NOT EDITED

Russell Steele had run out to the dollar store to grab a gift bag to put the books in before heading out to his sister’s house. He knocked on the door, smiling a moment later when his younger sister pulled it open. “Nikki.”

“Russell.” She cocked her head to the side. “What’s in the bag?” Russell held it out to her, opening it enough that she could look inside. “Russell.”

“I know, I know. You like rewarding her for good grades and stuff. That’s fine. You can keep rewarding her for that. But can’t I reward her for being willing to read in the first place?” he asked.

Nikki sighed, but she nodded. “Go ahead, you nerd. She’s in the living room.

Russell’s smile broadened. “Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Russell kicked off his shoes on the rug by the dor and made his way to the living room. His neice, Abby, sat on the floor, a textbook open in front of her and an open notebook off to the side. “Hey, Abby.”

She lifted her head. “Uncle Russell!” She jumped to her feet and rushed him, throwing her arms around him. Russell smiled, happily returning to the hug. Very little in this world would ever beat out a hug from his neice. She pulled away from him, eyes falling on the gift bag in his hand. “What’s that?”

“That is for you.”

“For what?”

“For me being proud of you for being such a good reader. A lot of kids today don’t wanna read at all, but you do, and that makes me real darn happy,” Russell said.

She met his eyes. “Really?”

“Mmhmm.” He held out the bag, giving it a good shake. She took it from him and sat down on the floor. Russell sat down beside her. He flipped back the cover of the textbook. History. Tragically, he’d be no help there. He was terrible with dates and the names of dead white guys.

“Did you get me the whole series?” Abby asked in a whisper.

“I did,” Russell whispered back.

“Oh, my God. Uncle Russell!” She threw her arms around him again. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome, sweetheart.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You keep reading books, and I’ll get you whatever ones you want. In controlled quantities, of course. Your mom would kill me otherwise.”

Abby snorted. “Yeah, probably.” She pulled out one of the books, tracing the embossed title with her fingers. “Who checked you out?”

“A man. His name’s Theodore.”

“Was he cute?”

Russell rolled his eyes. He was used to this conversation. He’d only heard it a million times since he told his family that his interests weren’t limited to women. “He was very cute.”

“Are you gonna take him to coffee?”

He snorted. “No, sweetheart, I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“Because if I took every cute guy out for coffee, I wouldn’t have enough money to buy you books.”

For a moment, a thoughtful expression took over her face. “That’s okay, I’ll just reread these for a while.”

Russell laughed, gently shoving her shoulder. “You’re a pain in the ass, Abby.”

“You love me.”

“Yeah, there’s that. You’re still a pain in the ass.”

“No swearing around her, Russell!” Nikki called from the kitchen.

“Sorry, Nik!” He turned back to Abby. “Besides, I need a bit more than, ‘Remember me? I bought that series for my niece? Well, I like your face. Coffee?’ That’s just creepy.”

Abby laughed. “Then don’t be so creepy, you weirdo.”

“I’m not great at that.”

“Whatever. Your whole job is talking to people without being creepy.”

“Technically, that’s not a requirement,” Russell said.

Abby shook her head, a little smile on her face. “Thanks for the books, Uncle Russell.”

“You’re very welcome, sweetheart.” He reached out and smoothed a hand over her hair rather that tossling it like he wanted to. She wasn’t quite young enough for that anymore. She didn’t get annoyed at him easily, but in his experience, messing up her hair was one of her few annoyances.

He avoided it whenever he could, to say the least.

“Can I set you up with my History teacher?” Abby asked.

Russell snorted. “No, you may not.”

“He’s cute, I swear!”

Russell laughed. “My God, sweetheart. I appreciate the offer, okay? But I’m not lonely enough that I need my niece setting me up, I promise.”

“You don’t date a lot since you came out,” Abby said. “I worry about you.”

He smiled. “I’m fine, baby. I’ve had a couple dates here and there. I mostly just prefer going dancing on the weekends right now. Mixing dating in with work just isn’t something I need right now. Gotta wait till this case is over.” There was no case right now, not for him, anyway. But Abby didn’t need to know that.

