“I’m the one who should be saying, sorry,” he says. Is his gaze always this direct? Most people I meet barely hold eye contact. This guy doesn’t just hold eye contact, he locks on so hard I’m not even sure if he even blinks. “New guy in town littering up the neighborhood,” he says.
“You’re new?” I ask.
“Yeah. Carter,” he says. “Nice to meet you.”
“Alyssa. Nice to meet you.”
“Now there’s a name you don’t hear every day.”
“Really, I thought it was getting more and more popular,” I say.
And then if he couldn’t get any hotter he raises it to another level. He smirks. “Yeah, well I guess that’s because I work mostly with a bunch of guys.”
“Oh,” I say. I’m already imagining about twenty clones of this guy all in one place. It would be like the Chippendales if they worked a 9-5, but something tells me this guy isn’t the 9-5 type. “What do you do?”
“Protect and serve,” he says.
“You’re a…police officer.”
“You wanted to say cop, didn’t you?” he says in an accusatory tone.
“No! I mean…”
“It’s okay,” he smirks again. Oh my god is this guy sexy. And he’s a police officer. “We use the term ourselves.”
“Oh. I thought maybe that wasn’t such a nice thing to say.”
“Not at all, and it can’t be worse than the things I’ve been hearing all day.”
I try and decipher his words. I have no idea what he’s talking about.
“Sorry,” he says shaking the paper and then holding it so I can read it.
Babysitter Wanted, the heading reads.
“I thought this was going to be an easy position to fill. How wrong I was.”
Talk about making lemons out of lemonade.
The spring semester has just finished at college and I’m home looking for a job. I should have landed an internship heading into my senior year, which would then turn into a real job once I graduated, but things didn’t work out that way.
Now I’m scrambling for a summer job when all my other friends are already working for companies who are sure to make them offers or planning their summer holidays to Greece, Spain, or other far off destinations with white sandy beaches and white hot guys.
I’ve spent the entire day looking for a job. I only just stepped outside to get some fresh air and to let my eyes focus on something that’s more than eighteen inches away from my face. Something that’s not a computer emitting white light into my eyes all day likely causing blindness at some point and definitely causing me to go stir crazy.
If this charming cop is looking for a babysitter for his beautiful baby I just might be in luck. Plus if he’s out and about in the neighborhood I won’t need to find a way to get access to a car to drive to “work.”
Talk about falling from heaven. Get paid to take care of Mr. Perfect, and I’m sure Mrs. Perfect’s, baby all day? Sign me up.
“You haven’t found a suitable applicant?”
“Well I’ve had plenty of applicants. Suitable applicant? I know she, or even he, is out there but I just haven’t been able to find them.”
“You’re still looking then?”
“Not for much longer. I needed to have a sitter lined up tonight or else I’ll have to quit my job and skip town.”
Oh, he definitely can’t do that. I need to meet these other cops he works with. I mean if they look anything like him, and are as easy-going and as charming as he is then I have to find a way to get in front of them. But as much as that sounds like a great idea, what sounds even better is him. It’s just so frustrating that all the best guys are already taken. Maybe that’s what makes them so easy-going and pleasant people. They find the right wife and then their life just gets that much better. They find love, start a family, and realize there’s nothing to stress out over after that. When you’ve found the one and started a family you don’t sweat the small stuff, and you realize everything outside of family matters is just that…small stuff.
And everything is literally small stuff with a guy who’s this big. I feel smaller, lighter, and more feminine just in his presence.
Married I think to myself. Unavailable.
My gaze subconsciously drifts to his left hand which is holding his baby. I don’t see a ring. That’s strange. I look back at him thinking I probably just didn’t get a good look. The baby’s cute little clothes must have been hiding it.
“Are you still taking applications?” I ask.
“I wasn’t but…yeah. I mean you never know right? Just keep trying to the very end. Do you…know someone?”
“I do. And she really, really loves babies.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Does she have experience with kids?”
“Well, she’s a lot older than her brother and she basically raised him all by herself.”
“I like where this is going.”
“Me too,” I say.
“Is there anyway I can meet her? Maybe even get a face-to-face tonight if possible.”
I smile.
“Wait. You mean?”
I nod my head.
He looks at me in a different way. I can’t describe it, but there’s just something different about it.
“Do you maybe have time for a quick coffee?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” I say as I come up on my tiptoes slightly in excitement.
CHAPTER 3
Carter
I arrive at the station the next morning ten minutes early.
