Page 11 of Wife Wanted

"I will. Love you, Mom. Tell Dad I said hi."

"Will do."

When we hang up, I thrust annoyed fingers through my hair. I don't know how she and I move forward from where we are right now, but I know we have to work from here and get to know one another. The problem is the attraction. I'm afraid that those feelings will drive our emotions. Pulling into the driveway, I grab the food and head inside. "I'm home," I yell, as I walk inside and shut the back door.

She sticks her head out of the bathroom. "I'm finishing up her bath."

"Let me do it. You come out here and get the food set up, I'll finish her bath and put her to bed. I've missed it. She onto a new story yet?" I give her a small smile.

"Nope, still loving that first book of nursery rhymes. As long as you read the first two, she'll be good to go."

She hands off Rachel to me. My daughter gives me a grin that goes straight to my chest, fisting my heart. "Missed you, Rach. Holy shit you've grown so much." Her eyes dance, shining brightly as she watches me. It still amazes me that I knew nothing about her the first few months of her life, and she's worked her way so deeply into my life. I never thought I'd have this, much less be this happy about it. Rachel has changed my life, in ways I never imagined.

After I'm done getting her dressed, and have a seat in her rocker, I inhale deeply, loving the smell of the baby shampoo. She won't be little like this long, and I desperately need to enjoy it while I have it. Kicking my legs out in front of me, I hold her, open the book, and start to read aloud.

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"Is she asleep?" Courtney asks when I walk into the kitchen about twenty minutes later.

"Out like a light." I've changed into some comfortable clothes, and now all I want to do is relax and eat dinner with my wife. It still feels weird calling her that. "Thank you for taking such good care of her." I walk over and grab a drink, before going to the table, and having a seat.

She follows me, a grin across her lips. "She's easy to take care of. I'll have to admit, I was nervous when I realized that you had a small baby, even more so when I realized that you were kind of looking for a built in babysitter." There's a teasing lilt to her voice, which makes me feel a little better about the situation.

"I didn't mean for that to happen, I promise you. I knew I would need help, and yes that was a catalyst for me to meet with Miss May, but I never expected you to come live with me and immediately step into that role. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to spend more time with you, and get to know you." It's been a shit situation, especially with her leaving her entire life, and coming to live with me. I've left her to her own devices and she's spent most every night alone with my daughter while I've been working. "I really want this to work for us. That's why I'm here on time tonight, why I brought food, and why I'm sitting at this table ready to listen to whatever it is you want to talk about."

"I know." She grabs a potato skin taking a bite of it. The chewing is more thoughtful than trying to actually eat it. "We're both going to have to work at this, not just you, so this is me trying, too. How was your day? What do you do for fun?"

"My day? It was pretty good. I did a lot of patrol and didn't have to fight anyone, so that's always a plus. Especially when I don't have to fight a lady not wearing a bra. I hate that."

She laughs loudly, putting her hand over her mouth. "Is that a normal thing?"

"You have no idea. When women get drunk, the bra comes off, and they are ready to throw down. Whether it be with their husband, baby daddy, wife, girlfriend, friend, some body they don't even know. I do not understand it. I've gotten a palm full of sixty to seventy year old boob way more than I ever wanted to." Her giggle makes me laugh right along with her.

"That sounds interesting."

"That's one way to put it. Some days are easy, and there's not a lot going on. Like maybe we see someone who has a flat tire and they need help changing it.Maybe someone needs directions and they stop me, because I'm a cop. Those are my favorite days, where it is about helping with the every day. It's when it gets more serious..."

Her eyes go soft and she tilts her head to the side. "More serious how? I've never dated a police officer, never known one really."

"It could be a domestic violence situation, a child abuse call, someone with a gun, a robbery, a deadly care accident. None of that is every really good, and you go into that call knowing that it could change you irreparably. You really have to have a good sense of who you are, because you see things that you just can't tell a lot of other people about. Therapy is a big deal, whether you go talk to someone about what you see, or you have a hobby that lets you get away from the pressures of the job." I shrug as if it's not a big deal, but it is. "And now, I have you and Rachel. It gives me another perspective and the motivation I need to make sure I come home every night to both of you. We may not have spent a lot of time together, but I've enjoyed the time we have spent."

She reaches across the table, taking my hand in hers. "I have too."

CHAPTER TEN

Courtney

"Good morning." I grin at Rachel the next morning, when I go in to get her up. She's such a happy baby, hardly ever cries, and always has a smile for me. Waking her up is the favorite part of my day. "Did you sleep good?" I always ask her this like she's going to be able to answer me.

"I did, but she might not be able to tell you." Shane's deep voice, soft with sleep says from behind me.

I get her up, holding her tightly to my chest before taking her over to her changing table. I put her down and then turn to face Shane. Holy fucking shit, I was not prepared. I've never seen him right as he's woken up. I typically see him in the kitchen, when he's dressed for work. Since we got married, he's only had a couple of days off, and the other times, I've seen him already dressed for the day. This though? This is something else entirely. He's wearing a pair of low-slung sweat pants that hug his hip bones, and no shirt. Every single tattoo he has is on display and my God, if he isn't one of the most perfect looking men. Tan with that blond hair, he could be a surfer if we lived near the beach. His arms are up over his head, holding onto the door facing, elongating his body, showing off his ab muscles and ribs. "Yeah..." I clear my throat. "Not sure why I always ask her."

"Are you okay?" His eyebrows pull together in question. "You look flushed."

"Fine," I answer, rolling my lips together. "Do you wanna change her while I get coffee started? Maybe we can go do something today. Family fun day?"

"Yeah." He smiles wide, straight white teeth and a fucking dimple sneaking out. "Sounds great to me."

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