Chapter 11

I"m kicking myself for calling her Rachel"s mom. This may not be something she wanted to be known as and I"ve now given her the title without confirming with her. "Stupid move man." Mind made up on something that I"ve been thinking about since we started walking around together, I go make a purchase that I know I"ll use in the future. Hiding it in the bag I carry for Rachel, I pick a spot and wait.

As I"m standing outside, waiting on them with my arms crossed over my chest, I see a newer member of the department, Phillip White. He"s our K-9 officer and he"s been a great addition. "Hey." I wave toward where he and what I assume to be his wife are walking in my direction.

"Hey, how"s it going?" They come to a stop in front of us.

"Not too bad, just enjoying some time with the family since we"ve been working so much."

"Right?" He slings his arm around the woman"s neck. "This is my wife, Hayley."

"Nice to meet you." I give her a smile before rocking back on my feet. "Welcome."

"Thank you." She smiles back. "I met your wife the other day. We go to the same library story time. She"s so sweet and your daughter is so cute."

"Thank you. I"m proud of my family." It strikes me how true those words are. No matter how this marriage and this family came about, I am proud of it. Really damn happy that we"ve made it work. It won"t always be the way it is right now. We"re in that polite phase, where we don"t want to piss each other off, but I have a feeling if I make Courtney mad, she"s going to show me who she is.

"Hayley, hey, it"s so good to see you." Courtney says as she comes out of the bathroom, holding Rachel.

"You too, will I see you at story time next week?"

I love that she has someone in this town to talk to besides me.

"Of course, it"s a free hour, which we both discussed we don"t get very often."

Introductions are made and for the next few minutes we stand around, talking to one another. Rachel becomes fussy. Courtney and I share a look. "She needs a nap," I explain. "We"re right in the middle of her normal nap time."

"Totally understand. See you at work tomorrow."

Rachel cries as we drive home, and Courtney calms her down. It"s amazing watching how close these two have become. When Rachel has finally given up the ghost and fallen asleep, I glance over at my wife. "It"s nice that you met Hayley huh?"

"Yeah, my best friend doesn"t live far from here, but she has her own life, and we haven"t been able to meet. I had kind of hoped we would be able to..." She lets the thought trail off. "So far I"m still waiting."

"It"s hard, once you bring a child into the mix, it"s not as easy as it once was. So much takes precedent. I hate that for you." I grip my fingers around the steering wheel.

"It"s okay, I"m an adult. I can make new friends, and it"s not like I don"t have a lot going on right now."

I wish I could tell her it would change, that I won"t need her as much as I do now to help with Rachel, but I know I will. Things won"t slow down, crime is always around. We don"t have enough members of the department to allow us to only work four days a week or even just forty hours sometimes. Since I can"t change it, I make a promise that I will go out of my way to make sure she knows she"s appreciated.

When we pull into the driveway, I wrestle with what I want to say, and in the end, don"t say anything.

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Later on tonight, since I"m off, we"re sitting in the living room, flipping through all the streaming services, trying to decide what we want to watch. We had dinner, Rachel is in her room sleeping, and it"s just Courtney and I.

"Thank you for the day." She tilts her head to the side, putting it on my shoulder.

This is the one of the first times we"ve touched, and the zap straight to my stomach is a surprise. She"s a gorgeous woman, and the way she takes care of both me and Rachel has opened my eyes to things I"ve been missing, but I didn"t realize how much a touch could affect me. "No, thank you." I slide my arm around her neck. "It"s been a long time since I went and did something like that. I wouldn"t have with just taken Rachel by myself. I"m not confident in my abilities as a parent, and usually I"d have to have my mom with me."

"You"ve got this. I see the way you are with her. You won"t be working sixty and seventy hours a week forever, ya know? There"ll be a time when she won"t need as much care as she needs now. We"ll have days and nights together where we can get to know each other like normal couples do." She wraps her arm around my waist, giving me a hug.

"You"re right. We have to be patient with each other, and so you know, I don"t plan on going anywhere."

"Me neither." She rolls her lips together, sighing heavily. "Can I tell you something?"

My heart pounds in my chest as the weight of realizing she"s going to trust me sinks in. "You can tell me anything."

"I did this; marrying you, because I always had this dream. That I could have my own happily ever after like they get in romance novels, or those Hallmark movies. There"s been so much disappointment in my life, and I wanted security. I never had that with my mom, never really knew my dad, the only person I could ever count on was my friend, Cammie. I"ve got that with you. I"ve got a built in family, which is what I wanted too. So, everything I wanted you"ve made come true, except for the romance part." A blush works it"s way across her cheeks.

"Ouch." I grab at my chest. "I guess the ball"s in my court for that, huh?"

"For both of us, but I"m shy and I definitely need for you to make the first move."

My gaze rakes over her body, stopping where her breasts are exposed by the low cut of her shirt. "Be right back. I have something just for you."

She nods, a soft smile across her face.

I was going to save this until later, but I want her to know I"m willing to put in the work. That"s the one thing that will make this marriage. If we both put in the work, and I"m going to make that first move she asked for.