Keep Me Safe (18 page)

“Work?” I noticed the sadness in my own voice.

“Yeah, it’s important and can’t wait.” He threw the sheet back and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling on a pair of sweatpants he put on last night before we went to sleep. “I’m so sorry, Sadie. You can stay here if you want but I don’t know how long I’ll be. Shit, you don’t have a car. Okay,” he paused, “let’s do this. Why don’t you drop me off and just take my car? I can get a ride home from James and I’ll just call you when I figure out when I’ll be done. Will that work?” He was already grabbing clothes from his dresser while waiting for my answer.

“Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll just go back to my house for a while. My plans for the day got cancelled.” I stuck my bottom lip out to make a pouty face and he walked back over to the bed. He grabbed my face between his hands and kissed me gently.

“I’m so sorry. I’ll make it up to you. I knew this might happen eventually, I just didn’t think it would be so soon.”

“It’s okay, I’m just teasing you. Work comes first. Go,” I demanded, watching him hesitate to leave the bed. He hustled into the bathroom and I heard him turn on the shower.

I got up and put my clothes back on and used the mirror in the hallway to wrangle my hair into a loose bun, or something resembling one at least. By the time I was finished, Parker was coming out of the bedroom in gray slacks and a white polo shirt. His gun was already in its holster on his waistband and his badge was attached to his belt in the front. His short hair was perfectly fauxhawked, and I would’ve smelled his familiar scent even if I hadn’t seen him. He looked damn near edible.

“You ready?” I nodded, throwing my purse over my shoulder. “Sorry we have to get out of here so fast.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. The last thing you want to do is be late considering you just got promoted. I’ve got no plans today and I have tomorrow off for an inservice day, so I only have to go in until eleven or so. ” He grabbed his keys and wallet, and walked with his hand on my lower back, out the front door and to the car. 

Parker held my hand the entire drive to what he had eventually told me was a crime scene. He wasn’t specific, but I didn’t really want him to be. He kissed me at every stop light and took every opportunity to lock eyes with me. He must’ve said he was sorry five times in the ten minute car ride. When we pulled up to the apartment building that was surrounded by flashing lights and yellow ‘POLICE’ tape, I slid over to the driver’s seat as Parker got out. He leaned back down through the open window and kissed me.

“Tonight or whenever I get done here, you’re mine,” he said with a sexy rasp in his voice.

“Yes sir,
detective
.” I used two fingers to salute him and winked. He stood back up, patting the roof of the car with his hand. I waved as I drove off, but watched him disappear in the rearview mirror.

I pulled up to my house fifteen minutes later. Beth was outside sweeping the front porch and waved to me when she realized I was the one driving Parker’s car and not him.

“How’d you convince him to let you drive his car? He’s usually a big baby about that thing,” she yelled, walking towards me with the broom in her hand.

“Um, we were at his house when he got a call for work and my car wasn’t there. So this was the fastest way to get him there and me home.”

“Uh huh,” she teased. “It’s nine on a Sunday morning. You totally spent the night at his house didn’t you?!” I mashed my lips together not wanting to answer her and she started laughing. “Okay, I know he’s my brother-in-law but I’m not dumb. He’s hot, you’re hot. Don’t look at me like that all shy and stuff.”

“Alright,” I said softly. “I spent the night with him last night.” When I didn’t say more than that, her demeanor softened.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t pry. I’m too open and honest sometimes. You don’t know me well enough to just spill all your secrets.”

“No, it’s okay,” I assured her. “I’m just a little disappointed that I’m home right now. That’s not exactly how I thought this morning would go.”

“Yeah, I hear ya. Matt still gets calls for work related stuff sometimes and has to just pick up and go. I think you get used to it after a while.”

“Yeah, I know it’s not his fault. He apologized a hundred times in the car, but I’m sure he was pretty excited anyway.”

“Well, I don’t know if you got any sleep last night, but the boys are gone and I just made a pot of coffee if you want to come over and hang out?”

Coffee sounded so good, but a shower sounded even better.

“Yeah! Let me go in really quick and take a shower and I’ll be over in like ten minutes?”

