Police, Pooch, and Smooch: A Single Dad, Police Officer Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 25) Read online

  “Sorry that I’m early. It’s just that I always feel like if I’m not ten minutes—“

  “Early then you’re ten minutes late,” I say, finishing her sentence.

  “You too?”

  “Yeah. Old habits die hard. So in my book you’re right on time.”

  “Great,” she says.

  “Where are Baby and Johnny?”

  “My mom took them out. I didn’t know she had plans and by the time I found out she was already gone. I hope it’s still okay to go.”

  “It would be nice to have them, but to be honest it might make things a little easier. Three dogs and a kid might have us running every which way chasing our tails more than our furry friends. With just one dog and one kid we’re evenly matched.”

  She laughs. “And there will be plenty of other dogs there, so Max will be able to practice making new friends.”

  “Perfect,” I say. “Come on in,”

  “Where are Max and Smooch?” she asks stepping inside.

  “Sadie!” Smooch says from the other room. I practiced her name with him for a good half hour before she came by. My efforts paid off.

  Together we walk over to the doorway leading into the other room and look in on Smooch and Max.

  “Hi Smoochy.”

  “Hi,” he says.

  “Look at that boy. He’s becoming quite the conversationalist,” I joke.

  “With skills like those he’s going to have all the girls in preschool trying to be in his finger painting group,” Sadie says, getting a laugh from me.

  “Okay, buddy. Dog park.”

  “Doggie!” Smooch says.

  “Want me to carry one or the other?” Sadie asks.

  “Can you grab Max?”

  “Sure thing,” she says, as we both go to walk through the doorway to the other room at the same time, causing us to get stuck together.

  “Traffic jam,” I say.

  She laughs.

  “Sorry, sometimes I forget how big I am,” I say.

  “I was wondering just how tall you were.”

  “Six six,” I say. “But I think I’m done growing.”

  “Think?”

  “Never know, and I am an optimist.”

  “You’ve got me by exactly one foot,” she says. Something about the word foot draws my eyes down toward the ground, and I look at her feet through her dressy sandals.

  “And you do have nice feet,” I say.

  “Oh please don’t look at them. My feet are so ugly.”

  “Nonsense. I mean I’m not one of those foot fetish guys or anything, but I can see you definitely have nice feet.”

  “Thank you,” she says.

  I continue looking down at her but don’t move. A moment passes. In the silence her expression changes. I can feel the goose bumps forming on my arm…the one that’s still touching hers. I feel her skin grow warmer, and see her mouth part slightly. We’d been carrying on a conversation, stuck together in the doorway. Now I wanted to use my mouth for something else entirely.

  “Sadie!” Smooch says, breaking the tension.

  “Ladies first,” I say, stepping back, causing our arms to rub against one another even more.

  “Thanks,” she says.

  As she walks through the doorway I catch myself checking out her backside. Damn, it’s a good one…too good. I feel my cock grow instantly, something I haven’t felt in an entire year, not even morning wood.

  We haven’t even left for the dog park yet and I’m already struggling to contain myself. If it’s this hard here, it’s going to be even tougher once we reach the park.

  CHAPTER 7

  Sadie

  The dog park is a sea of dogs playing, running, chasing tennis balls, and chasing each other.

  We find a quiet corner under a tree and get Smooch and Max all set up. They immediately begin playing like there’s no one else in the world but each other. I’m surprised Max doesn’t run off to play with the other dogs. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. They just seem so happy with one another. Neither of them even notices we’re there, which gives me the opportunity to talk to James.

  “Thanks again for adopting Max.”

  “Thank you. I’m glad we made it in time.” He motions with his head toward Smooch and Max. “Could you imagine if we would have missed out on forming this perfect pairing?”

  “They are pretty good together aren’t they?” It’s not only Smooch and Max that seem to work, but James and I too. It’s still early in this…whatever we have. I mean I don’t want to call it a date or anything, but it feels so right. It’s not like anything I’ve felt before.

  James is so much more mature and thoughtful. I would say it’s just his age, but I know plenty of guys my dad’s age who are still as immature as sixteen-year-old boys.

  James has probably seen it all and done it all. As a detective he must run into all kinds of scary situations, and meet all kinds of people. It’s his job to figure out who’s telling the truth and who’s not. And he has to follow clues to find the answers.

  I’m looking for some answers myself. “How have things been this last year?”

  “Tough, as you can imagine. But we’re getting by.”

  “I don’t see you outside much anymore.”

