Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
“I’m going to kiss you like that every day when I get home.”
“I won’t object.”
“Can we have the tacos now? I’m starved.”
I laughed. “Yes.”
Chase sat back, pushing away his plate. “Those were incredible.”
I grinned. “Really? You only ate six. I thought maybe you didn’t like them.”
He laughed, taking a drink of his water. “I’ve never had them with the cheese sauce before.”
“I like queso.”
“And you made it?”
“Yes. It’s easy and tastes way better than the crap you get in a jar.”
“I agree.”
He stretched and smiled at me as I finished my taco, wiping my fingers. “How was the garage?”
“Busy. Maxx signed a deal a couple of months ago with a new company in Lomand. Delivery fleet. They handle all the shipments in about a three-hundred-mile range. We do the maintenance on the trucks. That extension he made to the garage is a boon for us since it can handle the bigger vehicles. Huge boost to the business. We have trucks scheduled all the time now. Maxx even hired a couple extra mechanics who do nothing but work on their fleet. Keeps the garage extra busy. Being commercial, they need a lot of maintenance paperwork. So, I’m constantly trying to keep up with that, as well as the rest of the front office stuff and do some of my upholstery gig.”
“Sounds like you need help.”
“Some days. It’s easier when Brett is around, but when he is gone, Charly or Gabby pitches in, which helps. But they are pretty busy with the kids. Dom steps in, but he admits he hates the paperwork and computers. His talent is under the hood. So I do the best I can. When I get behind, I ask for help.” He took another sip of water. “Maxx would hire someone if I asked, but so far, I’m okay.”
“Good.”
“You go back to work tomorrow.”
“Yes.” I sighed. “My days off go by fast.”
“Not looking forward to it?”
“No, it’s fine. I like my job. It’s just—” I paused and took a sip of water “—I’ll see Dan. I hope he’ll be decent. He’s a nice guy, so I think he will.”
“Oh.” He scratched his head. “About that.”
I frowned. “What?”
Chase told me about his encounter with Dan, and I gaped at him. “He was going to write you a ticket? What the hell?”
Chase shrugged. “He was pissed about Saturday, and I get it. He knows we’re together, and he’s a little upset. It was his way of yanking my chain.”
“I’ll talk to him.”
Chase shook his head. “Leave it. He’ll think I sent you to fight my battles. He was being a dick, and I can handle that. After all, he lost you.”
“He never had me. I told him I wasn’t interested. More than once. I don’t date fellow officers, and I had no desire to do so. He is a great guy but not the guy for me. I had zero attraction to him.”
“Someone you are attracted to, Cinnamon?” Chase winked at me. “Anyone I know?”
I stood, shaking my head. “Seriously, Chase. What if he hassles you?”
“I can handle him, Hannah. He made his point. He’s a cop. He can give me a jaywalking ticket, catch me speeding, whatever. Maybe he thinks if he shows you that I keep breaking the law, he looks like a better prospect.”
I snorted. “Not likely.”
He joined me at the counter, wrapping his arms around my waist. He kissed my neck, nuzzling the skin behind my ear, making me shiver. “Then don’t worry about it, baby. It’s all gonna be fine. It pissed me off but nothing big. I won’t let him get under my skin.”
“I don’t want to be a source of aggravation for you.”
He spun me, meeting my eyes. “You’re not. And if he follows me around and writes me up for jaywalking every day, it’s worth it to come home to you.” He kissed the end of my nose. “You’d bail me out of jail, right?”
“Every time.”
His mouth hovered over mine. “Then we’re good.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Chase
We spent the evening simply doing nothing. She showed me the garden and the work she’d done. I offered to build her a couple of raised plant beds to make the backyard nicer. We sat outside, enjoying the fresh air, our hands linked, not saying a word, and enjoying every second of the silence. I liked the fact that I could be peaceful with Hannah. She didn’t try to fill in the quiet with needless chatter or a thousand questions. The silence with her was tranquil.
When it got darker, we went inside, and I watched a baseball game on TV while she worked on knitting something. The sound of the needles clacking was surprisingly soothing. She told me she loved to knit and made a lot of blankets and booties she donated to the local hospital. “I can knit without looking once I know the pattern,” she explained. “Especially simple blankets. Passes time in dispatch on quiet shifts, or I can watch a movie and knit at the same time.”