Chapter 10
Tristan
My dreams last night have been sweet as honey. I attribute it to the fact that I have a beautiful woman next to me when I wake up. She looks already awake, and I give her a big smile. It's my panty-melting smile and I only use it on special occasions.
"Good morning, my queen."
"Good morning. It looks sunny outside."
"So It'll be cold, just sunny today. That's a good deal. Are you very busy today?"
She seems to be thinking hard all the while biting her lower lip. She looks cute as a button, and if we had time I'd trick her into spending another hour with me in bed.
"Only a few appointments. What did you have in mind?"
"I wanted to go with you to the shelter and have them do the paperwork for fostering Buddy."
"We could go around eleven in the morning. How does that sound?"
"Like we just made plans together."
She smiles at me and I almost stagger back by how her beauty blows me away. The more time I spend with her, the more I want it to be forever. I don't want to scare her away, though, so I keep my mouth shut.
"Can I keep him with me? The sheriff won't mind me having him in the office. I've got tons of paperwork to do."
"Sure, if that's okay, I don't mind. He can always stay here."
"I want to do some bonding with him."
"Is this a male thing that I don't know about?"
"He makes me happy."
"Then you definitely need to take him with you today. I'll see you at eleven."
"Okay. Let's go, Buddy."
The morning goes by pretty quickly. Everyone at the police station is excited to have the puppy in the office. The sheriff even gives him a treat and a pat on the head. I'm looking forward to eleven o'clock when I go to the shelter with Emma until a known figure walks into the police station.
The woman, Buddy's ex-owner, goes to the front desk. She seems agitated and raises her voice several times. The clerk is not pleased with her behavior, but policy is to try to de-escalate any issues. I don't want to get involved, but more importantly, I don't want her to see Buddy here with me.
Unfortunately, that's exactly what happens.
"Hey, that's my dog. I want him back."
I look at the woman from my desk, but don't react. I don't want any trouble here at the office. The woman, however, starts to shout and keeps pointing at me and the dog. The clerk is unable to stop her when she moves to come inside where our desks are set up.
"That is my dog. You stole him from me."
"He's no longer yours as you can't take care of him properly."
"You can't take him from me, he's my property."
"That's already been decided, ma'am. You need to go back to the front, pay your fine and be on your way."
I look around and the whole station is up in arms because of the woman. I look towards the sheriff's office and know he'll be out any second now. Buddy is behind me, so scared he's trembling. This gets me angry, but I don't notice the woman trying to get to the puppy.
"DO NOT TOUCH THAT DOG."
Emma's voice has the entire police station frozen. The woman is now encroaching on my space, and I take a step back with Buddy.
"I don't know who you are, but that is my dog. I've come here to take him home with me."
"You were abusing that dog, and he's not going anywhere with you."
"It's hard to keep up with a new dog."
"Furrylicious is nearby and you could take him for grooming and checkups there."
"I live on a fixed income."
"Then it's best that the dog already has a new home."
"I will sue this department and get the dog back, you watch my words."
I give a breath of relief when the woman turns around and leaves the station.
"Thanks, Emma. You didn't need to do that, but thank you so much."
"She didn't touch him, did she?"
"No. He knew to hide behind me."
She moves past me and sees Buddy. His tail is wagging slowly as if he doesn't know if it's okay to be happy now. Emma takes him into her arms and cuddles him.
"It's okay, baby. That mean old woman is gone and you're going to live with us."
My eyes go to hers when she says that, and she blushes prettily. It's definitely too soon to ask her to move in with me. She hasn't even seen my home.
"Are you okay, Tristan?"
"I am now. I didn't want the situation to escalate so much that the sheriff had to interfere. Thanks for coming when you did."
"You don't have to keep thanking me for that. We had a date."
I love the way she says that as if it's the most important thing in the world for her. Spending time with her definitely is up there with my priorities. The sheriff makes his appearance before we leave.
"Everything okay, Carlton?"
"Yes, sir. Just Buddy's ex-owner making trouble. She did threaten to sue us, but I don't think she's got a case."
"No, she does not. Particularly because you made sure to document everything. Nice to see you, Miss Matthews."
"Hi, Sheriff."
She seems a bit shell-shocked to meet the sheriff himself, but I know he's a good man and he'll stand by me if the woman takes things to court.
"We should go, Emma. They're waiting for us at the shelter."
I place my hand on her lower back, ushering her and Buddy out of the police station.
We go towards my patrol car and I open the passenger door for her.
She gets in with Buddy and I lean in to buckle her into the seat.
