Where We Found Our Home by Natasha Bishop

 

Lincoln

Shift change was just two hours ago. Usually I would sleep for a good eight hours before rejoining society, but my niece, Nevaeh, called and asked me to visit her at my sister’s coffee shop today, and I can’t ever say no to her.

Sasha is talking to a customer behind the counter, and Nevaeh is coloring in a booth, of course. The tiny monster races over to me when she notices me, and I scoop her up in a big bear hug.

I love both of my nieces and my nephew. They own my heart, but Nevaeh has me completely wrapped around her finger. It’s pathetic, really.

“Linky! You’re here.”

I give her all the side-eye because we both know she’s not surprised I come when she calls.

“I sure did. You better have a good reason for interrupting my slumber, or I’ll have to eat a little girl for my snack.” I make a growling noise at her. Nevaeh always calls me a brown bear because I hibernate after work.

She giggles as I tickle her. “Stop it!!” I continue tickling her until she’s laughing so hard she starts coughing.

“Are you two done acting up in my shop?” Sasha’s face is stern, but her voice is full of amusement.

“Nah, not yet.” I reach for Nevaeh again, but she dodges my grasp and takes off giggling. I’ll give her a head start.

“Hey, little bro,” Sasha says as she hugs me.

“Hey, sis. How’s business today?”

“Good. Did Mom call you?”

“No, should she have?” I hate being blindsided by my family, so if Mom is calling me to drill me about something, I need Sasha to tell me now.

“I think Reggie wanted her and Dad to babysit the kids this weekend so she and Michael could have a date night, but Mom and Dad are going to Dad’s friend’s retirement party this weekend, and Carter and I have a date night of our own, so Mom told her she’d ask you.”

I chuckle. That’s it? “Why wouldn’t Reggie just call me herself?”

“You know if Mom offers to take a task off Reggie’s hands, she just accepts.” My oldest sister, Reggie, is a badass family lawyer and if she isn’t dealing with a case, she’s busy with her two kids and her husband. She used to refuse help all the time because, in her words, she’s goddamn Superwoman, but Mom always insists, worrying about Reggie burning out. So Reggie just started accepting almost anything because it’s easier. Reggie may be a lawyer, but no one wins a fight against our mom.

“I’m back on shift on Saturday morning.”

“Guess she’ll have to call Isaiah then.” Even though my schedule is always crazy, my sisters always call me first for babysitting duties before my younger brother. He loves our nieces and nephew as much as I do, but he tends to forget he’s actually twenty-eight, not twelve, and ends up needing a babysitter more than they do.

“Guess so.”

“Linky, you missed my favorite.” Nevaeh nestles into my side.

I feign offense. “Favorite what? Customer?” She nods. “Say it ain’t so. I thought I was your favorite.”

“No, silly. You’re no custard, you’re my uncle.” She has a point there.

“Customer.”

She squints her eyes at me. “That’s what I said.”

“Right, of course.” Duh.

“You don’t even pay half the time, so you’re definitely not a customer,” Sasha adds, unnecessarily I might add. I slap her shoulder, and she punches me in the ribs while laughing.

“Okay, fine, so who is your favorite and what’s so special about them?”

“Her name’s Ciara. She’s so pretty and nice. Her eyes look like yours.”

“Ah, gorgeous with a twinkle?” I tease.

“No. Sad.” Sasha’s eyes widen and she looks away from the both of us.

Sometimes I forget that even though Nevaeh is only five, she’s just as intuitive as her mother. She’s going to be a force when she’s older. I have to work on putting on a better mask with her.

“Well, Ciara seems great. Sorry I missed her.”

“You can come again tomorrow! She’ll be here.” Wait a minute. Is this why Nevaeh wanted me to visit her today? She wanted me to meet this Ciara?

Oh, boy. You know your love life is sad when your five-year-old niece is trying to play matchmaker.

Too bad I have no interest in dating now or ever again. I keep my relationships casual, but I know better than to try to explain that to Nevaeh. Especially with Sasha within earshot. I like my balls where they are, thank you very much.

