Ask Me If I Care

by Vale, Lani Lynn

  Instead, I walked back to the box of tampons that I’d originally come into the store for.

  “Didn’t your dad just buy you an entire box?” he asked, looking at me worriedly.

  “Yes,” I said as I tucked the box underneath my arm. “But if I went over there to get them, I’d have to explain to my mother why I’m done with my date so early. And let’s just say I don’t have the energy.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Did the date go badly?”

  I shrugged, pushing my hair out of my face.

  “It didn’t go great,” I admitted. “After eating the rest of your pretzel—yes, all of it—he kept giving me disgusted looks. Then your steak and baked potato came and let’s just say that he wasn’t impressed at all when I ate all of that.”

  He chuckled deeply, the sound making the little boy in his arms grin.

  “Glad someone got to enjoy it,” he admitted. “I’d have given it to Errin, but she eats like a fuckin’ bird.”

  “Errin your date?” I asked. “Because I’m fairly sure they ended up leaving the restaurant together. They were talking about work? Does Errin work at the police station with Kelly?”

  He snapped his fingers. “That’s where I know him. He’s a private investigator now. He used to be a cop.”

  I nodded. “Yep.”

  He fell into step beside me as we made our way to the front of the store.

  “Guess I did you a favor,” I admitted. “Got rid of your date and mine all at once.”

  My brows rose. “You didn’t want to be on your date?”

  He sighed. “Errin’s persistent.”

  That was all he said.

  Raj latched onto one of my curls, and I gently disentangled it from his fingers before saying, “So was Kelly.”

  His eyes came down to meet mine just as we made it to the checkout lane.

  The only lane that was open this late at night.

  That was when Hayes cursed some more.

  “Son of a bitch,” Hayes muttered darkly upon seeing a woman lean forward to wave at him.

  I looked at him and frowned, wondering if Raj had done something to him.

  Leaning in close, I looked at him with a frown and said, “What’s your problem?”

  His eyes flicked up to the woman that’d leaned forward to see him, then moved back down to mine.

  My hair slid forward and draped over his arm, and his hand flashed out and he twirled one of my curls around one large finger.

  I knew it was automatic. As if him doing it had been an accident. Something that he couldn’t even comprehend why he’d done it.

  “Who is that?”

  Hayes’ mouth tightened into a frown.

  “Come on, who is she?” I asked, smiling brightly at the man.

  He scowled harder.

  “That would be the woman that I slept with when I first moved here, and was unaware that she had misunderstood what, exactly, it was that I wanted from her,” he admitted.

  His admission made my heart throb.

  I didn’t like the idea of him being with another woman. Even if the ‘being with’ part had happened way before he knew me.

  Not like him knowing me now would change anything. I mean, we weren’t even dating.

  I barely knew the man.

  But that didn’t mean that the thought of him with someone else didn’t sting.

  “How long ago was this?” I asked curiously. “Because she’s acting like it was just yesterday.”

  He snorted. “About six months now.”

  A sharp inhale let me know that I’d finally been spotted with him.

  I turned my head, but Hayes hadn’t let go of my hair, so when I did, I stayed quite close to him when I got my first good look at the girl checking us out.

  “Ummm,” I hesitated, unsure what to say.

  Hayes groaned underneath his breath, his face a mask of annoyance.

  Then I replayed his explanation about the girl that worked here, and why he no longer shopped at this particular supermarket.

  So this was the girl that he’d slept with when he first arrived. The one that didn’t get the right idea.

  The one that was beautiful and dressed like she was stepping off of a runway even while she was working the night shift, while I on the other hand looked like I’d just crawled out of the dumpster.

  Awesome.

  I put my box of tampons down and started to load the stuff in the cart around it.

  All the while, I tried not to make eye contact with the woman that was staring me down as if I’d been the one to steal her man.

  “Bindy,” Hayes said softly. “How’s it going?”

  Apparently, that wasn’t the right thing to say, because Bindy got pissed.

  She started to scan Hayes’ shit faster than I could get it onto the belt, and before I could stop her, she scanned my tampons, too.

  When I opened my mouth to say something, Hayes’ hand once again went to my hair as he dug his fingers into the slow-drying curls. “Shhh.”

  I snapped my mouth shut so fast that my teeth clicked.

  “You have a child?” the brunette hissed. “And a wife?”

  My brows rose and I looked at Hayes, wondering how she’d gotten that from how close we weren’t standing.

  But, like the funny girl I am, I played my part perfectly.

  “Whatever is she talking about, lover?” I placed my hand over my chest, playing as if I was wounded.

  Hayes shot me a glare, still holding onto my hair.

  It looked like he had a possessive hold. Not that he was mad, but that he was just trying to keep me close.

  “Shut up,” he whispered into my ear.

  I felt his hot breath on my skin, and my nether regions tightened in response.

  That was, of course, when Raj chose to throw up.

  All down the front of my shirt.

  I stepped back, but he still soaked the front of my sweatshirt, and I could feel the wetness seeping to the tank top underneath.

