Dating A Cop (The Dating Series Book 1)

by Love, B. T.

  The champagne popped loudly as James opened the bottle, catching the cork in a cloth napkin. “The perfect ending to a perfect day, don't you agree Mrs. Katie Brown?”

  I came up behind him wearing nothing but a smile and wrapped my arms around his warm body. “You've got that right,” I agreed as I ran my hand up his chest and smoothed my fingers over his scar.

  James took quite some time to heal. After he was released from the hospital he moved in with me and I looked after him. We spent our spare time planning our wedding, which ended up being low-key in a local park’s rose garden. He wore a white cotton shirt and slacks; I wore a green strapless dress. Since we’d both been married before we figured what the heck, let’s just wear what we want. And we did.

  Work called to him, and once he got the okay from his doctor he went back on light duty. Shortly thereafter he got the transfer to Mapleton and we were happy. Back to being my man in blue, but without the balls to match this time, as Mary later said.

  James poured the bubbling liquid into two glasses and then picked them up, turning to face me. “Here's yours. I'm sorry it's not something more to your liking.”

  I took the glass from him and sat it back on the table. “That's okay; I definitely see something else that is to my liking.”

  He downed his quickly as I wrapped my arms around his neck. “God woman, you are on fire!” He tossed the glass onto the carpeted hotel floor and lifted me up, pulling my legs around him. “Now let's go make that baby!”

  What James Saw

  The sky is blue with patchy clouds scattered about. The sun is bright, too bright, and its brilliancy is burning my retinas. But I can't look away; I’m in too much pain. My eyes are open wide with fear and it’s getting harder to breathe.

  A cloud is gingerly floating by and it's now muting the sun’s rays from my face. No, wait. That's not a cloud. It's Tyler smiling down at me.

  Hey buddy. Look at you, so happy with that bright smile of yours. Don't ever lose that smile. And don’t worry, it doesn't hurt. I'll be okay. I love you, my baby boy.

  Tyler’s face is fading away and the sun is burning again. I hear someone screaming to call for an ambulance. Another cloud is passing by.

  Hailey. Hi sweet girl. You are so beautiful, just like your mom. I always wanted a daughter, did you know that? And now I have one. I don’t ever want to replace your dad, but I hope I am a good dad to you. I love you, my sweet girl.

  The sun is hitting me again and a man has fallen to my side. His face is panicked and I can tell by the worry in his eyes that my wounds are bad. He is saying something to me but I don’t understand. Blood is draining from my mouth and I am coughing now, and the droplets are splattering on the strangers face. But I don't care, because another cloud is covering the sun, and it's you.

  Katie. Oh thank god you're here. Look at your smile; you are so beautiful. Do you still love me? Please still love me. I bought you a ring so I can make you my wife. Would you like that? Would I make a good husband for you? I need to give you that ring before I die. I have plans for us, so many plans . . .

  The stranger is leaning over my face, blocking the view of Katie's. I want him to move so I can see her smile. He is talking but I can't hear him.

  Katie, can you still hear me? I couldn't tell the kids that I’m in pain, but I am. I'm in so much pain I can hardly handle it. It's getting harder to breathe and I'm scared.

  The stranger is shaking me now. I can't move my eyes. I'm looking straight up into his blood-speckled face and he is frantically speaking. The cloud has moved away from the sun and I just know that Katie's smiling face is gone. But now I can hear her voice.

  Are you here? Am I imagining your voice? Please be here with me. No, don't be here; I don't want you to see me like this.

  The stranger is still hovering above me. I hear Katie's voice telling me it's going to be okay. Her words are matching the movements of the stranger’s mouth. For the first time I can move my eyes and I shift them directly onto the strangers lips. I watch in disbelief as Katie's voice is what I hear as he is talking, telling me over and over again that I will be okay.

  My pain has disappeared.

  * * *

  It's dark and I can't open my eyes. The pain has returned and it is joined by a new feeling of pain in my throat. I can hear the faint sound of beeping.

  “. . . and we’re all here and we love you.”

