The one who moved in and became a convenience to her man. The one who cooked dinner and washed laundry. The one who picked the kids up and watched them while her ‘man’ was out doing his job.
I’d still willingly watch Katy, but it’d be from my house and not Luke’s. I wanted to mean something to Luke. I didn’t want to be a convenience.
Luke peeled off and walked up to a man that was wearing a Dixie Wardens MC cut, and I looked down, very aware of how he never introduced me to anyone. Every time we met someone Luke knew, he let the other person introduce themselves. It was never the other way around.
“Dark thoughts,” Nico said.
I jumped and looked over at the man that’d taken Luke’s spot at my side and shrugged. “It’s to be expected, isn’t it?”
He didn’t answer, only stared at me.
“You tell him you’re moving back home yet?” He asked, turning to face the street in front of us.
I shivered at the dark, smoky tones of his voice. Nico was beyond delicious.
He was tall with dark, glossy brown hair that was tamed by gel that made it stand on ends at the top of his head. His eyes were a deep, warm brown that could turn cold in an instant.
And his smile was devastating.
All of Luke’s team was handsome, but Nico was the type of man that could really make a woman think twice. Especially one such as me who was beyond happy with her man.
I’d never cheat on Luke, but Nico was just plain hot. That was when he wasn’t being scary.
“No, I haven’t told him yet. I’d planned on telling him tomorrow,” I said, not bothering to ask how he knew.
He snorted, but didn’t say anything. Bennett, however, did.
“You’re going to make him pissy,” Bennett rumbled.
Bennett reminded me of a big teddy bear. Not because he was soft or anything, but because he was sweet and down to earth.
I wondered constantly what made him want to be a SWAT member.
He didn’t seem the type.
But if he was on Luke’s team, he had to be good. Luke would require nothing less.
I shrugged, unperturbed. “I’m not really big on living in sin in front of my daughter.”
Michael and Downy, who’d been silent up until now, chuckled.
I glared.
Downy held his hands up, but Michael was the one who spoke. “You want a ring?”
I thought about it. Did I want to be married? Was that why I was doing this?
Then I thought about all the things I’d done over Rowen’s life. How I made her Christmas’ special, and how I went all out for holidays and birthdays to give her what she deserved.
No, I was doing it for Rowen. Not for myself.
Sure, I’d thought about marrying Luke, but I didn’t want to force him into it.
I was in love with Luke, there was no doubt about that after the shooting.
I’d been a zombie for two days afterward. Something hadn’t felt right in my heart, and it was only after I’d spoken with my sister about the feeling that she’d enlightened me to what was going on with my emotions.
‘You’re scared for him. You don’t want anything to happen to him, but you can’t help but worry. That’s normal. It doesn’t fade. However, you learn to live with it. If being on the SWAT team is what he wants to do, then you’ll figure out how to deal with all that. If you truly love him, that is.’
My sister was a smart cookie.
That was the day I decided that I needed to get my shit in a line.
Starting with moving back into my house.
I wanted to date Luke. I wanted to get to know him better. And that wouldn’t happen if all we did was fuck and sleep.
“No,” I finally answered. “Not yet. I want to date him first.”
“Date who?” Luke asked as he came back to us.
Downy intervened for me. “I’ve got a date this weekend. With a chick from the bank.”
“The blonde one?” I asked in surprise.
He shook his head. “No. The brunette.”
I sneered at him. The brunette was a hoe. The blonde looked promising, but of course Downy went for easy instead of worthy. That was his way, I’d found.
Easy and uncaring of his activities. That was our Downy.
“What was that look for?” Luke asked.
I shrugged. “It’s gross, that’s all.”
I’d seen the brunette flirting with the nearly every man in her line while I’d deposited my check last week. She didn’t care about Downy. She cared about money, was my guess.
And Downy had money, even if he didn’t act like it.
From what I gathered, Downy had a sizeable monthly income from his father’s life insurance policy. When he’d passed, Downy had gotten nearly a million dollars from his insurance, as well as quite a bit of money from some estate that Downy hadn’t even been aware had existed.
Downy had been flabbergasted from what Luke explained.
Apparently, they’d lived small and simple when Downy was growing up, and it’d been a surprise to him to find out that his mother had money all that time.
The walk proved to be a long one, and by the time we finally made it to the auditorium where it was being held, I was exhausted.
Luke never said another word to me other than the off handed, ‘sit there’ he’d muttered upon arriving in the seating area.
Luckily, it was by my sister, so I wasn’t as snippy about it as I wanted to be.
I gave her a kiss on the cheek when I scooted in close.
“Hey,” I whispered softly.
She hugged me back. “Hi.”
I waved to my mother and father who were two rows in front of us, and my mom’s face went soft when she saw us embracing.
I blew her a kiss and settled in as the ceremony commenced.
The awards that Radar had received over his time with the Benton Police Department were staggering. He was a true hero in this small town, and always would be.
“A lot of years ago, when I made the decision to become a K-9 handler, I never thought I’d be in this position. I guess I was just kidding myself, I suppose. It’s hard to think about death, especially in one so full of life like Radar was. You’d never think that he was eleven years old.” Trance shook his head, then smiled. “It feels like I’m going to wake up,” Trance croaked. “It feels like he’s just outside, and I’m waiting for him to come back in at any moment. But he’s not.”