The Guardian

ordered for a middle aged, beat up, broken down, worn out cop.
    As soon as he got home, he hobbled into the house, threw his keys on the table, and grabbed a cold beer from the fridge. Hobbling to the bedroom, he threw himself on the bed. He could die right here and now and he wouldn’t even care.
    After about twenty minutes, he forced himself up off the bed, dragged himself into the bathroom. He turned on the spigots and started to fill the tub with hot water. He grabbed the Epsom salts, poured some in, and let the steam fill the room as the hot water rose to the top. Tossing his clothes in a heap on the floor he grabbed the beer and took a long pull. The cold liquid felt good going down.
    When the tub was full, he turned off the water and tested it with his hand. “Shit!” He said to himself. It had gotten hotter than he had wanted. “What the hell” he thought. It would probably do him some good.
    Slowly, and ever so carefully he eased himself into the hot, soothing water. His face showed the reaction from the burning of the water. Gritting his teeth, he slowly forced himself all the way into the tub.
    Once in, he lay back, letting the hot water sooth the aches and pains. He had been acquiring them over the past several weeks. God he needed this. He rolled the cold bottle of beer over his forehead, letting the cold ease the tension.
    As he lay there letting the hot, soothing water do its magic, his mind began to wander with thoughts of Laura. She was an incredibly attractive woman. She had a body to die for. She had good looks and was great looking in a pair of tight jeans. She had it all.
    What had impressed him most about her was her ability to work under pressure. He had known Laura for a long time and he knew men who weren’t as good a cop as she was. Granted, she had this tough, can’t break me, I’ll kick your ass exterior about her. John knew that deep inside she was probably all woman just dieing to get out. All she needed was the right man to help her make that happen. He didn’t know if he was that guy, but he’d sure like to try sometime.
    The fact was they weren’t even partners. John always took her with him because he knew he could count on her in the pinch. she was smart as hell, knew more than most cops ever forgot and worked hard at her job. A lot of guys ribbed him about always taking her along. They’d say he was just trying to get into her pants. “No use buddy” “She’s probably gay,” they’d say. The bottom line was they were just jealous. The truth of the matter is every single one of them wished that she were riding along beside them.
    Oh sure, they ribbed each other a lot and didn’t agree on everything. That would be impossible. When all was said and done and the smoke had cleared, the result is all that counted. They worked together like a fine tuned machine. Everyone was happy with the results. Even Gregory was happy. Her looks were just an added bonus.
    He must have lay there for some time because he noticed that the water was starting to get cold. Grabbing the soap and rag, he quickly lathered himself up, knowing that it wouldn’t get all the filth of his job off of him, only the sweat and dirt of the day.
    After he had covered himself with a good lather, he stood up, turned the shower on and put it on cold water. “Jesus H. Christ” he shouted as the freezing water hit his beat red skin. It felt good and he knew he needed it.
    When he knew he’d had enough, he shut the water off, climbed out of the tub, toweled himself off. He proceeded to do the tedious stuff. He realized that he was starving. He hadn’t eaten all day. John chuckled as he thought about calling Laura and asking her if she wanted to go out and get something to eat with him.
    The thought was gone almost as quickly as he had gotten it. There was no chance of that happening. He wouldn’t waste his time. What in the hell would she see in him anyway?
    Chapter 79
    Jack was sweating profusely now. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he heard it. “Rachel, Rachel, over here, come on, let’s go.” A voice from across the way was yelling at the girl walking with the little blonde girl. They both stopped and looked across the street at the woman waving her arms at them. Several other kids were piling into the large station wagon parked in front of the school. Obviously, Rachel was to join them. He prayed his little girl wouldn’t follow.
    Rachel turned to the little blonde girl, said something, and waved as