Seal It With A Kiss (McClellan Trilogy) (9 page)

“We McClellan men are known for our affections.”

Holly must have looked confused as Luke continued. “Well most of the time we are.”

“Hey!” Sam shouted, “Where is everyone?”

“Out in the back at the grill.” Luke shouted back. “Now you get to meet the last of the McClellan men.”

“I am looking forward to it!” Holly responded.

“I grabbed you a beer Luke. Oh, hello—and who would this gorgeous woman be?” Sam asked pointing his beer towards Holly.

Holly stepped forward and extended her hand to Sam. “Hello, I’m Detect…‌sorry, habit of the job, I’m Holly Cavanaugh, and I assume you are Sam?”

“You really are a detective.” As he winked and picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Thank you. You are being too kind.”

“What can I get you to drink? Do you drink beer?”

“Yes, a beer would be great.”

“I’ll be right back—you have a seat over there.” Sam said pointing to the patio set.

“Should I be helping Brooke in the house with something?” She asked Luke.

“No, she is just getting plates, napkins, and silverware. She will be out here shortly. Well, speak of the devil—here she comes now.”

“Are you talking about me again?”

Luke came up behind Brooke and kissed her on the neck as he took the plates from her hand. “Let me help.”

He set the plates down on the table and wrapped his arms around Brooke and began to rub her belly. Holly felt as though she was intruding on their special moment and wondering what that type of love felt like. “When are you due?” Holly asked.

“October 22
^nd
.” Brooke responded.

“You look really great—do you know if you will be having a boy or a girl?” Holly asked.

“No, we want it to be a surprise. The only thing we hope for is that it is healthy. We plan to have several more. Don’t we Luke?”

“As many as you want, beautiful.” Luke responded.

Sam noticed that Holly was a bit uncomfortable about Luke and Brooke’s display of affection and piped in. “Don’t they just make you want to puke?”

Holly grinned at his comment and was about to reply when Brock walked into the backyard. “Doesn’t what make you want to puke?”

She spun around about the time Brock spotted her and she could tell that he was as shocked to see her as she was to see him. “I didn’t know you were going to be here—I wouldn’t have come.” Holly commented.

Brooke grabbed Holly’s hand. “Don’t be silly. Here—sit back down. Luke, would you help me grab the meat for the grill?”

“Sure—Sam, would you like to grab us another beer?”

“Yeah, I’ll get that right now.” Sam replied.

“Wow—if that wasn’t obvious of my family to make sure they gave us some time alone.” Brock mused.

“I should leave.” Holly said as she stood up.

Brock was at a loss for words as his eyes drank her in from top to bottom lingering on her long legs and where her short shorts came across her thighs.

“Is there something wrong Brock?”

“Nnno…‌You’re stunning.”

Holly felt the tears welling up in her eyes and tried her best to force them down. “Don’t.” She whispered shaking her head as a tear let go.

Brock instinctively reached up and wiped it away. “I’m sorry. I was a jerk this morning. I had a lot on my mind and I took it out on you. That was a mistake.”

Holly barely recognized his voice—it was so tender and sincere. She choked back a sob as Brock took a step towards her and pulled her into an embrace. “I’m so sorry.” He repeated.

“Are we interrupting?” Luke asked.

“No.” Holly said as she pushed herself away from Brock and wiped her eyes.

Brock pleaded with Holly. “Stay—please?”

She nodded. “Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom.”

“I’ll show you where it is.” Brooke offered.

Luke and Sam both glared at Brock as Sam spoke. “You need to fix this. Whatever you have done—you need to fix this.”

“I know.” Brock said as he slumped into a chair.

“Are you going to move forward with that asinine plan of yours?” Luke asked.

“Hell if I know—I think we kind of need to talk first before I can answer that question.”

Holly emerged from the bathroom to find Brooke waiting for her. “I’m so sorry—I should leave. I don’t want to cause any problems. I really liked meeting Luke and Sam and they seem like really nice guys. Can you just tell them that I wasn’t feeling well?”

“Absolutely not! I thought you had more backbone than that. I don’t have a clue what is going on here, but what you two need is an intervention.”

“Can we talk somewhere more private? I don’t want someone walking in on what I’m going to tell you.”