  Mom? Mom is that you I hear? You're crying; please don’t cry. I’m right here and I'm okay. Don't worry, I can endure the pain.

  “We love you, son.”

  Dad. I hear you, and I love you.

  The room is falling to silence and I am drifting away.

  * * *

  “Don't give him false hope!”

  The words startle me but it's dark and I can't open my eyes. I can still hear the beeps. The pain is present. I am aware that people are in the room with me.

  “. . . would say that in front of your poor son.”

  Mark. Is Tyler here? Please don’t let him see me like this.

  “Hi baby. It's your wife.”

  Heather? Why are you saying that? And where’s Katie? I haven't heard Katie. Did she leave me? Katie please say something so I know you're here.

  “He could die.”

  No! I'm not going to die! Please, I'm right here! Can't you hear me Mark?

  The room is falling silent again. I am drifting away.

  * * *

  I can't open my eyes, and it is dark. Once again I am awake inside of my head. I can still hear beeping somewhere close to me. As long as I can hear the beeps I know I am alive.

  “. . . yet gentle.”

  Katie? Oh my god, Katie, it's you! Please keep talking to me baby I can hear you!

  “They’re nice here . . .”

  I was scared when I couldn't hear you here in the room with me. I’m still afraid you don't want me anymore. I wasn't careful enough for you. I broke my promise.

  “. . . admit I like being called your fiancé . . .”

  My fiancé? Will you marry me Katie? Will I make a good husband? I bought you a ring because I want to marry you. I have it at home in my dresser in a black velvet box. It's waiting to be slipped onto your delicate finger.

  “. . . can't lose you.”

  Please don't cry . . .

  “Hold me in your stare . . .”

  I will, I promise. As soon as I wake up I won't take my eyes off of you.

  The beeps are fading and the room is growing silent once more.

  * * *

  I hear the faint beeping next to me. I am still alive. There's commotion in the room. This time seems different. My eyes are moving beneath my sealed lids; I couldn't do that before. A sliver of light is creeping in. I am finally awake.

  “Oh! There he is!”

  Mom. Your face is a comfort to me.

  I open my eyes more and see a blurry outline of my dad and my brother. I am suddenly aware of the tube shoved down my throat. That is the new source of my pain and I want it out now. It's foreign; I'm panicking. I start to thrash around to get it out.

  “Is he having a seizure?”

  A nurse is putting something on my wrists. I am tied to the bed. “There you go. You’ll be okay.” She is patting my shoulder but it only irritates me more.

  Where's Katie?

  The room is so hectic and I wish everyone would just be quiet. The nurses are talking, people are asking questions. All I want is Katie.

  Whatever they put in my I.V. to relax me is kicking in. I shift my eyes and see my mom’s face. Her hand is gently stroking my forehead.

  “Hi sweetheart. How are you feeling?”

  I wiggle my fingers and she takes them. I'm okay Mom. I'd be better with these restraints off.

  “Hi buddy. You're going to be okay.”

  Hi Dad. You've been crying just as much as Mom. Don't worry, I’m alive. I'm not going anywhere. Just please tell them to get this tube out of my damn throat.

  “Kate’
s here. Do you want to see her?”

  I try to nod at my mom’s question, and they step away from my bed. I now see Katie for the first time.

  “Hi. You're going to be okay.” She is holding my hand. Her fingers are warm and I can feel that she is trembling.

  God it's so good to see your face.

  “Do you know why you're here?”

  Yes. I was stupid and didn't protect myself like I should have.

  “You got shot in your side and in your chest, did you know that?”

  Yes.

  People are talking but I'm paying no attention. I just want to stare at Katie to be sure that her presence beside me isn't a hallucination.

  “We’re going to do some more tests on him to make sure he’ll be able to breathe without the ventilator before taking it out. We need to ask everyone to step out while we do this so we can work with James without distraction.”

  No, please, I don't want you to leave. Don't listen to the nurse. I'll keep the tube in longer. I can handle it.

