Authors: Stephanie Morris
Kayla shook her head again. “Well get ready. I am sure Keirra will find something to argue about even if she has to intentionally pick a fight with Eric.”
Keirra wanted to kick her sister under the table, but she didn’t want to give Kayla the satisfaction.
Besides, Eric had yet to give her something to fight with him about, and it worried her. No one was that perfect.
Keirra came awake slowly as Eric’s arms tightened around her. She could get used to being in his arms. Eric placed a kiss on her lips, and she smiled.
“Good morning,” she whispered, still half asleep.
“Did you sleep well?”
She nodded and snuggled closer to him. “Yes, I did. You?”
“With you in my arms how could I not?”
He’d taken her out to eat last night before coming back to his place to watch movies until they had almost fallen asleep in front of the television. She had gone to bed with him simply holding her, and it had been a good night. One of the best that she’d had in a while. She rolled over onto her back and looked at Eric. His hair was tousled, and he had morning stubble. Sexiness oozed from him.
“You know I could wake up to you like this every day.”
She looked at him, surprised at the statement. “What makes you say that?”
He laughed. “Because it’s true.” He smiled before lying back. “Tell me, Keirra, do you ever think of the future?”
She paused, having to think heavily about the question. To be honest, she always thought about the future, but the way she thought about it was starting to change. “Yes, I think about the future. I think about the future a lot.”
“Do you think about kids and marriage?”
Keirra sat up. Her heart skipped a beat. That had been the last question she had expected, and it made her nervous, especially after the discussion she had just had with Kristen and Kayla over Randy taking Kristen to look at engagement rings.
She frowned. “What is making you ask this question?”
He reached out and stroked her arm. “Because regardless of what you think, I really am with you because I think we have a future together.”
He pulled her back down beside him. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here with you. Not like this.”
Keirra was silent for a moment as she pondered his statement. It was a very believable one because he had brought her around his family when he barely knew her, and she fit in with them very well.
She also knew he had never brought another woman home to meet his family. The whole situation was unnerving. Never had she thought that she would be having a conversation like this with Eric.
He didn’t seem like the sort to think about things like this, but she was realized her initial opinion of him had been way off.
She sighed softly but answered honestly. “Yes, I think about marriage as well as having children.”
His hand began moving up and down in a soothing fashion. “How many children do you want to have?”
She didn’t have to think about that answer. “At least two.”
His hand stopped. “What is the maximum number?” He laughed at the expression that crossed her face. “I am just asking.”
Keirra shrugged her shoulders. “To be honest, I don’t have one. As long as my husband and I can afford the children and we are happy, then I think everything is okay.”
He chuckled. “So you don’t think that ten would be too many?”
That earned him a sharp elbow to the ribs. He grunted before laughing. “What? You said you didn’t have a maximum.”
She just shook her head. He could be so outrageous at times. She knew that he inherited his wacky sense of humor from his mother. She smiled as she relaxed back into his embrace.
“That may be, but that doesn’t mean that I want to be pregnant for the rest of my life.”
Even as she made the statement, she laughed. The man had a strange sense of humor, and quite frankly it was sexy. Everything about him was sexy.
She turned her head to look at him. “Why me, Eric? Out of all the women that you could have, why do you choose me?”
He responded without hesitation. “Because you are independent, unpredictable, caring, and sexy as hell.”
Keirra smiled. She read the sincerity in his eyes. A sincerity that was hard to come by at times.
Closing her eyes she tried to imagine waking up to Eric every morning. What shocked her was the image came to her mind very clearly. It was then that she realized that she had done exactly what she said that she wasn’t going to do. She had fallen in love with Eric.
* * * *
Keirra half ran, half walked into the entrance of school. Technically, she was still early but not as early as she wanted to be. She was barely going to have enough time to prepare for class before it started. After walking into the office, she signed in before heading into her classroom. The first bell rang as she began to put the scales on the tables that her students shared. When the tardy bell rang, everything was set up.