“Umm, maybe. Here, come with me to the display. You gotta help me pick out my dessert.” Distraction is probably my best way out of this, but I have to use food. Otherwise she’ll see right through me.

“Can I has half?” Always the negotiator.

“Don’t you always?”

Nevaeh beams and runs over to the display case. I look over at Sasha who’s watching me with a guilty look on her face.

“Sorry,” she mouths.

I shake my head. No apologies necessary. I start to head over to the display case when something outside catches my eye.

I glance over, and the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen is standing outside of a store talking to a little girl.

Her almond-colored skin is flawless. She isn’t very tall, but her legs go on for days and they’re covered with ripped jeans that fit her like a second skin, accentuating her small waist, thick thighs, and delicious ass. She has on a tight white tank top that’s tied in the front so I can make out her toned stomach. I can see she has a full sleeve tattoo on her left arm, but I can’t tell what the images are. They’re bright and colorful, though, and I want to trace them with my tongue. What the fuck, Linc? Her box braids are pulled up into a high ponytail, and it draws my attention to her slender neck that I imagine leaving my mark on. Woah. You need to relax. I can’t even pull myself away from those thoughts because I’m distracted by her full-bodied, lush lips. She’s absolutely stunning. She laughs at something the little girl said and the movement goes straight to my dick. She laughs with her entire body, and it’s sexy as hell.

Holy shit, get a grip. Like you’ve never seen a beautiful woman before. Last thing you need to do is sport wood in the middle of your sister’s shop in front of your niece.

“Umm, Linky? Why you looking so hard at Ciara?”

Fuck. Of course she would be the woman Nevaeh was telling me about. Damn, my niece has good taste. I wonder if she’d be down for something casual.

No. Nevaeh said she comes to the coffee shop every day, and she’s obviously already developed an attachment to this woman. I can’t risk some awkward situation when it ends badly. Which it will.

“I’m not. I thought I saw somebody I know.” Nevaeh gives me an incredulous look. Get your too-smart-for-your-age eyes off of me, little girl.

She looks like she’s going to say something else, but we both whip around at the sound of screeching tires. A black Mazda is racing down the street. The driver starts swerving, and it’s clear they’re impaired or distracted. Idiot. It’s the middle of the damn day.

I pull my cell phone out, prepared to make a call to the police to deal with this guy when I notice Ciara take off running. It takes me a minute to realize she’s running toward the little girl she was talking to earlier. I look over and realize the car is heading straight for her. Shit.

I turn to the man sitting behind me at one of the hightops watching with his jaw on the ground. “Sir, call 911 now.” He snaps to action.

“Sasha! Call Dominic, tell him we’re gonna need a unit.” She shakes off her worried gaze and grabs her phone.

“Linky, you gotta help her!” I’m already at the door on my way to try to help. Hopefully I won’t be too late. Again.

Not now, Linc.

“I got it. Stay here.”

I rush across the street, keeping Ciara in my sight the whole time. She reaches Candice in enough time to dodge the car, but when she snatches the girl up she turns her body so she can break the fall for them and slams her head on the concrete as they go down.

The sound of her head hitting the concrete sends chills all the way down my spine, and I feel it in my toes. I spare a glance toward the driver, who has crashed into the light pole a few feet away. Good, at least he won’t be getting away. A quick scan of the scene tells me everyone else had cleared out of the way without issue.

“See if he’s okay. Don’t let him leave,” I demand of the bystanders closest to his car. They immediately get to work. I love my community.

I reach Ciara and the little girl. Ciara isn’t moving, and the little girl is crying.

“Is she okay?” the girl screeches.

“Candice!” A woman runs over to us and scoops the kid off of Ciara.

“Mama, that woman grabbed me. I landed on top of her, so I’m not hurt at all. But she hit her head so hard. Is she okay?”

