by Danielle Lee
“It’s okay. I think I better sleep on the couch tonight, though.”
Megan frowned. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
“Megan that is so not what’s going on here. I told you we’d get to know each other. I think that’s the way to do things, especially because you have Jake.”
Jake. How could she forget about her son! “Yes, you’re right of course.”
“Megs,” Brice said, as he came up to her. She now had her sweatshirt on, and she was standing beside the bed. “You really are beautiful.”
Megan smiled softly. “I felt beautiful.”
Brice sighed, glad that he didn’t upset or disappoint her. “Listen, you go get a nice hot shower, and I’ll make us breakfast. Deal?”
“Deal.”
When Megan got out of the shower, Brice had made eggs, sausage, toast and home fries. To say Megan was impressed, was an understatement.
“I can’t remember ever getting breakfast made for me before,” Megan said appreciatively. She looked at Brice and grabbed his hand. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. So, I thought we’d learn some more about each other today, play some more of that game, and then maybe go shooting.”
Megan stiffened. “What do you mean?”
“Which part?”
“The shooting part.”
“Megs, I thought it would help you to be less afraid if you knew how to shoot a gun.”
“Why would that make me less afraid?”
“Well, for one, you’d know how to use it if you ever needed to, and for another, it will help you feel more confident about protecting yourself.”
“I don’t know.”
Brice took a bite of his food, and then looked up at Megan. “It would also make me feel better.”
“I know what you are doing and it’s nice, but I don’t need it.”
“Megan…”
“Brice.”
“Listen, I’m just going to show you how to shoot it. If you don’t like it, then you never have to do it again.”
Megan looked down at her food, and then up at Brice. “Okay.”
CHAPTER NINE
“I never in a million years would have thought I’d enjoy that, but I did!” Megan said. She had just spent the last two hours learning all about guns. Brice brought his hand gun, and a Glock to show her how to shoot. He showed her the correct way of holding a gun, and how to pull it out effectively in case someone were to come at her.
He told her that these were all the techniques that one learns when they take the conceal and carry class. He also offered to take the class with her when it was offered next, so she wouldn’t be afraid.
The funny thing was that she wasn’t. She loved it. They spent the better part of the last thirty minutes target shooting.
“I knew you would, Megs.”
“Thank you. You were right again,” Megan said, smiling up at Brice. “I was so nervous at work the last few days. I could barely stand it, and now I am here with you, and I feel so much better.”
“I’m glad.” Brice held his hand out, and Megan gave him back his gun. He emptied the bullets, and placed the gun back in its case. “So, do you think you’ll go shooting with me again sometime?”
Megan grinned. “Definitely.”
“So, I have some advice I’d like to ask for,” Brice said smoothly. He took Megan’s hand, and then locked the guns away in a small box that he had put back under his bed. Megan looked up and nodded.
“Sure, what’s up?”
“My friend Carl, he’s my partner at the station.”
“Oh, yeah, I think I met Carl. Wasn’t he on the field trip?”
“Yeah, he was there,” Brice said, laughing. “He was having a good time watching us make eyes at each other.”
Megan reddened. “Yeah, I was afraid others noticed.”
“Who cares? I’m just glad you’re here with me. Anyway, so he has a problem, and I need a woman’s perspective.”
“Sure. What’s his problem?”
“Well, he was with a single mom a few years back, well several, and she refuses him to have anything to do with their son.”
“I thought you said she was a single mom?”
“She is, but she was pregnant when she and Carl dated. He practically raised the boy, and she hasn’t let him near the kid for a while. He turns 15 this year, and Carl really wants to see him.”
Megan felt bad for the kid, but didn’t know the whole situation. “Why won’t she let him see him?”
Brice shook his head. “They had a bad breakup. There were a lot of things, but Carl was always good with the boy.”
“Maybe she still loves Carl.”
Brice hadn’t thought of that. “Maybe, so if you still loved the guy, you’d refuse him to see your boy?” Brice didn’t think Megan would ever do something like that, mainly because of her promise to him.
“No, absolutely not. The only way I would refuse is if I thought he was a danger to my son, then I would say no. But, you have to admit, it would be hard seeing someone that you are in love with playing with your son day in and day out. It would be a form of torture.”
“Yeah, I guess it would.” Brice couldn’t imagine seeing Jacob, but not getting to see Megan. “I never really thought much about it. I just know how Carl feels.”
“Do you feel the same about your nephew?” Megan asked.
Brice shook his head. “The situation with him is different. I know that my brother is taking good care of him, and I also found out that they were seeing each other nearly the entire time I was seeing Jenna. So, I guess, he didn’t really know much different.”
“Yeah, but you did.”
Megan was right. He loved that boy. He still did. “Yeah, I did. But he has a good dad. My brother may be a total prick, but he is good with the boy. This is where it changes for Carl. He hasn’t seen his son in a long time. Years. She won’t listen to him at all. I told him that I would talk to her.”
Megan looked like she wanted to disagree, but she just nodded. “Listen, I think you need to go about this in a calm way. Explain to her what Carl has said, and about how much he loves her son. Who knows, maybe she will agree?”