  My family are saying goodbye and they all leave the room. Katie is still at my side and I won't take my eyes off of her. She is stroking my hair and it feels like heaven. The restraints are still on my wrists but I am holding her other hand and stroking the top of her smooth knuckles.

  “Are you okay?”

  Yes, now that you're here with me.

  “I wish they would take these restraints off of your wrists. I guess you're just too strong for your own good, huh?”

  I know you too well, Katie. You're trying to make light of the situation.

  “Sorry. You know me, always trying to make light of everything.”

  Exactly.

  I squeeze her hand. She has cried all of her makeup off but she still looks beautiful.

  “Are you scared?”

  Yes.

  “Are you in pain?”

  So much pain, but your presence is making it fade.

  She looks worried. “I’ll tell your nurses.”

  She is pulling away but I keep a strong hold on her hand and flex my arm to show her I need her to stay. It's working, she's looking at me again.

  “What is it, baby?”

  I don't care about the pain I just want you to stay. I’m not ready for you to leave.

  “I'm so sorry you can't talk with that tube in.”

  I love you, Katie. Will you marry me? I have a ring for you at home; I wish it were here so I could show it to you.

  “I'm sorry, but we’ll need you to step out. This would be a good time to get some rest or get something to eat. We’ll let you know when you can visit again.”

  No, dammit! I need her to stay! What if she leaves me? Please don’t leave me. I promise I'll be more careful when I'm on duty.

  “Will it take long?”

  “I would say to give us a good hour or so.”

  She's smiling at me. Her smile is beautiful.

  “I love you.”

  God, that is exactly what I wanted to hear from you. I love you too, baby.

  I squeeze her hand because it's the only way I can communicate. She is kissing my forehead and now my cheek.

  “Everything’s going to be okay.”

  I'm going to marry you.

  * * *

  My mom was the first one to poke her head in the room. “Hi my sweet boy,” she said.

  I managed a small smile. “Hi, Mom.”

  My dad, Mark, and Susan all came in after her and surrounded my bed. “Hey,” they all seemed to say in unison.

  Mark patted my shoulder. “How was getting the tube out?”

  “Sucked,” I smiled.

  “Yeah, I bet.”

  “How's the pain?” my mom asked.

  “Better. They gave me something strong as soon as I could speak to tell them how bad it was.”

  “Your voice isn't sounding too good,” my dad said. “Does your throat hurt?”

  “Yeah.”

  My mom bent down and gave me a hug. “I’m so sorry this happened to you. I, I almost lost you.”

  I patted her back as she sobbed. “I know, Mom. It’s all okay now.”

  She kissed my forehead. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  “So what happened to you out there?” Susan asked. “They didn’t give us very much information when it happened.”

  I sighed quietly; I didn’t really feel like explaining. My mind was still focused on Katie. She wasn’t in the room and I was worried she was gone. But, my family loved me and I understood why they wanted the details. I spent the next few minutes slowly going over the events. By the end my throat was so sore I could barely talk.

  My mom’s eyes were glossed over. “Well at least we can say that you got that bastard, honey. You got him.”

  “Yeah,” my dad agreed. “He’s in the ground now.”

  “Well, not exactly,” Mark added. “I mean, you just wasted the guy; I’m sure he’s still at the morgue or something.”

  “You know what I mean, you smart ass,” my dad answered back.

  “I’m just pointing out the facts, Dad.”

  Their banter made me chuckle, and I started to cough past the pain radiating through my throat and lung.

  “Do you need us to leave so you can rest?” my dad asked.

  “No, it`s okay.”

  “I think we should,” my mom said. “We’ll come back later.”

  I nodded with a small smile. They all took turns giving me hugs and saying they loved me. Mark was last, and he gave me a soft punch on the arm.

  “Hey,” I whispered up at him. “Where’s Katie?”

  “She’s waiting outside the room.”

  I felt instant relief. “Why didn’t she come in here? Is she mad at me for what happened?”

  “No, no, not at all. She just wanted to give us some time to talk to you first.”

