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Brian stayed as long as he needed to before slipping out of the arena. Henry was nowhere to be seen, so he sent him a text that he was leaving. The guy had more important things on his mind right now. Brian didn’t expect a response.
It was hard being at a joyous celebration and not knowing anyone, though. He wasn’t part of the wedding party or even part of the family, just an acquaintance. A name to tick on a seating chart. Rather than trying to drum up small talk with people he didn’t know, he could be working on the current case Parker Quinn, his new boss, had given him.
On the surface, it didn’t appear to be hard, but the further he dug, the more convoluted the money trail became, and he needed to get it all arranged in his head. As he pulled out onto the road in his rental, leaving the ranch behind, he marveled at the incredible Wyoming scenery. Horses and cattle dotted the landscape, a pleasant change to his normal suburban city scape. Columbus was a beautiful city, and he’d settled in well there, but he didn’t make it to the rural parts very often. He rolled down the windows on the car as he headed into Cheyenne, letting the warm air roll around him. It had a bit of a bite to it, like fall was lurking around the corner. That was fine. He was ready for the change. With that though, Sage’s face appeared in his mind. There was something about her that had really appealed to him. And the boy had been cute, too. Gifted, indeed. He chuckled, thinking about the way he’d pushed out of the curtains. The kid had owned his mishap rather brilliantly.
Brian returned to the hotel room and kicked off his shoes, then ripped off the tie. His stumps were aching, and he foresaw an early night in bed with the computer. Once his prosthetics were parked and his sleeves airing out in the bathroom, though, the laptop on his legs, he couldn’t concentrate on work. Instead, he fell asleep dreaming of a russet haired woman.
The next morning, Brian woke up with the boner from hell. He’d dreamed of Sage all night. Her chagrined smile as she’d been caught cussing, and the interest he’d read in her big, beautiful eyes later. At some point he’d had a downer dream, though, where she’d looked at him in horror as his prosthetics fell off his legs when he ran toward her. That one had woken him up shaking, with perspiration dotting his forehead. It had taken him a long time to get back to sleep, but once he had the pleasurable dreams had come again. He stroked himself leisurely, remembering the shape of her as she bent into the back of the van. The baggy catering clothes had done nothing for her. The sexy smile, though. That had really been something. The orgasm came quickly but seemed a little flat. Jerking off was never as satisfying as actual sex, but he doubted he’d be getting any of that in the near future.
Checking out of the hotel, he loaded his bag into the rental car and headed for the airport. The flight wouldn’t even board for another few hours, but he could sit in the lounge and get onto his computer to work for a while. Brian turned right through a stoplight and accelerated. His gut clenched when blue lights suddenly flashed in his rearview mirror. He looked down at the speedometer. There was no way he was over the limit. The light had been yellow when he’d gone through it. Flicking his blinker on, he turned into a gas station and dug into his wallet for his ID. Luckily, he wasn’t carrying a weapon, so that was one less aggravation. He turned off the ignition and sat back in his seat, waiting with his window down for the cop to appear. When the dark-clad form came up on his left shoulder he held the car rental agreement and his license out the window. Then he craned his head to look up at the cop.
Sage Harrison grinned down at him.
“Well, isn’t this an interesting development. Hello, Mr. Calvert.”
Brian grinned, the memory of his recent orgasm rolling through his brain. And here she was in the flesh, so to speak, looking fucking fantastic in the form-fitting black Cheyenne PD uniform. He swallowed, feeling a surge of heat roll down through his gut and into his dick. Fuck, this was bad.
“I thought you were a caterer,” he said. Wait. The boy had said something about her being a cop.
Sage grinned. “No, I was just helping out a relative when she had people call off. This is my day job.”
She made a sweep down her body, motioning with her fingers. Brian followed the motion, his eyes getting stuck on the swell of her hips and breasts. She wore a bullet-proof vest, but she still had a shape that couldn’t be hidden. Her thick hair was twisted onto the back of her head somehow. He coughed into his hand and faced forward. “I see. This uniform looks much better on you than the catering one.”
Sage laughed and handed his paperwork and ID back to him. “Thank you very much for that.”
Brian took his paperwork, curious. She hadn’t even run him. “Why did you pull me over,” he asked her curiously. He craned his head to look at her, but it was awkward. “I know it’s not procedure, but do you mind if I step out of the car?”
In answer, Sage stepped back, giving him room to open the door. For the first time he noticed stripes on her shirt sleeves. “You’re a sergeant.”
She nodded, moving to stand with her dominant leg back. Brian recognized the positioning and didn’t mind that she took it with him. He was still an unknown entity to her.
“Well,” she said, her eyes narrowing a little as she looked out at the flowing traffic. “You did kind of roll through that red light, but I’m not going to bust your balls about it. I just wanted to let you know I appreciated you taking the time to talk to my son. He hasn’t shut up about you in the past twelve hours.”
Brian chuckled, leaning against the side of the car and crossing his arms. “I enjoyed talking to him as well. I think he’s going to be an amazing young man.”
She nodded, glancing back at the traffic, then at the customers flowing through the gas station. “If I have anything to say about it, he will,” she said.
“I’m curious,” he admitted. “Where is his father?”
Sage gave him a considering look. “Not sure anymore. Adam’s dad was one of those foolish hookups you live to regret. Tim seemed like a decent guy when he rolled in to assistant teach a class while I was at the university. We married because I was pregnant, but he had the emotional intelligence of a gnat. And he was a closet alcoholic. I only found that out afterward, of course. We tried to make it work, but he couldn’t stay out of trouble. And then he came out of the closet and started drinking more heavily. We divorced a few years ago. He hasn’t seen Adam since.”
Brian grimaced, hearing the story unsaid. It sounded like the guy had left her bitter. “Not all men are equipped to not be the center of their own universe.”
She tipped back her head and laughed. “So true! It was a hard lesson to learn. When I got pregnant, I had a job lined up with the PD I had to delay. My parents had to help me for a while because Tim was usually lost in a bottle. I wouldn’t change anything about my son, though.”
There was a fierce look on her face, and he shook his head. “I wouldn’t expect you to. Everything happens the way it’s supposed to.”
Sage tilted her head. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.” She took a step back. “Well, I need to get back to work. I just noticed you pulling out and I wanted to thank you for not brushing him off.”
Reaching into his back pocket, Brian pulled out his wallet, digging through until he found a business card. It still had his old Denver Lost and Found address on it, but the email and phone were the same. He handed it to Sage. “If he ever wants to talk, or something.”
She took it with a lopsided smile. “Thank you. This will mean a lot to him.”
Surprisingly, she leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek, bracing herself on his shoulder. Brian wasn’t sure if it was accidental or some instinct taking over, but somehow his head turned, and her lips brushed his own. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the world held its breath. Then, when she didn’t immediately pull away, he cupped her head in his hand and pressed harder. Her taste sent a thrill through him, and he wondered if she was as struck as he was. When she tilted her head and her lips became more demanding, he thought that perhaps she was feeling it as intensely as he was. She rested her weight on him, and Brian’s body responded, even though her uniform and gun belt were poking him.
Then a horn blared, and they jerked apart, looking at each other, dazed. Sage’s eyes were huge in her face, and her lips plump. She blinked and pulled back. “I’m so sorry,” she breathed.
Brian grinned. “I’m not.”
