Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 72856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
“I’m not on the pill,” she said.
I nodded, trying not to think about what she’d look like swollen with my child.
“They have Plan B at the CVS,” I said, hoping that didn’t sound as unenthusiastic to her as it did to me.
I didn’t want her to take it.
Shit, but just the idea of a child with her was breathtaking.
“Yeah,” she said. “That’s a good idea.”
I knew she didn’t want another baby right then.
Not so soon after losing Colt just a few short months ago.
“Okay,” I said, standing up and removing what remained of the condom. “We can stop by there on the way home from Jack’s.”
She blinked at me.
“Why Jack’s?” She asked. “I thought we were going out to the pumpkin farm today?”
“We can still do that,” I said. “But I have to tell my brother that I plan on going out for the SWAT team. If he hears it from someone else, and he will, then I’ll never hear the fucking end of it.”
She nodded, and we both left to clean up.
We never did make it to the pharmacy.
Because something terrible happened.
And a pill was the very last thing on our minds.
Chapter 19
One day someone’s going to hold you so tight that you will no longer feel broken.
-Tai to Mia
Tai
“You can’t fucking be serious,” Jack growled in frustration.
I crossed my arms over my chest and studied my brother.
I’d just told him my intentions to join the SWAT team as the tactical medic, and he’d promptly lost his mind.
My brother was protective. And he hated that he couldn’t dictate how I should live my life.
Mia sat in the corner of the couch, showing Cati her phone as she pretended not to listen.
I knew she was listening.
Mostly by the way her scowl ripped into my brother’s back as he sat glaring at me with his hands on his knees.
“I’m serious,” I said. “Luke asked me, and I said I’d try out tomorrow with the rest of the guys.”
Jack’s lips thinned.
“You’re going to get hurt,” he snapped.
I sighed.
“I could,” I agreed. “But I also want to do it.”
Jack burst out of his seat and started to pace the length of his living room.
Winter watched her husband pace from her spot in the recliner, not saying a word throughout the entire encounter.
I watched my brother pace, wondering what he was thinking.
He was never one who liked change.
He hated that I had been a shit head kid who got himself into dangerous situations, and hated that he hadn’t been able to protect me, mostly from myself. And now, he hated that I was a firefighter.
This was my brother, though. An always over-reacting, sometimes smothering bastard, but a loving older brother, nonetheless
He was mine, and whether he liked it or not, he was going to have to get over the fact that I was doing this.
And I knew he would.
He wouldn’t like it, but he’d eventually accept it.
He finally stopped his pacing and turned his eyes to me as he stood in front of me.
“You’ll let me help you train,” he ordered firmly.
I nodded.
And I would, too.
I had never been in the military.
I also had never been a cop.
But I was good with a weapon, and I did have some specialized training. I was proficient in Krav Maga and Jiu Jitsu, and I practiced hand-to-hand combat techniques with some of the guys at my gym once a week. So it wasn’t like I was naïvely going into this without any sort of training whatsoever, bringing only my skills as a medic to the table.
But my brother’s skills and knowledge were more extensive, so I’d be a fool not to take him up on his offer of training.
And I appreciated the fact that he was obviously working through his worry, as evidenced by his offer of assistance instead of attempting to talk me out of it.
“You’ll go with me to train at the shooting range, too,” he said.
I raised my brow at him.
“We do that every weekend, already.” I said.
We had a standing appointment every other Sunday morning, and if I was working on a Sunday, then we went on Saturday.
Never fail, rain or shine. He had me out there, and I went because I liked to hang out with my brother.
Jack glared at me.
“You do realize, right,” Winter said, finally interjecting with her input, “that Tai is twenty-eight-years-old.”
Jack tossed her a glare, too.
Winter grinned.
“Actually,” I said. “As of tomorrow afternoon at 1:21 PM, I’ll be a twenty-nine-year-old-man.”
Mia gasped, causing us all to look at her.
“You didn’t tell me tomorrow was your birthday,” she accused.
I opened my mouth to apologize, but she bounced up on her toes.
“Tomorrow’s my birthday, too!” She squealed.
I laughed as she bounced on her toes towards me, acting much younger than the nearly twenty-eight-year-old, woman that I knew her to be.
I scooped her up in my arms and hauled her to me.