up my face in confusion. “What does my dad have to do with any of this?”
“It’s kind of like…” Jack looked away from me for a moment. “Okay, do you remember what you were saying when we were at the park that day? How you thought that I was just using you as a way to grieve your dad? As a human proxy or something?”
“Yeah?”
“That’s what I thought you were using me for, actually.” Jack let out a pained laugh. “It was pretty funny when you accused me of what I thought you’d been doing the whole time.”
“You thought I was using you as a proxy for my dad?”
“Yep.” Jack nodded. “And I thought when you were no longer in the market for a father figure, or for someone to play that role in your life, that you were going to toss me out like yesterday’s news.”
“Jack.” I frowned at the accusation. “Gross. I’ve never thought of you like that, as a father figure or whatever. And if I did see you as a father figure, I wouldn’t be sleeping with you. That’d be so… wrong.”
“I mean, you say that now, but you did get pretty hot and heavy when I was threatening those kids at the cabin,” Jack mumbled. “Almost like you liked the idea of me being in that dad kind of role.”
“Oh my God, Jack! That wasn’t about you being a dad.” I chuckled through my response. “I just liked seeing you defend me like that. And… I thought it was pretty hot to see you take charge of the situation. I think I just got way too used to being the one in control, you know, being the detective in the room. But you just… stepped up to the plate, like it wasn’t a big deal.”
“Oh.” Jack let out a sigh of relief. “Fuck. Okay. Yeah, that makes so much sense.”
“Seriously though, Jack. I’d never put you in that category, as my replacement father or father figure.” I shook my head as I went on. “But… speaking of fatherhood… do you think you’d ever be interested?”
“In having kids with you?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.” Jack smiled. “As long as you promise not to tell them about how I thought you had whatever the opposite of an Oedipus complex is.”
“It might be kind of hard, though—”
“Trying to raise a family? Yeah, you bet,” Jack interrupted. “But I think it’s going to be worth it, for the both of us, if we ever end up taking that step together.”
“No, I meant, it might be kind of hard having kids together,” I started again. “If you’re going to be… traveling all over the world for work? It’s just… I’ve seen what it can do to a family, to have a dad who spends more time away from home than he does with—”
“Yeah. I know.” Jack’s tone was somber. “I loved the man, but I don’t plan on being anything like Edward, Austin, I can promise you that, not when it comes to the way he treated his family.”
“So, what? You’re just going to quit your job, then?” I held my breath as I waited on Jack’s response. “Wouldn’t that completely tank your career?”
“I wouldn’t have to quit completely,” Jack said. “I’d just tell my bosses that I’m only interested in covering regional stories, maybe national. But I wouldn’t take the assignments overseas anymore. Besides, I’m sure there’s some up and coming person on our staff who would love all the traveling opportunities that I used to love, getting to know all the airports, getting to know all the flight attendants by their first name…”
“Would that really be enough for you, Jack?” I asked. “To keep you fulfilled?”
“Well, between cutting back at work, and maybe starting my own photography studio in town, too—”
“You’d want to start your own photography studio here?”
“Oh, of course.” Jack smiled. “Do you have any idea how much cash I could make taking photos of tourists on their visits in town? Hell, if I play my cards right, I could probably end up doubling the salary I made covering world-shattering news stories, just by snapping pictures of families out on the slopes.”
“Huh.” I hummed. “Well, I’m happy you’ve already been thinking about it.”
“And what about you?” Jack asked. “Do you think working at the sheriff’s department is going to be enough to keep you fulfilled, Deputy Williams? In the long-term?”
“I think so.” I nodded. “I think working with Royce is going to give me that sense of purpose that I