“Sure, let’s go to the bedroom.”

Once the door to the bedroom was closed, Holly sat on the bed and looked up at Brooke. “Have you heard the expression friends with benefits?”

“Yes.”

“Well, Brock and I…”

“No! You’re not saying that the two of you are friends with benefits—are you?”

“Yes and no. We agreed to it on Friday, but we haven’t ‘benefited’ yet. I thought everything was fine when he had left work on Friday, but then when he came in today, he was in a foul mood and started to treat me like shit, so I avoided him the rest of the day. I mean if he was having second thoughts about the arrangement after giving it some thought this past weekend, all he had to do was tell me. Hell, the thought of it today scares the crap out of me.”

“I am speechless. That is so not Brock. Last I knew he wanted to find a permanent relationship. He has seen what Luke and I have together, and he wants it too. What were you thinking agreeing to that kind of arrangement?”

“I guess I wasn’t. Maybe this is an omen and we really do need to keep a work only relationship.”

“Oh honey, from the way he was looking at you earlier, he wants more than a work only relationship.”

There was a knock on the door. “Brooke? Are you in there?” Luke asked.

“Yes, Holly and I will be out shortly.”

“Good because supper is ready.”

“We will be right there.” Brooke repeated.

Holly jumped off the bed and went to the door and opened it. “Luke it was really nice to meet you, but I think I need to leave.”

“Let me at least walk you out.” He offered.

Luke grabbed a hold of Holly’s hand and without her knowledge turned to wink at Brooke. When he got downstairs, instead of heading out the front door, he turned to go out to the patio.

“Luke? You said you were walking me out.”

“I am. Just not ‘out’ the door you thought. I am taking you out on the patio where you will sit down and eat supper with us. My brother can be a real jerk at times, but I can assure you that he can also be a really great guy if given the opportunity. “

“Here she is.” Luke announced. “Now we can start eating!”

During supper, Brock couldn’t take his eyes off of Holly for fear that if he did, she wouldn’t be there. He sensed that she was jumpy and ready to bolt if given the opportunity. Somehow he needed to talk to her alone.

Holly stood and thanked Brooke for the invitation to supper and let Luke and Sam know that she enjoyed meeting them, but it was late and she needed to get home. Brock jumped up, “I’ll walk you out.”

“I really don’t think that is necessary.” Holly stated.

“It may not be necessary, but I would like to walk you out.” He pushed.

“Thank you.”

Brooke, Luke and Sam all hugged Holly and let her know she was welcome anytime, before Brock proceeded to walk her out to her car. Holly reached for her car door “Thank you for walking me out. I will see you tomorrow.”

Brock held the door shut. “Holly, we need to talk.”

“I don’t think so, I got the message loud and clear.”

“No! You didn’t. I mean obviously I was a jerk this morning, and from that you could jump to a conclusion, but that would be the wrong one.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“I’m not very good at this. I made a decision this weekend.” He continued.

“Yeah, you had a great way of telling me about it this morning.”

“NO! Let me finish. After having some time to think about the agreement we made the other day, I realized that as good as it sounded on Friday, it isn’t me or what I want.”

“Great—that was all you had to say this morning.” Holly said as she reached for the door handle.

“I’m not finished. The reason that I can’t live with that agreement anymore is because I want more. I want the whole full blown relationship. I want to hold you all night after making love to you. I want to wake up in the morning and know that you are next to me. I want to share parts of my life with you, just like I want to learn more about your family and life. I want to give us a chance at whatever life deals out.”

Holly looked Brock in the eyes. “Impossible.”

“No—it’s not damn it. I know you have feelings for me, I can see it—I’m not blind.”

“I do, I can’t deny that.”

“Great! Then it’s settled.”

“There was a but coming. I do feel an attraction towards you. I admit that, but relationships are a lot of work and I don’t have a lot of time to spend on them. That was the problem with my last relationship. I just couldn’t dedicate enough time to making it work. Until I can, I just don’t want to put myself through that heartache.”

