Seal It With A Kiss (McClellan Trilogy) Read online

  “I will be in the family waiting area for when you do.”

  Ten days later

  “Just help me walk out of here—I am tired of being in this hospital.”

  “No! You will wait for the nurses’ aid to bring in a wheelchair—its hospital policy.” Brooke pointed out.

  “I can walk out just fine on my own.”

  “Aren’t you being a cranky patient?”

  “That’s just it—I am discharged. I’m no longer a patient and I want to leave.”

  “You had better lose this attitude because I had planned on spoiling you rotten once I got you home, but now I am thinking that I don’t have to!”

  “Spoiling me? What did you have in mind?” Luke asked as he took Brooke’s hand and pulled her towards him.

  “Hey! None of that—you need to recuperate.”

  “I am sure that I read on the doctor’s orders that sex was encouraged for my recovery.” He said winking at her.

  “Now that’s the Luke I remember!”

  “Mr. McClellan, I am here to take you downstairs so that your family can take you home. Now if you will just have a seat in the wheelchair, we will get going.”

  “Saved by the chair!” Brooke said with a grin.

  After another week had passed, Luke announced to Brooke that he wanted to take a drive. “Where do you want to go? I will drive us.” She offered.

  “No, I am released from the doctor and I will drive. Let’s go!”

  “Where are we headed, anywhere in particular?”

  “It’s a surprise, and yes.”

  Brooke raised her eyebrows in question, but climbed into the truck. After they drove for twenty minutes, Luke pulled into a driveway. “Where are we Luke?”

  “We are home.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I said we are home. This is my wedding present to you. What do you think?” He asked.

  Stunned, Brooke opened the truck door and got out. She looked at the house and then back to Luke—it’s perfect.”

  Luke picked her up and carried her into the house.

  “Welcome home Mrs. McClellan.”

  Once inside the house, Luke began to give Brooke a tour. She was shocked to see that he had moved everything from her storage unit into the house. “When did you have time to do all of this?”

  “Let’s just say with you at your parent’s house the week before we got married, I couldn’t sleep and I drove my brothers crazy until they agreed to help me.”

  After he showed her the master bedroom on the lower level, he led her upstairs to show her the other rooms. Brooke paused in each bedroom before finally saying “I think this room would be perfect for a nursery, don’t you?”

  “Well, sure I guess you can pick any of these rooms for a nursery when the time comes.” He responded.

  “Do you think we can get it ready in 5 months?” She asked smiling.

  Luke froze looking at Brooke. “What did you say?”

  “Nothing, I guess I was talking out loud. I was wondering if we could get a nursery ready in as little as five months is all.” This time snickering.

  “You’re, you’re pregnant?” He stammered.

  “No, we are. You and me—we.”

  “I thought I dreamt that you were, but I didn’t want to say anything.” He said as he dropped to his knees and kissed her belly rubbing a hand over it. “We’re going to have a baby! How long have you known? How did you keep this a secret?”

  “I found out the week before we got married while I was at the hospital. I wanted to surprise you. It’s my wedding present to you.”

  “How are you feeling? Should you be resting? My God, can I hurt the baby when we have sex?”

  “First of all, I am feeling fine and I don’t need to rest this early in the pregnancy. Second, I have had a little morning sickness, but it hasn’t been that bad. And third, you cannot hurt the baby. Sex is good.”

  “Sex is good—that’s it? Good? I kind of think it has been great myself.” He joked.

  “Truth be told, it’s been phenomenal. Are you ready to christen the new house? I have heard that pregnancy makes a woman horny.” She said as she took his hand and led him downstairs.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Brock, I am assigning you to be lead detective for a serial rapist case that has come across my desk.” Captain Lewiston stated. “Have you met detective Cavanaugh yet?”

  “No, I haven’t. Is he new to the department?”

  “She transferred from the five four.”

  “She?”

  “Oh—you were paying attention! Yes, she will be arriving at any moment. I will introduce you. Here are the files that we have on all of the rapes that have occurred in the past eighteen months. Here she comes now.” He said walking towards the door of his office.

  “Cavanaugh, come on in here and let me introduce you to Detective McClellan. You will be working closely with him on a new case that has come across my desk.”

  Brock looked up to see a tall, dark haired woman enter the room. His first impression was that she was a tomboy. She wore a t-shirt and jeans that had some wear to them and a leather jacket. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail and she wore no makeup. Her dark brown eyes were piercing as she extended her hand to him. “Hello, my name is Holly Cavanaugh—you can just call me Cavanaugh.”

  Brock shook her hand and said, “My name is Brock McClellan—you can call me Brock.” as he let it go.

  “I prefer to call you Detective McClellan if you don’t mind—I don’t like to get too personal with my co-workers.”

  “Well, now that the introductions are out of the way, I will let the two of you get started on going through the case file. You will have your work cut out for you.”

  “Yes sir, Captain.” Brock stated.

  Looking towards Cavanaugh, Brock said, “I will show you to my office and we can get started.”