“Yeah, who knows?” Brice looked down at their joined hands, and grinned. “I like talking with you.”
“I like talking with you, too.”
The rest of the weekend flew by fast, and Megan and Brice were in her driveway unloading her bags before they knew it. “I had a great time,” Megan said softly. “I wish we didn’t have to come back so soon.”
“Me, too.” Brice looked up, and noticed the curtain pull back. A few seconds later, Jacob was running toward them.
“Mommy!” Jacob yelled. Megan stepped out from behind the car and had her hands flung out. Jacob jumped, and nearly toppled her over.
“Oh, baby, I’ve missed you so very much!”
“I missed you, too, Mommy! Nana and I had so much fun.”
“I am so glad that you did, Jake. I missed your kisses.”
Jacob laughed and kissed his mommy’s nose, then her lips, then her nose again. Brice didn’t think the kid could get any cuter.
“Brice! I missed you, too!” Jacob yelled, and then put his arm out, including him in the hug with him and his mother. Brice swallowed, suddenly feeling that huge weight on his chest again. This kid was becoming very important to him, and so was his mother.
***
Brice went in to the station early for his shift Monday to talk to Carl.
“Hey! How was the trip?”
“It was great. She was—do you have a minute?”
Carl looked up from his paperwork, and nodded. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I talked to Megs about you and your son.”
“Megs?”
Brice grinned. “That’s what I call her, anyways, she told me that—”
“Wait a minute, you talked to her about me?”
“Yeah—”
“Must have bee
n a boring weekend.” Carl laughed at Brice’s annoyed expression, and then waited for his friend to continue.
“It was great. Anyway, she said something that made me think. Do you think that maybe Carrie is still in love with you?”
Carl’s eyes widened, and he looked away. “No.”
“Because if she is, that all makes…”
“No, she’s not.”
“Okay, because Megs said that if she was in love with the guy, and he wanted to see her kid it would be hard.”
Carl only nodded, but Brice could tell that he was upset.
“You never really talked much about what happened.”
“I don’t want to either,” Carl said, then looked down at his desk and finished what he was doing before Brice got there.
CHAPTER TEN
Three weeks later…
Brice, Megan, and Jacob had gotten close over the last month. They had been inseparable, always having fun and learning about one another. It was now only 39 days until Christmas, and Jacob had reminded them of that on the countdown ever since Megan and Brice got back from their trip to Brice’s Cabin.
“You know, we are going to have to take him to get a real Christmas tree,” Brice said, quietly. Megan smiled as they walked hand in hand. Jacob was at her mom and dad’s place for the weekend.
“He would love that. I would, too. But, why don’t we wait until we are past Thanksgiving before we start talking about that?”
Brice grinned. “All I can think about is Christmas, that boy of yours is driving me crazy with his countdown.”
Megan smiled again at Brice, and snuggled in closer. “I know. He is so excited.” Megan couldn’t help but think of Jacob’s Christmas list with just a picture of Jacob and Brice on it. She wanted to talk to Brice about it, but it was too soon, and Jacob had already said he wanted a dad a million times anyway.
“A penny for your thoughts,” Brice said, as he looked down at Megan.
Megan sighed. “I think I’ll keep this one to myself.”
Brice stared at Megan for a moment before looking away. “Okay. So, I didn’t get to tell you last night, but I have to work on Thursday. I couldn’t get out of my shift. I tried to switch with Ted, but he had plans already with his family.”
Megan frowned, and let go of Brice’s arm. “But it’s Jacob’s play.”
Brice took a deep breath and then spoke, “Megs, you know I want to be there. I feel awful about it, but I’m the only one without a family, and, well, this is the holiday season.”
“You had plenty of time to get the day off, Brice.”
Brice couldn’t believe she was acting this way. Megan turned and headed back toward her house. “What are you doing?”
“Going home. I have to figure out what I’m going to tell my son.”
Brice sighed irritably. “You are kidding me, right?”
Megan turned around, her eyes were wet. “No, I’m not kidding, Brice! He was really looking forward to you being there!”
“I know.”
“Well then, why aren’t you?”
“Why are you shouting at me? I told you, I couldn’t get off work. I don’t have a family, Megs. Everyone there has a family.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Megan seethed.
Brice flinched. “Honey, you know what we are together, but it’s not on paper yet, and the guys, well there’s seniority.”
Megan’s heart thudded in her chest at what Brice had just said. She stopped. “I’m sorry I yelled.”
Brice put his arms around her and squeezed. “You know I’d be there, if I could. I can tell Jacob. I should tell him.”
“No, I’ll talk to him tonight. We just won’t see you there is all.”
“Megan,” Brice said softly, bringing his hand up to her chin to tilt her face up to his. “You know I want to be there.”
Megan nodded.
***
Brice felt like shit. He did try to get off for the Thanksgiving play. Jacob was playing a major part, and it was all a big surprise that he’d been talking about for weeks. Brice felt himself looking forward to the night as well, but when he found out what day it was, he could have crawled into a hole. It was one of his doubles, and he didn’t say anything to Megan, but he had already taken off for her twice in the past three weeks because she had been getting panic attacks at work.
