Page 6 of Awakening the Sheriff

He stretched out, and I took a moment to appreciate his body. If I had more time, I would’ve loved a round two. My ass was smarting, but I knew from experience that would only add to the pleasure. But alas, Mandy was expecting me, and her habitual tardiness was no reason for me to develop a similar habit.

“See you around.” I gave him a final nod and slipped out of the room.

Fudge, it was cold. I zipped my jacket to my chin, put on my gloves, and stepped onto the peaceful suburban street. The sun was still low in the icy-blue sky, not treating me to any warmth yet. The chill of the morning air prickled my skin, and the first deep breath I took all but froze my lungs. You’d think I’d be used to it, having grown up in Oregon, but my years in Atlanta had softened me.

With a mental apology to the neighbors in this quiet neighborhood, I let my engine run for a few minutes before I drove off. My car didn’t like the cold.Same, my friend, same. When I moved here, I thought it would be nice to have seasons again, but I had sorely underestimated the severity of the winter. Apparently, my happy, idyllic childhood memories weren’t accurate. Go figure.

Either that or I had changed more than I’d realized, which wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities. Heck, half the time, I didn’t even know who I was to begin with.

The dichotomy of my life was striking—the responsible father and teacher most of the time and a man needing sexual release whenever the kids were with their mother. Juggling both sides was a struggle, but it was the only way I knew how to keep myself sane. If there was a way to merge the two without sacrificing either, I hadn’t found it yet.

“Keaton Perry,” I muttered as I drove off. “Father, teacher, lover.”

Then I laughed at my sense of drama. At least I still had that.

My one-night stand didn’t live too far from Mandy, and it only took me fifteen minutes to turn onto her street. As usual, the boys weren’t ready at the agreed time, but I had expected nothing else.

“You look relaxed,” Mandy said as Byron and Milton were finishing packing their bags. When they were with their mom, they shared a room and didn’t seem to mind. How long would that last?

I shrugged. “I slept well.”

Mandy knew nothing of that part of my life, and I intended to keep it that way. Our divorce had been amicable, and we got along, but that didn’t mean I trusted her with anything personal. She was a gossip, and anything I told her would spread like wildfire.

“Hey, Dad.” Milton dumped his bag at my feet. His dark, curly hair was an unholy mess, but I knew better than to suggest a comb or, even worse, a haircut. I picked my battles, and hairstyles weren’t one of them. Not with a fourteen-year-old.

“Hey, buddy. Is that everything?”

He nodded.

Seconds later, his brother walked up with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm.

“Did you have a good time?” I asked him, when he didn’t say anything.

“Yeah.”

I bit back a sigh. Getting Byron to share anything was like trying to coax a turtle out of its shell—slow and frustrating. And apparently, today would not be one of our better days. “Glad to hear it. Let’s pack up.”

Minutes later, they’d said goodbye to their mom and we were on our way back to Forestville. The roads were blissfully empty. No surprise, considering it was New Year’s Day and a Sunday morning.

“What did you guys do over the weekend?” I asked.

Byron didn’t look up from his phone, but Milton spared me a glance I caught in the rearview mirror. “We went to a party yesterday. It was nice.”

Byron snorted. “You’re only saying that because there were girls.”

“So what? They were nice girls.”

“They had nice boobs, you mean.”

“Boys.” Five minutes and I already had to be the cop again.

Have your kids close together, they said. They’ll be best friends, they said.

Except for my two, who seemed to derive great pleasure from pushing each other’s buttons. As an only child, I would’ve loved to have a sibling, but not these two.

“You asked,” Milton said to me, almost like an accusation.

“I asked how your weekend was, not for a description of the physical attributes of some girls you met.”