Page 18 of Protected By West (San Antonio S.W.A.T. #1)

Tracy smiled at him. "Well, we're staffed by women. I think they'd love to hear Jack's take on self-defense."

Dally gave Tracy a hesitant look. "I know there are differences. I've sparred with women a lot. Besides going for the throat, knees, and nuts, what-"

Jack's water bottle slipped out of her hands and hit the top of the table with a heavy thump, stopping Dally in mid-question.

"You ever walk through a parking lot with your keys poking between your fingers? Or decide not to listen to music on a run because you might not hear someone coming up behind you?"

The table went silent.

Even the grill seemed to have gone on silent mode.

Jack stood up from her seat and mumbled something about going to the bathroom as she walked through the crowd on the way to the side door that led into the mudroom.

Most of the group avoided looking directly at her, but Tracy followed her exit.

Trooper Bonney did too.

There was something about the way he looked after her that-

The thought popped up in her head and Tracy snapped her fingers, the sound drawing everyone's attention. "Blue!"

Most of the group, including Bonney, looked at her as if she was speaking a foreign language.

Fox and Weston were the only exceptions, smiling at her.

Weston nodded a few times. "Blue..."

Fox looked off to the side for a moment before gesturing in Bonney's direction. "Blue fits."

Myles quickly added in. "True blue."

"Blue Bonnet," West picked up a Sharpie and tossed it at the trooper who caught it easily.

Dally grinned. "Sounds good to me."

Duval was nodding quietly, his own gaze off in the distance before he turned and gave the other man a nudge with his elbow. "Blue balls?"

Dally groaned. "Why, man?" He sighed and shook his head. "Why do you always gotta go below the belt ."

'Yeah,' Tracy thought to herself, 'definitely a bunch of kids.'

WEST

Weston wasn't sure what to think.

Oxy seemed to be aching for an ass kicking.

Oh, he wouldn't touch him.

Smiling to himself, Weston could think of three or four tortuous workouts that Oxy would hate.

It was good, so damn good to be in charge sometimes.

Tracy leaned into his shoulder and Weston turned to look at her.

She looked happy. Laughing. The wind lifting the strands of hair that kept falling out of her bun. She looked stunning. Gorgeous. With or without makeup.

He leaned in for a kiss and she met him halfway.

"Have I told you that you're beautiful?"

Tracy reached up her hand and touched the side of his cheek with her palm. "Only a half a dozen times since I got here this morning."

"Uh oh, don't look now, but mom and dad are about to kiss!"

Tracy laughed and gave his cheek a pat before turning to look at Dally. "You missed it! We just did."

Dally slumped at the table, pouting his lips.

Tracy reached for a roll on the table, but Jack beat her to it, beaning the roll off of Dally's face and catching it when it came back down with ease, Jack put it on Dally's plate.

"Eat it." Jack gave him a pointed glare. "Be nice or I'll kick your ass." She pointed at Duval. "After him."

Duval sat back on the chair he was sitting in and almost toppled over backwards. He was saved by the quick reactions of Bonney and Fox.

Tracy locked onto that thought and leaned in. "Fox?"

The taller man seemed to tower over Jack and Dally. "Hmm?"

"Where did you get your name?"

She gestured at his shirt and Weston put his arm around the back of Tracy's chair. It was already hot even with the wind they were lucky to have, he wanted to be closer, but he didn't want her to be uncomfortable.

He also wanted a good seat for the story. It was short, but sweet.

Fox even managed to get a little flustered before he answered the question.

"No one bothered with nicknames when I was a deputy, but it seemed like a driving need once I started with the Rangers. With a first name like Kelly, I expected some kind of name around 'green.' But no luck there."

Dally and Jack both winced at that idea, but Jack was the only one who spoke.

"You got off lucky with that. I can think of a number of greens that would have been disasters. Like olive or chartreuse..."

Weston nodded.

"Or... or puce." Oxy added in with a wince.

Weston looked at Oxy. "Now everyone knows why you got your nickname."

Oxy frowned, his forehead lined with deep furrows. "Why?"

