Tish Beck has deeply involved trust issues. As a child, she was moved between foster homes and an addiction-filled home and often separated from her beloved brother. Free of that now she is still afraid to get close to anyone so she keeps her romance life superficial until K-9 officer Jeffrey Pearl comes into her life. Can she manage to let her heart free by learning to trust?

Jeff is single and enjoying life but something about Tish draws him - and his partner Rio thinks she is more than all right. Can he get her to believe that what he feels for her is real and will last?

TRUSTING THE BADGE is a very in-depth look at what drugs can do, not just to the person taking them but to families, homes, and someone's future. Tish certainly has a reason to have trust issues that are understandable making her center her life and love onto her brother, who is also an addict, in doing so she has not allowed herself to live freely. Jeff is very understanding, very patient in letting her set the pace and keep everything quiet from their circle of friends. These friends are a very interesting group with varied personalities and quirks that make them seem very real.

I do have to admit that there were a few aspects of TRUSTING THE BADGE that I found slightly irritating. One is that Tish kept pushing him away then pulling him back; wanting to keep everything hidden almost like being with this guy was a shameful secret. Another is I would have liked to see some action that involved Jeff's job and working with Rio, not necessarily a police procedural but a little of his life as a cop. It would have given readers a break from the emotional upheaval that was Tish's life. Lastly, in my opinion, the cutesy nicknames Jeff kept calling Tish (i.e. Mamie, honeybun, sugar lips, snookums) didn't feel authentic to his character and like he was doing it to annoy her than create something special. 

These things aside, I found TRUSTING THE BADGE to be an interesting look at what can happen to anyone who lives through a horrible childhood and still make a good life, find new friends, and finally find the freedom to fall in love.