  “I get up early and take Smooch to his grandparents. I’m working long hours right now, so he spends most of his time there. Once I pick him up and get him home it’s usually time for bed, or more like a transfer of sleeping places. He’s often passed out by the time I arrive at my mom and dad’s.”

  “It must be hard on you.” I hope I’m not prying, but I also hope James can lean on me if he needs to. It can’t be easy being over there by himself as the lone adult with no one to talk to.

  “I make do,” he says. “What about you? I haven’t seen you in quite some time. Last I remember you were just a kid peddling that bike around the neighborhood.”

  “Yeah,” I giggle. “When you guys first moved in I was really into my bike. I think my butt was glued to the seat.”

  “Except when it was glued to the grass underneath the tree in our yard.”

  “Whoops. Sorry about that. I didn’t know you noticed.”

  “Of course I did, and no need to be sorry. It was always nice to watch you out there playing by yourself. I wondered what a kid that young might be doing or thinking all by themselves, and why you picked that tree.”

  “I guess to stay out of the sun, and to avoid other people. I would get lost in my own thoughts and I didn’t want to get interrupted.”

  “Makes sense. What were you thinking about back then?”

  “Life.”

  “At that age?”

  “Yeah, I was contemplating a lot of stuff. Things you wouldn’t think of unless you had a lot of time on your hands and chose to spend it alone.”

  I’m looking at the other dogs in the park when I notice James hasn’t asked a follow-up question. I turn towards him and he’s doing it again…he’s staring at me like we’re the only two people on the planet.

  “What?” I ask.

  “It’s like this has come full circle.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I used to look out the window and see you sitting under that tree, and now here I am sitting under a tree with you. And instead of you playing by yourself, we have Smooch playing with your dog.”

  “You’re right,” I say, turning my neck and looking up as I process just how true his words are. “You’re very observant. Is that due to your work?”

  “It’s the other way around, actually.”

  “More circles?”

  He laughs, and I can’t help but join him.

  “Because I’m observant I became a detective. It wasn’t something they really taught me, although they probably refined my skills.

  “But you’re not in the field anymore. Is that right?”

  “Not anymore. I’m behind a desk now.”

  “Is that where you want to be?”

&nb
sp; “Surprisingly, yes.”

  “But you can’t observe, can you?”

  “That’s the thing. You can. I used to think it was best to observe face to face, like a detective would. Then I got behind the desk, and I started looking through all the reports. You can start to see the nuances, and if you bury yourself in the work you can put the puzzle together even faster.”

  “Really? I wouldn’t have expected that.”

  “I would. I mean I would have expected that you would have expected. Isn’t that what you were doing under my tree years ago?”

  I stop and think. “I guess you’re right.” Wow, this guy really has a pulse on me. My first thought would be he’s thinking on his feet right now, but it’s not that. I can better see who he is now. He’s already thought this through, and it sounds like it happened some time ago. So, he was thinking about me. Granted, in a much different way, but still…I was on his mind.

  “And now here we are…together…under a different tree,” he says.

  I nod my head ever so slightly, and feel the meaning in his words. I want him, and I can see he wants me. I don’t really know how this works with Smooch and Max here, but he shows he’s a take charge kind of guy who can make decisions when he leans forward, inching closer to me.

  He raises his hand to my cheek, but doesn’t touch it. His gaze shifts to my skin and then I feel the tips of his first two fingers across my cheek. The butterflies in my stomach have stopped fluttering…my entire middle is in absolute knots now due to the suspense of not knowing what’s going to happen next. Will he or won’t he?

  His eyes come back up, meeting mine, as he strokes my cheek again letting his fingers rest on the side of my face on the follow through.

  His face moves closer to mine and I see his eyes close, just before mine do the same.

  Suddenly I feel the soft lips of this big hard man meet mine and all my thoughts drift away as we kiss under the tree.

  CHAPTER 8

  Sadie

  The day flies by and the next thing I know we’re pulling up to the gate that separates James’s house from the world. He opens the gate and pulls the car inside. I grab Max from the back seat and he grabs Smooch. I don’t even ask if I can come in, it’s just assumed. Everything feels so natural, so right…just like the rest of our day did.

  After the dog park we went for ice cream cones. We spent the entire day talking. James didn’t try and kiss me after the dog park. I think it was because we were surrounded by so many people who might know one of us. I appreciate that he was thinking of me, and not rushing through things as a younger man might have done, although I do admit the rest of the afternoon I imagined feeling his lips on mine again.

  We get Smooch and Max situated inside and I make my way toward the door to go. I stop just short when I feel his hand grab mine on the backswing.

  I turn to face him and his eyes reveal exactly what he’s thinking.