“Do you have a partner at the station yet?” she asked.

Russell was more than thankful for the topic change. “Not yet. We had a new detective lined up, but he flaked. Guess we’ll just have to keep waiting for now.”

“Don’t you hate working by yourself?”

“Oh, I don’t mind it. I’ve never worked with anyone better than Emilia and Andrew. So I think it’s kind of a crapshoot to try pairing me with anyone, anyway. When I really need help, I take it to those two. One of them normally ends up heading out with me for interviews if I need it, anyway.” Russell shrugged. “It’s not too bad. They’re my best friends, after all.”

“That’s good, at least.”

“Very good,” he agreed. He let out a sigh. “Well, I should get home. I hope you enjoy the books. Book guy said they were good, and you would love them.”

“Thanks, Uncle Russell.” She reached up and squeezed his hand as he stood up. “I love you.”

“Love you, too, sweetheart. See you soon.”

***

Russell, beer in his hand, made his way to the pool table in the bar. A man stood there, racking the balls for a new game. Russell caught the gun holstered at his hip first, the tactical belt second, and the broad, muscled shoulders third.

Russell took pride in noticing them third. Emilia always hated when he checked out her husband, but he couldn’t help it. Andrew Buchanan was a damn good-looking man. Though, since he came out to more than just Emilia and Andrew, Russell was more open about being able to check out people other than the men he worked with. His attraction to Andrew’s shoulders had thankfully dissipated since then. Russell stopped beside him and clapped him on the back. “Hey.”

Andrew flashed a smile. “Hey. Saved the pool table for us.”

“Awesome. Where’s Emey?”

“Friend of hers is in the hospital, and her family won’t be here for a couple more hours. They had to fly in from California. So Em’s staying with her for now, making sure she doesn’t get too scared.”

“What happened to her?” Russell asked.

“Kitchen fire. Em says she has third-degree burns all over her arms and neck,” Andrew said.

“Jesus.” Russell shook his head. “Can’t even imagine.”

“I know. It’s terrible. I told Em you’d understand her canceling on karaoke, but she wanted me to let you know that she’ll sing four songs with you next week instead of two,” Andrew said.

Russell snorted. “Perfect.” He took a sip of his beer. “Mm, had a lunch date today.”

“Right. How’d that go?”

“Ready?”

“Of course.”

“I left my phone on the table when I got up to go to the bathroom. He snooped, found out my interests don’t just lie in only men, and he told me there was no possible way this could ever happen again.” Russell chuckled, shaking his head. “I swear, man. Some of these fucking people, they preach solidarity and support, but when they’re actually given the chance to stand for what they speak of, they’d rather throw you to the wolves.”

“I’m sorry, Russ. Fuck him. You’re better than that guy, anyway,” Andrew said. He held up his beer. “To finding another person who respects you for loving whoever the hell you want.”

Russell smiled, tapping his beer against Andrew’s. “To that,” he agreed, taking another sip. “You know, I never thanked you guys for showing so much support when I came out to you, when you helped me work up the nerve to come out to my family.”

“Oh, please, we knew. You should never have to thank us for treating you like a human being.” Andrew squeezed Russell’s shoulder, holding out a pool cue with his free hand. Russell grabbed it from him. “You’re family, Russ. And Em and me, since we aren’t pieces of shit, love you for who you are. Besides, Emey’s somewhere on the asexual spectrum. You know that. And I’d be the worst fuckin’ person in the world if I hated you for being LGBTQ when I love her so damn much.”

Russell’s smiled widened. “Someday, I want what you two have.”

“You’ll get there. Just gotta find yourself someone who doesn’t bitch and complain when you have to go into work at three in the morning because someone’s been murdered.”

“Oddly enough, easier said than done.”

Andrew chuckled. “Yeah, that’s why I scored myself a fellow cop. They understand if you have to leave really early in the morning. And with Em, it doesn’t really matter one bit, since we’re partners at the station. We go together most of the time.” He smiled at Russell. “The couple that investigates crime together, stays together.”

Russell snorted. “I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.” He nodded toward the pool table. “C’mon, let’s at least get one round in before you get us both totally shit faced.”