Trooper Bonney frowned right back. "Puce isn't a green color."

"It's not?" Oxy looked around the table before looking back at Bonney. "Are you sure?"

Bonney got out his cell phone, but Jack already had hers open, her fingers tapping on the screen.

"Yep. Blue got it right. I didn't even know what puce was until I looked it up on Google. Ewww." She turned her screen to face the rest of the group. "It's brownish purple... yuck."

She set her phone down and looked back up at Fox, but Weston saw Bonney looking at her with an odd, curious expression.

Weston leaned in toward Tracy and spoke softly near her ear. "Looks like your name for him is going to stick."

"Uh oh..." she turned to look at him and her lips almost brushed his. "Does that mean I become godmother to a Texas Ranger? Do I have to throw him an advancement party when he gets his uniform?"

Weston smiled even more at her words. He wasn't the youngest of the group and he knew he had lines around his eyes, especially when he smiled, but damn, it felt good to have her there beside him.

So good that he leaned in and gave her a peck on her lips.

"Then," Kelly continued on with his story, "my last name came to bite me in the ass."

Tracy snapped her fingers. "Miller? Right?"

Fox chuckled. "Actually, Miller Lite."

Tracy covered her mouth, barely smothering her laughter. "Do you at least drink it?"

Fox clutched his chest in mock distress. "Lite? No thanks. The name was the same way."

West lifted his chin toward his friend. "Every time someone called him Lite, they got the death stare." Weston leaned in and placed a kiss on Tracy's temple. "You do NOT want to be on the receiving end of one of those."

"Oh, that's sounds like fun." Tracy leaned closer to the table. "Try me. Go ahead. Glare at me."

Fox burst out laughing. "That's not going to work. You haven't done anything annoying or boneheaded."

Tracy nodded slowly. "Ahhh... I get it." Then she pointed at Oxy and then Duval. "I'll just wait for one of them to mess up then."

Myles snorted a laugh and Tracy turned to look at him. "Or you. I think you might be in the running, too."

Weston laughed out loud. "Babe. You've only known this sorry group for a few hours, and you have them pegged."

"Oh, pegging." Tracy inhaled and sounded like she was gasping for air. "That...um..."

Jack winked at Tracy, waggling her eyebrows. "Could be highly inappropriate or..." Jack turned to look at Blue. "Really fun. What do you say?"

The trooper's eyes widened a little. "About?"

Jack dropped her head until her forehead touched the table, sighing loudly.

Weston tried to rescue the younger man by turning back to Fox. "You were saying?"

Fox was barely holding himself together and waved his hands. "How can I follow up on a conversation about pegging?"

Weston grumbled at his friend. "By getting to the end of what was supposed to be a short story."

Jack looked up with a wicked grin and pointed at Oxy. "Blame him."

Oxy glared back at her. "Why me?"

Dally dropped his head into his hands. "Why do I feel like this is going to be a thing?"

Fox hit the table with his open palms, but no one really thought he was mad. He was grinning at the time. "You can probably guess the rest." He shook his head in Oxy's direction. "You're going to drive me to drink."

Oxy got up off of his chair. "Next round is on me."

Weston rolled his eyes. "You're getting it out of a cooler not paying a bartender."

Oxy slapped his hand against his chest. "I am the bartender, boss!"

Then he circled his finger around the table. "Same for everyone?"

A few of the team asked for water or coke and Tracy tapped his shoulder and whispered near his ear. "Can you let me out?"

Weston got to his feet. "Are you going?"

She shook her head. "Going to the bathroom."

"Ah..." He suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. He didn't know why. "Okay."

Once she was away from the table, she used her hands to smooth down the legs of her shorts. "Be right back."

Talk about awkward.

She walked around the table and headed inside, walking through the kitchen and down the hall toward the half bathroom near the front door. He watched her go with a smile on his face.

It was still there when Oxy came back with drinks and Fox stood up stretching his legs.

Weston could tell by the smile on his face that he wanted to talk about something.

Picking up the bottle he was almost done with, he met Fox by the railing of the deck. "What do you think so far?"

