Page 8 of Protected By West (San Antonio S.W.A.T. #1)

TRACY

The rest of the day went quickly. It always did when she had business. Most days at the credit union she went from task to task and when she looked up, it was dark outside, the streetlights like stars in her window.

By the time she finished with the last breakout sessions, she was wiped.

Something about all the bragging and posturing from other participants always did that to her.

She was used to the camaraderie at work. A group of people serving their members and managing a few jokes along the way. The representatives that came from banks always seemed to be trying to outdo each other instead of working with each other. It must really be that 'dog eat dog' philosophy.

Tracy met Jaime outside of the ballrooms at the registration table that was empty except for a few badges for attendees that hadn't shown up. Jaime was still writing notes in her iPad as Tracy sat down beside her, needing a few moments to organize her thoughts as well.

She felt Jaime lean against her shoulder.

"Still processing?"

Tracy nodded. "We've got a lot to go over when we get back. And there's still the morning session tomorrow. My brain... it's on a bit of overload."

Her stomach growled loudly and she groaned.

"Why is that listening to people drone on and on make me hungry."

"I think you just described my life at work."

Tracy turned and smiled.

Weston was standing there, his arms easily at his side, his cowboy hat held loosely between his fingers. There was no sign of his badge on his shirt.

"Just how many of those plaid shirts do you have?"

He looked down at the shirt he was wearing and brought up his free hand, smoothing it down. "I haven't counted, but probably a dozen or so. It lets me put more time between washing."

Jaime leaned in against Tracy's shoulder, but spoke to Weston. "Not a fan of housework?"

His smile gave him a slightly boyish look, but somehow that only made him look even more handsome than he'd been the last time she'd seen him. "I have a couple at work and the rest at home. I'm lucky if I get a chance to do it every week. Either I'm not at home or..."

His words faded off and he dropped his chin and gazed toward the floor.

Tracy felt her face go cold and she looked away toward the windows along the opposite wall.

Isn't this exactly what she'd worried about?

How was he going to be in her life if he didn't even get home enough to do his laundry?

"I should have known better than to shoot my mouth off."

Tracy turned her head to look down at her hand that Weston was now holding. Swallowing, she looked up at him and saw that the blue of his eyes had changed almost to grey. "I think we're both going to say a lot of things we probably shouldn't."

He let out a breath and smiled. "Probably. I'm not used to holding my tongue. I might just offend you with something I say."

Jaime snorted beside her. "Tracy's famous for 'almost' making it to her office before she swears."

Tracy's eyes widened and she turned to look at her friend. "Traitor."

"Ah..."

Tracy looked back at Weston, lifting one brow at him. "This is why."

He held up his free hand in surrender. "Got it."

Tracy looked back at Jaime. "I was grumbling about you and he thought I was calling him-"

"A traitor?" Jaime laughed and sighed dramatically. "At least once a day, I'm a traitor. Or a horrible friend." She grinned from ear to ear. "Sometimes she even means it."

Tracy poked her elbow at Jamie. "There you go, trying to make my list."

Weston looked back at her with a curious lift of his brow. "That's a bad thing?"

Jaime answered first. "Who knows."

Tracy answered next. "Well, I have to care about you to put you on the list. There's a fine line between love and hate, so be careful which side you end up on."

Weston nodded. "Strong emotions, like the difference between a hug around the neck and hands cutting off oxygen."

Tracy snapped her fingers. "Exactly!"

Jaime hummed her approval. "With that moment of adorable about to make my blood sugar spike, I'm going to head back to my room and figure out how those massage jets on the tub work and you two.

.." Jaime leaned in closer to Tracy and gave her foot a nudge.

"Go have some fun tonight. When we get back to San Antonio, your lives aren't going to be yours anymore. "

Tracy heard the truth in her friend's words.

When she was back in San Antonio things were going to go back to how they were on a daily basis. Work. Work. And more work.

Jaime gave her a one-armed hug that she returned and waved at Weston as she walked toward the elevators.

When Tracy turned her head back to Weston, he was a little closer than he'd been a few seconds before.

She felt her breath catch in her chest, but she tried to use some bluster to ease the tension she felt between them.

"So... afraid of me yet?"

Weston folded his arms easily across his chest. "You realize I deal with life or death situations on the regular, right?"

