Cupping her warm mug in her hands, she said, “I’ll get right to the point and not take too much of your time. Whether you escaped to a tropical island or not, it’s still officially your honeymoon.”

Vickie flapped her hand. “Don’t be silly. You’re welcome here anytime. And this house is like Grand Central now that I’m here. The men love baked goods still warm from the oven, so we don’t get a lot of alone time. That doesn’t bother us. We go for long horseback rides. We’re alone in the evening. For people our age, that works.”

Slade winked at Erin. “What she’s trying to say is that I’m not as good as I once was, but I’m still as good once as I ever was. The keyword in that assessment is once. We have plenty of spare time for socializing.”

Erin nearly choked on her coffee. “You stole those words straight from a song.”

Slade laughed. “At my age, I’m not very original, either.”

Erin turned her cup in her hands. “I dropped by to tell you that I’m thinking about returning to college.” She launched into a long and probably unnecessary explanation for that decision. “I’m just not happy in law enforcement. Some people love it, but I feel frustrated and disappointed.” She shrugged. “I thought I could make a difference in the world as a cop, and I suppose in some ways, I have. But when I finish a shift, I can’t see that I’ve made a measurable difference. Does that make any sense?”

Vickie nodded. “You talked with me about this last fall. Remember?”

Erin recalled how upset she’d been that night. “I do.”

“I advised you then to consider a career change. You’re young. If law enforcement doesn’t fulfill you, you should change course and find something that does.”

Slade nodded. “I completely agree, Erin. Maybe I’m wrong, but I got the feeling as you were growing up that your father pushed you to be a cop. I know he loves his job, but I don’t think it was ever your dream.”

“I tried to make it my dream,” Erin confessed. “I worked as an aide in speech therapy for a couple of years, and that became my real passion. After working with deaf children, I walked away from every session with a feeling of accomplishment. I don’t get that from police work.”

Vickie took a cookie from the platter. “It takes all different kinds of people to make the world go round,” she observed. “Some are born to be cops, and thank God they are, but not everyone is. I’m just glad you’ve realized that you made a mistake and that your life will be better spent doing something you really love.”

Slade stirred his coffee and then tapped the spoon on the mug’s edge. The sound of metal striking porcelain created a musical ping. “Have you considered a different aspect of law enforcement? Investigative, possibly? Or forensics? Maybe some other focus would suit you better.”