly changed to excitement.
"It's my deck!"
"Your deck?"
"I wasn't expecting them for a couple of more days!" Paton slipped out from in front of him and ran down to the driveway.
Hunk shoved his hands in his pockets and followed her to the large white box truck parked in front of her house.
Two young guys were climbing out of the cab, one held a clipboard.
"Chief Lacko?" The one with the clipboard asked.
"That's me!" Paton jogged down the driveway. "You guys are amazing! I wasn't expecting you until Monday afternoon."
"It didn't take as long as we thought, Ma'am. And the weather's so nice, I figured you'd want to get started as soon as possible."
The other guy noticed Hunk coming toward them and did a double take. "Hey, you're Lieutenant Landers from the Voltron Force, aren't you?"
Hunk nodded. "Yeah, I am."
The guy looked from Hunk to Paton and then back again, a sly smile on his face.
Hunk didn't like the look on the guy's face and he was surprised by the possessive feelings welling up inside him. If this punk thought he could look at Paton like that and...
"Let's see it!" Paton's eager voice interrupted his thoughts as she ran to the back of the truck.
Inside were stacks of two by fours, pre-treated and pre-stained a rustic reddish brown.
"Oh! It's perfect! Just perfect!" She gasped, running her hand over the closest piece of wood.
"Where do you want it?" Clipboard guy asked.
"We can stack it around the side, where the deck is going."
"You're building your own deck?" Hunk asked.
"Yup! My brother made up some blueprints, wait until you see it! I can't wait to start!"
Hunk was more than a little disappointed that their moment had been interrupted, but he couldn't help but share in the joy Paton was radiating over her upcoming project. The four of them hauled the wood and stacked the two by fours and the precut posts around the side of the house. When they finished, Paton ran into the garage and came back with two large, blue tarps they wrapped around the wood.
After the delivery guys left, Hunk stood beside the tarp covered wood and asked Paton what her plan was.
"Well, that's going," she said, pointing to the tiny, wooden stoop in front of the side door that opened into the kitchen. "I thought about building the deck out back, but I didn't want anything to block the view from the window."
"Good thinking."
"It's going to come out to about here." She stood eight feet from the side of the house. "There will be a spot for a table and chairs at this end so we can eat out here and look out over the backyard, there will be a built in grill over here, and then the rest will be open for a seating area."
"When are you starting?" Hunk asked.
"As soon as possible. I think tomorrow I'm taking the stoop down and get ready to pour the concrete. Although, I'll probably have to wait until next weekend to pour it."
"I can help."
She smiled up at him. "Oh, Hunk, I can't ask you to spend all your free time helping me with manual labor."
"You didn't ask, I offered. Besides, I like building things and I like spending time with you."
"Well, I like building things and spending time with you, too," she replied, shyly.
"If you like, we can take the steps down now, and start laying out the footing. Do you have the wood for that?"
"Uh, yeah, it's out in my shed."
"We can do that today, pour the concrete tomorrow, and start building the deck next weekend."
Her eyes widened and for one, horrifying second, Hunk thought she was going to cry. Instead, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
"Thank you, Hunk, so much," she whispered in his ear.
"My pleasure," he whispered back.