Fox's smile was almost a smirk. "I like her, West. Looks like you had a better time than I did over those days."

"I was asking about the party, but sure... let's talk about my awesome girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Fox gave him a wink and a nudge. "You're going full speed on this."

Weston nodded. "The first night was great, but the next day we hit a major stumbling block. She found out I was with law enforcement and things nearly came to a screeching halt."

Fox's eyes widened. "What-"

"Tracy's dad was in law enforcement and was married to the job more than her mom. The marriage broke up and she never saw him much after that." Weston sighed. "I think I owe a lot to her friend because Tracy's giving me a chance to prove that not everyone is like her dad."

Smiling, Fox leaned against the rail, a spark of humor in his eyes. "You might owe her friend a big ol' thank you for that."

"Don't I know it." Weston let out a breath.

"Is that why you invited her today? To show her that cops aren't always complete assholes?"

"That was the idea." Weston gestured at the table. "Then I remembered only too late that we've got our own special kind of assholes on the team."

Fox moved his hand in a vague gesture. "Well..."

Weston chuckled at that. "I think the team is going to be great. We just have a few rough spots to even out."

Fox leaned in. "You mean Oxy and Duval?"

"Myles, too. He looks good on paper, but the attitude is a little worrisome."

"I haven't quite put my finger on it. The pulse of the man."

Weston nodded. "Yeah. I think we need him, but we need to figure out how to keep him focused."

They both were lost in thought for a moment, but then Fox cleared his throat. "West?"

"Hmm?"

"You said Tracy's dad is a LEO?"

"Yeah." He lifted his beer bottle and drank down the last bit.

"Tracy's last name is Fagan?"

Weston nodded. "Irish."

"Mmmhmm." Fox nodded and then Weston saw Fox turn to look at him with that look in his eye. The one that said the cogs in his head were working hard. "Any chance she's talking about Chief?"

"Chief?"

Fox nodded. "Chief Fagan ."

Weston didn't say anything at that moment. The cogs in his head were working even harder. "I... I don't know why I didn't think about him."

"Well, we really don't call the chief anything but Chief. I don't think I've heard his last name outside of press conferences for years."

Nodding, Weston agreed. "When I think of him or talk to him, it’s just 'Chief.'"

The sliding doors to the deck opened up again and Weston lifted his gaze.

Tracy stepped outside and the first thing she did was scan the area. Her eyes settled on him, and she smiled.

"Damn, she's beautiful."

Fox clapped his hand down on Weston's shoulder. "Go talk to your woman, West. We'll talk more about the rest... later."

West dropped the bottle into the recycle bin and met her halfway across the deck.

He opened his arms, and she wrapped her arms around his chest, stepping into his embrace.

When she laid her head on his chest, he held her a little tighter and pressed a kiss on her head.

"I'm really glad you came today."

She turned her head, and he could swear she brushed her lips against his chest. Too bad he was wearing a shirt. He knew what it felt like to feel her lips against his bare skin.

She leaned back and the bright spark in her eyes told him she was about to tease him. "Careful there, boss."

His eyes opened wider. "Hmm?"

Tracy's eyes looked down and quickly came back up to meet his gaze. "You're... ah... getting a little ahead of yourself, Tex." She raised her eyebrows. "Remember, there are kids present."

She shifted against him, and he realized what she was saying.

He was half-hard in his jeans just from holding her close.

He'd have to wait for some alone time with her.

"Damn, is this what it's like to be parents?"

She groaned and tilted her head back. "Give me a kiss before the kids start whining again."

Weston grinned at her. "Yes, ma'am."

Her nose scrunched up at that. "I'll forgive you for the 'ma'am' thing, but it better be a good kiss."

He leaned in with every intention of giving her a kiss she wouldn't forget, but she stopped him a second later with a pointed look.

"A PG kiss."

Weston thought about it and gave her a pointed look. "Let's go for PG-13. The kids can handle it."

He thought she might argue or at least have a few words to say about it.

He loved her sass and her mouth.

And when he kissed her, he gave her a little taste of just how much he did.