  Holly nodded and followed without saying a word. Brock silently made a mental note to himself that Holly was going to be a challenge to work with and an even bigger challenge to get naked. Whoa! Where did that thought come from? He was not in the least bit interested in anything but a working relationship with the “ice queen”. He shook his head and cringed at that thought.

  “Did I miss something?” Holly asked.

  “No, what are you talking about?”

  “You just shook your head no.”

  “Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind—my brother just got out of the hospital a week ago and I was thinking that I need to stop by his house. I haven’t had an opportunity to since he got out and I was making a mental note is all.”

  Holly’s first impression of Brock was that he was ruggedly good looking and she needed to keep her distance from him because she wasn’t going to allow herself to fall for his kind ever again. She fell for good looking before and that didn’t end so well. The next time she got involved with someone, she was going to base it on personality, how he treated other people, and how he treated her cat. Charlie never did like her fiancé for some reason, so she was going to make a mental note of that. Her last relationship ended when she found out her fiancé was cheating on her with her best friend. She came home early one day to find them going at it in her bed. The worst part was that she wasn’t upset about it—she felt that it had been over for quite some time but never ended the relationship before because she thought that that was how relationships were. Hot and heavy to begin with and then—comfortable. Yeah, that is what her relationship with him had become—comfortable. She didn’t need a man in her life, so what the hell was she doing trying to qualify why she needed to keep Brock at a distance? Oh yeah, the fact that he was gorgeous and built like a brick wall, and oh that smile and the way his eyes drank her up. “Stop it!” She said.

  “Stop what?” Brock asked raising an eyebrow.

  “Um, nothing—I guess I was thinking about what one of the victims would say, and I didn’t realize that I said anything out loud.” She wanted to crawl un
der a desk—any desk. How lame did that excuse sound? Mental note to self—keep mouth shut when thinking about Brock.

  “Okay, here is the first reported rape file. Read through it and see if anything jumps out at you. Make as many notes as you think are necessary and don’t discount anything. We are looking for the dirt on the grain of sand here. I will take the second file and do the same and then we will switch. Once we have both looked through these first two files, we will compare notes.

  “We’ve been at this for hours, let’s call it a day.” Brock offered.

  “You must have someone to go home to—go ahead, I want to stay on this while things are fresh in my mind.”

  “As a matter of fact, I don’t have anyone to go home to, but I would like to go visit my brother and new sister-in-law since I haven’t seen them in a week. Why don’t you come along?” Crap—he thought to himself. What did I just do?

  “No, I don’t think so, but thanks for the offer. I won’t stay long—I should get home myself pretty soon or Charlie will be mad that supper is late.”

  “I hope I didn’t get you into trouble—you should have said something.”

  “No, it’s no trouble. He will just get a little cranky is all, and I am used to it.”

  “He isn’t abusive is he?”

  Laughing, “No, he pouts more than anything. Really, I will be fine and he will get over it.”

  “All right then, I will see you tomorrow.”

  Brock started his car and headed to Luke’s house and was beginning to get a little road rage when traffic was moving slower than what he thought it should. “What the hell?” He said aloud. “What has gotten in to me?”

  Ten minutes later he was pulling into Luke’s. He shut the car off and got out and headed for the front door when suddenly the door burst open and he was met by both Luke and Brooke. Luke pulled him into a bear hug. “Where the heck have you been bro? I have missed you!”

  “Sorry Luke, I have been swamped at work and now I have just been given another huge case.”

  Brock pulled Brooke into a hug and whispered, “Have you told him yet?”

  “Yes, Luke knows that he is going to be a daddy!”

  “Wait a minute—Brock knew you were pregnant?”

  “Yes, it came out when you were in surgery and we didn’t know if you were going to make it. I kind of had a breakdown and Brock was my shoulder to cry on.”

  “Well, that’s over now that I am fully recovered.” He said as he glared at Brock.

  Brock held up his hands in his own defense. “I would never cross that line bro, you ought to know me well enough for that.”

  “Yeah, I guess you are right. I should be thanking you for being there for Brooke when I couldn’t be. Sorry, how about a beer?”

  “Yeah, I could sure use one.”

  “Do you want to tell me about her?”

  “Who?”

  “Whoever has got you tied up in knots?”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about. Where’s that damn beer?”

  “I’ll get you that beer, but you are going to tell me who she is—Now come on in the house and I’ll give you the grand tour.”

  “I don’t need a tour—I helped you move shit in here or did you forget?”

  Brooke broke in and asked him, “Why don’t you join us for supper?”

  “Sure, it’s not like I have anyone to go home to.” Brock mumbled.

  Luke slapped him on the back and said, “Spill it—NOW!”

  “Like I said earlier, I don’t know what you are talking about.”

  “Fine, have it your way. Let’s talk about work then. What is the new case that you’re working on?”

  “Can we just talk about something else? Let’s talk about how you are feeling, or how Brooke is doing with her pregnancy.”

  “So, I take it the “her” is someone at work then?”

  “Are you kidding me? Can you just let it go? Maybe I should just go.”