I definitely don’t look fit to lead the men and women in uniform today. I barely slept last night.
But it wasn’t because of Brooklyn.
It was because of her.
She absolutely aced the interview I gave her. It’s easy to see that she loves kids and that Brooklyn loved her. I let her hold Brooklyn and she didn’t even seem to notice that she moved from my hands to Alyssa’s. That’s exactly what I’m looking for. I want Brooklyn to feel so comfortable with the babysitter that everything is completely seamless for her, or at least as seamless as it can be in her circumstance.
Alyssa’s got the experience, the down to earth type of energy that I was looking for and the beauty…I mean brains.
But how could I not notice the way she looked? She has beautiful brown eyes, as brown as mine but much more striking.
And that body of hers? She doesn’t just stop traffic she directs it. She’s completely different and totally indefinable.
Too much in fact. Her uniqueness and idiosyncrasies caught me off guard. It’s like I found a complete diamond in her.
But I have to remind myself she’s just in my life to watch Brooklyn. That’s definitely going to be easier said than done.
I’m the kind of guy who’s all in on just about everything. My easy going nature fools people until they see how intense I am about the things that matter in life.
I absolutely despise injustice and bullies. It’s one of the original reasons why I became a cop in the first place. I wanted to get those kinds of people off our streets so the good people can live peacefully, happily, and productively. Life is short. The good people of this country and the people who visit it don’t need bad guys getting in their way. That’s where I come in.
And when I come in I mean I don’t tolerate any nonsense.
But coming in is taking an entirely different kind of meaning now.
I woke up in a cold sweat this morning. I was only out for seventeen minutes according to the clock next to my bed, but in that short amount of time I clearly remember having a dream about coming deep inside her…and growing my family.
But it wouldn’t be my family anymore. It would be our family.
I’ve never ever had a dream like that. I’m trying to temper my enthusiasm thinking I’m just pumped up because I was able to find a babysitter in the nick of time, but it’s not just that.
She’s a lot more than just a str
oke of good luck.
Plus police work is stressful. There are super high highs and cratering lows. You learn to keep an even level or else you can drive yourself crazy.
So why is it that she’s driving me crazy?
But surely a young woman like that has a boyfriend. I’m sure the guys at college are lining up to get a date with her. I wanted to ask her during the interview, and I almost let it slip. Somehow I managed to keep my professionalism. The most important thing was to get a babysitter. That’s been my goal since the mandate came down.
Without a babysitter I’d be in deep trouble.
Well I’ve got my babysitter, but now I’m wondering if I got a whole lot more. I don’t even want to think about what happens when December rolls around. There’s no way I can just let her walk out of my life.
I step from my civilian car and then help Brooklyn out of her rear facing baby car seat. I grab her diaper bag and the bag with the other things she needs during the day and I walk towards the front door of the station. And there she is.
“Alyssa?” I say. “You’re more than half an hour early.”
“Sorry Mr. Donovan. I just got excited to get started and I left the house early.”
“That’s great. I’m excited that you’re excited. And I’m pumped that you’re looking forward to get going.”
She quickly turns and reaches for the door, holding it open so I can walk through.
“Thank you,” I say returning the favor by burying my heel into the door.
Wow, she’s really thoughtful and observant. I can see Brooklyn’s going to be in good hands today.
For the first day I figured I’d have Alyssa watch Brooklyn here at the station. We have a small playroom with some games for when kids drop by or unfortunately when we have to arrest their parents. That’s really rare, and if it happens today I’ll have to pull my girls, I mean Brooklyn, out of there. Then again I think Alyssa’s pretty intuitive. I have a good feeling she can think quickly on her feet. And oh how I’d like to sweep her off of them right about now.
What has gotten into me?
I need to chill out. Not only am I thinking about the babysitter, but I’m doing it at the station. Double whammy.
I get Alyssa and Brooklyn set up and then make my way to my desk.
Today’s is the day cops dread the most…paperwork day.
After about half an hour I covertly get up for a quick stretch of the legs and take a pass by the girls to make sure they’re doing okay.
Alyssa is bent over Brooklyn’s stroller and is showing her some rattly toy.
I move my angle a bit and see Brooklyn smiling and reaching her hands up.
When I tried to offer her that toy I used to get cries and funny looks. Alyssa seems to have her captivated. That’s definitely a first with that particular toy.
I wanted today to be a test run here at the office so I could keep my eye on Alyssa. I wasn’t about to just hand over my daughter to anybody. Sure her school references checked out last night when I ran them through some of the systems we have access to, but my way of going about checking is rather easy to be worked around. It’s more of a way of quickly checking if someone is being honest.
