Detective Partners (22 page)

"You're going to-"

"I'm done with you and your abuse," she declared.

"When I-"

Nicole hung up the phone.

Twenty minutes later, Nicole pulled up in front of the small diner. She put the car in park, turned off the ignition, and grabbed her purse from the passenger seat. Getting out, she closed the door and made her way toward the entrance. The moment she stepped inside, she was hit with the smell of coffee and bacon. Her stomach growling, she scanned the crowd and spotted an elderly woman sitting by herself. Nicole moved in her direction. As she drew near the woman looked her way and smiled.

"Galen described you perfectly," she said, getting to her feet.

"How did he describe me?"

"He said you were a small red head." Olivia embraced her. "It's nice to finally meet you, dear."

"You too."
Nicole shyly returned the hug. "I'm sorry it's taken so long for us to get together. Work consumes most of my time."

"I understand." They released each other and sat down. "Work takes up so much of Galen's time. I don't get to see him as often as I would like, but he calls me every day to check on me and see if I need anything. He's a good boy, or I should say man.
Although, I will always think of him as my little boy."

"Good morning, ladies," the server said, appearing at their table. "Have you had a chance to look at the menu?"

"No, but I don't need to." Olivia handed her the menu. "I will have orange juice and the mushroom omelet."

Nicole quickly scanned the menu. "I'll have the granola with fruit and apple juice." She closed the menu and gave it to the server. "Thank you."

"Tell me," Olivia said, once the server left their table. "How are you and my son getting along?"

An image of Galen and her kissing in the conference room popped into Nicole's head. Her heart began to flutter and warmth spread through her. Hoping that she wasn't blushing, she said, "We're getting along fine. Granted, there are moments when I would like nothing more than to hit him over the head with something hard, but for the most part we're doing all right."

Galen's mother grinned. "He said you had a fiery temper."

Nicole arched an eyebrow. "When did he tell you that?"

"Shortly after you two started working together." Olivia adjusted her glasses, "but enough about what my son said. Tell me about yourself."

"There's not much to tell." Nicole tried hard not to fidget. "I don't have children. I've never been married. My job is my life."

"Sounds lonely," the older woman uttered softly. "What about family?"

"My mother died ten years ago and my sister five years ago." She swallowed hard as memories came rushing back. "I don't have a good relationship with my Father." She thought of the phone call from earlier and grimaced.

"Your face and your hand."
Olivia hesitated for a moment. "Is that his handy work?"

Nicole gazed into her eye eyes that were the same shade of gray as Galen's. "I can see where Galen got his inquisitive nature."

"I'm sorry if-"

"Don't apologize." She cleared her throat. "Yes, my Father is responsible for my injuries."

Olivia sighed heavily. "I thought as much. Not long after you and Galen started working together, he told me he had a feeling that your Father was abusing you. Dear, you can't keep letting him hurt you. Something-"

"My Father is no longer in my life," Nicole informed her. "The last beating was the final straw. I'm through being his punching bag." She smiled at her
weakly
. "Let's talk about something else. Galen mentioned he was an only child. Did you not want more children?"

"I wanted more, but God had other plans. Galen's birth was a difficult one. There were complications and the doctor told me flat out, no more children." She smiled. "I was fine with it. I had my baby boy."

Nicole smirked. "I bet you spoiled him rotten."

"We did," Olivia agreed. "I remember he was crazy about Superman. For his sixth birthday, his Father and I decided to throw him a Superman themed party. He looked so cute in his little
Superman costume. I think I have a picture of him wearing it. I'll find it and show it to you the next time we get together. Anyway, the party was going fine until we realized Galen was missing. We searched everywhere and finally found him. He was standing on the roof of the garage. After we got him down, I asked him why he climbed up there. He said he needed a good place to take off. That foolish boy thought he was going to fly. If he had jumped off that roof, he would have broken every bone in his body. From that day on we made sure to keep the ladders out of his reach."

Nicole laughed softly. "Something tells me he was a handful."

"He was."

Galen picked up the pot of coffee and poured him a cup. He returned the pot to the base, added a packet of sugar to his cup, and took a cautious sip of the steaming liquid. As always, it was too strong. Grimacing, he moved toward his desk. At that moment, Nicole walked into the room. Galen looked her over from head to foot. She was beautiful in a navy blue pantsuit and white blouse.