  Hayes started to curse, trying to get Raj away from me but not succeeding since we were in the small space between the check-out lanes.

  Bindy, of course, started to laugh.

  Which pissed me off.

  “Let me have him,” I said softly. “You deal with this.”

  Hayes didn’t respond as I took Raj, who looked rather pitiful now that he’d barfed.

  I caught up the box of diapers, my box of tampons, and headed out to my vehicle, not stopping until I got to the back hatch area.

  Opening it up, I placed Raj onto the rubber mat that my dad had bought me to go onto my floorboard to protect my carpet—I’d never been happier to see it.

  Once he was down, and I was sure he wasn’t going to continue to puke, I shucked out of my sweatshirt and tossed it down onto the rubber mat beside him, then leaned forward and started to take his baby onesie off.

  He allowed me to undress him with minimal crying on his part.

  Ripping into the box of diapers, I pulled one out and then took care of his overly-full diaper before reaching into my back seat and pulling out the blanket that I kept there for when I got cold.

  Wrapping it around his shivering body, I picked him up and snuggled him tight, loving the way he felt in my arms.

  I loved babies.

  Even more, I loved when they were sweet like Raj apparently was—even if he was sick.

  It didn’t take long for Hayes to arrive, and he looked forlorn.

  “Everything okay?” I asked as he arrived.

  He looked at an obviously sick Raj and said, “I’ve never done the sick baby thing before. I don’t even know what to do when I’m sick.”

  My brows rose.

  “Pretty much you just keep him hydrated,” I said. “Keep an eye on his temperature…you have a thermometer, right?”

  He nodded. “The CPS chick gave me one of those forehead ones.”

  I
nodded. “Good. Perfect. Give him Tylenol again when he needs it. You can switch it up with ibuprofen if his fever’s still high after Tylenol.”

  He groaned. “I’ll give you a hundred bucks to help me.”

  I snorted. “Hayes, I would but I’m fairly sure that in about ten minutes, I’m going to drop dead from period pains. I’ve only lasted this long on necessity.”

  He frowned.

  “My periods suck,” I told him. “They’re literally the worst. It’s only a matter of time before it gets to the point where I’m moaning in bed between doses of meds.”

  He looked like he didn’t like the sound of that.

  “Shit,” he grumbled.

  “I’ll give you my number, though,” I said. “If you think you need help, I’ll walk you through it.”

  I handed him Raj when he looked like he could handle it.

  Then shivered.

  “Do you need a jacket?”

  I was about to say no when he went to his truck and opened the door.

  Before I could tell him I didn’t need one, he tossed me a black hoodie with white writing on it.

  It said ‘KPD SWAT.’

  Nothing too fancy, but it smelled like him and I wanted to put it on and never take it off.

  “I can’t take this,” I said, shaking my head.

  He shrugged. “Just give it back later. I don’t want you to freeze on the way home.”

  I didn’t point out that my car had a perfectly working heater.

  Why?

  Because I wanted the man’s sweatshirt, that’s why!

  “Okay,” I said softly. “Thank you.”

  He buckled the kid into the front seat of his truck, and I pinched my lips together to keep from laughing.

  “Hayes,” I said softly.

  He looked at me in surprise.

  “You’re supposed to put babies in the back seat.” I paused. “Facing backward at that.”

  He frowned.

  “You’re a police officer,” I said. “How do you not know this stuff? It’s the law.”

  He shrugged. “There are a lot of things that I know. Such as speeding in school zones. Whether it’s allowed to have a gun at a bar. Things like that. Whether a kid is supposed to be forward facing or not…”

  I held up my hand. “Babies die if they’re turned around too early.”

  Hayes sighed.

  “What age can they be turned around?”

  All the while I told him about the laws and regulations—I did have to pull the information up on my phone to read to him—he switched the car seat around and put it in the back seat. Facing backward this time.

  “I’m sure he had a hell of a time up there, though,” I teased.

  Hayes groaned. “Being as I’ve never had to deal with kids before…”

  My lips twitched.

  “You’ll get there, Hayes,” I said as I dropped into my car. “Have a good night. And good luck!”

  I smelled his sweatshirt all the way home.

  And when I went to bed that night, it was the only thing that I wore to bed.

  Chapter 5

  Nerd? I prefer the term ‘more intelligent than you.’

  -Coffee Cup

  Hayes

  “You look like you survived.”

  I looked over to see Ares, in her prim and proper school attire, standing there looking pissed with her arms crossed over her chest. And by prim and proper I meant a black pencil skirt that was so tight I could see her every curve and a white sleeveless top that was almost just as tight. The wide belt was purple.

  Purple.

  It fit her well.

  And her hair was up in a matronly bun at the back of her head, making me wish for the curly hair that I saw at the grocery store a few days ago.

  I grinned. “Barely. I’m glad Ryan was able to get home early.”

  Ares’ smile was so fast falling off of her face just as quick, that I almost questioned whether I saw it at all.

  “What’s going on?” I asked. “You the one to make the call?”

  She nodded once, her eyes flicking quickly to the side to where a few other cops talked with the principal.