“Sounds good! I’ll probably be upstairs vacuuming, so just let yourself in.”

I grabbed the rest of my stuff out of his car and walked up to the door. I smiled to myself as I put the key in to unlock it, thinking of the other night when Parker stopped by unexpectedly. I headed upstairs and plugged my phone in to charge it on the off chance I heard from him sooner than later.

I stood under the warm water in the shower and didn’t bother to move. I just wanted to enjoy the warmth and steady stream of water pelting me in the back. I closed my eyes and let my memory replay the events from last night. I wasn’t expecting the reaction I got after telling Parker I couldn’t have kids. I assumed the sex would happen sooner or later, but I didn’t think the entire scene would play out the way it did.
Not that I was complaining
. But what did that mean? He was okay with me not being able to have kids? Or did he not even associate
me
with having kids? I needed to stop. I was going to drive myself crazy if I overanalyzed it. I needed to wait and continue the conversation with Parker. Everything happened so fast last night, there just wasn’t any time to discuss it.

After a few minutes of daydreaming, I finished my shower and threw on some shorts and a t-shirt. I really didn’t want to blow dry my hair, so I put some curling gel in it and braided it quickly. I grabbed my phone and managed to walk out the door fifteen minutes after I came in.

I walked into Beth’s house after hearing the roar of the vacuum upstairs.
The never ending life of a mom, I’d imagine.
I stood at the bottom of the stairs and waited for her to turn it off and say hi, which only took a minute or two.

“That was fast,” she said breathily as she came down the stairs. “Has it been ten minutes already?”

“Um, more like fifteen. Where are the guys?”

“Matt took him to breakfast and the batting cages. They spend one Sunday a month together by themselves. They try to do it more than that, but they schedule at least one so they don’t miss it or make other plans. Those two – like peas of the same damn pod. Coffee?” She walked into the kitchen and grabbed another mug out of the cupboard.

“Oh yes, please.” Hopefully, it was extra strong.

“Uh huh, so you really didn’t get any sleep last night then I take it?” She filled both mugs with coffee and brought them to the table so we could sit down.

“No, not a whole lot.” I lowered my gaze hoping to not see the look on her face or let her see me blush. Not that she had a problem with me dating Parker, but for some reason I still felt embarrassed that she knew what I was doing just twelve hours before.

“So are you guys getting pretty serious? I couldn’t tell when we talked about it the last time, but it’s pretty hard to be open and honest with a bunch of women you just met.”

“Yeah, I’d say pretty serious. It’s all happened kind of fast, but I wouldn’t have gone along with it if it didn’t feel right.” I didn’t know why I was spilling everything to Beth, but she had one of those personalities that made her really easy to open up to.

“Well, I know I told you I tease him a lot, but you would be so good for him. He’s grown up a lot the last year or so, and I think you two would be perfect for each other. He really is a great guy.” I definitely knew that about him. I was waiting to see some kind of flaw in him because I had yet to.

“He definitely seems to be. I hit him with some pretty serious news last night and he didn’t bat even bat an eye. He amazes me, even in just the short amount of time we’ve known each other. Is it weird to hear me say I feel this way so fast?”

“Honey, we’re women. It’s totally normal for us. What about him? Has he said anything about how he feels?”

“Yeah, he definitely did.” I smiled, almost hearing his voice when he told me he was falling in love with me. “There were a lot of things said last night that would make a man
or
woman run for the hills if they weren’t serious.”

“Well, judging by that smile, neither one of you is scared of how you feel, that’s for sure. You have love written all over your face.”

Was I in love with him? He told me he was falling for me, but was that just the intensity of that moment talking? It didn’t feel like it. He made damn sure that I knew where he stood and that he would do anything necessary for us or just me.

“You don’t think it’s too soon?”

“I told Matt I loved him a week after we went on our first date. He didn’t go running, so I’m guessing it didn’t take him too long to feel the same way.” She got up and walked over to a picture frame with a picture of her and Matt, sitting on the edge of a pier. “He proposed to me right here three months later and we got married six months after that. I think only your heart can tell you whether or not it’s too fast.”