Andrew laughed. “Sure thing, Steel.”

---

Enjoying the story? Consider dropping a comment or a like down below!!

Updates every Wednesday!

---

NOT EDITED

The early morning sun peeked between the window curtains, casting an orange light on the bedroom door and a little rainbow of color across the bed, where the sunshine cut through the fish tank on the computer desk.

The door to the bedroom creaked open, and a little girl walked through the doorway, one hand on the knob, the other clutching a teddy bear to her chest. She padded across the room, hugging the toy as she stared at the man on the bed. Tentatively, she reached out with one hand and poked his arm. He groaned, rolling onto his stomach. “Daddy?”

“Mm?”

“I had a bad dream.”

Theodore Eckart cleared his throat, turning his head to the side to look at the little girl. “You did?” She nodded, bottom lip pulled into his mouth. “I’m sorry, baby girl.” He tugged the covers back, holding them up in the air. “Get your butt up here.” The fair-skinned, red-headed girl climbed onto her father’s bed, snuggling up against his side as he dropped the covers again. “What was your bad dream about?”

“That Father came back.”

“That’s never happening.” Clearing his throat again, Theodore rolled onto his side, tugging the girl, Vera, to his chest.

“How do you know?”

“Because he’s in jail.”

“ ‘Cause he hurt you?”

Theodore closed his eyes. “Yeah, baby, because he hurt me.” He lifted a hand and rubbed at his eyes. “What time is it?”

“I dunno. I saw a four on the clock.”

Theodore cracked open an eye to peer at the analog alarm clock on his nightstand. Six forty-six. “Yep. Definitely a four in there. Good job, baby.” Theodore smoothed a hand over Vera’s hair. “How about you try to get some sleep? I’ll make breakfast for us in another hour or so. Till then, I’ll keep you safe, and I’ll scare all the bad dreams away.”

Vera stuck a pinky finger up between them. “Promise?”

Theodore wrapped his own around it. “Promise.”

***

With Vera at school, Theodore had gone to work and headed straight over to the in-house cafe part of the bookstore.

“Theo! Oh, my God, I didn’t know you were coming in today,” the woman behind the counter said.

Theodore smiled. “Had to come back eventually, right?”

“Of course. I’m just so happy to see you.” She stuck out both hands, bangle bracelets jangling against each other. Theodore leaned a little heavier on his cane and grabbed one of her hands. She immediately laid the second hand over his. “How’re you doing? How’s Vera?”

“I’m better, and she’s… handling everything well, save for the fear that he’s coming back.”

“He’s in jail. Fucker got a decade.”

“I know. You, uh, you should come over and see her. She misses you, and maybe having someone else at the house for a couple hours would help,” Theodore suggested.

“I would love to. Tell her I’ll be over… tonight?”

“Sounds perfect, Gina.”

Gina Beckett smiled. “Great.” She let go of his hand. “So… what can I getcha?”

“Just, uh, just one of the caramel cappuccinos.”

“Can do. Back in a jiff.” She patted the counter before pushing away from it. Theodore stared down at the floor as she went about making his coffee. Gina was one of the few people in his life that he had allowed to see him when his ex-husband had landed him in the hospital. With God only knew how many scratches and bruises and a broken hip–among a few other sprains and fractures–Theodore had looked awful and weak. He hadn’t wanted his co-workers to see him that way. He hadn’t wanted his boss to see him that way.

Hell, it had taken Gina two days to convince him that his parents deserved to see him, even if it upset them to see their baby boy like that. In the end, Gina and his parents had helped take care of Vera while he was in the hospital, and the first week back home, they had taken turns taking care of him, too.

He’d have to take Vera out to see his parents, too. They hadn’t seen him since the bruises had faded, and he figured they deserved to see him in better shape again.

Gina set the cup down on the counter. “On me,” she said as Theodore reached for his wallet.

“Gina, come on.”

“Theo, you haven’t worked in over a month. Let me pay for your damn coffee. Please.”

After a moment, Theodore managed to swallow his pride, and he offered a nod. “Thank you.”

“Of course. Can you get it back to the book counter okay?”

