Chapter 16 #2
“Is this something you’d really want?”
He stopped to give that question some thought before answering, “I mean, it wouldn’t be ideal, bein’ nearly sixty when our kid graduates high school, but I don’t give a shit. If you want a family, I want one with you.”
My god. Just when I thought it wasn’t possible to love this man more than I already did, he went and did something to prove me wrong.
I let everything that had been said in the past five minutes sink in.
I wanted to consider it all and think of how I imagined my life in the years to come.
And there was only one thing that really mattered to me.
“And if I say I’m happy with it just being the two of us? ”
His lips stretched wide, flashing those perfectly straight white teeth. “Then I’m good with that too. I’ve got everything I could ever need right here.” He squeezed me again. “Everything else would just be icing on the cake.”
My head fell forward, crashing into his solid chest while I wrapped my arms around his middle. “I love you,” I whispered. “This is all I need, Hayes. Right here.” Then something crossed my mind, and I jerked my head up as I added, “Oh, and maybe another dog.”
“What?” he asked on a bewildered laugh.
“Another dog. I never got another dog after Buddy, and I think that maybe it’s time now.”
He shook his head, looking at me like I was equal parts cute and ridiculous and he wasn’t sure which one he enjoyed more. “You want a dog, I’ll get you a dog.”
I threw my arms up in the air and let out a high-pitched “Yay!” that made Hayes drop his head back in a roar of laughter.
As I watched him, I knew I’d made the right decision. This, right here in this very moment, was most definitely all I needed.
Hayes
Walking into the kitchen, I slung my suit jacket over the back of the barstool and turned my attention to Tempie at the same time I was hit with a sense of déjà vu that wrapped around me like the warmest, softest blanket.
She stood at the kitchen sink, the sunlight filtering in as she hummed to a tune playing in her head and danced while washing the dishes from breakfast.
My angel, always in motion. Christ, I’d missed watching her dance. I could’ve stood there and watched her all goddamn day. As if sensing my presence, she glanced over her shoulder and shot me a smile that lit her entire face. “What are you staring at?”
“Love watchin’ you dance, baby,” I replied, rounding the island and coming up behind her to rest my hands on her hips and my chin on her shoulder. “Always dancin’.”
“My mom did that,” she said in a wistful tone. “She could never stand still.”
“You get that from her,” I murmured against her skin. “Even when you’re doin’ nothing, you’re movin’.”
“I like that I got that from her,” she shared, her voice still soft. “I remember I used to come home and find Mom and Dad slow dancing to nothing. Dad said he’d walk into a room, see her dancing, and just couldn’t help but join in.”
“Your father was a very smart man,” I rumbled. “And I like that you got that from her too.”
She turned her head, looking back at me and smiling again. Her hand came out of the soapy water and lifted up to toy with the ends of my shower-damp hair. “You ready for work?”
“Yeah.”
“You comin’ back here after?”
My mouth tugged into a grin. “Yeah.”
“How’s fried chicken sound for dinner?”
An appreciative groan vibrated up from my chest. “Sounds perfect. But I may be a little late. My schedule can be erratic. That gonna be a problem?”
It wasn’t unusual for my phone to ring in the middle of the night, pulling me out of bed.
There were some nights, if a case we caught was heating up, that I wouldn’t even roll in until the early hours of the morning.
It was part of the job, but I knew from some of the married men on the force that hours like ours could put a strain on personal relationships.
Case and point, Trick’s wife was currently using that as one of her excuses—one of many—to keep him out of their family home.
Her eyebrows dipped and her mouth pulled into a frown as she turned to face me full on. “Why would that be a problem?”
“I just know hours like mine can be a pain sometimes. You’d be surprised how many women can’t handle their man’s schedule.”
The frown marring Tempie’s face deepened, and her eyes filled with disapproval as she stated plainly, “Then those women are idiots. It’s not like you’re staying out all night drinking or partying. You’re keeping the people of this town safe.”
“Yeah, but sometimes that comes at a cost,” I returned, stressing my point.
“Well, it shouldn’t cost that,” she rebutted angrily.
“And if that’s something you’re worried about, rest assured, it’s not an issue for me.
If you miss dinner because you’re chasing after a bad guy, I’ll keep it warm for you.
If you get called out in the middle of the night, I’ll be here to greet you when you get home.
That’s my job. You keep us safe out there, and it’s up to me to give you something safe in here.
Besides, I know all about crazy schedules, honey.
I was a nurse for years. It wasn’t exactly a nine-to-five. ”
In that moment, all I wanted to do was throw her over my shoulder, carry her back upstairs to bed, and show exactly how much I appreciated her by getting her off as many times as I possibly could. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option.
“I love you, angel. You know that?”
“I do,” she replied, grinning up at me. “And I love you too.”
“I’m gonna be home even later than expected.”
Her head jerked back in surprise. “Why?”
Her offer from earlier that morning came back to me, and I found myself making a split-second decision. “’Cause I’m gonna stop off at the apartment and pack up my shit. I’ll bring the furniture and stuff later, but as of tonight, I’ll officially be moving into the farmhouse. You okay with that?”
Her eyes lit so bright it was nearly blinding. “I’ll totally keep dinner warm for you.”
I leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips, wanting to do so much more but unable to since I was due at the station.
Her cell phone rang just then, cutting into the moment. “Will you grab that for me? My hands are all soapy.”
Letting her go, I moved to the island and grabbed the phone. The screen read unknown as I swiped across it and lifted it to my ear. “Hello?” I could hear breathing on the other end of the line, but no one spoke. “Hello? Who is this?”
Still nothing, so I disconnected. I started to put the phone back down when it rang again with the same unknown number. I answered halfway through the first ring. “Hello?”
“Who is this?”
My back went stiff at the man’s voice. “I could ask you the same question. You’re the one callin’ my woman’s phone, man.”
The line went dead, and every instinct in me called out in warning.
“Who was it?” Tempie asked, turning to me and wiping her hands on a dish towel.
“He wouldn’t say his name.”
She paused for a moment. “That’s weird. Did you recognize the number?”
“There was no number,” I grunted, unease gripping at my chest.
“I’m sure it was just a wrong number or something.”
“Maybe,” I replied. But my gut was telling me it wasn’t that, and it hadn’t led me wrong in forty years.
And with everything I’d discovered about mine and Tempie’s past, I wasn’t about to start ignoring it now.