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Jordan snagged her bag from the backseat of her sedan and slammed the door. She was glad to be off work and didn’t have to worry about going in tonight. The only way she’d be dragging herself down to the precinct was if SWAT was called in. Other than that, she was going to keep work far from her mind.
Today’s workouts had been brutal. Mac could be one cruel sergeant. The man lived to test the members of the SWAT unit. He and Declan ran a tight ship and always ensured each member of the team was on their top game. She could appreciate everything he put them through. Jordan was no stranger to hard work and loved the workouts. She knew immediately when she had joined SWAT that she was amongst great men who had worked together for a long time before she was added to the mix.
She had thought her SWAT school training had been hard. Compared to what Mac and Declan put them through, that had been a walk in the park.
Jordan stood by her car and inhaled the fresh air. That was the one thing she loved about coming out to Rhys’s place—aside from Rhys himself. His farm was beautiful and had a calming effect on her. She had grown up in the city and was used to the hustle and bustle. Relocating from Atlanta to Columbia wasn’ttoo difficult, but the pace of life was certainly different. Atlanta was a huge metropolitan area while Columbia was a much smaller city.
It took her a little while to get used to, but she was glad she had made the change. At the moment, everything in her life was going great. Coming to Columbia, her sister had been her primary priority, but now Omara had Jason had Zain. Jordan couldn’t remember ever seeing her sister this happy. The woman practically glowed when she came into a room. Pregnancy certainly suited her. Even when she was pregnant with Jason she hadn’t appeared this content.
Zain made her happy. He was the perfect man for Omara, and Jordan would be damn proud to call him her brother-in-law as soon as the two tied the knot. According to Omara, they would focus on the baby and then marry. Jordan had already been dragged into the planning details of the baby shower and the wedding. Their mother, Irene, had turned into a drill sergeant with all of her planning and details. She and their father had been grumbling that they needed more grandbabies. Jason was the center of their world, and they had room in their hearts for more.
Right now, Jordan would let Omara have the spotlight when it came to marriage and children. Not that she didn’t want either. She would love to have a ring on her finger and a few kids running around.
But she hadn’t had any luck in that department.
The sound of barking echoed through the air. She grinned and hefted the strap of her bag on her shoulder, anticipating the arrival of Honor. Jordan grinned watching the excited German Shepherd come for her. She braced herself and let out a groan as the dog’s full weight slammed into her.
Honor yipped and yapped and tried to lick Jordan’s face.
“Okay, okay.” Jordan laughed.
The dog bounced up and down, trying to get to Jordan’s face to shower her with love. She rubbed the dog’s head and made sure she got behind her ears. This little girl was a bright ray of sunshine. It was amazing how focused she was when she was on the job. This dog was a force to be reckon with, and Jordan could only hope she was only as focused as this K9 officer. When she was home, Honor was just that, a happy-go-lucky animal who loved on her family as much as any dog who loved her family could.
Jordan laughed at Honor’s tactics. She lifted her head, and her lungs seized up; Honor’s handler rounded the corner.
Rhys took her breath away. It didn’t make any sense that she would still have this reaction to this man. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He had a ball cap on his head facing backward. She was sure he had been out in the back getting that damn grill of his together.
There was always something about a man who knew his way around the kitchen.
Jordan’s heart did a tiny pitter-patter; he drew closer to her. His lips curled up in the corners.
“Hey,” she said.
Jordan was never one to be shy, but somehow Rhys always brought out the shyness in her. She had no problem pursuing a bad guy or going head to head with a perp who thought he could take advantage of a female officer. But there was something about Rhys Newman which brought out a side of her she hadn’t known existed.
Honor trotted around Jordan, excited, her tail wagging a mile a minute.
“Down, girl,” Rhys ordered.
Honor immediately sat. With the tone in his voice, it almost had Jordan falling down to the ground to sit next to the pup.
Rhys’s intense eyes were locked on her. He enclosed Jordan in his arms and brought her flush to him. “Hey, yourself.”
He didn’t waste any time swooping down and claiming her lips. Jordan immediately leaned into him and the kiss. The man certainly knew how to make a woman feel welcome after a long day at work. Her bag fell off her shoulder and onto the ground. Jordan’s lips parted to allow Rhys entrance. His tongue swept in like a slow storm. There would be buildup, no doubt. There always was. Rhys was a laid-back Southerner who definitely knew how to get a certain rise out of her.
Were they complete opposites?
Yes, they were.
But Jordan didn’t care. What was between them worked. Almost too well. She had a fear that there would be something about her that would make Rhys change his mind about her and their relationship. She had never felt this way before. In the past, she always had to have her guard up. Men must have always seen something in her that allowed them to treat her any ol’ kind of way, but Rhys, he was different.
From the moment they met she’d recognized that.
He wasn’t about playing games. He was a man of his word, and she could trust him. He was a father who had a child with whom he shared a deep bond. Jordan wasn’t jealous at all of his relationship with his daughter. She loved how close the two were. Nova was a wonderful girl, and Jordan had liked her immediately.
She had never dated an older man who had a grown child before. This had been new, and she had been nervous the first time she’d met Nova, but all of that had dissipated within twenty minutes of meeting the young girl. Nova was protective of her father, and she must have seen something in Jordan that she liked.
Rhys lifted his head slightly. Jordan opened her eyes, completely out of breath. She blinked a few times to bring her vision back into focus. She had always been a headstrong woman, but in this man’s arms, she could just be Jordan.