"Good morning," she said.

"Good morning," he repeated warmly.

Nicole dropped her keys and purse on her desk and then moved closer to Galen. "So, Superman," she said, her eyes lit with amusement. "Have you climbed on top of any garages lately?"

Shaking with laughter, he shook his head. "That old woman has a big mouth. When did you talk to my Mom?"

"A little while ago," Nicole answered, snickering. "She called and invited me to breakfast."

Galen took a drink of coffee and set the cup on his desk. "Was she nosy?"

"A little."
She cocked her head slightly, "but I didn't mind. We mostly talked about her little boy."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry you had to sit there and listen to her talk about me."

"I enjoyed hearing about your childhood. I'm really looking forward to your Mom showing me pictures of you in your Superman costume."

"That is not going to happen," Galen said dryly.

"We shall see." Nicole perched on the corner of her desk. "I like your Mom. She's a sweet lady and I'm looking forward to spending more time with her."

"I'm glad you like her." He settled beside her, their shoulders touching. "It's important to me that the two women in my life like each other." He stared at her closely and saw she had lines of fatigue bracketing her eyes. "Did you have a rough night?"

"Yes." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I had so much on my mind that I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking of Judas and that damn letter he wrote to me." She gazed at him. "Then I was thinking about us and whether or not I'm willing to give us a try."

"Are you, Nicole?" Galen asked quietly. "Are you willing to give us a try?"

"Yes," she breathed. "You're going to have to be patient with me. I have a lot of emotional baggage that I'm dealing with."

"I promise to be patient and gentle."

Nicole smiled at him softly. "Can I get that in writing?"

Galen grinned. "I'll think about it." His eyes went to her mouth and his heart skipped a beat. "I wish I could kiss you," he muttered.

"Later," she whispered.

"I hate that we have to be careful so we won't get caught," he said. "It means I can't touch you and kiss you when I want."

"I'm sorry, but it has to be this way," Nicole reminded him.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like it." Galen stood. "When did you want to go and scatter your friend's ashes?"

"I guess now if that's okay with you," she said, sliding off the desk.

"
It's
fine," he assured her.

Nicole grabbed her purse and keys and they left.

Nicole opened a small wooden box and tipped it upside down. Ashes poured out. A breeze caught the remains and scattered them over the water. After saying a brief prayer, she tossed a rose into the water and watched as the current carried it away. "Goodbye, Randall." Her heart in her throat, she turned and walked to where Galen was waiting for her. He held out his hand and she took it.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yes." She squeezed his hand. "We should head back to the station."

"In a minute," he said. "Stand here with me and enjoy the view."

"Okay." Nicole looked out at the water and let her mind drift. Thoughts of her father came to her and she wondered if she should tell Galen about the phone call.

"What are you thinking about, sweetheart?"

The endearment flowed over her like warm honey. She closed her eyes and took a deep cleansing breath.
"My Father.
He called me earlier demanding a thousand dollars. He wants me to meet his friend at a bar tonight to hand over the money. If I don't he said I will regret it." She turned and looked up at him. He had a look of rage in his eyes. "I told him his threats didn't scare me anymore and that I was through playing his games. I also told him that he would not bully me any
longe
that I'm in charge of my life now and that he had better get used to it. Of course, he wasn't happy about that. He called me a name I don't care to repeat. I informed him that he wasn't getting anymore of my money and that I was done with him and his abuse."

"What did he say to that?"

"I didn't give him a chance to say anything." She sighed. "I hung up on him."

"Good for you." Galen tucked several strands of hair behind Nicole's ear. "I'm proud of you for standing up to him."

Her breath lodged in her throat. It had been a long time since anyone had told her that they were proud of her. It meant even more coming from Galen. "Thank you," she croaked.

"In fact."
He lowered his head. "I think you deserve a kiss for that."

The moment his lips touched hers, Nicole closed her eyes and slipped her arms around him. She held him close and lost herself in his kiss.

C
hapter  23

Nicole was doing paperwork, later that morning, when the phone on her desk rang. She dropped her ink pen and reached across the desk to snatch up the receiver. "Goodwin."

"Would you please step into my office?"

"I'm on my way." She hung up the phone, pushed back her chair, and got to her feet.