Page 11 of Thirteen Years
“Nat?” I asked, quirking an eyebrow.
“Natasha. Becks’ daughter. She’s in Lexi’s grade and they seem to have adopted each other as sisters. She sounds like a sweet girl. Doesn’t have any siblings. Lexi said about ten times this week that she wishes Nat was her sister instead of Lacey.” Paul laughed under his breath, “Girls, man.”
“You wouldn’t change it for the world,” I replied.
“No, I wouldn’t. I love Lacey like my own. But man, sometimes the hormones and bickering!” he shook his head. “I’m fucking outnumbered in my own home. Three women. I don’t stand a chance. And when the girls have friends over?”
I laughed at the look of dismay on his face.
“Seriously, Lucas. You gotta get hooked up with someone that’s friends with Monica, so I’m not alone all the time with all the pink and boy bands.”
“I’m thinking about asking Rebecca out,” I admitted.
“YES!” Paul lit up like a Christmas tree. “WHEN? Do you want to come over now? We know where she is!”
“Yah, that’s not creepy at all!” I shook my head, “Chill. I’ll do it when it seems right and I see her around again.”
“You fucking better,” he said, standing. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, yeah?”
“Same time, same place. I practically live here when I’m not at home.”
“Further proof you need a woman. Get a little bit of a life!” he said, raising a brow.
“Get the hell out of here to your sleepover,” I laughed.
“Fuck,” he said, walking out the door.
He could bitch and moan all he wanted. I knew as soon as he got home he would be asking those two little girls if there was anything they needed to make their girls’ night sleepover better. Paul was one hell of a man and I considered him my best friend. I hoped some day I would be just as good of a husband and father as he was. I needed to actually have a serious conversation with him about raising a kid that wasn’t his own. I needed to think about these things if I was going to ask Rebecca out. She was a single mom, and who knew how long she’d been on her own. There was more than her emotions involved in this and I didn’t want to fuck it up regardless of if it went anywhere or not.
I’d always wanted children and the thought of one that wasn’t my own didn’t bother me. Hell. How much of an asshole would I be if that did after someone who wasn’t my actual parent had raised me? I needed to make sure Becks was comfortable with everything and I didn’t end up breaking two women’s hearts.
I stood up and nodded to the rest of the guys on the clock as I left. Climbing into my truck I decided to do a lap around town before heading right home.
Wrapping up my lap around town, I turned down the main drag. It was nostalgic sometimes taking the old laps I used to cruise myself as a kid. Things were quiet tonight and everything seemed pretty chill. I would just fill up my truck and head home. Maybe watch a movie or something. I didn’t get too wild on the weekends.
As I pulled into the gas station, my eyebrows raised. Well, aren't I a lucky bastard? Rebecca Wareman was filling up her SUV. I pulled into the pump on the other side of her and watched as she sat in her car digging through her bag. She had her dark hair up in another one of those messy buns that women were wearing all the time. I smiled as she pushed her glasses back up her nose. God, the woman was adorable and I don't think she even knew it. You could tell no one had appreciated her enough. She sighed and threw her hands up in the air and I chuckled watching her get out, toting the entire bag after her. She looked like she couldn’t find her wallet.
I watched as she used an app on her phone to pay instead and she started filling her vehicle up. She seemed to be in her own world and completely unaware of her surroundings, which made me worry a little. Often women were distracted when they were filling their car up. It was night time and while it was a small town, this is how women often got robbed, hurt or even taken. My instinct to protect was rising in me and was rather unsettling. As an officer I would come to the aid of anyone and wanted them to be safe. But this heat of need to protect and at the same time wanting to shake her for being so distracted filled me.
I shook my head. Who knew how long this woman had been single. She didn’t need some overbearing asshole in her life. But if I was going to be anyone’s overprotective asshole, I wanted to be hers. I slammed my head into the back of my seat and sighed. I was definitely well and truly screwed with this woman it seemed.
I got out and began filling my own truck up, watching as she was still oblivious to me being right across from her. This just wouldn’t do.
I walked up behind her.
“Rebecca Wareman,” I said softly.
I watched as she jumped and dropped her bag, spilling things across the pavement. Well shit. I hadn’t intended to scare the hell out of her.
“I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t mean to scare you, I thought you noticed me pull in,” I said, bending to pick up her bag and items alongside her.
I watched her as she nervously took the items I’d gathered from me, noticing my patrol truck on the other side of the pump for the first time.
“No, I think I was lost in my thoughts,” she said, looking down and moving some hair that had fallen loose behind her ear.
I watched her and leaned an arm against her SUV, smiling down as she looked up at me and her cheeks turned a pretty pink. She licked her lips nervously. God I just wanted to grab her and kiss the hell out of her right now. I needed to get a grip.
“What are you up to tonight, Becks?”
