TikTok Trend

Bradford Style

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

“Never gonna happen,” Reese said as he grabbed his Coke while Zoe sat there, running her eyes over him, taking in everything from his short, neatly styled black hair, sunglasses that gave him that bad boy look, and freshly shaved chisel jaw before taking in the crisp, dark blue uniform that hugged his muscular build just right.

As she took in the utility belt lined with his holstered gun, flashlight and all the things that he needed for those times when he picked up shifts with the police department, Zoe couldn’t help but agree with Kasey’s initial assessment when they first met him.

The man was definitely yummy.

It had her once again wondering just how good her husband would look in a uniform as she glanced at him only to quickly decide that perhaps now was not the time to wonder about that when she found him glaring at her through narrowed eyes. Clearing her throat, Zoe reached over to pick up her drink off the patio table only to grumble when Trevor reached over and grabbed it first, finishing it off all while glaring at her.

“Understandable,” Zoe murmured, deciding that perhaps now would be a good time to focus her attention on something else. With that in mind, she focused back on what promised to be a very entertaining situation.

“Please?” Kasey said with a playful pout as Reese took his time finishing off his Coke. A long-suffering sigh drew Zoe’s attention to her right in time to watch Jonathan drop down on the bench next to his brother and-

“I will kill you with my bare hands,” Sebastian said, not bothering to look up from his book when Jonathan went to throw his arm around his shoulders.

Clearing his throat, Jonathan said, “Fair enough,” as he let his arm drop.

“Is it because you’re afraid?” Mikey asked with a pitying look that had Reese’s lips twitching.

That was followed by Kasey releasing a heartfelt sigh and a solemn nod as she said, “I’m afraid that’s it,” encouraging her teenage daughter.

“I’m embarrassed for him,” Mikey said with a sad shake of her head as she continued rolling the baseball that she never seemed to go anywhere without between her hands.

“I think we all are,” Kasey said, matching her daughter’s nod only to take it up a notch when she added a pitying look. 

“What if we promised to look away when you start crying?” Mikey offered, looking really freaking hopeful.

“I mean, I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try to ignore the sniffles and the uncontrollable sobs when you lose,” Kasey added, gesturing for him to get on with it.

“That’s really all I can ask for,” Reese murmured, placing the empty soda can back on the patio table and-

“Run,” he said, making Kasey and Mikey’s lips pull up into a smile.

Without a word, Kasey and Mikey got to their feet, released matching satisfied sighs and-

“No,” Sebastian said, not bothering to look up from his book when Mikey grabbed hold of his arm and tried to pull him to his feet.

“Because you’re afraid?” Mikey asked with a pitying look that had Trevor’s lips twitching as they watched their son turn the page.

“That’s it,” Sebastian drawled as Mikey’s gaze shifted to Jonathan.

She opened her mouth and-

“Run,” Reese said around a yawn as he stood up.

With that, Kasey took off laughing with Mikey not far behind. Zoe watched as Jonathan shrugged it off, got up and ran in Mikey’s direction before her gaze shifted to Reese and-

This wasn’t going to end well.

Not at all, Zoe thought as she watched Reese’s lips pull up into a predatory smile as he watched them run. When his gaze shifted to Sebastian, she watched her son go still as he slowly looked up and-

“Run.”

Swallowing hard, Sebastian dropped his book on the ground, got to his feet, stumbled back and-

“Run.”

-took off running.

She watched as Reese stood there, taking in all the possibilities as his eyes shifted from Kasey to Mikey and then the boys before his gaze landed back on Kasey, who was halfway across the large backyard. Within seconds, he was running after her, jumping over a lounge chair and quickly zeroing in on her.

Zoe watched as Kasey glanced over her shoulder, a huge smile on her face that froze seconds before it turned to panic when she spotted her husband coming after her. She watched as Kasey noticeably swallowed before she stumbled, righted herself, and then…

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” Zoe mumbled weakly as they watched Reese catch up to her and-

“Shit!” Trevor muttered as they watched Kasey race behind a tree, but it was too late.

Within seconds, Reese grabbed her mid-run, placed her down on the ground and swiftly pulled a set of handcuffs off his belt and had her arms cuffed behind her back in seconds. With a swift kiss on the back of her head, Reese stood up and took in the three teenagers making a run for it. He glanced from Mikey, who was making her way towards the trees, to Jonathan, who was completely oblivious to the danger waiting for him, before it moved to Sebastian, who released a curse when he saw Reese, quickly gave up trying to run away and headed for the nearest tree instead.

