Page 40 of Cash

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“You know you’re going to say yes, Livi.”

“Of course I am, but I couldn’t look too eager.”

“Honey, you were all but drooling on his floor. I saw your eyegasm. Thought I was going to need the fire extinguisher.”

“I wasn’t that bad!” I shout with a laugh at James.

“I was prepared to pull you off if you started humping his leg!”

“Whose leg’s getting humped?” asks Shanice as she and her partner walk past our desks.

“Livi’s got a hot one on the hook,” James answers.

“Tell me all about it, Sugar,” demands Tori, Shanice’s partner.

Tori Stanbrook’s been a cop for many years, and she’s damned good at it. Tall, rail-thin and paler than pale, she takes no shit from anyone. Her skin’s so light that other cops call her The Vampire. Might also have something to do with the fact that she bit a guy once to get her cuffs on him.

Shanice Tanner has four years with the department, and she’s a rising star. Challenged in height, skin as dark as her partner’s is pale, she can talk her way out of most any situation. If talking doesn’t do it, she has no qualms about using her taser. They’re considered the other “Odd Couple” in our precinct, but as it does for us, it works for them. The four of us have tipped a lot of beer bottles back together, and I see many more in our future.

“Livi’s going to say yes to a date with a biker,” James informs them.

“A biker? Please tell me he’s one of those hot, tatted types and not the beer-gut, Kawasaki-riding ones?” Shanice questions bluntly.

“Tall, tatted and fabulous,” I answer her.

“You ride him hard, honey. Make both your engines purr,” Tori orders with a wink as they walk past.

James and I finish up our paperwork and head to our locker rooms. After changing, we meet back up and walk for the door. We don’t reach it before hearing our names called by our Captain.

“Sorry, but you two are being mandated for another shift.”

“You’ve got to be kidding, Captain!” James says with disgust clearly heard in his tone.

“Not kidding, James. Get back into uniform, both of you. Frank and Jonesy called in sick again. You two will be covering their shift unless I can find some volunteers. Don’t count on that though. You’ll be working the 14thdistrict. Good luck with that,” Captain LaForest says before walking away.

“Amazing how they’re both sick at the same time, every time. Fuck it, let’s get changed and go ruin someone else’s day,” I say in an irritable voice.

“Vengeful Livi. My favorite Livi,” James says with a laugh as we retrace our steps to the locker rooms.

Chapter 10

Cash

This parent gig’s slowly killing me. Between Liam’s sleep habits and my need to keep a spotless home, I’m a walking zombie today. I haven’t left my home since Liam’s arrival, and I need to get out for a while. I need groceries and beer. Lots of beer. Because of Liam’s ability to soil every article of clothing he owns, I need laundry soap too. I also need to be at the clubhouse to meet with the club doctor. I want Liam checked over, and I have several questions to ask about his care.

I gather up all the things I think I need to take with me and load them into the truck. After a frustratingly long time, I get Liam’s car seat secured in the middle of my truck’s backseat. To make that happen, I finally had to resort to reading the instructions that came with the car seat. I swear to God they weren’t written in English, and the diagrams made zero sense. I’m still not sure it’s properly installed but upon testing it, I couldn’t get it to budge, so I’m calling it safe. The duct tape and bungie cords weren’t mentioned in the instructions, but that sucker isn’t moving anytime soon.

Taking an infant anywhere is a huge procedure. I never realized all the things needed and the amount of time it would take. Running behind schedule is unacceptable to me, I guess I get that from Lola, so now I’m getting frustrated on top of being anxious about our first outing. Once we’re both loaded into the truck, I sit behind the wheel and take a few deep, calming breaths.

I’ve always been the guy that never loses his cool in stressful situations. I’m level-headed and calm when shit’s going down and the bullets are flying. I always know the best course of action needed, and that’s why I was unanimously voted in as the club enforcer. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty, so to speak, when needed. But for some unknown reason, having a tiny baby dropped in my lap unexpectedly has completely knocked me off my square. I’ve said more words and talked to more people in the last few days than I have in the last year. I need to find my way back to the person I’m comfortable being. Normal, or at least a new normal. Do I regret having Liam now? Not for one fucking second. I know I’ll get the hang of this dad thing soon. If Axel can do this, so can I, I keep reminding myself.

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Walking through the store, I’m finding out that a baby’s like a magnet. Nearly every woman that I cross paths with oohs and aahs over Liam and several take the time to toss flirtatious comments or looks my way. I’m not sure what to do with that, so I smile politely and keep walking. As I’m standing in the baby aisle, I realize I have no idea what to buy. Bailey and Taja set me up with the basics, but I need to restock. I search out the type of formula and diapers they bought before and move on. I scratch my head at the selection of bottles and nipples, but I grab several varieties anyway. I’m hoping one of them will appeal to Liam, and he’ll be less fussy while feeding. I’m willing to try or buy anything to make this adjustment easier on both of us. Before leaving the aisle, I spot a box of lactation cookies. Really? They make cookies for that? With a grin, I add a box to my cart and move on.

I find the baby clothing section and get busy stocking up. Those onesie things are the shit, so I grab several in different colors and sizes to make sure I have it covered. I see shoes of all types and briefly wonder why the fuck he’d need shoes yet. But upon seeing miniature biker boots, I grab a pair. Yeah, my son might not be walking, but all guys need biker boots no matter their age.

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