I Pretend You're Mine

11. I Changed My Mind

"Why don't we go inside and cool off with some iced tea?" Amy suggested and watched her niece stand as a silent response. The walk into the main house was quiet due to Lucy's sole focus of staring at Tim and Ashley where they were further down the beach. Even as Amy poured them something to drink, she saw her niece's furrowed brow and preoccupied mind working, so she did not say a word to let Lucy process the appearance of Ashley and admired the way Kojo did not leave Lucy's side, always keeping his cheek pressed against her leg to comfort her.

Tim stuffed his hands in the pockets of his swim trunks while shuffling next to Ashley along the beach, but she seemed to have trouble speaking. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you. I wasn't exactly expecting to see you with someone else." The image of Tim and Lucy kissing filled her mind, emptying all other contents (as if there really was much going on in that brain of hers usually).

"I'm allowed to move on. You're the one who dumped me."

"And that was a mistake," Ashley replied and stepped around to stand in front of him and stop him from walking. "I shouldn't have done that, Tim. I had a dream about you last night. About us and a future with kids. Maybe I could be open to kids and accept the risks you take as a cop. I..." she looked out at the water and then returned her gaze to him. "I love you."

Those were words they never exchanged during the course of their relationship. Tim never thought another woman would ever say those words to him again, but now that he heard the phrase, his stomach clenched, because the WRONG woman spoke those words. He wanted to hear Lucy say them.

Lucy.

He wished to go back to her side. After all, she asked that she was not kept waiting for too long with a kiss that made his nerves sing. Tim's tongue darted out to taste the last remnants of Lucy on his lips, and he shook his head. "Lucy," was all he said.

"I saw you with her when I got here. Look, whatever happened while you've been away this weekend..." Ashley ran a hand up his arm and landed on his shoulder, "we have history. We're magic together, right? You want me back, don't you?"

"Back? Ashley..." Tim winced; he could not believe she wanted to salvage a failing relationship.

She put a finger up to his lips to quiet him. "I regret the way we ended things, and the second I woke up from that dream, I raced over to the station to talk to you, and when I couldn't find you, Smitty said you were away for a wedding. He told me where you were, and I drove all the way out of town to tell you that I love you and I want you back. You want that, too, don't you?"

Tim took her hand away from his mouth. "How the hell did Smitty know where Lucy and I are?"

"Seriously? He has sources all around the station for his gossip blog, but that's not really the point. Just...tell me you want us to get back together."

"No," he blurted out quickly, and saw her blink a few times in her surprise at the tone, speed, and word with which he replied.

"What do you mean 'no'? We broke up only like a month ago. You haven't seriously gotten over me enough to say you don't want to get back together?"

"I have," he scoffed at her ridiculous assumption. "I'm with Lucy now."

"She's your partner. Isn't that against the rules?"

"Former partner. I ride with Thorsen now," he corrected. Tim knew he had told Ashley about his new aide after she had noticed his moping for several days. He missed riding with Lucy, but he also missed not seeing her at all since she was at undercover school at the time. Ashley must have forgotten about that conversation. It also did not escape his notice that after rejecting that they were partners for so long, he now had the clarity to realize that he and Lucy were in fact truly partners at work, and maybe soon, partners in life if their future first date goes well.