Colby (Season Two: The Ninth Inning #6) (15 page)

Until his car pulls up.

I slightly relax since he showed up, but now I have to keep him from the masses. If he makes it through this, then he could make it through anything, right?

“Hello, beautiful.”

“Hi.” I grin brightly. “Are you sure you’re not too tired?”

“I’m good. Sorry, I’m late.” He kisses my lips quickly.

Before I can say anything, I hear, “Hey, hey, none of that.” Duke walks up to us with Lil D in his arms.

“Hi, Duke.” He greets Duke as they shake hands.

“Duke, why are you wearing those sunglasses? You look like Will Smith from
Men in Black
.” Lil D reaches for me and I take him, resting him on my hip.

“Colby, don’t you think that sounded like a compliment? I think it did.” He pulls the glasses down a bit and glares at me. Colby just chuckles and we hear Mom yelling for us.

“Food’s ready.”

“We better hurry.” Duke jogs back to the crowd and many of them are staring at us already.

“If you ever want to know what it’s like to be on display in a wax museum, this will be that opportunity.” I adjust Lil D on my hip and we head toward the crowd.

Of course, my mom and sister are the first to greet Colby, each giving him a hug and then ushering him over to the food. Many of the detectives’ wives are coming over to get the juicy gossip about Colby and me. I give bits and pieces; it’s really no one’s business.

Alizeh fixes me a plate since I’m still holding Lil D, but now I’m at our table getting him ready to eat his baby food.

“I’ll take him, Sis.” Alizeh reaches for him, but I shoo her away.

“I’ve got him.” I get the first spoonful in his mouth without spilling it. “See.” I say proudly.

I glance up to see Dad, Colby, Duke, and several other detectives in a small circle talking. I hope they’re not grilling him too bad. Maybe Duke can ease the pressure on him a bit. Soon, I see them all laughing and Alizeh goes and helps Mom bring over the plates for the guys.

We chat about the weather and Lil D’s newest accomplishment, as I keep one eye on Colby. He looks relaxed in his dark jeans and polo shirt. He also looks really hot and my mind is thinking about his abs more than they should.

“Excuse me, are you going to feed your nephew or stare a hole through your boyfriend?” Alizeh’s question steals me away from my daydream.

“Huh? What?”

Alizeh points at Lil D who’s patently sitting on my lap with his mouth open waiting for food.

“Sorry, D.” I kiss the top of his head and give him more of the smashed peas. “Aunt Ari won’t let it happen again.” I give him another bite.

Mom softly laughs. “It’s cute to see you this way.”

I give her a small smile, but go back to my nephew who seems to inhale the food as the guys finally make their way to the picnic table. “I see you survived.” I tease Colby as he sits down.

“It wasn’t bad.” He winks and thanks Mom for the plate.

Duke, Dad, and Colby being talking about baseball and it’s great to see my family all together. Colby seems to fit right in and it warms my heart. Dad begins to tell us stories about his days as a beat cop and I hand over Lil D to Alizeh when she’s done eating, so I can grab a few bites from my plate.

We’re all laughing when Duke’s phone rings and I watch the smile leave his face to be replaced with shock. He flicks his eyes over to me and shakes his head. My heart sinks. I know it has to do something with my one of our cases.

“Thanks.” He sits his phone down. “They just found Sassy’s body by the train tracks.”

My mouth drops. “What?”

“Who’s Sassy?” Colby asks taking my hand with concern.

“She was a young girl helping us with a case,” Duke explains since I’m still in shock.

I rest my elbows on the table and rub my temples. Anger is pulsing through me, and I know Dice did it. There’s no one else I want to catch but this punk right now.

“Ariella,” Colby softly says my name and places his hand on my thigh. “You okay?”

“Not especially. This ass now has a third murder under his belt.”

Alizeh and Mom say, “Allegedly,” at the same time.

“I don’t want lawyer-speak right now,” I snap at them lifting my head. Colby squeezes my leg. “Sorry,” I quickly add. “I need a minute.” I toss my napkin down and stalk off towards my car.

I lean against the hood and stare at the playground across the way. The kids are laughing and having fun and all I can think of Sassy’s child. His father is a career criminal and his mother is dead. I hate the vicious cycle more than anything else.

“May I join you?” Colby quietly asks, walking up on my other side.

I nod and he leans next to me. He doesn’t say anything.

“I just talked to her a few days ago. You know, she was going to school. She didn’t want to be in this life and she wanted better for her baby. Now, he’s a motherless child,” I mumble.

“You want to rid the world of criminals?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, so I’m dating Wonder Woman. When do I get to see you in the outfit?” He grins and I can’t help the small laugh. “Ariella, I can’t tell you how to do your job, because you’re damn good at it. I think you just put a lot of pressure on yourself and you shouldn’t. Not every criminal is caught, but I know you will keep plugging away until you have him. I have faith in you. However, I think you need time to enjoy your family, yourself, and me. If not, it’s going to make you go crazy.”

I nod again. He has a point, and I know he’s right. One this is for sure, criminals will eventually mess up and get caught.

I just have to wait.

The rest of the picnic is fun. I go back and finish my food. Dad and Colby play horseshoes and clean the clocks of all the other players. When we are about to leave, Mom begs Colby to tell her his next day off and we will do a family dinner. He promises to tell me so I can pass on the message.

Colby follows me home in his car, and I’m thankful for the few moments alone. I quickly think of all the facts of the case and try to devise a new plan; although, I don’t know what will work or not, but I will get Dice.

