Page 105 of Last Round

“Already?” Cassie pouts.

“Nova is ready for her nap,” he’s quick to add. Nova’s lids are already heavy, and the car ride home will be easier if she’s asleep. I get it. This is why I usually drive down to visit them. And with my significantly lower workload, that will be happening a lot more frequently.

I kiss the top of the baby’s head. “Don’t worry, Uncle Killian will be down for a visit soon.”

“You’re coming to Thanksgiving, right?” Cassie asks.

“Yeah, can’t wait to see how you top last year.”

She hits my chest with a playful tap. “Shut up.” Then pulls me in for another hug. “You guys be safe. Text me when you land.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I wave her off. As if she ever texts me when she makes it home.

“Congratulations,” Robbie says as he gives me a masculine pat on the shoulder. He’s warming up to me. “By the way, nice glasses.”

I take them off, and he chuckles as they walk away. “Tell Cian he’s an asshole for not being here,” I call out to my sister.

“Tell him yourself!” She laughs and points behind me.

“I drag my ass all the way up here and this is how you treat me?”

I turn around to my big brother. “Dude.” I give him a hug. “You said you had to work.”

“Small town. Apparently switching shifts is a lot easier now.” He shrugs.

“Still liking it? Or are you ready to come back to the big, bad city?”

It’s hard to believe that my badass Army Ranger brother is a small-town cop—the kind who gets called about dumb neighborly disputes, instead of dealing with reported gunfire and being tasked with cordoning off homicide scenes. No joke. We’ve gotten drunk a few times as he told me about the dumb shit he deals with on a day-to-day basis. While it seems boring, especially compared to the life he used to live, I finally get the appeal of slowing down.

“It has its days.” He shrugs.

“Find anyone special yet or still just sampling the local flavor?”

“What can I say? The ladies down there love me.”

“I’m sure they do.” I chuckle. “You’re a Murphy—shit,” I say as I spot my original target sitting quietly in the corner while chatting up one of my waitresses. “Hey, can I catch up with you in a minute? There’s someone I need to talk to before he disappears again.”

“It’s your party.” My brother pats me on the shoulder, then saunters off to a couple of his old buddies I recognize.

I toss my glasses back on and make a beeline to the man of the hour. “Luke,” I shout, interrupting his conversation with Chelsea. “Isn’t that baby supposed to be here already?”

“In a couple of weeks.” She smiles and rubs her belly. “Thank you again, Killian.”

“For what?”

“You know…” She looks at me and I’m lost. “My job, the money? Oh my god, did I get that all wrong. I’m so sorry—”

“Oh, that. Sorry… I was confused because that isn’t something you should be thanking me for.” She scrunches her brow, so I add, “Chelsea, you’re part of the K.O. family. We take care of our own. Giving you paid leave is the least we could do. Honestly, it should have already been part of our policies. We just never had anyone pregnant on staff before. Enjoy the six weeks. When you’re ready to come back, talk to us. Or, if you need more time, we will work it out.”

Chelsea hugs me as best she can, her large belly making it difficult. “Thank you.” She sniffles. “One second. God, I can’t wait to meet this little peanut and get my bladder back.”

Luke watches carefully as she runs off to the bathroom. I slide in next to him on the booth, my arm draping over his shoulder. “Interesting,” I comment.

“What is?” He stares at me. “Oh, that? We’re just talking. She’s nice.” He glances towards the bathroom again. When he looks back at me, I have a giant grin on my face. “What? She’s sweet. I like talking to her.”

“Sure you do.”

“No distractions,” he repeats the mantra again. “Especially now.”

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