The real test was today. So I could watch her more closely when she doesn’t know I’m watching her.
I want to see how she reacts if Brooklyn is able to frustrate or anger her. So far that looks like it’s not going to happen anytime soon.
I scheduled Alyssa’s first day here at the station because I’m so protective of Brooklyn.
Now it appears I’m the one who needs protecting…from myself and the way I’m already feeling about Alyssa.
If the two of them are connecting this well already my brain is definitely going to start connecting the dots.
Specifically three dots that would come together to form the perfect triangle.
CHAPTER 4
Alyssa
Yesterday afternoon I was jobless with nothing in sight other than a very stressful summer of hustling to try and make some extra cash for my final year at college.
And now here I am less than twenty-four hours getting paid to babysit and do so in a police station no less.
I’m sure my friends are doing a lot of interesting things at their jobs, but I’m also sure none of them are literally working in an area surrounded by their respective city’s finest.
Carter had recommended it yesterday and I have to admit it sounded pretty weird when the words first rolled off his lips.
But now that tomorrow is actually today and I’m here doing the job it makes total sense.
It’s a way I can see how well I bond with Brooklyn without doing so in some stranger’s house. And he can give me time with Brooklyn without jeopardizing her safety to some stranger. Considering we came to terms so quickly it made a lot of sense for both of us now that I look back on it.
And everyone here is so nice. I thought maybe I’d be in the way or get some sort of weird looks but it seems more like everyone wants to come by and wave at Brooklyn or see how she’s doing.
One of the officers that came by was lady. Sergeant Linda Diaz was her name. She told me the entire story about how Carter came to be Brooklyn’s dad and it completely melted my heart. If I had any reservations about this job beforehand, which I didn’t, they’d certainly be out the window by now.
What an incredible guy. And the more I get to know about him the more I want to know.
But Sergeant Diaz didn’t shed light on the question I’m most interested in.
Is Carter single?
I don’t want to get ahead of myself or stick my nose where it doesn’t belong, but I have the feeling I may have to do some detective work of my own sooner rather than later.
“How are you two getting along?”
I turn and see Carter leaning against the door jamb watching the two of us.
“Hey there. Things couldn’t be better.” I turn and look at Brooklyn. “Right Brooklyn?” She makes a face that could almost be considered a smile, but I’d have to be stretching my definition of smile a bit to make it work.
“Looks like you wore her out?” Carter says entering the room.
“Hopefully she’ll sleep through the night after all the excitement she’s had today.”
“That would absolutely make my day…I mean night,” Carter says.
“I’m interested to know about tomorrow…I mean if you want me back tomorrow that is.”
“Want you back? Are you kidding me? Of course I do.”
“Okay, great because I want to keep babysitting Brooklyn. I just wasn’t sure since we were kind of using today as a test run.”
“Well if today was a test run you passed with flying colors. You showed up early. From the looks of things you two had a great day. And the people in the office even had nice things to say about you.”
“They did?”
“Yep. Sergeant Diaz especially. She said you remind her of the younger sister she never had.”
“Wow. She’s an incredible woman. That’s a nice thing for her to say.” What I’m really interested in is what Carter thinks about me. Now that I’ve officially got the job I’ve got time to see how the chips fall more naturally. I don’t have to try and rush to get information, which I wouldn’t want to do anyway. Desperation looks bad on a man and even worse on a woman in my opinion…especially if that woman were to be me.
“You hit the nail on the head,” Carter says. “She’s absolutely incredible.”
Does Carter have a thing for her?
“I’m glad to be able to work with her.”
Guess not.
“How is your day going so far?” I ask.
“So far?” Carter says lifting his chin and looking towards the side wall.
I look in the direction he’s looking and see a clock. I hadn’t seen it all day.
“It’s eight already?”
“On the dot.”
“Wow, today flew by.”
“I wish I could sa
y the same. Paperwork always seems to make my days feel three times as long, but thankfully I’m all finished up now and I get to spend my evening with my baby girl.”
I smile, not saying anything. Not that I ever doubted it but wow, Carter is really committed. I’ve never heard of a single guy adopting a child, especially a guy who works in such a high-risk occupation. And how lucky is Brooklyn? After a twelve-hour day the thing Carter wants most is to spend time with her. If only every girl in the world were so lucky.
Cop's Babysitter: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 43) Page 2