  I nodded warily, hoping that what he said was the truth. “Can you tell her I want to see her?”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  He gave me another friendly punch and followed out behind the rest of my family.

  I closed my eyes. The pain medication was running through my veins and I was moderately comfortable. It still felt like the ventilator tube was in my throat, and it was a bit of a struggle to breathe from my damaged lung. My side throbbed a bit but it wasn't too bad; the nurse said it was a smaller wound that didn't cause too much damage, compared to my lung, anyway. I couldn’t believe how close I came to dying, how close I came to leaving Tyler without a dad and Hailey without a stable father figure. And of course Katie. I don’t know what would have happened to her if she would have went through another death of a man she loved. Thankfully the hospital staff saved my life.

  A few minutes later I heard the love of my life’s soft footsteps tap against the hospital floor. “James?”

  I opened my eyes. Her presence made me smile. “Hi,” I whispered.

  She came to my bedside and bent over to hug me. I was so grateful the restraints were off so I could wrap my arms around her. Just holding her gave me an instant sense of calmness.

  “Hi, baby,” she answered back, the emotion apparent in her voice.

  I stroked the softness of her hair. “It’s okay. I’m fine.”

  She stood up and wiped her face before gently touching my forehead. “I was so worried.”

  “I know.”

  “How’s your pain?”

  “It’s there,” I smiled. “But they have me on some good stuff.”

  “I can tell,” she chuckled.

  There. That remark, that laugh with her warm smile; that was the woman I knew. I took her hand in mine. “How are you?”

  “Oh, um, that’s not important baby.”

  Why would she say that? Of course the way she was feeling was important. Didn’t she know that she was the reason I was still alive and breathing? I would always want to know how she was, even on an average day where all we did was drink coffee and watch the rain pour down outside of the living ro
om window.

  “Yes it is,” I told her. “How are you?”

  She took her hand away from my forehead and pulled a chair close so she could sit. “Oh, I’m fine.”

  I could always tell when she was lying. “Bull,” I replied while gently squeezing her hand.

  “James, this is about you right now, not me.”

  “You’re a part of me.”

  She leaned her head to the side and smiled sympathetically. “It's been rough. I thought I was going to lose you. When Mark called me, it, it was like a nightmare. He couldn't even give me any details, he just said you were shot and taken by helicopter from the scene. And I left work and drove here, not knowing whether or not you were going to be alive.”

  The recollection brought tears to her eyes that I couldn’t wipe away quick enough. “I’m sorry I put you through that.”

  “Why are you apologizing? Don't apologize for getting wounded while you were on duty.”

  “I wasn't careful,” I confessed, coughing out the words. My chest felt like it was beginning to fail me.

  “Okay, you're getting too worked up. You need to stop talking; let's discuss this later.”

  “No.” I wasn’t going to let her go anywhere.

  She scoffed. “What do you mean, no? You were shot in the chest and you almost died. I'm not going to be responsible for you regressing in your healing.”

  “I killed him,” I whispered, the words ripping past my throat. “Did anyone tell you that?”

  “Killed who?”

  “The man who killed the Chief.”

  “You found him?”

  “Yeah; that's who shot me. I pulled him over after I caught him speeding. When I asked for his license he pulled out his wallet and I noticed the gang tattoos on his arms.”

  “Oh my god. What did you do?”

  “The wrong thing,” I admitted. “I, I lost my cool, pulled my gun on him. I just saw red once I realized it was him.”

  “But how did you know he was the one?”

  “A few of the gang members we arrested the day of Brad’s murder ratted him out to get a break on their sentences. He’d been arrested before so we had an old jail photo to go by. Didn't I tell you that?”

  “No.”

  I mentally kicked myself. Yet another thing I didn’t tell her. What the hell was wrong with me? I had a wonderful woman who loved me and wanted to know things that went on in my job, especially when it came to Brad’s situation. She would never leave me for the bad situations that had happened or would happen in the future, but she would leave me for keeping details hidden. I had to make sure to tell her everything from that point on. Nothing would be kept from her; no detail would be too small to confide in her. I owed her that respect.