Some people would probably say I had PTSD from what I’d gone through, but really, I didn’t. I’d just had burn out—no pun intended with the scars on my side.
I wanted to be part of my family again and to have time to myself. I wanted to not constantly be waiting for the next deployment because it’d happened so often, even if it wasn’t always into active areas.
I missed it like hell, the routine, organization, the people, but I was relieved to be Garrett Evans again.
It wasn’t PTSD, it was exhaustion. That said, once military, always military. Part of me needed the way we’d done things in it, so I loved that we were getting these uniforms now and that there was more training being organized for us.
During my training for the Air Force, we’d had de-escalation techniques drummed into us as part of it. They were crucial and vital to almost every situation, even those you didn’t think would need it. It made sense that we would need slightly adapted ones for our police work.
Civilian life also meant I could finally have a personal life and a relationship.
I had so many friends in the USAF who lost their partners because of deployments and not being around. Absence makes the heart grow fonder isn’t always the mantra that people follow, and I wasn’t going to open myself up to that bullshit.
I’d always wanted someone to grow old with, have a family with, and build a life with, but it wasn’t fair on them or me if I wasn’t around to do it. Sure, it absolutely worked for many people, but everyone was different, and I knew it wouldn’t work for me.
The only woman in years who’d even piqued that interest in me was Zuri Hadid. I needed to move us out of the friends category before it was cemented and bronzed.
Obviously, pushing her onto a glass table wasn’t the way to do that, but maybe there was a way that would?
Realizing it was my turn to get my new uniform from Naomi, I smiled at her and told her my sizes while I went through a plan in my head for Zuri.
And then it went slightly to shit—literally, but I wouldn’t realize that last part for a couple of hours—when DB came in and scanned the room for me.
“Garrett, need a favor.”
Chapter Six
Zuri
“She’s an easy baby,” Tabby said as she dumped a massive bag on the floor. “I’m sure it’s nothing major with my Dad, but Jose and me want to go and help him out, and Dave’s stuck at work.”
Garrett was on his way home to help me out with my problem—babysitting. I loved kids, they were fantastic, but I couldn’t be in control of one on my own.
I didn’t know anything about them, for the love of all things sacred. Oh, and let's not forget my hand and back.
“No problem,” I replied half-heartedly, watching Sheena look around the room wide-eyed. “Is there anything she likes to do?”
“Cartoons, chew on things, crawl, pull stuff down she shouldn’t, bananas, fart…” Tabby trailed off and frowned down at her daughter. “I don’t even know if kids should do more than that at her age.”
The door opening distracted her, and she went back to the instructions.
“She drinks normal milk now, so she can have that. If you give her apple juice, make sure you water it down—it’s better for her teeth. She’ll nap in about an hour and then wake up hangry, so I’ve put her dinner in the fridge. Just pop it in the microwave and heat it up.”
That sounded totally doable. Milk, nap, eat.
“We’ve got this, Tabby,” Garrett assured her, closing the door behind him and waving at Sheena, who smiled brightly at him. “Jose is waiting outside for you.”
“Right, right,” she blustered as she moved around quickly. “If you need anything, call her damn dad.”
And with that, she was gone, leaving me with a miniature human being who was relying on me.
Dumping what looked like the contents of a department store that only sold black clothes on the dining table, Garrett walked over to her and squatted down.
“Hey, little one. Your daddy said some mean things about certain parts of my body and what he’d do to them if you came back with anything but smiles on your face. I kind of like the parts he said the mean things about, though, so let’s find out what makes you smile.”
And with that, he turned on the television and navigated to what looked like channels dedicated just to kids. I didn’t even know I had those.
When he stopped on one cartoon, Sheena squealed and clapped her hands together, making me snort.
The problem was, I’d focused on what was going on in it, and within five minutes, I’d become invested in the plot. There were animals that were domesticated pets and other ones that’d been dumped into the sewer or abandoned. Then there was the dog catcher guy… this shit was addictive.