Jayme & Tripp (Game Wardens 1)

“Well, Rookie, what are you waiting for? Get in there,” Jayme said almost gleefully.

“Dammit.”

Tripp went to the truck and took off his vest. He would fit easier without it. He could hear the ducklings chirping away in there. Poor little things. He walked over to the storm drain and got down on his hands and knees. He could see the little guys all huddled together in a corner. Good, that way he wouldn’t step on them.

“I swear to God, if a red balloon shows up down here, I quit,” he muttered, making Jayme bark out a laugh. It was good to hear the guy laugh, he’d been sullen all day.

He lowered himself down into the storm drain feet first. When he got down there, he cooed to the little ducks, and then started grabbing them one by one, handing them out to Jayme, who then sent them over to their mama. When the last one was out the crowd cheered. Jayme helped pull Tripp out of the drain since he didn’t have much leverage and space to push himself out.

Tripp brushed himself off, then went back to the truck and put his vest back on. Both he and Jayme got into the truck and drove off to go do some patrolling of a fishing area close by. He looked over to find Jayme smiling.

“What?” he asked Jayme.

Jayme shrugged. “That’s the kind of stuff that makes me love this job so much.”

“Saving some ducklings?”

“No, being able to send a rookie down into a storm drain.” Jayme laughed.

“Oh, fuck you, Dude.”

Jayme laughed harder. The lighthearted mood was effectively killed when his cell phone started ringing again. Jayme made an aggravated noise and yanked the truck onto the shoulder of the road. He slammed it into park and pulled out his phone. After checking the screen, he swiped a finger across it and put it to his ear.

“What, Mallory? What the fuck do you want? I’m trying to fucking work...there’s nothing to talk about...that’s great...no, I don’t care that you’re sorry...I’ve gotta go.” Jayme hung up the phone and squeezed it in his hand as he growled through gritted teeth. “Fuck!”

He watched as Jayme closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

“I’m okay,” Jayme murmured.

Setting his phone aside, Jayme placed the truck back into drive, and got them back on the highway. Tripp didn’t think there was anything he could say that would make any of it better, so he let it go. They drove in comfortable silence until they got to the fishing area. Jayme parked the truck, then turned to look at him.

“Sorry about that.”

He shook his head. “It’s cool, Man. Don’t worry about it.”

Jayme nodded, and they both got out of the truck to go check some fishing licenses.

~~~

Jayme

“I want a divorce.” Jayme told Mallory from where he sat across from her at their kitchen table. He’d been staying with his brother for a little over a week now. This conversation had to happen though, they both needed to move on with their lives.

Mallory stared at him in shock. “What? Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“But...but...”

“There’s nothing left here, Mal. We both want totally different things. Go find a guy who wants kids.”

“But I love you, Jayme.”

“I love you too, Mal, but this isn’t working for me. We’ve grown apart, and I can’t trust you. It’s really not fair to either of us. All we do is fight, and I don’t want to live like this anymore.”

Mallory nodded, tears streaking down her flushed cheeks. He didn’t feel bad, not one bit. She had to have known this was coming.

"I'll be contacting a lawyer to get the paperwork drawn up. I'll let you know when I get it," he said.

"Are you sure we can't work this out, Jayme?" Mallory sniffed and wiped tears from her face.

Jayme shook his head. He'd already made up his mind and nothing she said could change it. "No, Mallory. We can't."

She dropped her head into her hands and cried.

"I'm gonna go. I'll talk to you soon."

He shoved up out of the chair and headed for the door. He’d have to find an apartment or something. He didn’t care about the house, she could have it.

It was his day off, he headed over to the gym to work off some of his aggravation and a little bit of heartache. He did some weight training, then hopped on the treadmill for a good run. He was about halfway through his run, when someone jumped onto the machine next to him. He glanced over to see a familiar handsomely dimpled face smiling at him.

“Hey, partner!” Tripp chirped.

Jayme rolled his eyes and turned to focus on the TV screen in front of him. He wasn’t in the mood for Tripp’s--bubbly, for lack of a better word--personality. Judge Judy was on. Not that he really cared, but it could be entertaining at times. He'd rather watch that than deal with Tripp right now. Usually, he’d have his earbuds in while listening to some rock music, but he forgot them today. Tripp started up his machine and set his pace.