I park the car and quickly change from my police uniform into my gym shorts and T-shirt.
Running around like a chicken with its head cut off is all part of being a parent to so many awesome kids who are involved in so many activities.
Life as a dad is unbeatable, just like my amazing wife when she steps into the courtroom as a star prosecutor.
She’s in the middle of prosecuting a case right now, working her sexy behind off around the clock to make the world a little better, and safer, place.
It’s hard work, but she would never give up the sense of fulfillment she gets from a successful verdict, which is exactly how her cases have played out each and every time. If she’s on the case, the defense is literally shaking in their handcuffed shoes!
I’m so damn proud of her and her dedication to making our community the best it can be. To think that she followed in her father’s footsteps is pretty cool, but it’s even cooler that she’s doing it with my last name, because that’s exactly what she is and always will be. Mine.
I fly out of the car and race into the gym.
“Hey!” I yell, the base from my voice sending backs ramrod straight and tightening sphincters. The entire class stops. “What did I say?”
“I’m…I’m sorry. Class was about to start and—” the instructor begins, but I’m not letting him finish whatever excuse he’s got for me.
“And nothing,” I say. “Let’s go. I’m your partner now.”
Jordyn, my fourteen-year-old daughter steps to the side of the room and I line up with the instructor. I know she’s probably embarrassed and I definitely know she knows the rule when it comes to our family.
Don’t ever take sides, with anyone, against the family.
Yes, I took it from a movie and no I’m not the kind of guy who runs around quoting movies. I’m not even Italian and I’m certainly not mafia, as the movie portrayed.
But I do agree with one part of that movie, if nothing else.
Family is the strongest bond there is and family always comes first.
And nobody trains with my daughter, except me. Those have been the rules since I came here a year ago and signed her up for classes and those will stay the rules.
I’m happy for her to be here, and for her to learn things, but when it comes time to spar she only spars with me.
No one puts a hand on my child, and I mean no one.
And the instructor is about to be reminded of that from a six foot five inch father of five who is as big and as bad as they come when it comes to protecting what’s his.
“On your movement,” I say, but the instructor refuses to make a motion. He just stays down in the ready position knowing his destiny, but not wanting to acknowledge or meet it.
Finally he shoots in for a leg grab, and just like that it’s all over.
I’ve got him twisted like a pretzel and he taps out immediately, which is wise because I could easily break his arm and really make sure he doesn’t try and spar with my daughter again.
I help him to his feet. No need in kicking a good man when he’s down, and I do think he is a good man. Why else would I have brought my daughter here in the first place?
But good or bad…it doesn’t matter.
My rules are my rules and I enforce them like no other.
Personally I don’t see why any male needs to put a hand on her until she’s thirty. That’s how old I was when I met her mother and waiting was absolutely the right decision, although technically it wasn’t even a decision at all.
There was never anyone before her. She was the one that made a switch flip inside me and that was that.
And since then every part of my body and life has been switched on non-stop.
That’s how much she affects me, even to this day.
She’s given me five beautiful children and as we agreed on from day one, it’s her job to make them nice.
It’s my job to make them tough.
Yin and yang. We balance each other out perfectly when it comes to parenting, but one place in my life that is completely unbalanced is our family.
Because I’m one hundred percent all in, just like I am when it comes to loving her.
My wife. My life. The perfect partner for this policeman.
She may not have a badge or a gun, but just one look into those arresting eyes and I was hers.
And I always will be.
And she’s mine because I’m her possessive policeman…forever.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
Jade
Ten more years later
“They’re coming!” I say, tapping Jaxon on the shoulder.
We duck down behind a couple fir trees and I feel his arm wrap around me.
I melt into him as I feel the fresh mountain breeze tickle my nose and the warmth of his body next to mine.
Their car stops and Jacob, Jordyn’s boyfriend, quickly runs around and opens her door.
He offers her his hand and helps her out of the car, and even though I said I wasn’t going to cry I can’t help myself.
Jaxon pulls a small bunch of tissues from his coat pocket and dabs away my tears.
“Thank you,” I mouth silently, knowing we don’t want to get caught. Jaxon must have been thinking ahead, as he always does. He’d already unwrapped the tissues, so there wasn’t any sound of plastic ripping open. That and he knew this moment was going to get me.
I feel Jaxon’s hand tighten around me as Jacob walks Jordyn hand in hand to the exact same spot where Jaxon proposed to me twenty-five years ago today.
Tonight will be our anniversary party, but the real reason to celebrate will be because of this moment right now.
A week ago Jacob came to the house, dressed in a suit and tie, and sat with Jaxon and I for an entire hour.
He’d scheduled an actual appointment with us a week prior and was he ever prepared. He laid out his life plan, the plan he had for our daughter, and most importantly told us that no matter what happens that he loves her and although it’s not his intention, they can get by on that alone.
He was extremely serious and he reminded me a lot of my Jaxon, which told me our Jordyn was going to be in good hands.
Jaxon had made Jacob jump through all kinds of hoops before he was even allowed to date her.
Jacob never complained once and one night after Jaxon came home from volunteering with Jacob at a food shelter for an entire twenty-four hours straight he just looked at me and said, “There’s nothing that kid won’t do to be with out daughter.”
“Let’s let him take her out,” I’d said.
“She’s not thirty,” Jaxon said.
I motioned him over to bed and he pulled me in tight in his arms. All he said was, “I’m not standing in their way. I give him my blessing.”
And then a few short years later Jacob was back over at the house with his plan. Once Jaxon gave his blessing, the conversation got very exciting.
Jacob told us a few places and ideas he was narrowing down.