I figured Colby would jump me the second I walk through the doors, but he doesn’t. Instead, he takes Buster out for me and I grab us a couple beers and turn on some music. I didn’t feel like watching TV right now. After a few minutes, he comes back in with my overly affectionate dog, and I play with him for a few moments as Colby sits next to me on the couch. Once Buster seems satisfied with our playtime, he trots off, panting, to his dog bed and stretches out.

I curl up next to Colby, rest my head on his chest, and just enjoy the soft music playing around us. I’m so glad he isn’t pushy or impatient on making me open up or anything. He seems so perfect; too good to be true. I’m scared of what will happen when the other shoe drops. But, he keeps telling me to ride the wave in this relationship and I am going to ride.

“Thank you for today.” I gaze up at him, my head still on his chest and my hand on his tight abs.

“I had fun. Thank you for inviting me.” He brushes his lips against my forehead.

“Would you hate me if I said I’m not in the mood to give you your reward tonight?”

“Ariella, you know I won’t hate you.” He seems a bit offended.

“Then may I ask a very selfish question?”

“Sure,” he answers, a bit baffled.

“Would you stay the night?” I sit up a bit more to face him better.

He smirks and softly kisses my lips. “I already planned on it.”

I wake up to the alarm clock blaring, but I’m in Colby’s arms, and it makes a bit easier.

“I wish I didn’t have to go in so early.” He kisses my neck.

“Me too.”

“You’re coming to the game, right?”

I roll over and face him. “Yes. I have to go into work for a bit and then I’ll be at the game.”

He kisses the top of my nose. “Okay.” He quickly moves out of the bed, and I study his firm ass all the way into my bathroom; I can’t believe this is my life right now.

Until I leave the bed and face reality.

Colby and I move around my kitchen as if we’ve done it a million times. I make a quick egg sandwich for us while he makes us coffee. We part ways at our cars with a quick kiss, and I watch him drive away. The smile on my face hurts, and it’s a good hurt.

When I make it into the office, there’s a round of jokes and my desk covered with a variety of baseball magazines and a couple Colby t-shirts wait for me.

“You’re all so funny,” I dryly tease, but I know they’re doing it out of fun. I would have done the same to them.

“Hey, we did get good news,” our lieutenant says. “We have a witness. A real one.”

“What?” Duke and I pop up.

“Yep, he came in last night and we were able to get the warrant to the apprehension team. Hopefully, we’ll have Dice soon.”

“Why didn’t anyone call us?” I ask.

He shrugs. “We had it and now you get Dice.”

I’m over the moon with the results, and I’m hoping to have his ass in jail soon. I go right to work on my next case and hope the Apprehension Team gets him soon.

When I look up from my desk, a few hours later, Mom and Alizeh are standing next to it.

“Hi?” I’m not sure why they’re staring at me or have big smiles on their faces.

“Colby contacted us, and we’re having a girl’s day at the baseball game,” Mom says.

“He even got us good seats, so he says.” Alizeh cheerily claps.

“Was it your idea?” I chided her.

“No, I swear. He called Mom.” She holds up her right hand.

“He did. Are you ready?” Mom nods over to the door.

“Let’s go.”

I love hanging out with my family. Alizeh is going on about Lil D and his new daycare. Alizeh had a tough time letting him go, but it’s easier since there is a new director who actually seems to care about the children. Mom is enjoying retirement. She and Dad have booked their first cruise and can’t wait to start their new chapter.

When we arrive at the stadium, I’m shocked to see we are right above the dugout. When we reach the row, I notice Sofia, Scarlett, Zoey, and another girl, whose name I can’t remember, but I saw her at the luncheon.

“Ariella.” Sofia waves while one hand rests on her belly. “Colby told me you were coming.” She beams and hugs me. I introduce my mom and sister and we take our seats.

Zoey tells Mom and Alizeh about when I pulled her over and gave her the
go for it
speech. Mom gets a huge kick out of it.

Soon after we arrive, the guys go running out on the field and I’m glued to number thirty-three’s ass. Seeing Colby up close in baseball pants is worth the half a day I took off.

“There’s something about those pants.” Sofia nudges my shoulder, and I laugh.

“Yes.” I watch Coby laughing at something Hector said while Tanner is jumping all around him like a little money. Where does the kid get his energy?

“I see Tanner got into the Red Bull again.” The younger girl at the end points and everyone giggles.

When it’s time for the guys to come off the field, Colby winks at me and I smile at him. Felix calls out to the younger girl, and I realize she’s the lucky charm Colby told me about. She’s Abigail. Blake is standing next to Felix and shakes his head before heading down the dugout, but not before he smirks at Sofia. You can see their love is real.

“Are you two married?” I ask her.

“Oh no. Blake and I are happy the way we are.”

“That’s sweet.”

“I think Hector is close to asking,” Zoey blurts out.

“What are you going to say?” Abigail is wide-eyed.

“I don’t know. I’d like for us to live together full-time first before I say yes.”

“Why? So, he can pull pranks on you all day?” Abigail teases.

“Hector has never pranked me. Although, he has startled me a few times, but it’s because I wasn’t paying attention,” she points out.

I smile and try not to think too far ahead for Colby and me. We’re still very early in our relationship. Mom and Alizeh are going on about the seats and the view. I’m grateful to Colby, and I owe him an additional reward.

The guys come back out on the field and the national anthem plays. I’m nervous because I have a perfect view of third base, and I know I’ll be staring at Colby the entire time, and I don’t want to make him self-conscience.