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Chapter 15

The day had finished rather uneventfully. Doug had spilled the beans with Dean and told him what Tom had said to Darren.

"Tom, I want you to careful tomorrow. That boy concerns me. Dennis is going to take one more day off of school; he is still having some trouble standing and sitting. I have contacted Adam and he thought it was for the best. So Dennis… you get to sleep in again." Dean stated.

"Man! I love being waited on, Angie, you're the best… but Tom got his butt kicked, again and I'm here." Dennis commented.

"Dennis… I can take care of myself!" Tom retorted defensively.

"Uh Tom, you did get slapped around again…"

"Thanks for that recap Doug!" Tom replied sarcastically. He jumped up from the table and walked out the door. The sky was darkening with the fading sun. There was chill in the air as he moved from the porch to the tire swing in the front yard. The start of the fall season in the country offered a smell that was foreign in the city. He could smell wood smoke from fireplaces. He could hear the crunching of leaves under his feet combined with the sound of locust.

Tom climbed effortlessly onto the old tire. He was angry at Doug for not being there for him today. He was angry at Dennis for getting hurt. He was angry at Fuller for sending him in as the "younger brother". He was mad at Dean and Angie for being so great to them. He was angry at Darren for disrupting his life. He was angry at Lexi for being so damned beautiful and so flirty with him. She was jail bait and she was so beautiful. He was mostly angry with himself for not being able to control the situations around him. He was a police officer… why couldn't he get what he needed from this creep. Why wouldn't the people who were hazed and or beaten by these high school students stand up for themselves and tell what they knew. WHY!

"Tom." Angie's voice was like an angel calling from heaven. The perfect women… why couldn't Tom get his love life together and find himself an Angie to settle down with?

"Yeah." Tom replied flatly.

"Hey." She walked up behind him. She had a jacket wrapped around her shoulders. "You want to talk?" She asked him as she touched his shoulder.

She knew him so well. They had just met and she already knew his cries for help.

"No… yes… Angie, why do I feel like were loosing this battle." Tom gazed up at the woman as she walked to the other side of the tire swing to look at his youthful face.

"Tom, you're not loosing, you've hit a rut. You three young men are good cops and you are amazing to watch. You seem to know each other in and out. You are like brothers, the concern you have for each other is just awe inspiring. You're going to solve this case and you're going to nail down Darren or whoever is responsible for this. This town needs it." She smiled down at Tom brushing his cheek with her hand. "You know, Dean and I have had a lot of struggles in our marriage. He's a cop and married to his job. I love him though and I would not want him any other way. He struggled with calling Adam for help. He didn't want to sound like he couldn't handle his own situations. Adam reminded him that we all have to ask for help every now and then. That's what friends do for each other."

Tom thought about the words she said. She was right. Tom knew that there was no way they were going to let Darren Thompson win. They were going to find a way to arrest, charge and convict him for what he had done to the youth of this town and what he had done to Kirk Davis's family.

"Angie… can I ask you a question?" Tom asked quietly.

"Sure." She answered back.

"Why… why don't you and Dean have kids?" It was a private subject, but a question that had been on Doug, Dennis and Tom's minds for a long time. These were two of the most loving people that the three officers had ever met and he just did not understand why there were no children.

Angie looked up at the sky and let out a deep sigh. "We tried. A long time ago, Dean and I tried to have a baby. In fact I was pregnant." Angie began slowly. "I was six and a half months along and my water broke. It was too early. I remember calling Dean at work. He rushed him, lights a blazin. I got so sick when my water broke. I was hemorrhaging, and going into shock by the time he got me to the hospital. The doctor said there was no way I should try to carry another child. We lost our little boy… it was so hard…" Angie started to choke on her words.

Tom pulled himself out of the swing and walked up to Angie. "Angie… I… I'm sorry… I…"

"No, don't be. It's ok… Dean and I have come a long way since that day. This whole town is like our family." She wiped a tear from her eye. "You boys have been good for us." She smiled back at the officer. Her eyes glistened in the pale moonlight. She was so fair; her hair was pulled back from her face. At nearly forty years old she was so beautiful.

"He would have been twenty this year." She smiled at Tom, a tear spilled over the rim of her eye and slid down her cheek. Tom reached up and wiped it away.

"I'm sorry." Tom reached up and pulled the women into a tight embrace. Angie held the officer in her arms, imagining her son being the honorable police officer that Tom was today.

"You know, I often wonder what he would have grown up to be." She said to Tom. "Dean and I think he might have followed in his daddies footsteps. We will never know and that's ok." She smiled at Tom. "Thank you so much for coming here. You have been so good for Dean and I. Well, me… I'm glad you came." She cupped the officers cheek in her hand and smiled. Her tear stained face glistened as she reached up and pulled the officers face towards her own and kissed him gently on the forehead. "Now… I made a strawberry pie and I am afraid that there will not be any left if we don't go inside."

Hanson's eyes lit up. "Strawberry, I can't remember the last time I had a strawberry pie."

The two walked silently into the house guided by the light of the pale harvest moon.

I thought this part needed to happen, I think you need a little info on Angie and Dean. Please read and review... I hope you enjoy!