The first class went well, and she had a few minutes to breathe before the second class started. A smile came to her face when her planning period rolled around. She needed it. By the end of the school day she exhaled heavily. Her cell phone rang as soon as she exited the building. A smile spread over her face when Eric’s name appeared on the caller ID.
Her heart rate sped up with excitement. His voice was always a highlight of her day. She flipped the phone open. “Hey, you.”
“Hey yourself.”
Her smile widened at his sexy timbre. “What are you doing?”
“Watching a beautiful woman walk to her car.”
At that statement, she stopped and looked around. It didn’t take her long to spot him. He was standing by his patrol car with his hat pulled low. His profile made her heart speed up. The man was already sexy as sin, but in uniform, he was something else. His body was definitely made for the uniform. She headed in his direction hanging up the phone as she neared him. He pulled her into his embrace as soon as she was within arm’s reach. His lips were on hers before she could take her next breath.
It was a brief kiss, but it didn’t lack passion. He pulled back taking her bag out of her hands. Being such a perfect gentleman made him even harder to resist.
“Did you have a good day?”
She nodded as he placed her bag into the car then assisted her inside, before going around to the driver’s side and got in. He drove her the short distance to her car.
“How was your day?”
He gave her a dry look, and she laughed. “You missing the fast-paced criminals of the city?”
He shook his head. “Believe it or not, I don’t, but I swear if Mrs. Shiloh places one more non-emergency call, I will lock her up myself.”
She laughed until she had tears in her eyes. “I think there is a law against locking up seventy-year-old women for no reason.”
He scoffed at her comment. “Well, I
know
there is one against sexual harassment. There is nothing innocent about the woman. She is a sexual predator.”
Keirra gave him a look of surprise. “What are you talking about?”
He sighed. “Mrs. Shiloh always makes a special request for me and manages to pinch my butt every time I walk by.”
She began to laugh again at his look of contempt.
“I am glad you find this so funny.”
She shook her head. Just thinking about Mrs. Shiloh grabbing Eric’s butt was a sight she had to see.
She was well aware of how much of a feisty woman Mrs. Shiloh was, she believed the woman would be bold enough to feel a uniform officer up.
“Would it make you feel better if I had a talk with Mrs. Shiloh?”
“Ha! That woman will probably beat you up then come find me for ratting her out.”
Keirra had to put her head in her lap to keep from hyperventilating. When she was able to control herself again, she leaned over and gave him another kiss to console him. “I am sorry. I know this isn’t funny.”
He gave her a slightly irritated look. “Then why are you laughing?”
She didn’t respond. She wouldn’t be able to complete the statement without laughing. Instead, she just stared at him until he had to smile himself.
“I forgive you this time.” He leaned over and gave her another kiss. “As much as I hate to go, I need to get back to work.”
“What time are you getting off?”
He grinned. “Seven, and yes, I will call you.”
She smiled. “I will talk to you then, and thank you for coming to see me.”
He got out of the patrol car and went around to the passenger side. He opened the door, and she stepped out. He reached in and he grabbed her bag before handing it to her. Leaning forward, she placed a kiss on his lips before heading for her own car. She didn’t know what she’d done to get so lucky, but she was grateful.
* * * *
With one last kiss, Eric went back around to the driver’s side and climbed back into the car. He watched her drive off before heading back to the station. As soon as he walked in, a smile came to his face. Randy was in his office with his feet up on his desk. His cell phone was to his ear, and judging by the grin on his face, he was on the phone with Kristen. Randy saw him and cut his conversation with Kristen short but not before speaking to Wade. Eric found himself becoming jealous. Randy had a lot going for himself. He wanted that with Keirra.
“So how was patrol?”
Eric gave Randy a look before sitting down in an empty chair. “If I have to respond to one more of Mrs. Shiloh’s non-emergency calls, I’m going to quit.”
