“I’ll bet,” James enunciated with hard syllables. “Seems like you’ve said those words once before since last night.” Understanding dawned in Vincent’s eyes a split second before James planted his fist square in Vincent’s gut. He wanted to hit him in the face but the chief and the public frowned on on-duty officers who looked like they’d been brawling.
Several other officers in the locker room looked poised to intervene, but Vincent held up a hand to them as he held the other arm over his middle. In a strained voice, he said, “It’s okay. I earned that.”
James grabbed him by the open collar of his denim shirt and yanked him close. “You could’ve gotten her pregnant, Vince. She might very well be. What the fuck were you thinking? You weren’t, that’s the problem. You were thinking with your dick!”
Vincent didn’t struggle and surprised him when he nodded. “No, I wasn’t, but I understand why you’d think that. I’ve been thinking all those same thoughts all the way home.”
“Why did you go in the first place, dumbass?”
“I wanted to tell her I loved her.”
“Well, I guess you made that clear. And to top it off you also got to tell her you might be her baby daddy. Dipshit, she already knows you love her?”
He released him and turned back to his own locker and Vincent continued changing.
“I wanted her to hear it from my lips.”
“Mission accomplished. If she breaks everything off between us, I’ll never forgive you.” He knew the words were a lie before he’d even uttered them, but he was furious. He couldn’t believe Vincent had jeopardized everything they’d built so far to satisfy a whim.
“You need to reach out to her when she gets home, James. She’ll listen to you.”
“Peachy. What you keep forgetting is that you need to listen to her and respect what she tells you. With your impulsive actions you’ve made the decisions she’s faced with even harder to make.”
“You talked to her this morning? I’ve been trying to reach her since I left Abilene.”
“Would you want to talk to you if you were in her shoes? Yes, I thought it was worth a try and my call was patchy but it went through. She was packing and getting ready to go to the store. She wouldn’t admit to it, but I could tell she’d been crying.”
Vincent leaned his head into his locker and groaned. “Fuuuuck.”
“Everything was fine, Vince. It was going fine. Then this.” He got up and walked past his brother, barely resisting the urge to shove his head into the back of the locker. And to top it off, they were working the same shift today so he’d have to look at his brother’s stupid mug several more times than he wanted to.
Hank Stinson caught up to him on the steps outside the police station. “Hey, James.”
“Mornin’, Hank. How’s everything?” It was a question that didn’t really need to be asked. The answer was plastered all over Hank’s face. He was a man contented with his world, judging by his smile.
“It’s all good. Travis is busy with the boys’ ranch full time these days and Veronica is at home, writing. How about you? You okay?” Hank’s brows drew together and he took off his sunglasses to take a good look at James.
“Let’s just say things could be better.”
“A little birdie told me you were seen with Leah Woodworth a few nights ago.” Hank cast a glance around before continuing in the same soft tone. “Any progress with the two of you and her?”
James shrugged and rubbed his forehead with one hand. A headache was coming on. “It was fine but we’ve had a setback. I’m still hoping. She has a lot of irons in the fire right now and every time I think that things are about to uncomplicate themselves they get worse.”
“I hear ya. Listen, if you want to grab a beer after you get off of work this evening, I’d be happy to meet you at the Pony if you need a listening ear.”
“I wouldn’t want to take you away from Veronica.”
“Nah, it would give Nika and Travis a little time alone. I’m sure they’d appreciate that considering his hours lately. Speaking of hours, I was wondering if I could get a little bit of public service out of you for a project of mine.”
“Sure,” James said, as they continued down the steps. “You know all you have to do is ask.”
“Good. I could use some help with the self-defense classes I’ve been teaching. Interest has increased and the classes are getting so big that Wyatt and I are spread too thin. I’d like to get a few members of local law enforcement involved. I think it might also be good if we got out into the community when we’re not patrolling, and get to know people.”