  She looked at the principal, who was busy talking to Saint and Booth, a couple of other members of the SWAT team that just so happened to be eating lunch with me when the call came in, and then back to me.

  “Can I talk to you in private?” she asked.

  My brows rose, then I gestured with a nod of my head for her to lead.

  She did, right into her office where she closed the door.

  “What is it?” I asked, my eyes taking in the entire area.

  My gaze froze on a picture of me and I narrowed them before turning back to Ares.

  She licked her lips, looking nervous, and my attention was diverted from my calendar to her face.

  “I think that there’s a bully problem here,” she said. “The school is supposed to have a zero-tolerance policy on it, but the principal doesn’t take care of it. I don’t know if you’re familiar with all that went on with Avery…” I nodded my head. “Well, to say that it’s worse would be an understatement. Being embarrassed in front of the school by Derek? That really fucked with Principal Bailey’s ability to control the students. I went and talked with the part-time school resource officer. It’s Officer Toomey today. But seriously, nobody is doing anything. There is no consistency in the position. We have someone new here every other day. They aren’t seeing the whole picture.” She swallowed. “I called the cops today. I’m going to get so much shit for this…but it’s getting out of hand.”

  I saw her worry and wished I could do something to help resolve it for her.

  Instead, I crossed my arms and said, “What happened?”

  She stretched her neck, then leaned against her desk and crossed her feet in front of her.

  “Well, as the guidance counselor, I get a lot of students coming in here with their problems,” she started. “And I usually have to abide by the patient confidentiality thing that most psychologists do. But this time, the student gave me permission to speak to someone about what’s happening.”

  “And that is…” I urged.

  She stretched her neck, then sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “I had a student that became pregnant,” she began. “Her and one of the football players had sex. Baby came. Mom decided she couldn’t be the baby’s mother. Dad wanted it. Fast forward eight months and now dad is a full-time dad and mom is back to what she used to be doing. Only, everyone is giving her so much shit for getting pregnant and not keeping the baby. It’s gotten so bad that she tried to kill herself.”

  My stomach clenched.

  “She survived. Is better now. But…the bullying just won’t stop. And I’m fucking terrified that she’s going to try again,” I admitted. “I spoke with the resource officer last week. Spoke with the principal. The superintendent even knows about it. And nobody is doing goddamn anything. And today, that fight broke out with the baby’s father and another student who was giving the mom shit.” She scrubbed her hands over her face, making the makeup on one eye become slightly smudged. “And I just got fed up. Nobody’s doing anything!”

  “And this isn’t all?” I guessed. “There’s more?”

  She nodded. “There’s always more. But… this class of students is terrible. I have one student who’s tried his level best to ruin another student’s football career. Avery’s thing. I have another that took over the head cheerleader’s place and is heckling the staff. I mean, they act like they run this school. And to be honest, they do. Because the staff here just don’t give a fuck. I can’t deal with eight hundred students on my own.”

  I wanted to pull her into my chest and wrap my arms around her.

  “I have a student whose mom is dying of cancer while she goes to school,” Ares whispered. “Another that’s so poor that she can’t put clothes on her body. Another that st
eals because it’s the only way that she can make her parents pay attention to her. And don’t even get me started on the boys.”

  I chuckled. “Boys are always worse, eh?”

  She rolled her eyes. “You have no idea. Boys are way worse than girls. You would think the opposite, but I swear to God. They act awful.”

  “Let me see what I can accomplish,” I said softly. “And I’ll talk to Luke about Toomey. He’s the most consistent officer in this position. If he’s not doing what needs to be done here, he needs to go.”

  She groaned. “Great. Another reason for him to hate me.”

  “Another?” I asked. “Why does he hate you now?”

  She flushed. “I turned him down for a date. And unfortunately, I was a little blunt and flashy with how I denied him. It also happened to happen in front of a few of his colleagues, and he’s been a dick ever since.”

  An instant dislike for the motherfucker started to burn through my veins and take root in my soul.

  Toomey had never been my favorite person. When I’d joined the SWAT team, he’d tried out as well. And Toomey was a vindictive little motherfucker. Though he’d passed the physical portion of the SWAT team mandates, he’d not passed the parts where he’d had to interview with the majority of the old SWAT team.

  Needless to say, the older generation hadn’t been impressed with his bad attitude and lack of team ethic.

  How did I know this?

  Because shortly after being accepted, Toomey had also taken an instant dislike of me as well.

  He’d given me shit for my making it and hadn’t stopped doing it since.

  “Guy’s a dick,” I told her bluntly. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

  Her lips twitched. “I did. And I can handle Toomey just fine. I just wish he was doing more here than he is. I know that he’s temporary until the old resource officer comes back, but it’s more than obvious to the kids that he doesn’t really want to be here.”

  “Who was here before?” I questioned.

  “His name is Officer Smitty,” I said. “He had a heart attack while on duty a couple of months ago, and though he’s okay, they’re making him take it slow. He’s on desk duty right now at the station.”

  “I know Smitty.” I paused. “Maybe I’ll go talk to him as well.”