“Oh, yeah. Just a cane, no crutches.” He held up his free hand, wiggling the fingers. “This one’s all good for carrying things.”

Gina snorted, pushing the cup a little closer to him. “What time do you want me to meet you at your house?”

“Depends. Do you wanna help me make supper? I’ve just been ordering pizza and takeout. She’s been real good about it, but she deserves so much more.”

Gina nodded. “Of course I wanna help. I’ll even get groceries if you let me know what you want before my shift’s over.”

“I will. Thank you, Gina.” He grabbed the coffee cup. “You’re a lifesaver.”

“My pleasure, Theo.”

***

“Did you find everything you were looking for today?” Theodore asked, lifting his eyes to the customer’s face as he set a small stack of books on the counter.

“Oh, I think so,” the relatively cute and oddly familiar man said. He crossed his arms over the counter as Theodore started ringing up the books.

Theodore rang up the second book in the Beautiful Creatures series. “Have you read the first one yet? Or preparing for when you read it?”

“Nah, my niece. She loved the first one, and her parents only buy her new books for her birthday. I’m switching it up and getting her one just for being willing to read books,” the man said.

Theodore chuckled. “A darn good thing to be rewarded for, if you ask me.”

“I thought so.”

Theodore couldn’t help but think just how familiar the man looked to him. “Well, she’ll love book two, promise.”

“I sure hope so.” The man cocked his head to the side. “I’m sorry to ask, but… is there any chance I know you? You just look real familiar to me.”

“I don’t know.” Theodore chuckled. “I kinda thought the same about you.” As he rang up another book, his eyes caught the badge pinned to the man’s belt. Steel. “Oh. I know where we know each other from.”

“Oh?”

Theodore nodded. “You, uh, you were the one who arrested my ex.”

The man glanced off to the side before it dawned on him. “Theodore. Pardon me, your last name escapes me.”

“That’s okay. It, uh, it’s changed since then anyway. Back to Eckart, now.”

“Russell Steel. How’ve you been?”

“I’ve been okay. Better than when you saw me last.” Theodore offered a chuckle, packing the books into a bag. “I never saw you after you talked to me in the hospital.”

“It wasn’t my case. I’m a homicide detective. I just happened to see the guy walking after the warrant for his arrest went out. I only went to the hospital to make sure the news got back to you as quickly as possible. I knew safety and comfort would be hard for you to feel. I just wanted to give you at least some sense of peace of mind,” Russell said.

“It was appreciated. Still is.”

Russell nodded. “And I’m glad you’re mostly healed up.”

Theodore smiled. “Me, too.” He set the bag on the counter and gave the price to Russell. After the detective paid, Theodore tucked the receipt into the bag and held it out to him. “Your niece will love that book.”

Russell smiled back at him. “Thank you.” He took a step away from the counter, bag of books in hand. He glanced to the side, seemingly making sure no one else was in line. “You have a daughter, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“How’s she doing?”

“Great. Couple, umm, couple nightmares here and there, but she’s doing great.”

“Great,” Russell whispered. “Is she a reader?”

“She likes being read to and pretending she can read at a seventh grade level.”

Russell chuckled. “Kids are the best.” He touched a hand to the counter, eyes locking with Theodore’s. “I’m glad you’re both doing better, really.”

“Thank you.”

The detective nodded. “Enjoy your day, Mister Eckart.”

“You, too, Detective.”

Theodore let out a slow breath once the door closed behind Russell. Seeing the detective hadn’t exactly brought anything bad to the forefront of his mind, but it certainly hadn’t been what he had expected his first day back at work to bring.

If nothing else, he found himself thankful that seeing Russell hadn’t brought back memories of his ex-husband. He found himself thankful that the cop he saw was the man who had arrested his ex rather than any of the ones that worked his case or the lab tech that had taken pictures of his bruises. He had a feeling he wouldn’t have been able to escape bad memories if it had been one of them instead.

At least that was finding a way to look on the bright side. That was something.

---

Enjoying the story? Consider dropping a comment or a like down below!!

Updates every Wednesday!

---

If you’d like to be updated every Saturday of announcements and the updates that occurred throughout the week, sign up below!