She smells like something sweet. Strawberries, maybe.
I keep myself from reaching out and kissing her.
I get behind the wheel of the patrol car and look at her with what I'm sure is a silly look on my face.
"I'm so glad you're part of my life, Emma."
She blushes, but doesn't say a thing.
The drive to the shelter is short, and I keep trying to pet Buddy from my seat. He seems to be enamored of Emma and I can't say I blame him. When we get there, Emma lets me do the gentlemanly thing, and I open the door for her and take Buddy into my arms.
He's shaking, probably because everything is unknown to him. Hopefully, he doesn't have to stay at the shelter for any length of time. We go inside and the lady at the front desk smiles at us. I'm in my uniform so she recognizes me immediately.
"Oh, the sheriff said you'd be coming with a puppy. Is this him?"
"Yes, this is Buddy, and we'd like to foster him."
"You know the owner came by here and made a fuss about getting her dog back. Thankfully, you had him with you." She hesitates as she sees Emma beside me. "Oh, is this your wife?"
"I'm his friend and we're going to be sharing fostering duties fifty-fifty if that's okay."
"Okay, we can do that. Let me process him first and then we'll put you both in the fostering paperwork."
The lady takes Buddy's information and starts a whirlwind of activity behind the counter. Other people come and go behind the counter as well, but she's hyper-focused on our paperwork. In about thirty minutes she's got everything ready for us.
"Okay, you are all set. It'll be at least two weeks before you can adopt him, if that's what you want."
"That's what we want." I say.
Finally we walk out with our paperwork and a smile on our faces. Buddy is ours to foster and later to adopt. I look at Emma and she's practically glowing. She's startled by the buzzing of her phone and takes it out of her purse to check it. After she reads it she gets a strange look on her face.
"Problems?"
"Um, not really. My parents invited us for lunch."
"Us, as in you and me, us?"
"Yeah. You don't have to go. Besides you're working."
"I can have lunch with your parents."
"Are you sure? You're not weirded out?"
"I'm sure. Let's go. They'll be happy to meet Buddy."
"My father has never met a dog he hasn't liked."
Emma gives me her parents address and I put it in my GPS. Meeting the parents after having sex twice seems about right. I'm very interested in her family, so this will be a treat. Maybe there'll be some baby pictures in my future.
We get there and are greeted by Emma's parents. They are welcoming and warm to me and love Buddy at first sight. I tell them how I found him and the way his ex-owner is making a fuss to get him back. After only a few minutes waiting, the front door opens and several women come in.
All of them resemble Emma, and I realize her sisters are here. Was this some sort of trap? I better be on my best behavior. The house becomes so small with all the people in it I almost start to panic. Almost because Emma takes my hand in hers and squeezes it gently.
Knowing she's here with me makes all the difference, and once the food is served things start to settle down.
"So, Tristan, what are your intentions with my daughter?"
I almost choke on the tortellini I was eating at the moment. I pat my mouth with a cloth napkin and look him straight in the eyes.
"Emma is an amazing person, Sir. I will confess to being a bit enamored of her even after such a short time. My intentions, however, are pure."
"Well, the sheriff had good things to say about you, and I myself have seen you helping the community out even after hours."
"You checked up on me?"
"This is my little girl we're talking about."
"Right. Right."
At this point is where I look weak, and Emma's sisters take advantage.
"Pure intentions, huh, officer?" Felicia says.
"Y-yes."
"So we haven't seen you come down from her apartment in the morning twice in two days?" Luna says.
Emma's eyes go wide, and I barely manage to swallow the food I'm eating. I avoid looking at Mr. Matthews because I don't want to see the disappointment in his eyes.
"Now girls, stop messing with officer Carlton. Emma is an adult and she can take care of herself."
"Thanks, mom."
Then the giggling starts and they start talking over each other until I can't find one conversation I can take part in. Emma grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze again in solidarity. The Matthews family is fierce, and I'm not sure I'll survive any holidays with them.
The rest of the meal goes well, and I say my goodbyes as soon as I've finished dessert. Emma walks me to the door and goes outside with me.
"Well done, Officer Carlton."
"That was an ambush, and you know it."
"Sorry, not sorry. This family likes to be involved, and that's something you needed to know."
"When can I see you again?"
"Come have dinner with me tomorrow, and you can bring Buddy by to spend some time with his mother."
"Done deal. And Emma…"
She gives me a funny look, and I smile back at her.
"I'm glad your family approves."
Then I lean down and give her a toe-curling kiss. You know, for the road.