LineofDuty (18 page)
Authors: Sidney Bristol
She loved him with everything she had.
Jake eased from her, gingerly guiding her body back to the
mattress. He bent and kissed her sweetly, such a contradiction to the rough
fucking they liked. She watched him disappear into the bathroom and listened to
his movements, the sounds of the sink and running the tap.
By all accounts she shouldn’t feel safe here anymore, but it
was impossible for her to feel anything but content and cared for. Especially
with Jake there. He’d break into hell for her if that was what it took.
Jake returned with a washcloth and cleaned her once more,
even bandaging her feet to his standards.
The day was still hours from being done, but Nicole was more
than ready to sleep in her own bed with her husband.
“You missed a call.” Jake handed her cell phone to her.
She glanced at the screen.
Tanya.
“Did you tell them we weren’t coming over?” she asked.
Jake paused. “No.”
“Such a guy.” She sighed and dialed Tanya.
The phone didn’t make it through one ring before Tanya’s
voice answered, “Hey.”
“Hey, sorry for being a no-show. Jake didn’t tell me the
plan was to go to your place until we pulled up, and I really just wanted to go
home.” Nicole scooted under the comforter.
“That’s totally okay. I was getting worried about not
hearing from you.” Tanya’s kindness echoed over the phone and Nicole knew she
was lucky. She’d done everything wrong and somehow wound up with the best
pieces in her life.
“Thanks, for everything.”
“No problem. I’m just glad you’re okay. You know, we never
got to catch up the other night.”
“No, I’m sorry.”
“So you’re staying with Jake?”
Nicole glanced at Jake, who from what she could overhear was
ordering a pizza. She hoped he at least thought to put on pants before
answering the door. It wouldn’t do to make a delivery boy self-conscious.
“Yeah. We just had a disconnect. I think we’ll be going back
for round two.”
“I’m really glad to hear that.” There was an odd note to
Tanya’s voice.
“What’s going on with you?” Nicole asked. They’d focused on
her so much recently that she felt like a rotten new friend.
“Well, we can talk about it later.”
“No, spill.”
“Okay, look, I know we just really got to be friends but I
wanted you to be one of the first people I told…”
“Okay…”
“I’m pregnant.” Tanya’s voice rose into a shrill yelp.
Nicole sat up, her jaw hanging open. “Congratulations,” she
blurted.
“I didn’t want to tell you yet, but I don’t want to not tell
you,” Tanya babbled.
“No, I’m really happy for you. That’s great.” And Nicole was
happy for her. Tanya and Cole had something solid between them, and their home
begged for children. Lots of them.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to rub this in your face or
anything.”
“Tanya, I’m happy for you. Jealous? Sure. But really, I’m
happy for you. Thank you for telling me.”
Jake came to sit next to her as if sensing she needed his
shoulder. She took his hand in hers and squeezed.
Tanya babbled for a few minutes longer before hanging up.
Nicole listened to her the whole time without a single drop of bitterness or
resentment tainting her happiness.
“What was that about?” Jake asked when she hung up.
“Tanya is pregnant.” Nicole rested her cheek against her
knees.
Jake frowned. “And you’re okay with it?”
“No, no one can have babies ever again.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“I know, but I really am happy for her.”
“What about us?”
“What about us?” she parroted back.
“Do we still want kids?”
“Someday. For now I just want you.”
“You’ve got me, babe, as much as you want.”
“Oh, I want it all, and I want it right after that pizza.”
Jake kissed her deeply and she knew this wasn’t the end of
their unusual story.
Two months later…
Jake grabbed the end of the sofa. “On three. One, two—”
“On three or after three?” Cole asked.
“Ass, just pick up the damn couch,” Jake said.
Together they hauled the bulky piece of furniture off the
truck and managed to get it into the front door of the house without scratching
the new paint.
The house was stacked with boxes, bits of furniture here and
there, a complete hodgepodge of things from the brick house, this one and new
additions. It would be weeks before they were settled, but they were making the
right decision.
Nicole and Tanya had their heads bent together in the
kitchen, supposedly unpacking dishes, pots and pans, but from the looks of it
they were too busy gossiping. No doubt about Aaron, who had dropped by to carry
boxes. He’d sported a hickey the size of a baseball.
Let them gossip.
There’d been weeks of smiles and more happiness than he’d
had in a long time. If this was a dream, he didn’t want to wake up.
He and Cole escaped outside before Nicole could get picky
about the placement of the furniture.
Jake peered inside the box truck they’d rented to do the
bulk of moving. There was really only one room of furniture left.
“Say, Nicole and I were talking. If you guys want the crib
and stuff, you’re welcome to it. You saw it, it’s all white furniture, pretty
nice, never used.” He shrugged. “I don’t know when we’ll need it. Seems a shame
someone won’t use it.”
Cole stared at him for a second. “That’s real nice of you.
Let me talk to Tanya. You know how she is about reusing stuff. She’ll probably
love the idea.”
“Okay—”
“Jake!”
He whirled to face the house, his heart leaping into his
throat.
Nicole stood on the porch, phone pressed to her ear, and a
grin spread across her face.
She was not in danger. She was happy and safe.
In the last three weeks Jake had suffered more sleepless
nights than Nicole, which he would take. As long as she wasn’t in danger.
“What?”
Nicole sprinted across the lawn. He had a split second to
prepare himself before she leapt on him, wrapping her legs around his hips and
clinging to his neck as she squealed. Tanya ambled after her, grinning ear to
ear.
“What is it?” he asked again.
Nicole grasped his face in both hands and planted a kiss on
his lips.
“I’m pregnant. We’re pregnant!”
“What?” He gaped at her, the words not quite registering.
“Dr. Hunsaker, here.” She held the phone to his ear.
“Hello?” Jake said.
“Hi, Jake.” The doctor’s voice shook with laughter.
“Is it true?” he asked, not daring to believe.
“It is. We did blood work again this last week to be sure,
but you are expecting. Congratulations.”
Jake clutched her to his chest.
Cole slapped him on the shoulder “Looks like you’ll be
needing that furniture after all.”
Jake buried his face in her hair. A month ago his world had
fallen to pieces and now it was held together by hope, dreams and love. Just
the kind of world he wanted to bring a child into.
It can never be said that Sidney Bristol has had a “normal”
life. She is a recovering roller derby queen, former missionary, and tattoo
addict. She grew up in a motor home on the U.S. highways (with an occasional
jaunt into Canada and Mexico), traveling the rodeo circuit with her parents.
Sidney has lived abroad in both Russia and Thailand, working with children and
teenagers. She now lives in Texas, where she divides her time between a job she
loves, writing, reading and belly dancing.
Sidney welcomes comments from readers. You can find her
website and email addresses on her
author
bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
.
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Sidney
Bristol
So
Inked 2: The Harder He Falls
So Inked 3: His
Marriage Bargain
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
Line of Duty
ISBN 9781419991608
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Line of Duty Copyright © 2014 Sidney Bristol
Edited by Jillian Bell
Cover design by Fiona Jayde Media
Cover photography by Yen Hung Lin, Fiona Jayde Media
Electronic book publication September 2014
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