Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 73824 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73824 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Reagan Rose.
If Corrinne had had her way, Reagan wouldn’t even exist today.
I’d convinced her to have Reagan, even though her parents had been telling her to have the abortion.
Once Reagan had been born, Corrinne had changed her mind and had tried to keep her. I’d fought her for nearly four months, but before Reagan was even in the picture I’d signed up for the Navy. And I’d had to report to boot camp before the final judge’s decision had been announced.
I’ll never know what divine forces had been at work at that time, but I thanked the Lord every day for my beautiful brown headed girl. For all the people that helped me bring her home.
I loved the little girl to death, even when she was being a turd like she had been tonight.
“How do you know that lady, Uncle Benny Bear?” Harleigh asked.
I winced.
Payton had taught all of her kids to call me that, and I had a feeling it would forever be my name, no matter how hard I tried.
It was bad enough that all of the men at the station were calling me that, too.
Yet, Payton didn’t seem to care how embarrassing it was.
“I met her the other day when I got my stitches,” I explained patiently.
Harleigh nodded.
“Do those hurt? They’re going to scar,” Harleigh observed.
“No, they don’t hurt. And yes, they’ll probably scar,” I answered as I tossed the last piece of steak into my mouth.
Eight year old girls were incredibly curious, yet these two didn’t act like most eight year olds. They were little tom boys that acted more like a male child would, rather than a female child.
I could see how mine was like that, seeing as it was just me and her. Harleigh had her mother and two sisters at home.
“You know you make my momma cry when you get hurt,” Harleigh accused.
I blinked. “I do?”
She nodded sagely. “Yep. And daddy has to tell her to get a grip.”
“Hmm,” I said dryly. “Your mommy needs a little help in that department. Maybe next time you can tell her to take a chill pill.”
“Do you have a gun on?” Harleigh asked.
Always so curious.
“Yes, I do,” I answered honestly.
I was a cop. And I was a SEAL before that. I didn’t go anywhere unarmed. Ever.
“Where is it? Can I hold it? What kind is it?”
Harleigh smiled, looking exactly like her mom, and I sighed.
“Alright you two, if you’re done, let’s get going. I have to be at work right after y’all have to be at school in the morning, and I have a shit ton of stuff to do,” I said to the pair.
“Mommy also says you have a potty mouth,” Harleigh said, grabbing her tea and scooting out of the booth.
“That’s because he does have a potty mouth,” Lennox tossed over her shoulder.
I hadn’t realized she’d sat directly behind us, and I wondered how much of our conversations she’d heard.
“Let’s go girls,” I said, putting a hand on each of their heads and steering each of them out of the crowded restaurant and to the parking lot.
All the while I felt the watchful eye of a woman who most likely hated my guts.
Why, when I hadn’t done anything to her, I didn’t know. But, oh well. Wouldn’t be the first woman that disliked me and definitely wouldn’t be the last.
By the time I got home, twenty minutes later, the two hellions in the backseat were knocked smooth out, and I was thinking that they used to be a lot easier to get inside and tucked into bed when they were smaller.
Pulling in and shutting my truck off, I got out and motioned one of the men over that was outside tinkering on his bike over.
“What’s up?” James asked as he walked over.
I pointed to the two sleeping girls in the backseat.
“Grab one, would you?” I asked quietly.
James placed his beer on the side of my truck and scooped the girl closest to him up while I got the other.
“You want them both in Reagan’s bed?” James asked me as I held the front door open for him and Reagan.
“Yeah, that’s fine,” I said, following behind him.
Neither one of us bothered to turn any lights on, both knowing our way just as we all did throughout everyone’s house.
James was on the SWAT team with me, and he also lived in the same little compound as I did.
I’d moved into my sister’s old place when I’d gotten out of the Navy, happy to have a safe place among friends and family.
The compound was founded by Sam Mackenzie, and he had made a place where his entire unit could stay on the same piece of property.
They used to all live in separate duplexes, but over the last few years, they’d all built their own houses interspersed across the property.
I had taken over the duplex that Payton and Max had occupied, although I hadn’t planned on making it permanent by any means. However, it worked for us.
I was called out often to come in for SWAT related calls, or at times to cover a shift if needed. It was always nice to have family around at the drop of a hat that could watch Reagan for me while I was working.
And I’d do the same for Payton, Max, or any of the men that lived there. Kind of like James.
We were a tight knit family and I counted myself lucky to be there.
“Hey, I tried calling you a few minutes ago. I need to go out tomorrow and pick up a new gun. Do you want to come?” James asked once he laid his charge down.
James and I didn’t keep our conversation down.
The two girls were heavy sleepers. They had to be with all the activity that paraded around them on a daily basis. All of the ‘Free Kids’, as I liked to call them, were close in age. And it wasn’t unheard of to have them all running in and out of your door at any moment in time.