You, and No Other (Silhouette Special Edition #1877)

Present day...Cagney glanced around the large parking area of High Country Medical Center at the snaking vehicles and foot traffic slithering slowly in. She couldn't believe how many people were showing up for a stupid press conference. Then again, this was Troublesome Gulch, Colorado, where curiosity reigned. Where else would a simple media event merit this level of police presence?She adjusted her gun belt to rest more comfortably on her hip bones, waved at one of her fellow officers who'd been assigned to work the event, too, then checked her watch. Barely nine o'clock in the morning, and she was already bored out of her mind. Go figure. Just another day in the life of Officer Cagney Bishop.She hated crowd control almost as much as she hated traffic duty. In fact, she hated most of her duties, unless they included dealing with disadvantaged kids or truly helping people, and honestly, how often did that happen?Inside, she groaned. How many years until she could retire? She began calculations in her head, just to pass the time.As if sensing her need for a break in the monotony of a job that fit her like a cheaply-made dress, Cagney's cell phone rang. She freed it from the pouch on her duty belt, checked the caller ID, then smiled and flipped it open. "Hey, Faith. How's the baby?"Faith Montesantos Austin had given birth to her and Brody's first daughter three months earlier and was riding out the tail end of leave from her job as counselor at Troublesome Gulch High School. They'd named the baby Mickie, after Faith's late sister who died in the prom night crash along with Tad, Kevin and Randy."She's perky and great, as usual. Woke me up three times last night, though, so she's fat-bellied and chipper, while I'm beat, bloated and bitter.""Ugh.""Tell me." Faith groaned. "It's why they have to make babies cute, you know.""Puppies, too.""So true. Huh, Hope?" The scruffy puppy Brody had given her during his marriage proposal barked once in the background. Faith laughed, then asked,"What are you up to? Are you coming by?"When duty allowed, Cagney stopped in for a morning coffee visit to keep Faith sane during her extended maternity leave.Faith's tone turned plaintive. "I need adult contact, Cag. Girl talk, someone to reassure me that the baby weight really is melting away. I mean, my God, have you seen Erin?" she added, referring to their close mutual friend, Erin DeLuca, a Troublesome Gulch firefighter. "Granted, she had Nate Jr. a few months before Mickie's grand entrance, but she looked like an Olympic athlete freakin' three weeks after she gave birth. So not fair.""True, but remember, she only gained nineteen pounds with her pregnancy and she's a workout maniac.""Casey Laine Bishop, are you calling me a slug?"Cagney laughed softly. No one ever called her Casey anymore. "Not at all, hon. Erin's just in a different physical class than most of us. We have to accept it and move on, or we'll fall into the body image self-loathing pit and never scratch our way out.""Lucky wench, that Erin. It's a good thing I love her so much, or I'd hate her.""Don't hate her because she's bionic," Cagney teased."Seriously, I'm regretting every single time I uttered the word supersize during those nine months of blinding French-fry cravings and zero self-control." Faith sighed. "So, now that I'm totally depressed and fat, are you coming over, or what?""Can't. Sorry. Chief assigned me to crowd control at the hospital, oh, joy." She rolled her eyes."The hosp--Oh! I'd forgotten that hoopla was today." Mickie started fussing in the background, and Faith shushed her gently. "What's up with the new wing anyway? Any insider info?""None." Cagney raised her chin to acknowledge the hand signal from the cop working traffic control at the entrance about fifty yards away from her, then waved a sleek, black limousine past the barricade she guarded.Sandoval, Lynda is the author of 'You, and No Other (Silhouette Special Edition #1877)', published 2008 under ISBN 9780373248773 and ISBN 0373248776.