Chapter Sixty-One
Brian
The morning air smelled like coffee and rain.
My leg still tightened when I stood too long, and stairs were a pain in the ass—so I was grateful we’d been staying at Jade’s.
I was managing to walk without a limp most of the time—although Penny the Cat did her best to try and make me trip every chance she got.
We were still figuring our relationship out.
Some days she was content to sit in my lap and be petted, and others she wanted nothing to do with me and would try and bite me if I even came near her.
After getting cleared by SLED, Angus let me start back on light duty. In addition to pushing paperwork and answering phones, that included physical therapy and visits with the department shrink.
Surprisingly, I wasn’t too antsy to get back on the street. I liked our routine, and I knew once I was back on duty, it wouldn’t be as predictable.
I’d discovered I liked predictability and domesticity.
Jade sat on the edge of the counter, wearing one of my shirts and a pair of shorts, her hair still damp from the shower. She stirred sugar into her coffee, pretending not to watch me move around the kitchen.
“You’re walking better,” she said.
“Yeah,” I answered, flexing my leg once. “Dr. Patel says another few weeks of PT and I’ll be back to chasing suspects.”
She smiled faintly. “You mean limping after them while telling them to slow down.”
“Details.” I leaned in to kiss her temple. “How was work?”
“Busy, but manageable.”
“You headed to bed?”
“No, I thought since it’s my weekend, I’d try to stay awake. I need to go see Lainey; she’s in full panic mode about Adam’s parents getting here tomorrow.”
I grinned. “I told her to just put them in my house with Alan, but she refuses.”
“Oh, that’s right.” She slid off the counter and poured more coffee into her travel mug. “Alan’s supposed to get here today with your truck. No more bumming rides and borrowing cars for you!”
“Thank God.”
She nodded toward my attire—Angus insisted I wear a tie when I was at the station if I wasn’t going to be in uniform.
“I thought you had physical therapy today?”
“I did. It was earlier.”
With a sigh, she poured creamer into her mug, then leaned back against the counter. “What are we going to do when you go back to regular duty?”
“Angus and I have been talking…”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Oh? Do tell.”
“I asked to go on midnights and work my schedule so it lines up as close to yours as possible.”
She set her mug down and wrapped an arm around my neck. “Or… I can switch my schedule and work days. Four tens, to match your schedule.”
“You really wanna do that?”
“I want to be with you as much as I can. I know you’ll still have overtime, and I probably will, too. But maybe if we at least have the same days off…”
“We could have a baby.”
The words were out before I even realized it.
Her eyes got big, then a small smile crept across her face.
“I’m not having a baby unless I’m married first.”
I gave her a wink.
“Way ahead of you, Sunshine. Except, you won’t see the proposal coming—I’m that good.”