Page 31 of Protected By West (San Antonio S.W.A.T. #1)

TRACY

The world, or so she'd decided, had a way of working against her.

It had been almost a week since she'd seen Weston.

In person, at least.

She'd managed to talk to him a few times on the phone and there was one spectacular night of phone sex when they'd decided enough was enough of their separation.

It still hadn't resolved the issue that was on her mind.

Weston had told her that he loved her and try as she might, she couldn't seem to find the right moment to answer him. She also wasn't sure if she could say the words back to him.

She felt it.

She knew that.

But she wasn't sure she could say the words without lightning striking her down.

After all, she'd decided a long time ago that she would never date, let alone fall in love with, an officer of the law.

Hell, she hadn't even met his family yet, and her family... the half that she was in contact with, were in Europe, somewhere, having a lovely time.

Shouldn't there be some kind of ramp up to falling in love?

This was all a jumble of confusion, mixed in with some spectacular sex.

The phone on her desk rang again and Tracy reached out to answer it. Before she could speak, the other person did first. "Hey, boss!"

Tracy smiled. "Hey, Pepper. What's going on?"

"We have someone looking for the boss. Can you come out here?"

Tracy had known Pepper for years so she could hear the tone of her voice clearly. This was a good kind of visit. If it wasn't she wouldn't sound like she was smiling ear to ear. "I'll be right there."

"Sweet! We'll be waiting."

Tracy slipped on her shoes under her desk and got up, taking a moment to move her hands over her skirt to smooth it down before she went to the door.

As soon as she opened it, she saw who Pepper was talking about.

Blonde, dirty blonde. On the short side. Looking at the front counter and Pepper standing beside her, she had to be close to five foot five?

Tracy was halfway across the credit union floor when the woman turned around and she was struck with how much the woman looked like Weston.

The other woman lifted her hand in a wave, calling out to her as Tracy closed the distance.

"Hi! I'm Weston's middle sister, Estes."

Tracy knew the names of Weston's sisters and even though she hadn't said it, Estes really did look like her brother.

"I know we're supposed to see you at the 'rents house on Saturday, but I was.... uh... passing through the area and wanted to say hello."

Estes was smiling, but her cheeks were bright red. So either she'd suddenly had too much sun standing inside the building or she was blushing.

"Passing through, huh?" Tracy reached out a hand to greet her. "Nice to meet you, Estes. I'm glad you stopped in. I was worried about walking into the lunch not knowing anyone but Weston."

Estes' easy laugh was a joy to hear.

"Don't worry about that. Everyone's going to love you. The problem is going to be prying yourself out of the house when you're done with us. I know my mom is going to hold onto you like a koala on a eucalyptus tree. You're the first woman that Weston's ever brought home to meet the family."

Estes' smile thinned out her lips and her cheeks pinked again.

"My mom and dad are beyond happy. I've already stopped them from planning out a wedding to spring on the two of you."

Tracy's smile felt brittle. She loved that Estes felt comfortable joking with her, but the joke seemed to be a little too scary to be funny.

She was still trying to come to grips with her feelings for Weston, it wasn't easy to know that his family already had them married in their heads.

"Well, we just met a little while ago-"

Estes waved her hand and shook her head.

"I'll let you in on a secret. The Cooper family falls and falls hard! My mom and dad met at a Texas Rangers Ceremony. My dad said he took one look at my mom in her blue dress and fell like a rock. She... well, Mom had some reservations, but Dad knew that they were meant to be. So he set about wooing her the way he tracks down criminals.”

"With single minded focus on the task at hand."

Tracy had to smile at the way Estes said that. It had the tone of a long-suffering, yet deep and abiding love from a sister.

"Don't be surprised when he walks through fire to keep you in his life."

Tracy felt her cheeks heat up as if she'd stood in the sun too long. "I'm not expecting him to walk though fire for me. I'm happy right now. That's good enough for me."

The women around her shared a series of curious looks.

"What?" Tracy wondered if this was how cells felt under a microscope.

"Good enough?" Pepper shook her head. "Please tell me that what that hot hunk of yours is giving you is better than 'good enough.'"