“Then we are perfect for each other? Did you forget that we practically work the same hours? I know the hours that you put in. Just take a chance on us—that is all I am asking.” Brock said as he pulled her tight to him and rubbed his hands up and down her back. He couldn’t help himself as he started to place kisses on her neck. He could feel her relaxing in his arms, so he continued up her chin and finally finding her mouth he started out slow and became increasingly urgent to taste her sweetness. He ended the kiss and whispered in her ear. “Give us a chance. Say yes.”

Holly nodded as the word “Yes” escaped her lips just in time for Brock to consume her in another heart stopping kiss.

CHAPTER TEN

“What happens now?” Holly asked.

“We take this as slow as you want. We can each go our separate ways tonight or you can follow me home. Your choice.”

“It’s late and I am worn out from everything that has happened today. Do you mind if I just go home alone?”

“Do I mind? No. Am I disappointed? Yes, but I understand.” He kissed her on the forehead. “See you tomorrow Cavanaugh.”

Luke high fived Sam after seeing Brock and Holly kissing at the car. “We did it!”

“They didn’t even see it coming.” Brooke added.

“Sometimes a little push in the right direction works miracles.” Sam added.

Luke laughed, “I’m glad you said that Sammy. We’re going to work on you next.”

Sam threw his hands in the air. “Now wait a minute, I would be in a relationship if I wanted to be in one. I don’t need any help in that department—besides my hours are so crazy down at the station house its damn near impossible to have a serious relationship. Women want you to spend time with them. I don’t get that luxury all that often.”

“You say that now, but just remember you were the one who said sometimes a little push in the right direction is all you need.” Luke reminded him.

“Oh my God!” Brooke gasped.

“What’s wrong? Is it the baby?” Luke asked concerned.

“Yes, it’s the baby, but nothing is wrong. I just felt the baby kick!”

“Where? Will I be able to feel it?” Luke asked.

“Here, put your hand right here. Can you feel it?”

“Holy crap—I felt it! I felt our baby kick! Sam—do you want to feel it?”

“I believe I will pass on that bro, I’m sure Brooke doesn’t want everyone feeling her stomach!”

Luke kissed Brooke, “This really makes it real for me. I’m going to be a dad. You have to tell me when he moves again.”

“He?”

“Yeah. With a kick like that it has to be a boy!”

“It could be a girl and she could be a tomboy!”

Sam shook his head, “You guys are making me sick. I’m gonna head out.”

Luke looked outside to see that Holly and Brock were leaving. “Yeah, it looks like it is safe now—they are leaving.”

“Should I follow them to see if they go the same direction?” Sam asked.

Brooke piped up this time, “No, I think we meddled enough for one night. Let it go.”

Well, my shift starts soon anyway, so I better get to the station house.”

Brock felt more rested than he had in a long time and was actually looking forward to going in to work. He decided that he wanted to arrive ahead of Holly and surprise her with Starbucks coffee’s and scones, but when he walked into his office, she was already there. “How do you do that?”

Holly turned around to look at Brock, “Do what?”

“I wanted to arrive first this morning and surprise you with coffee, and yet here you are—already here.”

There was a knock on the door and Captain Lewiston entered. “Detectives McClellan and Cavanaugh.”

“Yes sir, Captain.” Brock and Holly replied.

“I want an update on the serial rapist case as I am getting pressure from the Mayor’s office.”

“We have found a couple of similarities in a few of the cases but not in all of them.” Brock said walking over to the whiteboard. “Detective Cavanaugh has created this chart of information we do know and as you can see we still have some holes to fill. Cavanaugh, would you like to explain to the Captain what we do have?”

“Sure, Detective McClellan. Captain Lewiston, as you can see here, vics three, five, and ten all had a connection to O’Donnell’s Bar and Grille, but none of the other seven had either been there or had even heard of it. We do see an obvious pattern that all vics lived in an apartment—not a home.”

“Why is that such a significance?”

“They are all college students. Our perp is targeting college students who live in an apartment rather than a house because that typically means that they are not from this area. No family to surround them and in most cases alone and a perfect target for him.”

“I see. Anything else?”

“Yes.” Holly said pointing to the map. “We pegged on the map where all the rapes occurred and you will notice that vics three, five, and ten also lived within a five mile radius of O’Donnell’s and a college. You can also see that the other rapes are clustered around a college as well.”