Randy chuckled. “She likes your butt too, huh?”
Eric could only shake his head in response. “The only good thing that came out of the patrol today was that I ran into Keirra.”
Randy smiled and leaned back in his chair. “How is that going?”
He nodded. “I think things are going very well.”
Randy gave him an incredulous look. “Only good? I guess you can say that, but I don’t know if you realize just how much Keirra has changed.”
Eric looked at Randy. “Randy you have no idea how much she has changed me.”
“Why are you so nervous?”
She looked at Eric and sighed. “I have no idea.”
Truth was her heart was in her stomach because her paternal grandparents were going to be in town momentarily. They were coming for the sole purpose of meeting Eric. Evidently, Kristen had mentioned that she and Eric were dating, and her grandparents wanted to meet the man who had managed to get behind the wall she had put up. She jumped a foot in the air when the doorbell rang.
Eric laughed before squeezing her hand.
“Relax. Everything is going to be fine.”
She took a deep breath before opening the door. A smile automatically came to her face when she saw her grandparents.
“Grandma, Grandpa!”
She stepped forward to embrace her grandparents. She had been looking forward to their arrival all morning. Each of them hugged her tightly before stepping inside the house.
“We are so glad you could make it.”
Her grandmother gave her grandfather a look. “Well thanks to your grandfather, we almost didn’t.”
Keirra found herself rolling her eyes and wondering what story they were going to hear over dinner tonight.
Her grandfather gave her grandmother his own look but ignored the statement as he embraced Keirra.
“Where are your sisters?”
She squeezed her grandfather tightly. “They are going to meet us at Jimmy’s.”
Her grandfather rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “Well if that is the case, what are we waiting for?”
Keirra shook her head. “How about an introduction to Eric? You know, the guy that you came here to meet,” she stated with a smile.
It wasn’t until then that her grandparents realized Eric was in the room with them. He had stood beside her quiet until that point. Stepping forward, he greeted her grandparents.
“Mr. and Mrs. Smith, it is a pleasure to meet you.”
Her grandmother waved her hand in dismissal. “Oh none of that Mr. and Mrs. stuff. Call us Grandma and Grandpa. You are part of the family now.”
Keirra groaned as Eric smiled and went along with the suggestion.
“Well then it is a pleasure to meet you, Grandma and Grandpa.”
As she expected, her grandmother almost melted at the first hint of his charm. “Hopefully, you have heard good things about us.”
He laughed as he embraced her grandmother and shook her grandfather’s hand. “I have heard nothing but good things about you.”
Sensing that her grandmother was getting ready to request examples she stepped forward and interrupted. It could be dangerous if her grandmother became talkative.
“And on that note we have people waiting on us so we need to get going.”
Eric took the hint and led the way to his SUV assisting her and her grandparents into his vehicle before climbing into the driver’s seat.
They made it to Jimmy’s without incident, and she sighed with relief. Her sisters, Randy, and Wade were waiting impatiently when they walked into Jimmy’s. Poor Wade was staring with longing at other tables that had pizza on them. The smell of the pizza distracted her while her sisters greeted their grandparents.
She waited as her grandparents talked to Kayla and Keirra smiling to herself. As she had figured her grandparents would, they found Eric to be perfect. He became the person of the hour charming them like he charmed her. A short while later they placed the orders for their pizza. They decided to eat at Jimmy’s because everyone wanted pizza, and Jimmy’s had the best that there was. As soon as they were seated orders were taken, and the pictures came out. Her grandparents began sharing the photos of their recent travels, and funny stories were spread around the table.
Keirra sat back and watched her family. She loved times like these because she didn’t feel so lonely.
There were times that she was starved for her own family. Not that her sisters didn’t count, but the pain of not having a mother and father made her cherish her surviving grandparents even more, especially since they were the parents of her father. Seeing them always brought back good memories of the special bond that she’d had with her father, of the bond she had with them. But she was starting to really think about a family of her own.