Estes smiled, but it was a little lop-sided. "I don't want to think about what my brother is 'giving you.' But I hope your relationship is a step above... at least!"

Tracy held up her hands in front of her, trying to distance herself from the conversation. "I'm not someone who has a lot of experience with any of this... this... relationship stuff."

Becca moved closer after counting down her drawer, nearing the end of her shift. "I hope that you're seeing that life with a lawman isn't necessarily going to be like your experience with your dad."

Estes leaned in, a curious look on her face, "Your dad?"

Tracy hesitated for a moment and then she realized when she met his family on the weekend, she was likely going to get questions, she decided to tell Weston's sister and see how she reacted to it.

"My mom's family used to see her as a widow.

My dad was never around. He was always working or covering someone else's shift as a lawman.

It got to the point where we had an easier time counting the days he was home than when he wasn't around.

They divorced when I was young and after I.

.. I didn't see my dad. When I first met Weston, I had no idea that he was in law enforcement.

I had to make a conscious decision to 'throw caution to the wind' when I found out. "

Estes nodded, her expression was thoughtful to say the least. "Fagan's your last name, right?"

Tracy lifted her hand to touch her nametag that she wore at work. "That's me."

"So..." Estes looked like she was waffling back and forth for a moment before she said what was on her mind. "Is your dad Seamus Fagan?"

Tracy felt like she was in an airplane, her ears needing to pop so she would hear again.

It had been forever and a day since she'd heard her dad's name mentioned. "Uh, yeah. My dad's name is Seamus. How-"

Estes looked pale, like fall-down-in-a-moment pale.

"Are you-"

"Tracy?" Estes looked at the group that had gathered around them. "Your dad is Weston's boss."

Now her ears were ringing like alarm bells.

That was never a good sign in her experience.

"My dad..." Tracy drew in a breath, trying to keep herself on her feet and conscious. "Is Weston's boss."

Estes nodded and Tracy saw Becca on her cellphone typing away.

A moment later, she turned it around so she could see the screen.

"Chief Seamus Fagan of the Texas Rangers."

The picture was undoubtedly her father. He looked older than she remembered him, but he was definitely her father.

"Uh..." Tracy looked around and saw Jaime walking over. "Can you go with Becca to put her drawer away, I-" Tracy turned her head to look around the room and spotted the open door to the break room. "I need to grab a coke."

She didn't say anything else or look at anyone else as she walked into the break room. She just needed to sit down, and her office was too far. The last thing she wanted to do was stumble over her own feet if she had to walk that far.

As soon as she opened the refrigerator door, she remembered that she hadn't brought in more cokes to chill. Instead, she stood there and looked at the near empty area where she put her stuff and reached in for a can of cold water. "This will have to do."

She turned around, letting the weight of the refrigerator door swing itself closed.

"I'm not sure I should have come in here with you."

Tracy heard the hesitation in Estes' voice.

"But I figured I've already stuck all my toes in my mouth, I might as well stick in the whole damn foot."

Tracy held out the can of water and Estes took it with a grateful look.

If Estes was anything like herself, she was looking for something to fiddle with while they were talking.

Tracy opened the refrigerator door and pulled out another water, popping open the top before letting the cool sides of the can chill her palms. "I'm not mad, in case you were wondering."

Estes raised a brow as she looked back at her, and Tracy was struck with how much the siblings looked alike around their eyes and their coloring. "That's nice of you to say, but we both know that you had no idea about your dad."

Tracy nodded.

"And I'm going to have a few... colorful words when I talk to him next."

Tracy dropped her chin and almost hid a smile. "I'm not expecting..."

"I don't know what my bone-headed brother thought he was doing not telling you about your dad, but I'm going to have more than a few words with him. And when my mom finds out, he might not be able to sit down for the next few days after that."

Tracy almost laughed out loud. "Does your mom use a switch or something?"

Estes' eyebrows raised at her question and her eyes brightened with a smile. "Nope. Nothing so impersonal as that. She has a good windup for a spanking. Just the thought of one makes all of us straighten right up."

They both laughed softly at that.

"Your mom sounds like a force of nature."

Estes nodded at that. "She's a great lady and she kept us all in line. She had to because like your dad, our dad was a Texas Ranger. She had her hands full with us."