“I thought the point of the TikTok challenge was to catch them,” Zoe said as she watched Reese’s gaze slowly move back to Mikey and-

“Get him instead!” Mikey screamed somewhat hysterically and gestured towards Jonathan when she spotted Reese coming for her.

Zoe shook her head in wonder as she watched Reese race across the large backyard, his intense gaze remained locked on Mikey, whose panicked gaze moved from Reese to Jonathan and-

“Did…Did she just hobble him?” Zoe asked, watching as her son hit the ground with a pained grunt seconds before Mikey jumped over his body and veered off towards the house.

“He really didn’t leave her with much of a choice,” Trevor said as they watched Mikey race towards them, a mixture of panic and regret taking over her expression as she sprinted towards the back door before their gaze flickered to Reese, who was close behind and-

“Daddy? Wait, no! I changed my mind! I changed my mind! Oh, my God, I changed my mind!” Mikey screamed as Reese tackled her, turning mid-air before they hit the ground so that he took the hit. Within seconds, Reese had her handcuffed and thrown over his shoulder with a satisfied sigh.

They watched as Reese carried her across the yard and dumped her on the ground next to his wife before he went after Jonathan, who was now frantically trying to climb a tree and-

“Mommy!”

-had them shaking their heads in wonder and releasing pitying sighs as they watched Reese take him to the ground and secure his hands with a zip-tie before dragging him over to join the others.

That’s when his gaze locked on the tree where Sebastian was currently hiding.

They watched Reese make his way over to the tree, and in one smooth move, grab hold of the branch above his head and pull himself up before he disappeared inside the tree. A moment later, there was a rather disturbing scream for mercy and then…

Nothing.

Swallowing hard, Zoe glanced at her husband to find his lips twitching only to decide that wasn’t very helpful and focused back on the tree just in time to watch as Reese dropped out of the tree with Sebastian over his shoulder. With a satisfied sigh, he shifted Sebastian over his shoulder and carried him over to join the others.

Once he dropped Sebastian on the ground next to Mikey, he looked back at them and-

“Oh, shit…” Trevor said as Zoe found herself standing up, her terrified gaze never leaving Reese as she stumbled back and-

“Run.”

He should probably stop her, Quinn thought as he lay there, watching Dylan as she tried to break into his room, but…

He was curious to see where this was going.

His gaze flickered to the alarm clock on his nightstand and absently noted that it was a little after five in the morning before he looked back to find the small woman, who clearly had no fucking clue what she was doing, adjusting her hold on his window and-

Muttered angrily to herself around the penlight held between her lips before she dropped her hands away, glared at the offending window, grabbed the black backpack by her side and shifted to the next window where she started doing whatever the hell she was doing all over again. He watched her struggle for another minute before he pushed the covers off and sat up, yawning as he got up and made his way to the bathroom, well aware of the small woman pressing her forehead against the window so that she could glare at him every step of the way.

A few minutes later, Quinn stepped out of the bathroom and absently noted that the little pain in the ass had gone back to work on the first window. She really was too fucking adorable for her own good, he thought, watching the way that her eyes narrowed when she saw him. He briefly debated leaving her out there, but with his luck, the little pain in the ass would fall off the roof and he’d be forced to drag her to the emergency room.

Again.

Yawning, Quinn made his way back to his bed, pausing along the way to unlock the window before he dropped face-first onto the bed. He felt his lips twitch a moment later when he heard the pained grunt along with the muffled sounds of Dylan hitting the carpeted floor. He listened as she struggled to bite back a groan, got to her feet, grumbled, sighed, and then-

“What the hell are you doing?” Quinn asked when he felt her small hand wrap around his ankle.

“Taking one for the team,” Dylan said with a heartfelt sigh that had him frowning as he glanced over his shoulder and-

Found himself wondering what she was planning on doing with that rope.

He watched as she moved to wrap one end of the rope around his ankle, only to rethink that decision and gesture for him to roll over. When he continued lying there, Dylan reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes and slowly exhaled.

“Look,” she began, “I realize that I’m about to make all of your dreams come true and you’re overcome with joy, but I’m really going to need you to focus here and help me out.”

“What exactly am I helping you with?” Quinn mumbled into his pillow as he closed his eyes, praying that the little pain in the ass took pity on him so that he could go back to sleep.

“Making you the happiest man alive,” Dylan said, making him frown as he opened his eyes to find her gesturing for him to get on with it.

“And how exactly do you plan on doing that?” Quinn asked, already closing his eyes again and-“By marrying you.”