“Today’s a big day for him, isn’t it?”
I grin. “It is. He should get the okay to go back to work. Not that I haven’t loved having him off to help me move and get stuff set up, but he’s starting to get cabin fever. So is Major. They’re both slightly starting to get on my nerves.”
“I feel ya. If Nick’s home too long, him and D-man decide to do projects.” She uses air quotes for the word. “Typically I have to hire someone to fix what they’ve messed up. I love them so much, but damn.”
“So the news, is that why you’re hanging out in the back?” She flips over her chart.
“Yeah, Dr. Patterson was scared for me to work the registration desk.”
“Good call.” She gives me a wink. “That means maybe you can go to The Café and get us lunch?”
“Ohh, it’s chicken sandwich Thursday.” I rub my stomach. “My favorite.”
“So you can get us lunch?”
“Hell yeah, you want me to go now?” I look up at the clock, seeing it’s almost eleven-thirty.
“Go.” She hitches her head to the door. “I’ll take care of it until you get back.”
I’ve never been the type of person who thought I’d be attached to my car, but lately this is the only time I can get complete peace. Here, there aren’t people trying to get my attention, trying to find things out about me that I don’t want to share.
This is the one place during the day I can be myself.
Grabbing my cell phone, I call The Café, putting our order in, because I don’t want to wait once I get there.
After that’s done, I crank the music and enjoy the fifteen-minute drive.
Parking in front, I get out, running right into my dad.
“Daddy, what are you doing here?” I wrap him in a hug.
“Met him for lunch.” He points to my surprise, at Tucker.
“I didn’t know the two of you were having lunch together.” I look at Tucker, trying to figure out if he was keeping this from me.
“It was last-minute. I had to go to the station, got my badge and gun back.” He grins.
I throw myself into his arms, so excited for him.
“Anyway, I saw your dad walking down the sidewalk and thought he might like to have lunch.”
“I wish I could join you two, but I’m just getting me and Kels lunch.”
“It’s cool, I think we’ll be okay by ourselves.” Dad gives me a look.
“Oh, I get it. This is a guy thing.”
“Sorta.”
While I’m excited the two of them are doing things without me and seem to be getting along, I’m a little bummed they don’t want me to be a part of their lunch.
“See you at home?” Tucker gives me a hug, kissing me on the cheek.
“Yeah, see ya.”
* * *
Tucker
“What were the odds she was going to be here?” Pruitt asks as we take a booth in The Café.
“No fucking idea.” I shake my head. “The one day I ask you to come have lunch with me, she shows up.”
Our order is taken and dropped off quickly. They treat the Laurel Springs PD very well here and we thank them by spending most of our eating hours here.
“So,” he asks as he positions his hamburger to take a bite, “what did you want to meet here to talk about?”
This is nerve-wracking, probably the absolute most nerve-wracking thing I’ve ever done, and I’ve done some shit in my life. “There aren’t many things I follow the rules about,” I start, putting my own burger down. “But this is one I feel like would be important not only for you, but for Karsyn too.”
“I get the feeling this is an important conversation.” He sets his food down.
“It is, and I know you probably feel like I’m moving too fast or this is being sprung upon you, but the fact is, I’ve loved your daughter for over a year. It took me a long time to come to grips with that love. I wasn’t raised in the type of household that showed love easily, so I didn’t really know what it was. I’m doing my best to be the type of man Karsyn deserves and one she can be proud of. I want more than anything for her to go to bed and wake up in the morning knowing she has a partner.”
I stop for a second, trying to collect myself, trying to figure out if I’m even worthy of asking the question I want to of this man.
“Go on,” he encourages me, and I don’t realize until he encourages me that I actually need it.
“I want to ask for your blessing.”
“My blessing?”
“To ask Karsyn to marry me. I’m not big on traditions or social norms like this, but I know she is.”
He wipes under his eyes, and that tells me more than anything how touched he is.
“She is, and Karsyn means the world to us. I’ve seen how she’s grown with you, how she’s become more confident in herself. I have to admit, last year when you two broke up, I didn’t know who you were. But I hated you. She lost that spark she has, she lost the sparkle, and I didn’t know if she’d ever get it back.”
“Hell, sir,” I chuckle. “I didn’t know if I’d ever get it back either. There’s something about her, about the way she makes me feel. It’s almost like I’m addicted, but I was too scared last year to give her that power over me.”
“You’re okay with it now?”
“I can’t imagine my life without her.”
Those are the truest words I’ve ever spoken.
“She’s engrained herself so deeply into my life.” I shrug. “My dog loves her more than he loves me. Which is dangerous, but I’m willing to allow it.”
My heart is pounding as I wait to hear the answer.
“You promise you’ll always take care of her?”
“With everything I have in me. As long as I can provide it, she will never want for anything. She’ll be safe, she’ll be loved, adored, and worshiped. Until I give my last breath, she will be the most important thing in my life.”
He smiles. One that spreads across his face. “Then you have my blessing, Tucker. Welcome to our family.”
We get up, hugging right there in the middle of The Café, and I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy in my entire life.
Epilogue #1
Karsyn
The house is dark when I get home, but I’m not surprised. It’s been a hot as hell day and we’ve decided to grill out tonight, as not to warm the house up too much. I picked up the sides on the way home.
“Tucker?” I yell as I approach the back porch.
“Yeah, we’re back here.” I can hear Major making his presence known.
Opening the gate, I see the two of them. My man standing in front of the grill, no shirt on, while Major sits next to him, probably waiting on some meat to be dropped. Climbing up onto the porch, I go over to them.