“It’s okay. I’m here to help. She’ll be okay.” I hope. She’ll definitely have a concussion but hopefully that’s the worst of it. “Ma’am. Can you hear me? Can you open your eyes?” I ask.

She opens her eyes slowly and her eyes knock me on my ass. She has deep chocolate eyes with a gray ring around the edge of them that completely captivates me.

Focus, Linc. Jesus, she’s injured.

I clear my throat and speak again. “There you are. Can you tell me your name?”

“That’s some pickup line.” She smirks. Good Lord, this woman is trouble. Her plump lips are saying one thing, but her eyes tell a different story. A story packed with vulnerability and rawness. One I’m suddenly desperate to read.

“It works with all the ladies. Why don’t we try again?”

She takes a deep breath before answering. “It’s Ciara.”

“Hi, Ciara. How are you feeling?”

“Like I slammed my head on the ground. How are you?” What a smart-ass. I like it. She isn’t slurring her words, so that’s a good sign. I feel the back of her head and it’s not bleeding, but I can already feel the knot forming.

“I’ve been better. I wish I didn’t have to meet a beautiful woman by getting her to a hospital but such is life.”

“Yeah, but this way is more fun, right?” She smiles again, and even though it’s clear she’s smiling through the pain, it’s still the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen.

I need to get to safer topics. “Can you tell me what day it is?”

“It’s Thursday. I think. I was just complaining that my days are starting to blend together so I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure it’s Thursday.”

It is Thursday. I can’t tell if her “days blending together” comment is due to her head injury or not, so I probe further.

“Do you feel nauseous or anything?”

She seems to realize that I’m hovering above her at that moment, and she struggles to get up but is too slow.

“No, no nausea. I’m fine. I can walk.”

“Okay, let’s get up slowly.” She seems antsy all of a sudden, so I give her some space to get up but stay close.

“See? I’m fine.” She takes two steps and then wobbles. I’m there in half a second to catch her. I want to pick her up and carry her to safety, but that’s overkill.

“Let’s take it slow. You’re going to need to go to the hospital. You probably have a concussion.”

“Nah, no need.” Umm, what?

“Ma’am…”

She cuts me off. “You don’t have to call me ma’am. I know it’s probably part of the Texas charm, but it makes me feel old.”

I chuckle. “Okay, how about Ciara then?”

“I mean, it is my name.” Damn, every time she gets smart with me it makes my dick twitch. I need to wrap this up.

The cops and the EMTs arrive at around the same time. Two of the EMTs go over to tend to the driver. I heard one of the bystanders mention that he reeked of booze, so my concern that some sort of medical emergency caused his crash subsides and anger takes root. He’ll probably be spending the night in the drunk tank. Hopefully he’ll even get a little time for almost killing a child and Ciara. I have no tolerance for that shit.

Two more EMTs head over to us. “Hey, Linc. What we got?” Dominic asks. Dom is one of my best friends, and he’s an EMT at my fire station.

“She moved a little girl out of the way of the driver and hit her head on the concrete on the way down. Probable concussion. She needs a hospital.”

“No, really, I’m fine,” Ciara declares, but her eyes are unfocused.

“Ciara, it’s okay. You’ll be in and out. I’ll ride with you.”

“No offense, but I don’t even know you so why would that be a selling point? Sexy or not.” Dominic’s shoulders shake with laughter, and I try to act unaffected, but it’s nice to know that she’s attracted to me too.

“Stick with me. I’m the best company to have in situations like this.”

She starts to roll her eyes but stops, and I curse myself for flirting with this woman when she’s in so much pain.

“Can you walk, Miss?” Dominic asks.

“Yes.” She stands again but way too fast, and she goes down immediately.

“Shit,” I hiss before catching her. I inwardly scold myself for noticing how nice her body feels in my arms.

“You got her?” Dominic eyes me holding Ciara.

I look down at the beautiful woman in my arms and feel a sense of peace, but I don’t know why.

“Yeah, I got her.”

Dominic leads us over to the ambulance. I have no idea what I’m in for, but it’s too late now.