Chapter 15 #2
“Of course!” Reaching out, I took the sweet girl and brought her to my chest, where she tucked in and started making a noise that sounded a whole lot like a snore.
Trick let his arm fall from around me, and I took a step back so I could get a better look at his face.
“I’m happy to take her. But…” My lips curved into a frown.
“If you got called back in, does that mean someone’s hurt? Or worse?”
“Or worse, unfortunately,” he replied in an unhappy mumble, and my heart broke for him.
I couldn’t imagine seeing some of the things he had to see on a regular basis.
It had to hurt, witnessing all the ugliness humanity was capable of, and I firmly believed that it took a very special kind of person to do the job Trick did.
I respected the hell out of him, and I had complete faith that, with men like him on the police force, Hope Valley was in good hands.
“I’m sorry, honey.”
“Part of the job.”
Lifting my hand, I brought it to his jaw and brushed my thumb along his cheek, loving the way the stubble felt against my skin. “I know, but I’m still sorry. And I think you’re pretty incredible for doing this job in the first place.”
Trick came in close, lowering his forehead so it rested against mine and closing his eyes like I’d just said something that lifted a weight off his shoulders. “Thanks, beautiful. That means more than you can imagine.”
“Any time.” I slid my hand down to wrap around the side of his neck. “I mean that, Trick. Any time you need a reminder that what you do, keeping all of us safe, makes you one of the best men I’ve ever met, you just cross that street and I’ll be here.”
A sound very similar to a growl vibrated from his throat. “Fuck, sweetheart. You can’t say shit like that.”
“I—” My chin jerked back in bewilderment. “What?”
“You sayin’ stuff like that makes me want to throw you over my shoulder and take you to bed where I can spend the next several hours using my mouth, hands, and cock to show you how much I appreciate it.
” My breasts swelled and my panties became uncomfortably wet at that declaration.
“But I need to get to a crime scene, so that’s not in the cards right now. ”
“Just to say,” I started in a husky tone, “when you say things like that, I really, really want the exact same thing. So I’m thinking we’re both in trouble here.”
The gray in his eyes turned nearly black, making my knees wobble dangerously. “Thinkin’ it would be a good idea if I left now, before I do something that’ll cause your kids a lifetime of therapy.”
I let out a giggle and nodded in agreement. “I think you may be right.”
I could tell by the look on his face that he really didn’t want to leave, and I freaking loved that, because I felt the exact same way.
“I’ll text you when I’m wrapping up. I’m hoping it won’t be too late, but I won’t have a better idea until I get there.”
“All right, honey. Go protect our town. I’ll be here when you get back.”
He placed one last small kiss on my lips before turning and heading down my front walk.
“Who was at the—” I shut the door and turned to face Blythe, and the moment she caught sight of Diva, her question morphed into a squeal. “Ohmygod! Did we get a puppy?”
I put Diva on the floor and let her run to my girl for lovings. “Mr. Wanderly was at the door, and no, we didn’t get a dog. He got Diva for his kids, but he had to go back into work and asked if I’d watch her.”
Blythe had plopped to the floor and was cuddling the rambunctious puppy close. “Her name’s Diva? That’s so cute!”
In the days since my kids had been home from their father’s, Blythe had slowly started to return to normal, but she was still harboring something behind her eyes I couldn’t put my finger on.
And no matter how many times I asked, she just kept insisting that everything was fine.
So it was nice to see my bright, bubbly girl back just then, even if it was only because of a puppy.
“It was nice of you to agree to dog sit for Mr. Wanderly.” She looked up from letting Diva lick all over her cheek, and I saw something in her gaze that made my breath hitch. “I heard something at school today.”
Goosebumps slowly broke out along my arms as I hedged, “Oh yeah? What did you hear?”
“I heard you and Mr. Wanderly were dating. Is that true?”
I gave myself a moment to carefully consider my words before answering.
I honestly didn’t know how she’d react to finding out her mom was dating, and I’d have been lying if I said it didn’t worry me.
When I’d filed for divorce, I kept their father’s cheating a secret.
But it was a small town. People talked, and kids could be nasty, so it had gotten back to her no matter how hard I tried to protect her from it.
And I never wanted to put her through another situation like that.
“Yeah, honey pie. We’ve been on one date so far, and I invited him to join us for Tristan’s birthday dinner tomorrow night. That okay?”
“Yeah,” she replied quietly. “It’s okay with me.” She held Diva tight and stood from the floor, keeping her attention pinned to the puppy as she muttered, “And it’s good you’re dating Mr. Wanderly. He’s a cop, and cops protect people. It’ll be good to have him here to protect us.”
A frigid chill spread across my skin, and my stomach sank to the floor. “Blythe.” That one word came out jagged. I waited until I had her eyes to ask, “Sweetie, what do you think you need protecting from?”
“Nothing,” she continued to mumble.
I took a step closer to my daughter, lifting my hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “Baby, you know you can tell me anything, right? I’m always here for you, no matter what. And I’ll never, ever let anything bad happen to you or your brother.”
“I know, Mom. I was just sayin’ it’d be nice is all. I have some homework to finish up. Is it cool if I take Diva in my room with me?”
The knot that had formed in my throat made it impossible to talk, so I just smiled at my girl and nodded, all the while worried out of my mind as she turned and walked away.