“Sir, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” Chief replied as he poured himself another cup of coffee.
“What would you do if there were officers on the force involved in a ménage? A committed ménage? As far as I know, and if she says yes to us someday, we’d be the first.”
“I measure a man by his commitment to his family, his duty, and his community, not public opinion. The gossip mill has its uses but swaying my opinion has never been one of them.” He turned to Vincent and looked over the tops of his reading glasses. “If any of my officers want to make a commitment to form a family unit, I won’t stand in their way. Doesn’t matter to me whether they’re man and wife, men and wife, straight, gay, bisexual, black and white, or rainbow-colored. What counts is what’s in a man’s heart, not what’s on his marriage license or in his wallet. Life’s too short to live it for public opinion.”
“I’ll head out then, sir.”
“Don’t forget to get in touch with Hank.”
“Yes, sir.”
It wasn’t the most pressing piece in the puzzle but knowing his chief wouldn’t object to any relationship that developed between the three of them was something at least. Now he just had to make peace with his brother and convince the woman he loved that he was worth forgiving.
By noon, he couldn’t stand himself or the situation anymore. He should’ve talked to his brother before he’d rushed off to Abilene. They were both right. He was too pushy and impulsive. And he should’ve kept a clear head and used that condom.
The thought of Leah having his baby didn’t bother him in the least. He knew she’d be a fantastic mother. But she was righteously pissed at him, and if she was pregnant, he knew marrying him was by no means a foregone conclusion. That woman was perfectly capable of taking motherhood on, much the way she handled any responsibility.
“Damn.”
He took out his cell phone and dialed her number but it rolled to voice mail, just like it had all the other times he’d called. He didn’t leave another message. He’d already left several and nothing said restraining order like a voice mail box full of messages pleading and making excuses like a pitiful schmuck.
Next, he called James. When his brother answered, he said, “Rudy’s got King Ranch Chicken on the lunch special.”
“You know I have a weakness for Rudy’s King Ranch Chicken but I can get it to go if all you’re going to do is make more excuses.”
It stung but James was right. “Yeah, I’ve done some thinking. I know I fucked things up and I want to help get her back.”
James let out a long-suffering sigh. “Damn it, Vincent. Meet me at Rudy’s in ten minutes,” he said, sounding like he was talking to a simpleton. Vincent frowned wondering what burr was up his butt now.
Ten minutes later he knew, after they’d sat down and Rudy had brought them both tall glasses of ice water.
James took his cowboy hat off and laid it on the seat beside him and rubbed his face. “There’s nothing you can do to get her back. That’s your problem. You want to take action, which in your case means you want to force her into a decision. You want to push her. If you want her back, give her space and win her gradually.”
“You talk like you’ve enjoyed being without her. I’m tired of it.”
“She’s not like the other women you’ve dated in the past. She’s a forever kind of woman and those don’t come around very often and they aren’t easily won. Patterson knew that. Of the three of us, he was the closest to having her eating out of his hand. Otherwise his death wouldn’t have destroyed her the way it did. She loves you, even though right now you don’t deserve it. If your seed takes root, it’ll change her life forever—”
Vincent cut him off. “That’d be the case if she had a baby under any circumstances—”
“Stop talking before I hurt you again. The difference is that you took away her choice.”
Vincent hated feeling like such an inept jackass, but even he was in agreement with his brother. He’d been thinking with his dick. “What can I do?”
James let out a longsuffering sigh but at least this time he grinned. “Always a man of action. That quality can be a strength, but strengths taken to extremes are weaknesses.”
“It’s gotten me in more trouble than anything lately,” Vincent said, a little relieved that his brother had finally smiled at him. “So what do I do?”
“Stop thinking about the future and what you want. Start thinking about how you can encourage her, how you can lighten her load. Look for ways to make her feel special. Edify her. And if she sounds like she’s open to the possibility of moving, you don’t say a word. You go back and start over. Encourage her. Make her feel special. Edify her.”