Wild Irish Fantasies (Book 3 of the Men with a Badge series)

Wild Irish Fantasies (Chapter 1)

So, I am fully aware that I'm not finished with John and Katherine's story just yet but I wanted to post just the first chapter of Jaime's story! I promised he would get bit by the love bug but it's not going to be an easy road for him (where would the fun in that be?!?!) lol. So here is the first chapter of Wild Irish Fantasies!!

Also, the external link is a page with various Irish meanings that will come in handy when reading this!

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Chapter 1

Jaime sat at the bar downing his sixth or seventh beer; he had lost count after the three shots of tequila he had had. He was trying to drown his sorrows along with the dreams that had caused him many sleepless nights. Not dreams of all that had happened to his family and close friends but dreams of the all too delectable librarian that lived across the street from him. Dreams that started the first day he had seen her sitting on her porch, sipping coffee as she tried hard not to stare as he jogged by.

Every morning they had the same routine; he would jog around the block three times and she would watch him from the confines of her porch as she read her newspaper. The dreams were always the same too; on his last lap of jogging, he would jog up her porch without a saying a word and take her then and there not caring who all saw the event. That was one of the reasons why he was sitting here drinking; that and the fact that he was destined to be alone for the rest of his life. He liked the way things were and he didn't want anything to change, for the most part.

Jaime motioned Joe for another beet. The older bar owner walked over with the beer in hand.

"I'm cutting you off after this one Jaime. I'll call your sister to come pick you up." Joe said sternly.

Jaime winced at the thought of Katherine seeing him sloshed out of his mind. His petite sister would gladly kick his ass even if he was a good foot taller and had a hundred pounds on her. She may be small but she had a temper when it came to seeing him like this.

"Call Kyle instead while I go to the can. I don't need Katherine here." Jaime slurred to the bar owner.

Joe nodded and walked back over to the other side of the bar. Jaime took that opportunity to make a trip to the little boy's room; or attempt to make it there anyway. Keeping a firm grip on the bar, Jaime slid off the bar stool with wobbly legs. He felt like a new born horse trying to take its first steps but he stood up straight despite his drunken state. Take that gravity! He could do this, he thought; just put one foot in front of the other.

After several minutes in the bathroom, hell it could have been hours to him, Jaime made his way slowly back to his seat. He was starting to be in spirits all because he had kicked gravity's ass for the moment! A hand on his shoulder had him bringing his head around a little too fast for comfort. He closed his eyes to still the dizziness.

"May I ask why you are sitting here getting plastered?" Kyle asked with a chuckle.

Jaime shot an irritated glance at his best friend.

"Laugh all you want but when you're sitting here because daddy's little girl has started dating, I'll be laughing then." Jaime stated slurring his words.

Kyle sobered at the thought of his baby girl dating later on in life.

"Abby is never dating; she'll be lucky to move out of the house by the time she's thirty." He stated sternly.

Since the day that little girl had been born months before, Kyle had been right by her side every time she cried. He was worse than a mother hen but deep down, that was truly the life Jaime wanted when he wasn't trying to fool himself. If he was completely honest, he was jealous of the life Kyle had now and that was another reason he was smashed.

"Let's get you home man."

Kyle helped Jaime off the barstool. Something must have been bothering him enough for him to get this plastered, Kyle thought to himself.

"I'm kicking gravity's ass right now, man." Jaime slurred then chuckled at his statement.

Kyle laughed then tried hard not to pass out from Jaime's alcoholic breath. Jesus, how much had he consumed, Kyle wondered.

"Jaime, how much have you had to drink?"

"Uh... I don't remember. I was trying to get rid of the dreams."

Kyle laid his inebriated friend in the back seat of his truck.

"What are you talking about Jaime? What dreams?"

Instead of an answer, the backseat was filled with sounds of an already passed out Jaime, snoring loudly. What could he be talking about, Kyle wondered as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed home. Jaime could sleep things off on his couch...

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 The sun started to rise in the horizon as Emily Connolly made her morning coffee. Every morning, she loved to enjoy the black substance and her newspaper on her porch. It made her feel at peace to hear the birds chirping in the trees and the morning rays warmed her soul as the sun rose higher in the sky. Her Móraí, the Irish term for grandmother, used to say that when the sun rose in the mornings that was God shining his grace upon the land.

She missed her móraí so much and after moving to the small unknown town months before, her death was still fresh in her heart. The small, frail Irish woman had raised Emily as her own child. Emily's father had tried desperately to raise her the best he could but turned to his mother for help after Emily's own mother left them and never looked back. For years while growing up, Emily hated the woman that had gave her life; hated the fact that the woman had picked up what little she had and walked away from the two people that should have mattered to her the most. Her móraí, being the devout Catholic she was, had thought her that hatred had no place in her heart so now she tried hard to see things in a new light.

A few short months before, the woman that she had loved dearly and idolized for so long lost her life to cancer. Emily had quit college to help take care of her when they had first found out three years before. For three long years, her grandmother had fought fearlessly against the disease until one winter night she couldn't fight any longer. That was the same night her móraí had made her promise to find her own way in life.

"Gariníon, promise me you will give life a second chance. Promise me you will love with all of your heart and find your own way. Don't let anything stop you from being the woman I raised you to be."

Emily wanted to grant her grandmother's last wishes so she packed up her life and started over. She was giving life a second chance as promised but she wasn't about to let anyone near her heart again. Not after the heartache of losing her dear móraí and her mother's departure from her life. Not even the gorgeous police officer that lived across the street. The man had heartbreaker writing all over him and Emily wanted no part in that...