  “I had a great time today. Thank you for inviting me.”

  I laugh.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I just realized I invited you because I was going to take my dogs, but in the end I didn’t even bring them.”

  “So it was all just an excuse to go out with me?”

  “Maybe,” I say, sliding in for a hug.

  He wraps me up tight, and it feels so good.

  “No, my mom really did take them, but I wasn’t about to cancel either. Dogs or no dogs, I was looking forward to spending the afternoon with you.”

  “As I was with you,” he says.

  “I better get going,” I say. “I don’t want to, but my parent’s might start wondering.”

  “I understand,” he says. “Don’t want to make mom and dad mad.”

  “Definitely not,” I say, pulling away, but leaving my hands at his hips.

  He wastes no time as he leans down and kisses me again, but unlike at the park he doesn’t stop. My mouth opens slightly and I feel his tongue move over the inside of my lips. Soon our tongues are exploring each other just as deeply and passionately as our kisses.

  A big part of me wants to stay and see what comes next, but I just can’t. He must sense it too, because at that exact moment he pulls back, still staring down at me. The area around his mouth is red from the pressure of my face against his.

  “We better save some for next time,” he says.

  “For next time,” I say, excited to know he’s already looking forward to spending more time together.

  I step through the doorway and out onto the path leading to the sidewalk. I hear the buzzer sound and reach for the gate. As I turn to shut it I look back just before I close it for the evening. There he is, leaning in the doorjamb like a cowboy. He looks so sexy that I can’t believe I’m walking away and not running back towards him.

  I give him a wave and just as the gate closes I see him reach for his imaginary cowboy hat and give me a tip of same hat I can picture him wearing. How did he know what I was thinking?

  I shut the gate and shake my head side to side. Wow, what a day.

  I walk back over to my house and the moment I’m inside I’m ready to bound up the stairs to my bedroom and relive everything that just happened.

  “Wait one minute!” I hear my dad’s voice from the living room. “We need to talk.”

  CHAPTER 9

  James

  I tuck Smooch in, and step back…looking at his face.

  Little guy had a big day. I lean back in, taking a closer look through the darkness and see he’s actually got a smile on his face. Of course he does. He was smiling all day so why stop now. But he wasn’t the only one. I was right there smiling along with him.

  I had a great time with Sadie today. She’s smart, patient, helpful and of course absolutely beautiful. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her when we were together, and I couldn’t take my mind off her when we weren’t…partly because I can’t stop thinking about her in general, and partly because she helped out so much. It was nice to be able to step off and use the restroom or get the ice creams while she watched Smooch and Max. Like any father would, I always keep my eye on Smooch, but it sure was nice to know in the moments I stepped off that he was safe and well cared for under her watchful eye.

  She’s thoughtful, and not just in the way she helps me but in her own life as well. She takes her time when she speaks. She doesn’t waste words and every word she uses has meaning. She doesn’t talk just for the sake of hearing her own voice. Come to think about it she doesn’t talk all that much. She’s really more of a patient listener. No wonder she and Smooch get along so well. She puts his needs above her own. It’s so rare to find such a selfless person these days, and I’ve found the ultimate gem in her.

  This past year I was starting to wonder if I’d ever be able to really move on with my life, but now I’m open to it. Scratch that…I’m not just open to it, I want it. I just can’t believe it’s happening so fast. And it’s not like I’m an easy rebound target or something like that. I mean there are women of all shapes and sizes and social classes at all these police functions I have to attend, but they just don’t do it for me. Some throw themselves at cops. No thanks. Some are genuinely good people, but just not for me.

  And that’s it exactly. It’s not just that they’re not right for me, it’s that no one’s right for me…except her.

  There’s no denying it. The goose bumps on my arm the first time we touched showed me that. It was an accidental touch, but that’s all it took. And the way she kisses. Those juicy lips of hers are so soft and feminine. And each time I put my hands on her I don’t ever want to take them off. I mean I didn’t have wandering hands, but I sure wanted to. Just to touch her face, to put my hands on her waist, and to put my arms around her…it was enough and not enough at the same time. It told me all I needed to know, and it also told me there’s so much more to learn.

  And I have to know more about her…to be with her more. And it’s not because I need to figure out what we have. I already know the
significance of what we have right now, and more importantly I know what we can have, and what we can become.

  She’s a thinker, like me. She can sit under that tree just like I can, day after day. I’m not a huge believer in fate, but maybe it’s real. Maybe she picked my tree all those years ago to sit under for a reason. I didn’t know it then, and a few days ago I would have thought the idea was crazy, but now I’m not so sure.