Jaxon excused himself and I from the room and asked me if he should tell Jacob about “our spot.” He always saw it as something of a family heirloom, as did I.
I quickly agreed and Jacob loved the idea.
And here we are now.
Jacob points off at something in the valley and Jordyn looks in that direction.
It’s a decoy and gives Jacob time to take a step back and take a knee behind her.
I can barely see through the tears when Jordyn turns around and sees Jacob there with his little, black box and the ring inside.
I swear my mind flashes back to that exact same moment when I was Jordyn and Jaxon was Jacob.
There are certain things in life that can’t be described.
Falling in love, getting engaged, getting married, seeing your children for the first time, watching their first steps, their first school plays, their first sporting events…those are just a few.
But when you see your child and their soon to be spouse following exact
ly in your footsteps it’s extremely overpowering.
I put one hand over my mouth and the other over the top of that, making sure I don’t gasp for air as the tears fall.
Because most importantly this moment isn’t about us, it’s about them.
This is the passing of the torch, and boy are they ever taking that relay baton and sprinting towards the finish line, the checkered flag of love and marriage.
I can’t hear their words, which is a good thing, as that’s something personal between the two of them. But I can read her lips as she says yes, and Jacob slides on the ring just before Jordyn grabs his face and pulls him in for a kiss.
Jaxon hugs me with both hands and we do exactly what we’d planned all along…we very quietly and carefully make our way back down the hill.
It’s a long walk back to our car, but there was no way we wanted them to know we were here.
We’ve got a few hours to just enjoy life anyways. We’ll bask in the glow of our child’s happiness and then “accidentally” stumble into our surprise anniversary party at the house.
Jaxon is a policeman after all so he’s always got his ear to the street.
But he didn’t tell the kids and ruin the awesome surprise they planned.
Little do they know the best surprise is the one we have waiting for them.
A week in the Caribbean this Christmas for all of us.
We carefully arranged it with all their employers and teachers months in advance.
So we’ll just be down there as one happy family, and that includes my dad. Good ‘ol grandpa to the kids.
I can already picture Jaxon and I in beach chairs, clinking our Corona bottles together as we toast to the good life…the best life.
A life full of family as we enjoy beaches, burritos, and bachata…because we dance, or bailamos as Enrique Iglesias said.
And when we dance…we do it just like we do everything…together, as a family.
Always and forever.
A MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS
Book 1: Baby Lust
Book 2: Veteran
Book 3: Built
Book 4: Bambino
Book 5: Rescued
Book 6: Leader
Book 7: Professor
Book 8: Burned
Book 9: Worldly
Book 10: Pistol
Book 11: Policed
Book 12: Driven
Book 13: Lucky 13
Book 14: Lumberjacked
Book 15: Protector
Book 16: Carpenter
Book 17: Italian Stallion
Book 18: Gardener
Book 19: Budapest Billionaire’s Virgin
Book 20: Billionaire’s Babysitter
Book 21: Cocky CFO
Book 22: Fireman’s Filthy 4th
Book 23: Mechanic
Book 24: SEAL’s Secret
Book 25: Police, Pooch, and Smooch
Book 26: Fireman’s Fake Fiancée
Book 27: Billionaire’s Virgin Ballerina
Book 28: Bitcoin Billionaire’s Babysitter
Book 29: Veterans Day Daddy
Book 30: Cowboy’s Christmas Carol
Book 31: Police Officer’s Princess
Book 32: Statham
Book 33: Bodyguard
Book 34: Greek God
Book 35: Billionaire Single Dad's Babysitter
Book 36: Mountain Man
Book 37: SEAL’s Justice
Book 38: Royal Romance
Book 39: Doctor Mountain Man’s Special Delivery
Book 40: Crocodile Dan D
Book 41: Mountain Man’s Secret Baby
Book 42: Doctor Bad Boy’s Secret Baby
Book 43: Cop’s Babysitter
Book 44: Nanny for the Cop Next Door
Book 45: Small Town SEAL’s Saving Grace
Book 46: Cop’s Fake Fiancée
Book 47: Billionaire’s Nanny
Book 48: Cowboy’s Babysitter
Book 49: Steamy
Book 50: Brother’s Best Friend
Book 51: Possessive Professor
Book 52: Firefighter’s Babysitter
Book 53: Soldier’s Secret Baby
Book 54: Ward’s Independence Day
Book 55: Doctor Next Door
Book 56: Possessive Policeman
Book 57: Coached by the MMA Fighter
Book 58: Boss’s Babysitter
Book 59: Virgin in New York
Book 60: Rock Star’s Baby
Book 61: Possessive Protector
Book 62: Possessive Australian
Book 63: Best Friend’s Brother
Book 64: Possessive Cowboy
Book 65: Summer Romanced
Book 66: Possessive Prince
Book 67: Lovers’s Enemy
Book 68: Cop’s Best Friend
Book 69: Possessive Firefighter
Book 70: Football Next Door
Book 71: Doctor December
Book 72: Possessive Canadian
Book 73: Blue Collar Billionaire
Book 74: Possessive K-9 Cop
Book 75: Possessive Brazilian
Book 76: Hockey Obsession
Book 77: Possessive Boston Irish American MMA Fighter
Book 78: Halloween Next Door
Book 79: Possessive Russian
Book 80: Baseball Mine
Book 81: Cop’s Caribbean Captive
Book 82: Instalove Island
Book 83: Dad’s Best Friend
Book 84: Thanksgiving with Dad’s Boss
Book 85: Possessive Italian Neighbor
Book 86: Possessive Portuguese
Book 87: Possessive Christmas Cop
Book 88: Russian’s Obsession
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Possessive Christmas Cop: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 87) Page 8