Tucker leans back, pursing his lips for a kiss. I oblige, resting against him slightly.
“Long day?”
“Super long. Just wanted to be here with the two of you. I hate when you’re off and I have to work.”
“You get so jealous,” he teases me.
“Not because you’re off work.” I’m slightly offended. “But because I don’t get to spend the time with you.”
“Sure.” He rolls his eyes good-naturedly. ”What did you get for sides?”
“Pasta salad and corn salsa. I picked up some tortilla chips too. I’ll go change and get this stuff plated. Be right back.”
He smacks my ass, causing me to look back at him. “You know it stings when I’m in scrubs.”
“I know.” He smirks. “I get a better sound from it.”
It amazes me how easy our relationship has been in the months following the killing of Clarence. I’m not as tense as I used to be, and I feel like Tucker and I now know better how to be a couple. Life is just about perfect. I sigh as I change into comfortable clothes, but for a moment I look at my hand. The only thing that would make this completely perfect? A ring on my left hand.
“That was so good.” I r
ub my stomach as we relax on the back deck.
“It really was,” Tucker agrees, taking a drink off the bottle of beer he has in front of him. “I can’t believe you want to play.” He looks down at Major. “Let Karsyn throw for you, I’m tired.”
Standing up, I coo at Major, who loves it. “Yeah, your daddy has been way too lazy today.” I reach over for his ball and throw it.
“Don’t make fun of me.” Tucker, nudges me with his foot.
“Poor baby.” I lean down when Major comes back with the ball, and it’s then, I see something around his neck. “What is this?”
Tucker quirks an eyebrow. “I don’t know, maybe you should look at it.”
Now I’m confused but intrigued. It’s a little pouch, so I take it off his collar and open it up, turning it upside down. What tumbles out on the table makes me gasp. It’s a ring box, along with a folded note.
With shaking hands, I unfold the note. I know Tucker, and he’s not one for huge professions of anything, so the simple words mean the most.
I love you, Karsyn. I don’t want to imagine my life without you. Marry me?
My hand goes in front of my lips to hold in the excited scream that threatens my throat. I look over and he’s gotten out of his seat, now he’s on his knee, waiting for me. He grabs the ring box, opening it for me to see it.
“Will you?”
All of my dreams are here on this porch. This man, this dog, this simple profession of love, and oh my God, this ring he holds in front of him.
“Did you ask my dad?”
“That day at The Café.”
“Tucker! That was three months ago!”
He laughs. “I had to get my courage up.”
“You don’t ever need courage with me. Yes! Yes! Yes!”
He puts the ring on my finger, and then stands me up, taking me in his arms, spinning me around.
The ring I wanted so bad a few hours ago, is right where I imagined it would be, and my enigma? He wasn’t so hard to understand at all.
Epilogue #2
Tucker
Late August - A Year Later
“I normally wouldn’t be running this meeting, but FEMA has requested that we be on call for the potentially devastating event in the Gulf this week.” Mason looks out at all of us.
Today, he looks older than normal, almost like he believes all the reports that have been coming in. A Category Five Hurricane is barreling toward the Florida Panhandle and the Gulf Coast.
He pulls up a weather map. The storm looks even nastier than it has the past few times we’ve gotten an update, if that’s even possible. With my left hand, I reach over, grabbing Karsyn’s hand in mine. I smile slightly as I feel her do what she’s done since she slipped the ring on my finger. She caresses it, playing with the symbol of our devotion to one another.
“Long-term impact has it making landfall at Pensacola. As big as this hurricane is, I don’t have to tell you what that means for the Alabama Gulf Coast, as well. We’ll need the K-9’s.” He looks out at me. “Sorry to take you away from you new bride so quickly.”
I shrug; it is what it is, and we both knew that when we signed up to be members of LSERT.
“The plan is for us to travel down a few days before estimated landfall and stay in Atmore. That puts us an hour away from Pensacola and we should be far enough inland not to be affected by the storm surge.”
“We should be able to act quickly too,” Cutter says from where he sits behind me.
“Exactly,” Menace agrees. “Which is why we need a first wave. Overtime has been approved; this comes out of the federal budget. What I need are two K-9’s, ten police officers, and six EMT’S, along with a few nurses and whatever doctors we can spare. We’ll caravan down and be ready to help where needed. We already have a semi full of rations we’ll take with us, and once we get the all-clear, we’ll get down to business. Potentially there could be a few waves of volunteers helping. As soon as the gulf counties get their situations squared away, they’ll start relieving us.”
The room is abuzz with what’s going on. A week ago, no one knew this system was even brewing out in the ocean. Now, we’re roughly seventy-two hours before projected landfall.
“If I could have volunteers please sign up on this sheet,” Menace is shouting. “I’ll personally get with your supervisors and verify we’ll still have coverage here. You’ll be notified tonight, and we’ll convene at the LSPD in the morning. Thank you all for being willing to help.”
I look at Cutter, who stands beside me. “You going?”
“Ain’t got nothing else to do.” He grins. Somehow I don’t think his life is as easy-going as he wants everyone to think.
I shake my head at him. “See you in the morning.”
There’s no doubt Menace will send both of us, potentially all three of us, I look over at my wife.
“See ya. This looks like it’s going to be one for the record books.” He glances at the TV screen that’s playing everywhere for all of us to see. “Who knows, maybe this is the event that’s gonna change my life forever?”
I look at him. “You think so?”
“Something has to.” He shrugs.
Famous last words.
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