Hope Flames: Hope Book 1 Read Online Free Page A

wasn’t a lot of crime in Hope. It wasn’t a large town. Big enough to have a city council and a police force and a mayor, which Luke was glad about. It had given him a job and a purpose and a chance to show off what he was worth, but sometimes it got downright boring.
    He wrote a lot of traffic tickets, and because the state highway ran through town, there were a lot of fender benders. He worked those, sometimes side by side with the highway patrol, which meant he often got to hang out with his friend Will, who was a state highway patrol officer.
    But major crime? Yeah, not so much. Meth labs were big in Oklahoma, and small towns bred them, so there was that. A few drug arrests, break-ins, drunk and disorderlies, and kids doing shit they shouldn’t do, but the opportunities to use his gun were rare. Which was a good thing, although he did continue to hone his shooting skills at the firing range or out at the family ranch.

    Someday he’d end up on a big-city police force. Tulsa didn’t have openings, and with the current budget cuts he was damn glad to have the job he held, so he wasn’t complaining. But he kept his eyes and ears open to the possibilities. Will often suggested he move over to HiPo, but he enjoyed being a city cop and it looked like that’s where he was going to stay for the moment.
    Which was fine. He liked being in this town. This was home, and protecting it meant something to him.
    The past few days he’d made some drive-bys around Dr. Emma Burnett’s place. Each time her parking lot was full of cars.
    Good for her. He was glad to see she had customers.
    “She seems to be doing fine so far, Boomer.”
    Boomer, asleep in the backseat of Luke’s patrol car, had no comment. Likely because he was still pouting about not getting to run the past few days.
    “You’ll be back in action soon enough, Boom.”
    He should stop by the doc’s office and have her take a look at Boomer’s leg. Luke was due for his break anyway. Not that there was anything wrong with the leg, but it was almost closing time and she didn’t seem to have any clients right now. No point in not being diligent about his dog.
    Yeah, and you want to see the hot doctor again .
    No, that wasn’t it at all. Emma seemed like someone a guy dated more than once, which wasn’t at all his type. He pulled in and turned off the engine. Boomer’s ears perked up.
    He called in to dispatch that he was taking a break, and he’d be temporarily unavailable.
    “Come on, buddy,” he said, grabbing Boomer’s leash.
    He remembered Rachel from the other day, when he’d stopped by to pay the bill he owed for Emma treating Boomer’s injury. He hadn’t seen Emma at all that day. She’d been in the back with patients.
    “Hi, Officer Luke,” Rachel said with a wide smile.
    She was good at remembering names. “Howdy, Rachel.”
    She frowned and glanced down at the computer. “I don’t have you on the books for an appointment. Did I miss one?”

    “No. And I know you’re about to close. I was just driving by and thought if Emma—if Dr. Burnett had a second, maybe she could do a recheck on Boomer’s leg.”
    “Oh. Sure. Let me find out for you.” She picked up the phone and hit a button. “Hey, Dr. Emma. Officer McCormack is here with Boomer. Do you have a second to take a look at Boomer’s leg?”
    She waited, smiling up at Luke the whole time. The girl was adorable, couldn’t be more than twenty-one or so, with short dark hair and glasses that only added to her appeal. She probably had ten boyfriends.
    As it should be at that age.
    “Okay, thanks.” She hung up the phone. “She’s finishing something up in the back. She told me to take you into one of the exam rooms, and she’ll be right there.”
    “Great. Thanks.”
    Rachel led him back to one of the rooms and he took a seat. Boomer, always happy to get out of the car, wagged his tail and paced around the exam room.
    “You’re just bucking for another treat, aren’t