She folded her arms across her chest and leaned in toward him a fraction of an inch. "Yeah, but I can be pretty scary."

His eyes widened at that. "Really?"

He didn't seem convinced.

"Oh, I smile and laugh, but if someone tries to take advantage of our members or there was that time the construction company tried to use lesser materials on the area around our vault? I've been known to make a grown man cry."

"Oh." He nodded slowly. "Warning received."

She lifted a hand and touched her cheek. It was nice to smile big enough that her cheeks were starting to hurt. "So if you're not scared off by me-"

"Dinner?"

There she went again, smiling.

It was beginning to become a habit around him.

A dangerous one at that.

She was in serious danger of falling for an officer of the law.

Worse than that, he was a Texas Ranger. With how much he worked, she was pretty sure she wouldn't have much of a chance to bump into her father.

If her luck held out he might be in a different city than San Antonio.

Aww, who was she kidding, she had shit luck when it came to her father.

With a shake of her head, she pushed thoughts of him away.

"Is that shake for me? Or... some conversation you're having in your head?"

Wincing, she looked up at him. "I tend to get lost in my thoughts. Sorry."

He shook his head, smiling. "Better to get lost in them rather than having none at all."

"Is that a cowboy thing?"

"Is what a cowboy thing?"

She'd blurted out the question. And hadn't really made it all that clear. "The quippy phrase thing. You have this way of saying things sometimes that I think we should be sitting around a campfire with crackling logs and toasting marshmallows."

"That's an idea when we're back in San Antonio," he smiled. "I'll take you camping."

She put up a hand and held it between them. "Uh... My idea of roughing it is when the power goes out and I have to use my power bank to charge my phone so I can do work."

Weston took her hand and stepped in closer until their joined hands were just a couple of inches away from each other. "And you think I work a lot."

Tracy opened her mouth to argue with him, but then the words sank in.

The mirror she was staring into wasn't very pretty.

A sinking feeling was starting to build in her stomach.

Weston tightened the hold he had on her hand. "That's one of the first things you need to do to relax. Is put work to the side and focus on what's right in front of you."

She had half a mind to pull back because she knew that every minute she spent with Weston would only make it harder for her if they... if they didn't work.

She'd had a handful of dates throughout her life and even a few hours with her dates was torture.

Things with Weston felt good.

Too good.

And that was setting her more on edge than anything else. He'd distract her and then she'd relax only to be on guard again.

Spending time with him was dangerous because if left her wanting more.

"I'll make you a deal."

"A deal?" She smiled and relaxed a little. "I like a good deal."

Weston nodded. "When we get back to San Antonio, let's look at our schedules and find some time."

Her mind was already looking through her schedule in her head. "Weeknight or weekend?"

She was suddenly drawn out of her thoughts when he leaned in and kissed her fingers. He still had a gentle hold on her hand.

"You're thinking too hard, Tracy Fagan."

"It's who I am, Weston Cooper."

He shrugged and smiled and she felt herself close to melting. Crazy, but it was true.

"That's why we're making the deal. We'll find two days with a night in the middle." He lifted his index finger to ask for a moment. "We'll go out with some people and make a campfire. Roast some marshmallows. Have some good food."

She narrowed her eyes at him and wondered aloud. "And the night and day?"

He nodded, his gaze never leaving hers. "If you're having fun. We'll stay overnight and I'll bring you back home the next day. If you're not, we'll go back earlier. Go with the flow."

Tracy felt her shoulders tense. "Would you believe that 'go with the flow' is not my life's motto?"

He nodded. "I believe it, but I'd like to let you experience some camping with me. I'd like to have a lot of experiences with you, Tracy. This is just the beginning."

WEST

He meant what he said to Tracy, he wanted to experience a lot of things with her.

He just didn't want to push too hard.

He knew that would be the worst thing to do.

Still, he had to offer and maybe coax.

But he wasn't used to doing those things.

Everything he'd done in his life had been with a goal in mind. Play football? School? Joining the State Troopers and on to the Texas Rangers?

He did it.

All of it.

Headstrong?

Yes, and hard headed, too.

It was a quality that his dad and mom loved and hated about him.

"So," he stepped in closer, keeping her hand in his until he had it pressed up against his chest, wondering if she could feel how fast it was beating, "Where should we go to dinner?"

"If you're trying to fatten me up, good choice."