  “Wait just a minute Brock, I will let it go for now, but you will talk to me about it sooner or later.”

  “I prefer much later then.”

  The next morning Brock arrived at work in a foul mood. He hadn’t slept much at all because every time he closed his eyes he saw Holly. It was making him frustrated because she just wasn’t his type at all, and the fact the she was the “ice queen” didn’t make any sense to him either. He kept telling himself that she was just “one of the guys” and he just needed to treat her as such. He walked into his office to find Holly already there and going through a file.

  “Good morning Detective McClellan.”

  “Cavanaugh.”

  “I started on this file last night and I couldn’t sleep because there was just something that struck me about it. I don’t know why, but something in this file is off.”

  “Couldn’t sleep huh? Does that bother Charlie?”

  Laughing, “No, he sleeps right through just about anything.”

  “So have you come up with anything yet this morning, since you had that feeling and all?”

  “Not yet, but I will.

  “You’re pretty confident about that.”

  “I trust my hunch is all—there is definitely something in this file that is different from the other two that we went through yesterday. I just have to find it.”

  Looking up at Brock, “You look like hell. Didn’t you get any sleep last night?”

  “Thanks for noticing, and no—I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep last night.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “No, just toss me a file.”

  Holly picked up a file and walked it over to him. Brock closed his eyes as he inhaled a mixture of peaches and cream. Standing in front of him, Holly cleared her throat. Brock opened his eyes to see Holly staring at him holding a folder for him to take. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair before reaching for the folder and saying, “Um—thank you.”

  “No problem.” She said as she turned to sit back down smiling to herself. Mental note to self—Brock just got uncomfortable with me being close to him.

  Brock watched every step she took and quickly glanced down at the unopened file on his desk as she looked up at him. What the hell was happening to him? A woman never had this effect on him. Furthermore, she wasn’t available—she lived with a Charlie. Maybe that was the problem—the fact that she wasn’t available. Hell—that couldn’t be it, he thought as he was still trying to convince himself that she just wasn’t his type. This one thought sparked something else in him—something he remembered Luke telling him. Luke had mentioned that Brooke wasn’t his type either and he ended up marrying her! “That’s just not right.”

  “Did you find something?” Holly asked.

  Brock swore to himself, ‘Shit, shit, shit’ “I’m not sure.” He improvised.

  “Well, you just said ‘that’s just not right’, and it sounded like you may have found something.”

  “I spoke out loud—I didn’t mean to.”

  By the end of the day, Holly and Brock had combed through a total of four more files. Making notes and comparing and not turning up anything new. “Go ahead and get out of here, tomorrow we will get back at it.” Brock suggested.

  “That sounds good to me—it sounds crazy, but my body aches from all of this sitting. I could use a soak in the tub.”

  Brock groaned to himself from that visual and just couldn’t get words to form as he heard her say “See you tomorrow.” as she was walking out the door.

  Holly smiled to herself as she was walking to her car. In her police training, she scored at the top of her class when reading other people and she sensed that Brock was nervous around her. She supposed that it was kind of mean of her to have given him that final visual, but she was sure going to enjoy toying with him!

  Brock grabbed his jacket and car keys and headed to his car. He found himself following Holly’s car but staying a couple of car lengths back. She pulled into a driveway as the garage door opened and t
hen her car disappeared inside. Brock sat in his car across the street as he watched and waited. After a couple of lights turned on, he came to the realization that he was trying to get a look at Charlie so that he could compare himself to him; to try to see what her type of guy was, and if he would measure up. “I have to fucking get out of here—this is insane.” He said as he started his car and drove home.

  CHAPTER THREE

  After another sleepless night, Brock groaned as he looked at himself in the mirror while he shaved. What the hell was he thinking last night following Holly to her home? Looking at his reflection he said, “You need to figure this shit out. She’s not interested in you—she has Charlie. What you need is to go clubbing tonight.” Yeah—he thought, I need to give Sam a call.

  “Sam, what do you say we go to the Double Deuce tonight and pick up some chicks?”

  “I’m game—you know me!”

  “Great—I’ll meet you there at seven.”

  Brock walked in to find Holly already looking through the files. “Cavanaugh.”

  “Good morning Detective McClellan.”

  “I’d really prefer you call me Brock.”

  “No thank you—too personal.”

  Brock shook his head and pulled up a chair next to Holly. “See anything of interest this morning?”

  “As a matter of fact, yes—take a look at this picture and tell me what you see.” Holly encouraged.

  Brock leaned in closer to look at the picture, but when he caught a whiff of peaches and cream, he lost all concentration.

  “Well? Do you see it?”

  “I’m not sure. What exactly is it that I am looking at?”

  “This is a picture taken at victim number three’s apartment. This is the area where she put up a struggle before he overpowered her and took her into the bedroom. This was the file that I had started the other night and I had this feeling that there was something there. Well, last night I couldn’t sleep again—I kept thinking about this file—this picture. So, when I got in this morning I just had to look at it again.”

  “Didn’t sleep again last night, huh?”