“Oh yeah, girl. You got it bad.”
“So do you.” She gives me my cinnamon roll.
“I don’t deny how bad I have it for Sullivan.”
“Well, I’d love to sit here and chat, but I have to start getting product ready for tomorrow. I’ll be in the back. Just yell if you need anything, ladies.”
I wait for her to disappear into the back, before I turn to face Kelsea. “Why’d you wanna meet me today, Kelsea? I got the feeling from you text that there’s something you want to talk about?”
She takes a bite of her pastry. “Nick and I’ve been talking about the future.”
The way she says the words, I believe she’s speaking about more than what they’re going to have done before the end of the year. “And what can I do to help you with your future?”
“Both of us have been thinking about where the kids would be if either of us got hurt in the line of duty, or just driving down to Birmingham for a night out. Where would they go in the immediate moments after? Who would take them? If we don’t have something in writing, what could happen? We’ve been having long discussions about this.”
Reaching down, I take out my yellow legal pad I always carry with me. It’s got a pen attached to it. “Do you and Nick know who you want to take care of your children? Have you spoken with the people you trust? It’s always good to give them a heads up.”
She plays with her cup. “We spoke with Caleb and Ruby. They’re willing to take on our kids, unless D is of age. Darren has agreed if he’s of age, he wants to take care of his sister.”
“Are you sure?” I stop writing for a second. “It’s a lot of responsibility.”
“He’s been responsible for as long as we’ve known him.”
Somehow I believe that. “Okay, so what about your assets? We need to figure out what those are to give your children the best care.”
“Both of us have life insurance policies on each other through our jobs, and we’ve paid to increase those amounts. I have a million dollars on Nick and he has eight hundred and fifty thousand on me.”
“What about your debts? Those will be probated with the will. Anything we need to know about?”
“We’re debt-free except for the house. We have a five-year plan to pay it off. If something happens to us, our life insurance should more than take care of it. We already have college accounts for the kids.”
I blink quickly. “The two of you are incredibly fiscally responsible.”
“It’s important to Nick and that makes it important to me. Growing up the way he did, money is a safety net for him.”
“Completely understandable.” I make another note. “Is there anyone else you’d like to put in, as a backup?”
“I can change it later, right?”
“Of course. As things happen in life and there are changes, we can update. There will always be a copy available at my office, and I’ll file a copy with the courts. Because of the job Nick does, they also request it be placed in their files as the police department. I’ll make sure all this is taken care of.”
She breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Shelby. Can you please send me a bill?”
“A bill? This was a couple of friends meeting for coffee.”
“No, it wasn’t. I just couldn’t make an appointment. I know it seems dumb, but it almost felt as if I was tempting fate. Like if I made the appointment to finalize a will, Nick would be killed on his way home.”
“It’s not dumb. Trust me, I get it.”
She takes a sip of her coffee and eyes me over the cup. Lifting an eyebrow, she smirks before speaking. “Sullivan, huh? You’re deep, aren’t you, Shelby?”
“I am, so deep that I’m going to Mason’s cookout tomorrow afternoon.”
She throws her head back laughing. “Welcome to the family, girl.”
Chapter 27
Sullivan
“Are you sure there’s nothing I can bring?” Shelby asks me for the third time.
Reaching over, I grab hold of her hand, before bringing it up to my lips. “I’m positive. I asked Mason like you wanted me to, and he said to bring ourselves.”
“Just checking.”
“You’ve checked plenty of times, babe. There’s no reason for you to worry about this. You know all of these people.”
She rolls her eyes. “I do, but I know them in an LSERT capacity. Not in a friendly capacity.”
“Oh, I think you and the girls are very friendly. Especially if you ask Hector,” I laugh, avoiding her hand as she tries to smack me.
“You know what I mean.”
“No, I don’t. Everyone knows you, Shelby.”
“But they don’t me like this.”
“Like what, babe? You’ve got to spell this out for me, because I ain’t getting it.”
“As your girlfriend. We’re a couple now. Not just Shelby or Sullivan. Now we’re kind of Shelby and Sullivan. Shelivan if you will. We’ve made the jump,” she says like I should know.
“We made the jump weeks ago.”
“Not officially,” she argues.
“Whatever,” I laugh, reaching over as we come to a stop light. I rub her bottom lip with the pad of my thumb. “We’ve been official since Christmas when I first kissed these lips.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.”
She doesn’t say anything as we pull up to the Harrison’s house, even though I hear her intake of breath at the amount of cars, trucks, and SUVs lined along the curb. “You okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just more people than I thought there would be.”
“You see almost all these people at the LSERT meetings.”
“But not their families too,” she argues.
“They’re going to love you,” I encourage her. “You’ve done a lot for everyone here. You came and did the wills for anyone at the PD who wanted it. You work hard and you’re a genuine person. They’re going to adore you as much as I do.” I lean forward, tilting my head down to her. She meets me halfway, our lips connecting in a less-than-chaste kiss for where we are, but I indulge her. I’ll always indulge her. As I pull away, a horn honks behind us. Turning, I see Cutter and Ro. It’s Cutter at the wheel though, waving like a goofy fucking idiot. Lifting my middle finger, I wave back at him.
“Sully,” she giggles, burying her face in my chest.
“He and I have a love/hate relationship. Right now, I hate his ass.”
“Stop.” She gives me a look before turning around to get out of the car.
She and Ro greet each other. They’re both still slightly shy with one another. I hope later they become as close as I am with the two of them. “How’s it going?” I ask Cutter.
“It’s been pretty damn busy.” He stretches.
“I know, the warmer it gets, the worse it gets.”
“I’m surprised all of you were able to get the day off,” Shelby says as she comes around my Mustang to put her hand in mine.
“Calvert City is covering. We do the same for them a few times a year,” Cutter explains.