I knew she was right. There was no way to doubt what I was feeling. I was in and I was in deep.

“If it’s not me being too nosey, why did you think he would go running?”

“Um,” I hesitated, “you’re not being nosey. It’s okay. He mentioned wanting to have a family and I can’t have any kids. So I wanted to tell him that before things got any deeper than they were.”

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize. I feel like an ass.”

“No, it’s okay. You don’t have to feel bad. I just didn’t want to wait any longer before I told him.”

“Wow, what did he say?”

“He didn’t seem phased in the slightest. I don’t really know what that means, but I wasn’t really thinking about it at the time.”

“I’m not surprised. Parker is a good guy. I know how much he loves hanging out with Tyler. He’s been great with any kids we’ve ever been around. Their mom definitely raised them right.” The mention of his mom made me smile. It was going to be nice seeing the woman who raised him to be such a wonderful man.

“I bet. Matt seems pretty well behaved too,” I snickered.

“Yeah, he is. I definitely got lucky with that one.” We both took a sip of our coffee that was no longer mouth burning hot. “Thanksgiving is next week. Are you spending it with your family?”
Oh shit, Thanksgiving.

“I was supposed to. My parents live in Wisconsin and I was supposed to go home and visit, but it just didn’t work out.” Although I looked forward to spending more time with Parker and meeting his family, assuming Beth said it was fine, I really missed my parents. “I’m hoping I can go visit for Christmas still.”

“You are
not
spending Thanksgiving alone. Our entire family will be here. You should come spend it with us,” she said, insistently.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be totally fine.

“No way. I make way too much food and we sit on our asses and do nothing. There’s no reason you can’t be here for
that
. And I know for a fact Parker won’t mind if you’re here.”

“Okay. You’re really sure?”

“I’m sure. We usually eat around one, but you’re more than welcome to come over before then. People usually show up around ten and eat all my snacks and drink all my beer. That in itself is quite the show. You really should see it.” She stood up with her mug and held out her hand. “More coffee?”

“No, I’m good. I actually think I’m going to go home and take a little nap. I’m pretty exhausted.”

“Yeah, I bet you are!” Beth laughed as she refilled her mug. “Does Parker need a ride back to your house to get his car?”

“No, he said someone from work would bring him to get it when they were finished.”

“That makes sense. I hope his promotion doesn’t mean he ends up working every weekend.”

“You and me both. I was really hoping to spend the day together.” I stood up and pushed the dining room chair back in. “Thanks for the coffee. I’m betting I’ll still be able to nap before it kicks in. I don’t really have much else to do.”

“Oh, you don’t have to thank me. If you get bored, you know where to find me. The boys won’t be gone all day, but the only thing on my agenda is cleaning. So you’re more than welcome to keep me from that.”

“You got it. See ya!” I waved goodbye and headed for home.

When I got home, I headed upstairs to lie down. I was glad Beth asked me over for dinner Thursday. Not that I minded Parker asking her, but that took any pressure off of him. I thought the coffee would make it hard to sleep, but I was out before I even finished the thought.

Twenty

The ringing of my phone brought me out of my slumber and I jolted up in bed. My neck felt sweaty and I felt hot all over. I reached over for my phone and had to squint to see it clearly. Parker.

“Hello?” I answered, groggily.

“Hey baby, were you sleeping?”

“Yeah, I laid down for a few minutes.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

I looked over at the clock on my dresser and realized it was already 1:45 in the afternoon.

“Well, I thought it was a few minutes. Apparently it’s been a few hours.”

“Wore you out, did I?” His tone went from apologetic to amused.

“Apparently so. Are you still at work?”

“Yeah, we just got back to the station. I have an interrogation to do here in a few minutes, so I just wanted to call you and tell you that I’m not coming home yet. Well, and to apologize profusely for spending our first day after…last night,” he whispered, “away from you. I wanted to make sure you were still okay after what happened.”

“I’m more than okay. I’m just excited for you to get back here. I just figured I might need the rest.”