Brice was sitting in his squad car at the corner of the Fifth and Vine when he saw the truck pull up. A few minutes later, a dressed up couple exited the vehicle with two boys in tow. Brice smiled at the one boy as he was hopping all around like he had ants in his pants, but when he looked at the other boy, his heart clenched. It was Jacob.
What was Jacob doing?
Then the man held his hand out and Megan took it, and followed him and the kids across the street to the Maple Diner.
Brice could feel his palms sweat, he could feel the nerves in his body unwind, and he found himself out of the squad car, and leaning against the window to the diner for a better look.
Megan was sitting down beside the man, and the two boys were deep in conversation when he walked into the restaurant. Brice’s jaw clenched, his fists were to his sides. He cleared his throat, startling Megan and the boys.
“What’s this?”
Megan’s smile dissipated at his tone. “Brice?”
“Having fun?” Brice said in a cold tone. Jacob’s eyes widened and Brice hated that he had frightened him. Brice bent down and kissed Jake on the head. “How was your play?”
“It was awesome, Brice! I wish you could have seen me, I remembered all my lines, except for a few.”
Brice smiled despite the anger. “I bet you were wonderful. I’m really sorry I had to work tonight.”
“That’s okay.”
Brice looked up. He couldn’t help the disgusted look on his face that was directed toward Megan. Megan stiffened. It was like Jenna all over again. “I better go. I wouldn’t want to intrude on this—moment.” Brice turned, and Megan yelled after him.
“What is your problem?!”
Brice stopped just before exiting the diner. He turned around, his face was red, and his jaw was clenched. He was wearing his uniform, as he was still on duty.
Megan’s lip trembled and Jacob started to cry. Brice could feel his stomach cramp.
“Ja…”
“What is your problem?” Megan said. She was closer now, and Brice swallowed.
Brice shook his head. “It didn’t take you long.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I told you I couldn’t get off work, Megs.”
“Don’t call me, Megs, like that!”
Brice looked around the diner and nearly every eye was on the two of them. “I can’t do this in here.” Brice had to be smart, he had his uniform on, and he was still on duty.
“We don’t have to do it at all,” Megan seethed. She went to turn, when Brice whispered.
“So, what, that’s it?”
Megan didn’t even turn around to look at him, she just nodded curtly.
Brice blew out the breath he was holding, and turned and opened the door. When it shut, Megan trembled right along with it.
“Mommy, what’s wrong? Mommy?” Jacob asked, frantically. “Why is my… Brice mad?”
Megan started to cry, but stopped herself in time. People in the diner were staring, and she didn’t want to ruin Jacob’s night. “Nothing’s wrong, baby.” Megan’s eyes were wet, and she tried to smile at Jacob. “Want some ice cream?”
***
“Want to tell me what went down at Maple’s last night?” Carl asked as he came into the precinct. He placed his clipboard down on his desk, and came around to where Brice was sitting. “What happened?”
Brice looked up, his eyes were red.
“Shit, man, what happened?” Carl asked, concerned.
“Megan broke up with me.”
Carl’s eyes widened and he sat on the edge of Brice’s desk. “What?” he asked, surprised.
“I was supposed to get the night off, remember? It was Jake’s play.”
“She broke up with you because of that? Listen, Man, I’ll talk to her.”
Brice shook his head. After he left, he had time to think about what had happened, and he couldn’t get the image of her holding that putz’s hand out of his mind. “She was with some other guy last night. I saw them pull into the parking lot across from Maple’s. She was holding his hand.”
“What the hell?”
Brice didn’t know what to think. “Yeah, so I went inside. I couldn’t stand it, I was so damned jealous. I just went nuts.”
Carl took a deep breath and looked at Brice. “You didn’t do anything stupid, did ya?”
Brice shook his head. “No. I told her I couldn’t talk to her in there. I had already made a fool out of myself by walking in on her ‘family scene.’”
“What do you mean?”
“She was with this guy and his son. The real shit about it is that she had Jake in there with them. It was just like it was with Jenna; only this time it was some other guy and not my own brother. Jacob saw all of that… just like my nephew! I thought… I thought she was different,” Brice all but yelled. He slammed his fist into the desk, and stood up. I got to get out of here.”
“Dude, don’t do anything stupid.”
“I’m just going home.”
“You want company?”
“No. I’m just going home, Carl. Thanks.”
When Brice got home he went into his bedroom and opened the top drawer of his dresser. He got out the locked box, and set it on his lap. Tears came down his cheeks as he opened it up, and pulled out the smaller velvet box.
Brice swallowed back the bile of his relationship with Megan. He loved her. He took the ring out of the container, and looked at it. It wasn’t huge, but it was beautiful. He had never bought a ring before. He had never loved anyone before Megan. He thought he loved Jenna, but this pain, was nothing like what he went through while losing her.
Brice closed the box, and put the ring back in the lock box, then leaned back onto his bed. What the hell was he going to do without Megan?